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A thesis on American culture and Chinese culture
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A thesis on American culture and Chinese culture
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Power of the Mother and Daughter Relationship Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club
In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, the author, Amy Tan, intricately weaves together the roles and experiences of Chinese mothers with their American born daughters. During a time of war, the mothers flee from China to America, leaving behind a past filled with secrets that unravel as their daughters mature. While sharing their difficulties, these mothers must be able to teach Chinese beliefs and customs to their daughters in a way that relates to American society. However, this is difficult because the daughters seek to identify themselves with their own American culture. A lack of understanding and knowledge amongst these societies exists between the mothers and daughters, making it difficult for the two generations to connect with each other. Nonetheless, these mothers have "a legacy that they wish to bestow on their daughters," ( The Joy Luck Club ). A cultural clash and a generation gap are the roots to the problems the mothers and daughters must overcome in order for their relationship to be stronger. One such example is the relationship between Lindo and Waverly Jong.
While in China, Lindo’s life takes a complete turn around as she escapes a prearranged Chinese marriage. In "The Red Candle," Lindo obeys the typical female role of being obedient at the beginning of her marriage to Tyan-yu, but later goes against these expectations and flees to America. She listens to her mother-in-law by doing household chores and by being a submissive individual. Asian society says their women "value marriage. They do not believe in divorce. They marry for life…in good times and bad," ( China Bride ). However, Lindo manages to outwit her new family and escape the m...
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...standing their mothers’ viewpoint on an issue. Despite a lack of cultural knowledge, the mothers have good intentions for their daughters. Even though the daughters do not want to admit it, they have inherited more from their mothers than they thought because "each daughter…becomes a stronger person through her mother’s past," ( "Analysis of Literary Merit" ).
WORKS CITED
Analysis of Literary Merit. 27 Mar. 2004. http://la.mvla.net/Curric/English/alhweb/student/sabrina/Joy/joy_literary_merit.htm.
China Bride. 30 Mar. 2004. http://www.chinabride.com/gen/whyasia.html.
Roles of Women. 27 Mar. 2004.
http://la.mvla.net/Curric/English/alhweb/student/sabrina/Joy/joy_roles_of_women.htm.
Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Ivy Books. 1989.
The Joy Luck Club. 30 Mar. 2004. http://members.tripod.com/~Roella/AmyTan/JoyLuck.html.
Amy Tan 's novel, The Joy Luck Club, explores the relationships and experiences of four Chinese mothers with that of their four Chinese-American daughters. The differences in the upbringing of those women born around the 1920’s in China, and their daughters born in California in the 80’s, is undeniable. The relationships between the two are difficult due to lack of understanding and the considerable amount of barriers that exist between them.
Both Chang Rae-Lee and Amy Tan use their articles to illustrate the impact their mothers had on creating a respectable ethos as a writer. Lee and Tan are authentic and true, which are great values instilled by a mother that shine through in their writing. These articles are great examples of how much a writer’s ethos contributes to his/her overall argument. As said by Lee, "Having been raised in an immigrant family,…[one sees] everyday the exacting price and power of language…" (Lee 584).
In The Joy Luck Club, the novel traces the fate of the four mothers-Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-ying St. Clair-and their four daughters-June Woo, Rose Hsu Jordan, Waverly Jong, and Lena St. Clair. Through the experiences that these characters go through, they become women. The mothers all fled China in the 1940's and they all retain much of their heritage. Their heritage focuses on what is means to be a female, but more importantly what it means to be an Asian female.
Traditions, heritage and culture are three of the most important aspects of Chinese culture. Passed down from mother to daughter, these traditions are expected to carry on for years to come. In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, daughters Waverly, Lena, Rose and June thoughts about their culture are congested by Americanization while on their quests towards self-actualization. Each daughter struggles to find balance between Chinese heritage and American values through marriage and professional careers.
