Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 1/21/14

In the beginning of the book, Ma says stories are worthless, but stories play an important role throughout Minlin's adventure.  Think about how stories were used throughout the book.  Please answer each question in a separate paragraph.

1.  How did stories help Minli and others reach their goals?
2.  How did stories help characters change and develop throughout the book?

18 comments:

  1. Stories helped Minli throughout here journey because she would never have gone to see the old man of the moon if it weren't for the story of The Old Man Of The Moon.

    The story of Wu Kang changed him because he wanted to be wealthy but got stuck chopping a invincible tree.The story of dragon made Minli want to ask his question how to fly.

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  2. Stories helped Minli and others reach their goal because they gave a glimpse of the past. They helped give information that they needed to know if they were going to accomplish their goals. For example, when dragon heard the story of the lions “borrowed line” pg 147, he realized that Minli might need that borrowed line too. It turns out they did. The story helped dragon think about what might happen in the future if they didn’t have that string.
    My favorite story in the book Where The Mountain Meets The Moon is the story of the paper of happiness. I liked this story because at first I thought that there has to be one really important word on that paper. But as I thought deeper about it, I realized that it would most likely be something different for everyone at different times. It might be faith for one person but truth for another. Also, depending on the circumstance, it might chang. There is not only one secret to true happiness, but millions.

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  3. Isabella

    The story I think thats most important is “The story of the old man of the moon.” One reason is because that story lead Minli to go to find him. Another is if she hadn't gone to find the old man of the moon she wouldn’t have met all these amazing characters. The last reason is that she came to ask dragon’s question instead of her’s and that was an act of thankfulness to drgon for being her companion.
    Dragon said: “what happened he asked. He did not tell you? I didn’t ask Minli said. I was only allowed to ask one question. What dragon said, You need to know!! You have came all this way we will fly up there and ask him!”(p.258”

    Minli
    She heard the story of the Old mountain of the moon story and thats what made her think to go on the journy. Another reason if she hadn't heard that story then she wouldn’t have met dragon and the twins and the buffalo boy. The last reason is she chose dragons question and she knew he wanted to know how he can’t fly and she told dragon what she did and he was thankful for her.

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  4. The importance of the stories in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is that the stories helped Minli along the way, for instance, The Story of the Old Man of the Moon gave Minli the whole idea of going on the adventure to change her fortune. Also, The Story of the Dragon gave her the idea of asking The Old Man of the Moon how Dragon would be able to fly.


    The story that was most important to me would have to be, The Story of Wu Kang. It tells about how Wu Kang always wanted more, and then eventually The Old Man Of The Moon teaches him Obedience and Manners, The Old Man Of The Moon makes him cut down a tree every night, but the tree is an unbreakable tree.


    All in all, that is why there is importance in the stories in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.




    -Coleman T.

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  5. I think that the stories that minli heard helped her because, that gave her knowledge for her journey. it helped the ether characters to have more knowledge also.

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  6. I think stories were used in Where the mountain meets the moon to tell why something happened, or why this person acted like that or became that, or even why a village was called that.

    Stories were also used in the book to explain this persons life, for example green tiger, there was a story on him, it was about why he was poisonous.

    I think stories helped Minli and her friends reach their goals because they helped Minli even go on her big adventure and get the book started with some action.

    I think stories helped Minli understand more about other characters, and the village she was in.

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  7. Lauren


    I think the stories that Ba told are important because the helped characters reach their goals in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon , by Grace Lin. This is so when, Ba told Minli the story about the Old Man of the Moon. The story about the Old Man of the Moon, helped Minli reach her goal to change her family's fortune because without knowing about the Old Man of the Moon, Minli would have never wanted to set out on this amazing journey to change her family’s fortune.

    Also, I think the most important story was the Story of Da-A-Fu’s Ancestors . I think this because, when Minli and Dragon had both borrowed lines, Minli thought of the story of Da-A-Fu’s ancestors. By remembering how Da-A-Fu’s ancestors cut the kits they brought with them on the Never-Ending-Mountain, Minli thought of a way for her and Dragon to make a kit with both borrowed lines, later leading them to the Old Man of the Moon.

