Differences Between China and America Depicted in The Joy Luck Club

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Collectivism is a group that share one only goal and does not accept any individual to think or act on their own. Individuals should sacrifice they desires for the group and focus only on the demands of its organization.
Every old generation on the movie, played by Lindo, An-mei, Ying-Ying and Suyuan shows collectivism in their lives when lived in China. Because of the culture of women being submissive they rarely have an opinion and have to obey by the rules of the men, they are sold to get married and provide babies, they are violated , and disrespected by their spouses. Their daughters were also showing signs of being submissive on their relationships, but because of the mothers interference, and for experienced that life style in their past, they helped the daughters turn out and fix the relationships.
Lindo was sent to a match maker by the age of 15 to get married with a man she does not know and to provide a child to the man’s family. As a cultural and traditional, the Chinese believe in match making two families with a similar conditions as wealth and social status (Groom & Bride. n.d.).
An-mei was separated from her mother by her grandparents at a young age, after her grandparents accused An-mei’s mother of breaking a widow vows and remarry another man, not know that the reason she married the rich merchant was because she got raped by this man and got pregnant as a result, to protect her baby she decided to marry him and become his 4th wife. In China depending of the man social status it is legal to marry more than one woman (Women in modern china. n.d.).
Ying-Ying got married at a young age with a friend of the family and got pregnant by him. Ying-Ying had to put up with adultery when her husband start seeing other women...

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Differences between Chinese and American culture. (n.d.). Differences between Chinese and American culture. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.china-nafsa.aief-usa.org/culture/differences.htm

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