Joy Luck Club #2
In the vignette The Red Candle, Lindo Jong tells of her childhood story in China. In continuing reading the Joy Luck Club I have notice that the vignettes deal with very influential maternal figures. Jong sacrificed her happiness for her family's name sake. Aside from her being utterly miserable she tried to convince herself that she did not have a bad life and that it was her duty as a daughter to do this for her mom. However, Lindo lived a life of near enslavement to her husband and her mother-in-law. Instead of blaming her family for leaving her behind, Lindo sympathizes with her mother even though she may of acted stern or cold. Instead she portrays this tradition that requires family to sacrifice. The mother's tough actions may have been a way of preventing herself from the pain of having to give up her daughter but it was also a way of preparing Lindo to harden up because she'd have to face similar sorrows soon. Lindo even defends her by saying,"My mother did not treat me this way because she didn't love me. She would say this biting back her tongue so she wouldn't wish for something that wasn't hers." Even though Lindo recognizes that she lives by a strict tradition, she still greatly values the tradition of duty and loyalty. "I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents' promise. This means nothing to you, because to you promises mean nothing." Lindo highly values her mother's commitment to the marriage contract in word and deed which is why she complains about American daughters nowadays breaking a promise very easily. When Lindo herself made a promise to her family that made her miserable, degraded her, humiliated her and required a lot of sacrifice. Her heavy criticism reflects how much she respects her culture, doesn't matter what she had to go through.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
The Joy Luck Club Blog #1
The parable, Scar, from Feathers from a thousand Li away, is a short story about An Mei Hsu's family's relationship. The title, Scar, is meant to not only symbolize her permanent physical scar but also her psychological one. The day Hsu was not permitted to go with her mother but had to stay with her grandmother was the day she got her scars because not only was a cauldron of hot soup spilled on her but her mother abandoned her after the death of Hsu's father. An-mei scar represents her tie to her mother. Her wound functions as a symbol of An-mei's daughter’s bond to her mother. Hsu recognizes how hard it was living with her grandmother Popo but she never rebelled or did anything to find her mother because she respected her elders. One of the themes of this parable is tradition, culture and having respect for your elders. An-mei’s story is also about respect for the ancient ways and respecting your elders. This shown through An Mei's admiration yet fear of her grandmother. She described as always being afraid of all the stories her grandmother told her but yet she obeyed because she feared being like her that person whom her grandmother always described in her stories, her mother.
She understood that her mother’s attempt to cure Popo by cutting her own flesh and putting it in a soup was an act of deep love and appreciation. Instead of being angry with her mother for abandoning her and leaving her through a very hard time, An-mei, sympathize with her mother and she tries to excuse their mothers’ actions by describing a tradition that requires women to sacrifice their daughters.
The parable, Scar, from Feathers from a thousand Li away, is a short story about An Mei Hsu's family's relationship. The title, Scar, is meant to not only symbolize her permanent physical scar but also her psychological one. The day Hsu was not permitted to go with her mother but had to stay with her grandmother was the day she got her scars because not only was a cauldron of hot soup spilled on her but her mother abandoned her after the death of Hsu's father. An-mei scar represents her tie to her mother. Her wound functions as a symbol of An-mei's daughter’s bond to her mother. Hsu recognizes how hard it was living with her grandmother Popo but she never rebelled or did anything to find her mother because she respected her elders. One of the themes of this parable is tradition, culture and having respect for your elders. An-mei’s story is also about respect for the ancient ways and respecting your elders. This shown through An Mei's admiration yet fear of her grandmother. She described as always being afraid of all the stories her grandmother told her but yet she obeyed because she feared being like her that person whom her grandmother always described in her stories, her mother.
She understood that her mother’s attempt to cure Popo by cutting her own flesh and putting it in a soup was an act of deep love and appreciation. Instead of being angry with her mother for abandoning her and leaving her through a very hard time, An-mei, sympathize with her mother and she tries to excuse their mothers’ actions by describing a tradition that requires women to sacrifice their daughters.
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