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  8. It helped Minili and the others because they knew the old man of the moon is real and she didn’t waste her time believing in stories and she has to go on. Also when ma and ba herd the story of the goldfish man they knew minili was going to reach their goal.

    Ma realized that minili went to the old man of the moon because of her wanting more. Also when ba told her the paper of happiness she then realised everything she has is better than nothing.

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  9. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
    Stories helped Minli and others in the book. They motivate her, keep her going so that she will fulfill her destiny. They also help her realize her true limits, her goals, how to make her fortune.
    The stories changed her and others by filling a cavity that had been spreading their entire life. They make Ma appreciate what she has.

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  10. The stories in the book motivate Minli. The motivate her to keep moving forward so she would reach her goal. They also made her realize that she has already reached her goal of making her family have good fortune.
    The stories help Minli become thankful that she has a family and a house and food. The stories also help Minli realize that she already has good fortune. She has learned so much from the stories.

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  11. I think that the stories in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon help the characters in the book reach their goals by telling about previous times and actions that helped important people or their ancestors do things. For example, in almost all of the stories, they mention the Old Man of the Moon and he ends up showing the right way to go and what to do. He is basically like the guardian for the people.
    The stories helped people change by how interesting they can get is my opinion. Like with Ma, when Minli is gone, she tends to really pay attention to Ba’s stories and also tells her own. And the stories help change people by what happened in the stories that changed the characters in them. These reasons are why and how the stories change the characters.

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  12. The story that is most important to me is the story of Ma. It starts out with her sorrows. She says “Once there was a woman who had a kind husband and a beautiful daughter. A great mountain shadowed their home.” I think that the shadow is their happiness; they had none. Their only smile and laughter comes from Minli. Minli did believe in the stories and she helped everyone with believing.
    1. The stories helped Minli to get to her goals because everything that she believed in was in her journey. I think that if she were like Ma she would have just given up on her search for the old man of the moon. It was also Ma’s fait for her to change her feelings about the stories that Ba would tell. Minli wanted to help her family. She meet a dragon and her kindness showed throw because that was her fait. Everything that she did was her fait.
    2. The stories helped other charters because Minli was their way of saying she believes, so why can’t we. They were worried to about Minli as well as Ma and Ba. The goldfish man was also right about the goldfish changing their fortune. The goldfish told Minli the way to the old man of the moon. That changed her her ability to go to the old man of the moon and the goldfish man also gave Ma and Ba a goldfish. I believe that the goldfish that Ma and Ba received was like an angel.The story that is most important to me is the story of Ma. It starts out with her sorrows. She says “Once there was a woman who had a kind husband and a beautiful daughter. A great mountain shadowed their home.” I think that the shadow is their happiness; they had none. Their only smile and laughter comes from Minli. Minli did believe in the stories and she helped everyone with believing.
    1. The stories helped Minli to get to her goals because everything that she believed in was in her journey. I think that if she were like Ma she would have just given up on her search for the old man of the moon. It was also Ma’s fait for her to change her feelings about the stories that Ba would tell. Minli wanted to help her family. She meet a dragon and her kindness showed throw because that was her fait. Everything that she did was her fait.
    2. The stories helped other charters because Minli was their way of saying she believes, so why can’t we. They were worried to about Minli as well as Ma and Ba. The goldfish man was also right about the goldfish changing their fortune. The goldfish told Minli the way to the old man of the moon. That changed her her ability to go to the old man of the moon and the goldfish man also gave Ma and Ba a goldfish. I believe that the goldfish that Ma and Ba received was like an angel.The story that is most important to me is the story of Ma. It starts out with her sorrows. She says “Once there was a woman who had a kind husband and a beautiful daughter. A great mountain shadowed their home.” I think that the shadow is their happiness; they had none. Their only smile and laughter comes from Minli. Minli did believe in the stories and she helped everyone with believing.
    1. The stories helped Minli to get to her goals because everything that she believed in was in her journey. I think that if she were like Ma she would have just given up on her search for the old man of the moon. It was also Ma’s fait for her to change her feelings about the stories that Ba would tell. Minli wanted to help her family. She meet a dragon and her kindness showed throw because that was her fait. Everything that she did was her fait.
    2. The stories helped other charters because Minli was their way of saying she believes, so why can’t we. They were worried to about Minli as well as Ma and Ba. The goldfish man was also right about the goldfish changing their fortune. The goldfish told Minli the way to the old man of the moon. That changed her her ability to go to the old man of the moon and the goldfish man also gave Ma and Ba a goldfish. I believe that the goldfish that Ma and Ba received was like an angel.

