The Bonesetter's Daughter-Mother-Daughter Identity Formation

Hanah Bautista
Mrs. Talley
AP English IV- 6th
November 14, 2017
The Bonesetter’s Daughter- Mother-Daughter Identity Formation
“I realized the worst word must have been: ma… that was the only word the baby needed. A mother is always the beginning(Tan, 2001, p.299).” Every person is branded with an identity that refers to the distinguished personality or character of an individual. This character is unique to us alone and is honed along the process of growing up and the identity development begins with the discovery of self and continues throughout childhood before becoming the focus of adolescence. The novel The Bonesetter’s Daughter can be examined from the perspective of a mother-daughter relationship which plays a crucial role in shaping

Mother’s in the novel are responsible for determining their daughter’s identities through their upbringing. The first set of flashbacks is when Ruth is in the first grade, when Ruth fell on the slide and everyone started treating her nicely which was something that she was not used to. This flashback is used to show Ruth’s relationship with LuLing when Ruth rebels from her mother’s orders. This emphasizes that their relationship has always been different. Ruth describes LuLing’s death threats as “earthquakes” where she will be “upended and flung about, unable to keep her balance”(Tan, 2001, p.59). Even when Ruth grows up, her mother still threatens her “never ceased to grab her by the throat” (Tan, 2001, p. 111). Parallel to how mother’s shape their daughters, LuLing still has a huge influence on Ruth’s identity formation. Enduring her mother’s erratic behavior makes Ruth a reserved person who usually opts to keep her feelings to herself. In addition, Ruth’s relationship with Art deteriorates due to her over- accommodating, causing Art to take Ruth for granted. He then tells Ruth “You keeps secrets inside of you-- you hide” (Tan, 2001, p. 387) and thus LuLing’s depressed nature forces Ruth to deviate from normal and healthy parenting, causing a harmful effect on Ruth’s personality. Ruth is unable to pronounce Ruth’s name and this leads her to criticize her mother of her chinese behavior. Although, LuLing and Ruth share an unstable relationship, Ruth integrates

The practice of storytelling is prompted by older age and highlights a cultural sense of belonging and identification as actively constructed. When Precious Auntie tells her story to LuLing by writing in on a sheaf of papers, the novel becomes an emotionally engaging novel. For instance, on the second part of the novel, LuLing finally discovers that Precious Auntie is her real mother after she commits suicide. Amy Tan portrayed the scene: “I found the pages Precious Auntie had written for me. At last, I read her words. Your mother, your mother, I am your mother” (Tan, 2001, p. 243). The words had a powerful impact as it evokes heartache and grief. The purpose of the storytelling in the novel is to reveal how the mother’s and their stories are responsible for determining their daughter’s