Chu Ju’s House

By Gloria Whelan

          In the book Chu Ju’s House, I learned that Chu Ju loved her sister and her family very much. She was very unselfish and very hard working.  She’s willing to sacrifice anything to help her family and puts everyone else before her.  Here are some examples of how nice and unselfish she was.

          Chu Ju ran away from home so that her family would not have to take Hua (her sister) away and still be able to try to have a boy.  Her family was going to send Hua away because, in China at that time, it was important to have a boy in the family.

          Chu Ju went to a silkworm factory and worked for a very mean considered very lucky to have a boy.  Because of the increasing population, families were only allowed to have two children.  Since they just had another girl, they were going to send Hua away to try to have a boy.  Chu Ju needed to get money so that she wouldn’t have to go back home.  Finally she ended up with two people named Quan and Han Na in a rice patty field.  Then Quan went to Shanghai, she wrote letters and sent money.  At first Han Na didn’t let Quan go because she was old and Quan was her son and she needed him.  Quan insisted that Chu Ju could do what her son used to do.

          Han Na couldn’t read, so Chu Ju read the letters.  Quan loved the city and everyone was very happy until Quan went to jail.  Quan sent a letter and told Chu Ju what to do to get him out.

          Chu Ju first needed to lie to Han Na and say that she was going to her house to visit her family.  Quan also told her to take the money he sent to bail him out of jail.  Han Na gave her enough money and she went on a train to Shanghai.  She found him on the detention level and bailed him out.

          Quan was completely in love with the city so he didn’t come back, which made no sense at all. When Chu Ju finally came back to Han Na, Han Na was very sad.  She said that there was nothing else left to steal and she kicked Chu Ju out of the house.  All this happened because she bailed Quan out of jail without letting Han Na know just as Quan had instructed.

          Later, Han Na eventually died and Quan gave Chu Ju the land.  Quan went back to the city and Chu Ju went to finally visit her family.  When she came, she saw that they gave birth to another boy and her mother was too old to have another baby.  Chu Ju said she would give her money to her sister’s education and she went back to the rice paddies and fields with Ling, who was her best friend when she worked with Han Na.

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This page last updated: 12/06/05.