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.