In "Hometown," a narrator returns to his childhood village to sell the family home and move his mother away. He remembers his friend Runtu as a bright boy who knew how to trap birds and watch for watermelon thieves. When they meet again, Runtu is worn down by poverty and addresses him as Master, which breaks the narrator's idealized memory.

Students usually connect with the story's emotional core because many have experienced a friendship that changed with time. That connection is a strength, but it can lead to essays built on personal anecdote rather than textual analysis. A rubric that clearly separates personal reflection from literary argument helps students use their feelings as a starting point without relying on them.

The story's length and gentle pace make it a good candidate for a first Lu Xun assignment. Its images are concrete, its structure is easy to follow, and its ending offers a quotable meditation on hope and roads. Grading a class set of these essays can feel straightforward, provided your criteria are explicit.

Assess how students handle memory and reality

The narrator contrasts a golden memory of the countryside with the dull reality he finds on return. Strong essays explain how Lu Xun builds that contrast through specific details, such as the vivid scene of the boy beneath the moon and the later image of a weary man bowing his head. Essays that merely say the story is about nostalgia usually lack that precision.

• Compares the remembered Runtu with the adult Runtu using specific details
• Explains the social distance expressed by the word Master
• Considers Yangerchao's role and what she reveals about changing village life
• Analyzes the next generation, Hong'er and Shuisheng, as a source of hope
• Interprets the closing image of the road with attention to its qualified optimism

Evaluate the treatment of class

The gap between the narrator and Runtu is partly about education and partly about the rigid social roles that shape their speech. Students who notice that Runtu's lowered voice is a learned reflex, not a personal choice, are reading more deeply than those who blame him or the narrator individually. Rubric language can reward essays that identify systems rather than villains.

Remind students to avoid assuming that the narrator is simply Lu Xun, since the story is fiction even when it echoes his life. A comment asking them to refer to the narrator by role instead of by the author's name encourages careful distinctions. This habit carries over to other first-person narratives they will read.

Look closely at the ending

The final lines compare hope to roads on the earth, which come into being only when many people walk the same way. Students often quote this idea but then paraphrase it too loosely. Feedback should push them to explain how the metaphor responds to the sadness of the preceding scenes.

You can also ask whether the ending feels earned or merely consoling. Students who take either position and support it with evidence show real engagement. Grading for the quality of reasoning, rather than for agreement with your own view, keeps the discussion open.

Keep feedback specific and fair

Because the story invites emotional responses, some students write sincere but vague essays that feel good to read and hard to grade. A short comment asking for one more concrete detail per paragraph is usually enough to improve them. This also gives you a measurable criterion to apply consistently.

Track the most frequent issues across the class, such as summary in place of analysis or unsupported statements about hope. Use them to plan a ten-minute mini-lesson before the next assignment. Students benefit from seeing that the feedback they receive connects to what happens in class.