Nick Birnbaum's Lit. Seminar

All in all, I thought my lit. seminar went well. Even though I only had half the class, it was the half that had read my family, the Jong's, section, so everyone had insightful answers to my questions.
My first question was:
In this chapter, Lindo says she tried to give her children Chinese character with their American circumstances. Do you think she succeeded? Support your answer.
There were some very interesting responses to this question, ranging from how Waverly was completely americanized and couldn't connect to her Chinese roots to how Lindo had succeeded in raising her children with Chinese values. Also, many people thought that Waverly had accepted Chinese values until she left her mother's house.
My second question was not widely understood by my lit. seminar group. It was:
Lindo's mother tells her a girl with a crooked nose is bound for misfortune. Do you think she was more fortunate before or after she broke her nose on the bus? Why?
Many people did not understand this question, and if they tried to answer it, they were either off the topic or had no idea what the question was asking. If i were to do this again, I would have created a more theme-based question instead of this one.