Waverly Jong In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

Lindo Jong and Waverly Jong’s points of view differ when it comes to their overall appreciation of a person's effort. As a result, they often fail to communicate clearly with one another which coincidentally leads to arguments. The story explains, in one situation where Waverly was speaking with Lindo about her success, Waverly was curious enough to ask Lindo, “Why do you have to use me to show off”(Tan 99). Rather than correcting Waverly, she let Waverly run away in frustration, and was reluctant to talk to her when she returned. This goes to show that Lindo didn’t come to realization of Waverly’s hard work, or even her status on sharing her success. Taking into account prior situations, it could be easy to assume that she is slow to understand

others strive for success. Not only does Lindo explicitly explain her emotion towards her family, but she is also quick to express her initial sentiment on certain situations.

This statement is true, even when debriefing a set of circumstances that involves strangers. On one occasion, Waverly had taken her mother out to eat at her favorite chinese restaurant. However, Waverly was displeased to be asked by her mother, “This greasy thing, do you expect me to eat with it”(Tan 166). After taking Waverly’s mother’s attitude into consideration, it is easy to assume that Waverly would be influenced by her mother, and would agree with her instead of creating a new problem. Yet this is not the case, since Waverly unexpectedly confronted her mother of making rude remarks. After they finished their meal, Lindo complained about how unsatisfying her it was to eat. Instead of instantly agreeing with her mother, she realized that her mother was dissatisfied with somethething she mistakenly ordered. Also, Waverly unlike her mother, tries to reward others for their effort, and in this case the workers goal was to deal with Lindo. After analyzing the two different situations, it’s simple to comprehend that both value others work ethic differently, and are always willing to support their point of

view.
Acceptance must play a role on the journey to success.

Throughout the story of Waverly and Lindo, the pair was forced to adjust to certain situations. In other words, they had to approve of questionable factors in order to achieve a goal. During Waverly’s childhood, Lindo made it clear that in order to have a pleasant lifestyle they must, “do business, do medicine, do painting. Not like lazy American people. We do torture. Best torture”(Tan 91). Lindo explains to her daughter, that they must adapt to their current situation in order to achieve success. On another occasion, Lindo scolded Waverly for letting her opponent capture too many of her chess pieces. Even though Waverly provided a vivid explanation, she still told her to, “win more, lose less’’(Tan 97). Waverly knowing that she would not get through to her mother, decided to leave the conversation on that note, rather than arguing and making the situation worse. Consequently the reader can infer, that Waverly had a tough childhood because of having to overcome the challenge of dealing with her misunderstanding mother. Finally, the eventful journey finally comes to an end after Waverly gets married. Nevertheless, the lessons of the mother are portrayed through Waverly, but in a much more realistic and respectful manner. From childhood to adulthood, Waverly never seems to lose sight of her morals or take them for granted, for she is the only daughter of Lindo. This may be the case, to why Waverly may have felt that her

mother was trying to relive her life through her. Also, this may be the reasoning to why she was celebrating Waverly’s success more than Waverly when she was a chess champion. Either way, it is important to take into a account questionable factors since they may possibly be the path to a successful life.