"The True Story of Ah Q" is the longest piece in Call to Arms, and its title character is a poor villager in Wei Village who survives by convincing himself that he always wins. When others beat or mock him, he reinterprets the event as a victory, a habit usually called spiritual victory. Students tend to find the character funny at first and uncomfortable later, which makes for rich essay material.

Because the story is longer than the others, essays on it can sprawl. Students may try to cover Ah Q's fights, his attempts to court the maid Wu Ma, his idea of joining the revolution, and his execution all in one paper. A clear scope requirement in the assignment prompt helps them choose a focus and makes grading far more manageable.

The satire is aimed at a mindset more than a person, which students sometimes miss. They write as though Lu Xun is simply mocking a poor man, when the more defensible reading is that Ah Q stands for a way of thinking the author found widespread. Feedback that points students toward that distinction often improves the whole essay.

Define what counts as a strong thesis

A strong thesis on Ah Q should say something about how spiritual victory works and what it costs. For example, a student might argue that it protects Ah Q from despair while preventing him from ever recognizing his own exploitation. That kind of claim can be tested against specific episodes, unlike a statement that Ah Q is foolish.

• Identifies a specific episode where Ah Q turns defeat into imagined victory
• Explains the social order of Wei Village, including the Zhao family's status
• Analyzes how the narrator's mock-heroic tone shapes the reader's response
• Considers how the 1911 revolution reaches the village and what changes
• Evaluates the significance of the ending and the crowd's reaction

Grade the handling of tone

The narrator's voice is ironic and mock-formal, beginning with a comic search for the proper name and biography of a man nobody bothered to record. Students who quote that opening and explain how the tone sets expectations demonstrate strong close reading. Essays that ignore the narration and treat the story as a plain realistic account usually lose depth.

A helpful comment for these papers is to ask the student what the narrator wants the reader to feel at a given moment, and whether that feeling changes later. The shift from laughter to unease is part of the story's design, and tracking it gives students a framework for organizing their essay. It also gives you a clear criterion for evaluating analysis.

Address the revolution with care

The sections on the revolution can tempt students into broad statements about Chinese politics that exceed their evidence. Encourage them to focus on what the story actually shows, namely that little changes for ordinary villagers and that old power structures adapt quickly. Specific examples from the text are more convincing than general claims about history.

If your students have limited background, offer a short summary of the 1911 revolution as a handout and grade context as a minor row in the rubric. That keeps the essay anchored in literary analysis. It also reduces the risk that students copy generic historical summaries from the internet.

Make feedback manageable on a long text

When essays are long, give one global comment at the top and three marginal comments tied to your rubric rather than annotating every line. Students tend to remember a single clear priority better than a page of corrections. This also keeps your grading time reasonable across a full class set.

Where possible, return a short list of the most common issues you noticed across the class. Seeing that others struggled with the same thing removes some of the sting from individual comments and gives you material for a follow-up lesson. Over time, the shared list becomes a useful resource for the next unit.