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In the novel The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, four Chinese mother-daughter pairs, each with her own unique story, have deep connections with each other. At the beginning of the novel they each seem like ordinary women, but as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that these women are more than just mothers, daughters, or wives; they can also be considered heroes according to Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell says a hero is someone who undergoes a departure, where the person is confronted with a problem that they must overcome; a fulfillment, where the person finally overcomes the problem; and a return, where the person passes on what they gain and learn from the experiences in the form of a "life-giving elixir"(Campbell). This “life-giving elixir”(Campbell) is to be used by someone else to better themselves. Following Campbell's model, the character that stands out the most as a hero is Lindo Jong because of the hardships that she faces at a young age, such as being left by her family and being forced into an arranged marriage, and her perseverance to get through them and to pass on her...
The fact that they’re 24 carrot gold indicates that she wants the best for herself and her new life. It also symbolizes her purity and strength as a person.
The word "hero" is so often used to describe people who overcome great difficulties and rise to the challenge that is set before them without even considering the overwhelming odds they are up against. In our culture, heroes are glorified in literature and in the media in various shapes and forms. However, I believe that many of the greatest heroes in our society never receive the credit that they deserve, much less fame or publicity. I believe that a hero is simply someone who stands up for what he/she believes in. A person does not have to rush into a burning building and save someone's life to be a hero. Someone who is a true friend can be a hero. A hero is someone who makes a difference in the lives of others simply by his/her presence. In Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried, the true heroes stand out in my mind as those who were true friends and fought for what they believed in. These men and women faced the atrocities of war on a daily basis, as explained by critic David R. Jarraway's essay, "'Excremental Assault' in Tim O'Brien: Trauma and Recovery in Vietnam War Literature" and by Vietnam Veteran Jim Carter. Yet these characters became heroes not by going to drastic measures to do something that would draw attention to themselves, but by being true to their own beliefs and by making a difference to the people around them.
What could make a person transform from a family-man-school-teacher to a weapon-wielding-meth-cook? The first season of the television series, Breaking Bad, shows Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher, beginning to adopt traits and perform actions that would be described by Mike Alsford as those of a super villain. Unlike many characters discussed in Alsford’s book, Heroes and Villains, Walter White seems to lack a definite arc of good slowly giving way to evil in his development. Precisely stated in an article by Sean T. Collins for Rolling Stone, "Walter White doesn't have a character arc. He has a character slope." The villain inside takes over quickly once awoken out of necessity, as if it had always been a part of him, resting in a state of hibernation until Walt’s life is drastically altered by the devastating news of his impending death from cancer.
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.
Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club uses much characterization. Each character is portrayed in different yet similar ways. When she was raised, she would do whatever she could to please other people. She even “gave up her life for her parents promise” (49), I the story The Red Candle we get to see how Tan portrays Lindo Jong and how she is brought to life.
In the novel, Lisa, written by Carol Matas, the main character, Lisa has become a heroic person. People become courageous after they have gone through a tragic event. Lisa becomes braver through her experience on her first mission, she learns to become adventurous through relationship with her mentors, and expanding her fearlessness through experiences with her allies. During her hero’s journey, Lisa developes by becoming a braver and stronger person, therefore she is able to help her family and friends find freedom.
Heroes. Everyone wants to be a hero, but sometimes, people lose sight of what a true hero really is. It does not have to be someone who flies around and saves innocent people from perilous monsters. A hero is simply someone that inspires others. In Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior was a hero because he rose above the expectations the world placed on him through his courage, passionate determination, and sympathetic perception.
What is a hero? Many people think instantly about, police officers, fire fighters, or perhaps a person that saves the day such as “Batman” or “superman”, but in reality a hero are not just people that save the day or other from harm. A hero can also be your parent, or parents that are there for you through your good and bad or even right and wrong days; or your brother or sister that perhaps worry about you and is determine to teach you well, this way you do not commit the same mistake they once did or saw growing up. The novel “In the time of the butterflies” the three sisters are known to be hero’s for standing up and sticking to their beliefs. But a hero is not only those that die for their country or others, it takes a
Throughout Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club, the reader can see the difficulites in the mother-daughter relationships. The mothers came to America from China hoping to give their daughters better lives than what they had. In China, women were “to be obedient, to honor one’s parents, one’s husband, and to try to please him and his family,” (Chinese-American Women in American Culture). They were not expected to have their own will and to make their own way through life. These mothers did not want this for their children so they thought that in America “nobody [would] say her worth [was] measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch…nobody [would] look down on her…” (3). To represent everything that was hoped for in their daughters, the mothers wanted them to have a “swan- a creature that became more than what was hoped for,” (3). This swan was all of the mothers’ good intentions. However, when they got to America, the swan was taken away and all she had left was one feather.
Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club describes the lives of first and second generation Chinese families, particularly mothers and daughters. Surprisingly The Joy Luck Club and, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts are very similar. They both talk of mothers and daughters in these books and try to find themselves culturally. Among the barriers that must be overcome are those of language, beliefs and customs.
When analyzing the Joy Luck club it is important to consider the life of the author. It is apparent after studying both The Joy Luck Club and Amy Tan that there are some incredible similarities among the two, particularly the story of mother Suyuan-Woo and her daughter Jing-Mei Woo. Suyuan is a main character and plays an extremely important role in the novel even though she passed away. She created the Joy Luck club years ago and is the main reason why this tight kit family exists today. Suyuan decided to create the Joy Luck club during a ve...
One well-known example of “The Hero’s Journey” from popular culture is the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling. In the novel, Harry Potter, the main character, is the chosen one and “The Hero’s Journey” applies to his life from the moment he is attacked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as a baby. Joseph Campbell calls the initial phase of a hero’s development the “Call to Adventure.” The call is the in... ...
There is another type of hero that almost no one is aware of. In the poorest areas of the country, live mostly minorities and other ethic background. All their lives they’ve been expected to work harder and expected not succeed in life. Some individuals living in poverty with a determination to succeed work hard all of their lives to become what everybody doubted they could. Escaping the crime, drugs, and prostitution is enough to escape hell, even if they don’t go to college. Despite of their financial problems, drug and crime surroundings, or difficulties in the language skills, their desire to triumph fuels their persistence. Those who make it to success are the few living examples of the purest form of hero anyone can be. They are not only their own heroes but also the heroes of the poor children who dream of becoming like them someday.
Mother-Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club In the Joy Luck Club, the author Amy Tan, focuses on mother-daughter relationships. She examines the lives of four women who emigrated from China, and the lives of four of their American-born daughters. The mothers: Suyuan Woo, An-Mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-Ying St. Clair had all experienced some life-changing horror before coming to America, and this has forever tainted their perspective on how they want their children raised.
An example of heroism in action is when acts of feelings and unreasonability forges a brighter future from the pits of darkness with only the faintest glows of light. An example of heroism could be that in dire situations a hero emerges from an ordinary person when he or she rises up to the occasion and performs the extraordinary. Ana is a victim of the treacherous disease of cancer, and is a wholesome example of heroism, she fought cancer with a smile and went above and beyond to make her family’s lives as normal as possible, as if cancer was a distant memory. Furthermore, heroism could be, when one is made from the pure truthfulness in one’s heart, cherishing every soul without hesitation.