The United States Marine Corps, established in 1775, is known for their production of the strongest offensive soldiers that defend our country. Their training includes amplified endurance, multiple styles of hand to hand combat, and artillery accuracy. Marines are trained to be the steel of the front lines that cut through and push back enemy lines. The branch rose to this dedication primarily in the 1940-50s thanks to one warrior-leader’s dedication to his country and men in his command. Lieutenant Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller is the prime model of every marine due to his dedication to service, desire to better his men through training and education, and the instilment of esprit de corps.
America was not everything the mothers had expected for their daughters. The mothers always wanted to give their daughters the feather to tell of their hardships, but they never could. They wanted to wait until the day that they could speak perfect American English. However, they never learned to speak their language, which prevented them from communicating with their daughters. All the mothers in The Joy Luck Club had so much hope for their daughters in America, but instead their lives ended up mirroring their mother’s life in China. All the relationships had many hardships because of miscommunication from their different cultures. As they grew older the children realized that their ...
The Joy Luck Club is an emotional tale about four women who saw life as they had seen it back in China. Because the Chinese were very stereotypic, women were treated as second class citizens and were often abused. Through sad and painful experiences, these four women had tried to raise their daughters to live the American dream by giving them love and support, such things which were not available to them when they were young. These women revealed their individual accounts in narrative form as they relived it in their memories. These flashbacks transport us to the minds of these women and we see the events occur through their eyes. There were many conflicts and misunderstandings between the two generations due to their differences in upbringing and childhood. In the end, however, these conflicts would bring mother and daughter together to form a bond that would last forever.
The Mother Daughter Relationship in "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen. I stand here ironing, a unique phrase uttered by a woman in her conquest of life. It may seem like an unwanted phrase to many, but it has a deep meaning behind it. This phrase is almost whispered by the narrator of?I Stand Here Ironing,?
Oftentimes the children of immigrants to the United States lose the sense of cultural background in which their parents had tried so desperately to instill within them. According to Walter Shear, “It is an unseen terror that runs through both the distinct social spectrum experienced by the mothers in China and the lack of such social definition in the daughters’ lives.” This “unseen terror” is portrayed in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club as four Chinese women and their American-born daughters struggle to understand one another’s culture and values. The second-generation women in The Joy Luck Club prove to lose their sense of Chinese values, becoming Americanized.
This paper will accomplish two tasks. First, it will briefly outline the main points of Thomas Nagel’s argument in “Personal Rights and Public Space”. Secondly, it will examine and discuss the portion of his argument that I find to be the most problematic.
Smith, T. (2012). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive settings. 1st ed. New Delhi, India: PHI Learning Private Ltd.
It was Benjamin Franklin’s early years that influenced his stance for change. From a young age, Benjamin Franklin had an early readiness in reading and shortly after improved his literacy by reading sermons, books, and other pieces
"Two Kinds" by Amy Tan is about the intricacies and complexities in the relationship between a mother and daughter. Throughout the story, the mother imposes upon her daughter, Jing Mei, her hopes and dreams for her. Jing Mei chooses not what her mother wants of her but only what she wants for herself. She states, "For, unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be. I could be only me" (Tan 1). Thus this "battle of wills" between mother and daughter sets the conflict of the story.
The rifts between mothers and daughters continue to separate them, but as the daughters get older they become more tolerant of their mothers. They learn they do not know everything about their mothers, and the courage their mothers showed during their lives is astounding. As they get older they learn they do not know everything, and that their mothers can still teach them much about life. They grow closer to their mothers and learn to be proud of their heritage and their culture. They acquire the wisdom of understanding, and that is the finest feeling to have in the world.
The characters in Hemingway’s short story add to the conflict throughout and conflict appears both between the characters and within the characters themselves. Hemingway clearly depicts three major characters which include an old man, a young waiter, and a middle-aged waiter. The old man who is drinking in the Spanish café experiences his own inner conflicts; this is shown in dialogue between the two waiters: “’Last week he tried to commit suicide,’ one waiter said. ’Why?’ ‘He was in despair.’ ‘What about?’ ‘Nothing.’ ‘How do you know it was nothing?’ ‘He has plenty of money’” (Hemingway 186). This