Mother Daughter Relationships - Family Relations in Amy...

Family Relations in The Joy Luck Club One passage, from the novel The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan, reveals the complex relations and emotions that are involved in families. This passage concerns the story of four Chinese women and their daughters. The author leads the reader through the experiences of the mothers as they left China and came to America. The daughters have been raised in America, as Americans. This is what the mothers had wanted although it also causes them great distress. This is illustrated in the passage I have chosen. â€Å"My daughter wanted to go to China for her second honeymoon, but now she is afraid. â€Å"What if I blend in so well they think I’m one of them?† Waverly asked me. â€Å"What if they†¦show more content†¦Pee-pee, choo-choo train, eat, close light sleep. How can she think she can blend in? Only her skin and her hair are Chinese. Inside - she is all American - made. It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix? I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody, make the landlord fix it. You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an umbrella. Or you can go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you. She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing. How to know your own worth and polish it, ne ver flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best. No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuckShow MoreRelatedAmy Tan: A Brief Biography757 Words   |  3 PagesAmy Tan is an American Chinese writer most notably known for her critically acclaimed novel The Joy Luck Club, amongst many others. Amy Ruth Tan was born on February 19, 1952, in Oakland California to John and Daisy Tan. Both of Amy’s parents were Chinese immigrants who fled from China to escape hardships. Amy’s mother, Daisy, divorced her abusive husband and left behind three daughters before immigrating to the United States and marrying Amy’s father, John. The marriage produced three children,Read More Mother-daughter Relations and Clash of Cultures in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club2470 Words   |  10 Pages     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Amy Tan is an American Born Chinese, daughter of immigrants, and her family shares many features with the families depicted in her novels. Tans novels offer some glimpses of life in China while developing the themes of mother-daughter relations, cultural adaptation and women with a past.   Tan’s novels share many themes and elements, but this paper will focus mainly on two episodes of the novel The Joy Luck Club: The Joy Luck Club and Waiting Between the Trees; and will make referencesRead MoreAnalysis Of Two Kinds By Amy Tan1567 Words   |  7 Pagescomplex relationships is that of a mother and daughter. Amy Tan is an author who writes about her life growing up as an Asian-American in Chinatown. Her novel The Joy Luck Club is a series of short stories about Chinese mothers and their assimilated daughters. One of these stories is â€Å"Two Kinds,† which looks into the life of Jing-Mei Woo and her struggle to gain a sense of self. Some key themes in The Joy Luck Club are the generational and intercultural differences among Chinese-American families, theRead MoreThe Joy Luck Club1447 Words   |  6 Pageswave of immigration to the United States took place bringing with it a new classification of American. However due to the intimidating cultural and social standards of the United States assimilation was inevitable. In reading Amy Tans thought provoking novel The Joy Luck Club, I am reminded of what has been termed for many decades as the American Dream. Based on the foundations of the Declaration of Independence, this dream entails the idea that we are all, regardless of race or creed, entitledRead MoreTheme Of Love In The Joy Luck Club1029 Words   |  5 Pages and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.† This quote relates perfectly to The Joy Luck Club, which skillfully explores the relationships of different mother, daughter pairs, illuminating the different ways love affects these relations. Thro ughout the novel The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan displays how different forms of love in the stories not only show how mothers love their daughters, and vise versa, but also display how the love love shared between the pairs heal broken bonds, createRead MoreA Pair Of Tickets By Amy Tan1651 Words   |  7 Pages A Pair of Tickets Amy Tan was Chinese –American, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants. Amy didn’t set out to be a writer, but she loved writing. When she wrote the Joy Luck Club, it was about stories from four different families that met every week and played mahjong, ate Chinese food, and told stories. Amy didn’t realize how much of these stories she absorbed growing up. Amy never set out to write about her own life, but when she began writing, she realized she had unconscientiously subsumedRead More The Joy Luck Club Essay2220 Words   |  9 PagesThe Joy Luck Club In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan’s first novel, short-story-like vignettes alternate back and forth between the lives of four Chinese women in pre-1949 China and lives of their American-born daughters in California. The book is a mediation on the divided nature of this emigrant life. The novel is narrated horizontally as well as vertically; friendships and rivalries develop among the daughters as well as the mothers.(Matuz 92) As Jing Mei Woo describes, â€Å"Auntie LinRead MoreHuman Oppressiveness in Two Kinds and AP Essay2357 Words   |  10 PagesIt was Emerson who said it best, â€Å"For nonconformity, the world whips you with its displeasure† (Porter 1155). With a detailed look of Amy Tan’s â€Å"Two Kinds† and John Updike’s â€Å"AP,† you will find that this quote is entirely applicable in the context of oppressiveness and in the likeness of â€Å"coming of age.† These two stories document the different perspectives of two characters’ growing up and how the role of the invisible hand of oppression guides developing adolescents into mature adults; without