"” Her mom hoped to tell her the story in English and also give her the feather from her long lost swan. June’s mom died of a cerebral aneurism that also had a big effect on June because she now had to live her life without her
After the marvellous description of the service when Sister Monroe gets rather too carried away we learn about the revival meeting. This episode is a great example of Maya Angelou's writing and shows that as an adult looking back she considers that religion played an important part in her early life, she devotes a whole chapter of the book to this one event. The meeting is clearly one of the year's main events. Everybody is there no matter how exhausted they are after the days toil. They have different reasons for attending but all are there to hear the rallying cry of the preacher and the thinly veiled promise of revenge and justice on the white folks.
Nearly 40 years after the first meeting, as the novel opens, Suyuan Woo has died and her place at the mah jongg table is assumed by her 36-year-old daughter, Jing-mei. Like many another American-born child of immigrants, Jing-mei has little understanding of her mother's values or the world that shaped them, although recently, the general interest in ethnicity has prompted her to revive her Chinese name, "Jing-mei,'' in preference to the American "June May,'' and has made her more curious about her roots. When her Joy Luck "aunties'' (Lindo Jong, An-mei Hsu, and Ying-ying St. Clair) offer Jing-mei a trip to China to meet her long-lost half sisters, whom Suyuan was forced to abandon as infants while fleeing war-torn Guilin, the "aunties'' (now edging into their 70s) urge Jing-mei to tell her half sisters the story of the mother they never knew. The trouble is, Jing-mei feels she never really knew her mother, either - a feeling shared by the other Joy Luck daughters: Waverly Jong, Rose Hsu Jordan, and Lena St. Clair. The daughters' difficulty in comprehending their mothers
The problem of telling the story of eight different people in a single book is tackled with a Mahjong game, the connecting principle for the otherwise detached families. The Mahjong game has become a tradition for the immigrant parents and a chance to meet and share their daily experiences, worries and dreams. It is their attempt to hold on to the past, their native home and their ancient traditions. The mothers named their group that meets for these Mahjong games on a regular basis, The Joy Luck Club. The emphasis of Amy Tan’s work lies on the interpersonal relationships between each mother and her daughter; their differences and their similarities.
The culture not only affects their relationships, but the decisions they make along their journey and their resolve. Culture first of all, is probably the most important concept that Amy Tan focuses on during The Joy Luck Club. Take this exemplary quotation, “Five months ago, after a crab dinner celebration Chinese New Year, my mother gave me my “life’s importance,” a jade pendant on a gold chain.” (197) June’s mother (Suyaun) bestows the name “life’s importance” for the pendant to her daughter. June does not appreciate it saying that she “forgot about it.”, missing the entire point her mother was trying to show her. This shows the cultural differences (i.e.
Jing-mei was raised in America, a very different atmosphere than her Mother, who lived in China for most of her life. Consequently they have conflicting perspectives on their situation. Having grown up in China, her mother sees the opportunity that had never been available to her, something that’s impossible for her daughter to understand, and attempted to live vicariously through her. This initiates their conflict, because in response to her mother’s wishes to exploit her daughter’s potential to be someone extraordinary, Jing-mei
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.
Power In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan writes about a character, Lindo Jong, a young woman growing up in China while enduring an arranged marriage. She is not extremely happy about the situation but wants to satisfy her parents’ wishes. Lindo learns about the powers of invisible strength and uses them to her advantage. Lindo’s invisible strength helps her through her struggle to retain her Chinese identity. Lindo Jong learns from an early age the powers of invisible strength, which is hiding one’s thoughts until the time is right to reveal them, and believing in one’s inner self even when one finds oneself in trouble.
At first Jing-mei liked the idea, but after all of her attempts and fails she wanted to live a normal American life. (Tan, 125-126) Both stories have struggles, and events that occur to lead to have similar endings. In the movie Mulan after Mulan takes her father’s place in the army, she ends up going to battle and saving China from the dreaded Huns. She ends up coming home with the Huns leaders sword, the emperors crest, and honor to her family. (Mulan) In “Two Kinds” Jing-mei has many attempts to try to become a prodigy, the failure of her last attempt is what ended it all.
Aunt Baba had cared for Adeline since she was two weeks old, when her mother died. Adeline always asked to see pictures of her mother but Aunt Baba had no pictures her. Adeline learned years later that her father had ordered all pictures of her mother destroyed. Chinese Cinderella Topics for Discussion • How old was Adeline when her mother died? Why did some of her older siblings blame Adeline for their mother's death?