Mother-Daughter Relationships In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

Mother-daughter relationships are extremely special and memorable. These relationships are sacred and should be cherished forever. For a mother, a daughter is an extension of her, a part of her. The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, illustrates what life is like for many foreigners living in America who are trying to give their children opportunities they most likely did not acquire or enjoy. It is a story about four immigrant mothers who are hoping their children will have a better future in the United States than in China. Mothers should fulfill their duties by having the three following qualities: sacrifice, care, and loyalty. All the sacrifices the mother'ss' made were for the love and adoration they had for their daughters. In Chinese culture,

An example of this is from the vignette: it says “In America I will have a daughter just like me. But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husbands belch…”(Tan 17). The mother’s goal is to create a life full of opportunities and choices for her daughter. When the mother establishes a connection between the daughters “worth” and “loudness of her husband’s belch”, she explains it is extremely important to raise a daughter that is strong and courageous especially in an environment that is so focused on the traditions and stereotypes. Stereotypes make it difficult to raise the perfect daughter because there is so much judgment in the world. The “belch” represents an event that occurred prior in her hometown that clearly gave the mother anxiety. Because “America” is considered the American dream, the mother wanted to take her past experiences and administer her lessons to her daughter to create someone who is powerful and courageous just like how she was. To show how much the mothers cared for their daughter, they gave them a “swan- a creature that became more than what was hoped for”(3). The swan represented all the hopes and dreams they hoped for their daughters. Unfortunately, when they got to America, the swan was destroyed and only one feather was left. America was not what the mothers pictured for their daughters. The mothers wanted to give their

In The Red Candle, Lindo complains admonishing, “I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents’ promise. This means nothing to you, because to you, your promises mean nothing”(49). When she says “this means nothing to you”, Lindo’s tone is clearly frustrated because she is making an accusation. She compares her daughter’s loyalty with her own loyalty and makes Waverly feel inferior. Lindo’s speech shows strength but also limits the mother-daughter relationships. Daughters usually show incredible loyalty to their parents, but sometimes such loyalty can fade away or be placed behind other priorities. Sacrifices and promises are clearly valued differently from the mother daughter. For the younger generation, there are rarely any consequences for not following through with a promise. Lindo worries that her granddaughter will continue the pattern of making worthless promises, rather than respecting the Chinese value of her