Joy Luck Club Confucianism

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The cultural ideals of the daughters and their mothers are different and difficult to reconcile, however this conflict, as shown in The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God’s Wife can be resolved through storytelling. One major tenet in Confucianism is filial piety which requires children to show absolute respect and obedience to their parents or guardians. However, in America, the relationship between a child and an adult is much more relaxed. In the Joy Luck Club, Jing-mei was forced by her mother to try to find something she was talented in such as piano playing. However, after a failed recital Jing-mei refuses to practice and her mother’s outburst epitomizes the cross-cultural differences, “Only two kinds of daughters...Those who are obedient

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