Mao's Last Dancer Analysis Table

Event in the Novel (Describe the event and provide context surrounding the event) | What type of journey is highlighted in this event? (Physical, inner or both) | What forces initiated the journey at this stage of the novel? (provide an explanation and evidence for your point) | What were the challenges and obstacles faced on the journey? (provide an explanation and evidence for your point) | Evaluate the consequences of this event on Li’s journey overall.(provide an explanation and evidence for your point) | 1. Li was born in rural Qingdao, China—into an impoverished life so dire that in some years his village's peasants ate tree barks to survive. Despite the harsh reality of life, his childhood was full of love. | | | | | 2. Li's first day of school and The death of his grandmother | | | | | 3. Li is selected to study at the Beijing Dance Academy - delegation from Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy arrived at Li's commune school to find suitable children to study ballet and serve in Chairman Mao's revolution. At first they passed Li without taking any notice, but just as they were walking out of his classroom, the class teacher hesitated, and suddenly tapped the last gentleman from Beijing on the shoulder and pointed. "What about that boy?" And that boy was Li. | | | | | 4. Li attends Beijing Dance Academy - He was 11 when he left home to begin a seven-year harsh training regime from 5.30 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week at the Beijing Dance Academy. Once he found his passion, he worked hard and gave his all. He would practise his turns at night by candlelight, and hopped, one-legged, up and down stairs with heavy sandbags tied to his ankles to build his leg strength at 5 am in the mornings when others were still asleep. | | | | | 5. Li becomes member of the Communist Youth Party and visits to hear Mao's speech | | | | | 6. Li graduates from the Academy and visits USA - Li was discovered by Ben Stevenson, the Artistic Director of the Houston Ballet—and a renowned teacher and choreographer—who had come to Communist China as part of the first US cultural delegation. He chose Li as one of the first two cultural exchange students permitted under Mao’s regime to travel to America to study | | | | | 7. Returns to China and then USA again | | | | | 8. Li defects to the West and marries Elizabeth Mackey -In a dramatic defection, Li was subsequently locked up in the Chinese Consulate in Houston, creating a standoff between the Chinese and the American governments. | | | | | 9. World Renowned Dancer - Over the next 16 years, Li danced with the Houston Ballet and other of the world's most famous companies. He gained recognition as one of the world's leading dancers, winning two silver medals and a bronze at three International Ballet Competitions. | | | | | 10. Married Life - While dancing in London, he fell in love with an Australian born ballerina, Mary McKendry; they married in 1987 and, with their two children, moved to Melbourne in 1995 where Li became a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet. | | | | |