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  13. The story that is most important to me is the story of Ma. It starts out with her sorrows. She says “Once there was a woman who had a kind husband and a beautiful daughter. A great mountain shadowed their home.” I think that the shadow is their happiness; they had none. Their only smile and laughter comes from Minli. Minli did believe in the stories and she helped everyone with believing.
    1. The stories helped Minli to get to her goals because everything that she believed in was in her journey. I think that if she were like Ma she would have just given up on her search for the old man of the moon. It was also Ma’s fait for her to change her feelings about the stories that Ba would tell. Minli wanted to help her family. She meet a dragon and her kindness showed throw because that was her fait. Everything that she did was her fait.
    2. The stories helped other charters because Minli was their way of saying she believes, so why can’t we. They were worried to about Minli as well as Ma and Ba. The goldfish man was also right about the goldfish changing their fortune. The goldfish told Minli the way to the old man of the moon. That changed her her ability to go to the old man of the moon and the goldfish man also gave Ma and Ba a goldfish. I believe that the goldfish that Ma and Ba received was like an angel.

    By: Levi S

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  14. By: Jackson
    The story that Ma told is very important because it said “Once there was a women who had a kind husband and a beautiful daughter. A great mountain shadowed their home, making the land that they lived on a poor and their house small. That helped us know more about Ma and how she’s thankful.
    The story about the buffalo boys friend is important. It’s important because those characters become important throughout the story like when Minli realizes that
    she is very lucky for what she has.

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  15. Stories helped Minli and others reach their goals, by learning how things were did a long while ago. Stories also helped Minli and others to their goals, because well, there were 16 stories, and they all were there to fix a problem or something like that. For example, the story of the goldfish man. That helped Ma and Ba, because they decided to trust Minli, and go back home. One story helped Minli understand a character, Dragon. In the book it said that Dragon was born from a piece of paper, and that he was a gift to the Magistrate Tiger. There are A LOT more examples from the stories, and to find those things out, you should read the book!



    Stories helped characters change and develop throughout the book, sometimes, by having them learn a lesson. Sometimes, by having the character understand more. Sometimes, just for fun, or understanding. Ma and Ba changed and developed, by believing in Minli. The story of the goldfish man made that happen. The Jade Dragon also changed. When Dragon came to Fruitless Mountain, and it felt like home to him, he turned out to be one of Jade Dragon’s children. That made her happy! Lots of characters change in this book! The adventures have just began!

    ~Brenna L.

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  16. In the book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Minli heard many stories, but I think the one that helped her most was the story of The Paper of Happiness. I think this story was the most helpful to Minli because if she had not thought back to it and realized what her word was, she might not be living in a large house with courtyards that she can gaze at the moon while sitting on a rock by a stream.

    The story That was the most important to me was the story of The Old Man of the Moon. This story is a good lesson that teaches us not to try to meddle with fate, It will always come out the way it was meant to be.

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  17. 1. How did stories help Minli and others reach their goals?
    Its only because the story of the old man of the moon that Minli went on this journey. Stories encouraged Minli to ask dragon’s question instead of her own question to the old man of the moon. After the king read the borrowed line he decided to help minli by giving her the borrowed line because based on the secret part of the story of the old man of the moon.

    2. How did stories help characters change and develop throughout the book?
    Stories helped change ma from someone who wants more and more to someone who’s grateful for what they have. Stories also changed dragon to a lonely dragon to a dragon with tons of friends. Plus stories changed minli from a poor girl to a rich happy girl.

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