The daughters disagree and believe divorce is ok. The Mothers belief stems from old Chinese culture while the daughters belief stems from American culture where divorces are very common. Another chinese belief the mothers believe that every women should be married. That conflicts with the american belief that a woman is not required to get married, this creates conflict among the daughters. The daughters of the members of the joy luck club grow up struggling to balance
However, because reader are learning all of the information from her, reader never truly understand why the mother is pushing her daughter so hard to be something she clearly does not want to be. Readers are given very little information about her life or culture in China before she came to the United States. Therefore, the mother comes across as harsh and cruel. When the mother says, "Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter," the mother seems inflexible, stubborn and even a bit abusive.
I know my mother probably told her I was going back to school to finish my degree.” (Tan 27) As the chapter is coming to an end and the night is at its peak, Jing-Mei starts to get up to leave but when the women stop her and tell June that her mother had left behind two infant twin daughters in China, she was shocked. “My sisters, I repeat to myself, saying these two words together for first time” (Tan
In most cases this is true, for when they grow up they eventually figure out that they can reflect (retrace) their problems to that of their parents, and later understand what they had to go through. In the story The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, Jing-mei is (acts like) an ignorant girl to her mother. Whatever tactic her mother tries on her to make her a better person she rejects. Jing-mei is constantly trying to hide her Chinese heritage and even changes her name to “June” to conform to American ways. But as she moves on in life, she begins to regret her past actions and finds out that her mother’s difficulties and problems, are (now) put on her shoulders and (now) for her to solve.
Amy Chua gives a great example of the contrast between the cultures, she tell her readers how Chinese parents and western parents would react if their kid came home with an A minus “ the Chinese parent would gasp in horror and ask what went wrong” (p. 3 l 2) “A western parent would support and praise the child.” Later in the article Amy Chua comes with one of her statements, again“if a Chinese child gets a B – which would never happen” (p 3, l 21). When she point that out, Amy Chua make her readers believe that, if you raise your child like Amy your children would never get B. “What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fin until you’re good at it” (p. 2 l 15). This is the third time in her article, she mention her statement, and she make it sound
Her desire to learn more about her mother’s past and culture, only pushes her to make her mother’s dream come true and to finally get rid of the guilt conscience. By pushing herself into finding her Chinese roots, she finds a part of herself. She realizes her mother was right by telling her, “Once you are born Chinese, you can not help but feel and think Chinese”(Tan 128). The setting plays an important role that helps the story clear on how June May discovers what makes her Chinese and how she came to this discovery.
When she travels to China, she discovers the Chinese essence within herself, thus realizing a deep connection to her mother that she had always ignored. She also brings Suyuan’s story to her long-lost twin daughters, and, once reunited with her half-sisters, gains an even more profound understanding of who her mother was.For the most part, Jing-mei’s fears echo those of her peers, the other daughters of the Joy Luck Club members. They have always identified with Americans but are beginning to regret having neglected their Chinese heritage. Her fears also speak to a reciprocal fear shared by the mothers, who wonder whether, by giving their daughters American opportunities and self-sufficiency, they have alienated them from their Chinese heritage.Jing-mei is representative in other ways as well. She believes that her mother’s constant criticism bespeaks a lack of affection, when in fact her mother’s severity and high expectations are expressions of love and faith in her daughter.
Suyuan’s most cherished wish was that she could be reunited with her long-lost twin daughters. The friends urge her to go to China and tell her sisters about their mother. Jing-mei doesn’t think that she’s capable of telling her twin sisters about their mother because Jing-mei isn’t sure she knew their mom herself. She travels to China and realizes that she’s more Chinese than she thought. She learns about her own identity while also learning about her mother.
As an adult, Wong realizes that she had lost an opportunity to become a more complete Individual when she let go Chinese identity. Part 2: Reaction In “The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl.” Wong talks about her cultural experience. It is sad that she denied her Chinese culture and missed the chance to have a mixed culture. She refused to accept her Chinese origins, which her family was intent on keeping. Chinese culture has a long history, and to inherit one’s culture is valuable; Wong should have cherished it.
Living Through Your Child in “Two Kinds” The 20th Century short story “Two Kinds” by author Amy Tan tells about the life of a young Chinese girl and her family who immigrated to The Unites States. The young girl’s name is Jing Mei. Jing Mei’s mother always wanted the best for her. She wanted her daughter to become a prodigy at the age of nine. Jing Mei’s mother forces her to try different things that the mother wants her to do to become a prodigy.