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Essay / Mother-Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club
As complex as they may be, Tan's novel pays particular attention to the special bond between mothers and daughters, which is extremely valued and powerful . For example, after An-mei's mother tries to save Popo by adding her own flesh to a Chinese soup, An-mei realizes, "This is how a daughter honors her mother." It’s so deep it’s in your bones” (Tan 48). From the relationship displayed between An-Mei's mother and grandmother, she realizes that the bond is still strong even though Popo forbade her from coming home and An-Mei from talking about her. Tan illustrates how, despite the countless differences and problems a daughter and a mother may have, deep down, mothers still love and care for their daughters and their mothers' daughters. Additionally, Born of a Stranger, published in 2009 by Gloria Shen, describes the mother-daughter relationship in the novel, through the illustration: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Although the mothers all have different names and individual stories, they seem interchangeable in that they all have similar personalities: strong, determined, and blessed with mysterious power - and they all exhibit the same concerns regarding the well-being of their daughters. As a result, mothers try to cling to their daughters possessively and the daughters fight to get away from their mothers. (Shen) Essentially, Tan describes how mothers' lives, although different, all develop similar mindsets and convey their love through their life stories to help their daughters understand the meaning of their actions. The mothers want to keep their daughters close and teach them the lessons of their own Chinese upbringing, but the girls strive to be independent from their mothers. Additionally, after the mothers discover that Jing-Mei never really knew her mother, she realizes, "They see girls who get impatient when their mothers speak in Chinese, who think they're stupid when 'They explain things in fragmented English... They see girls who will bear grandchildren born without any hope of bonding passed down from generation to generation.' The mothers see their own daughters reflected in Jing-mei and realize how little she knew about her own mother's past and realize that the relationships with their daughters are the same and their stories need to be told. Their individual decisions to tell their stories, secrets and histories are their latest attempt to bridge the gap between cultures, languages and generations and restore the mother-daughter relationship. In conclusion, through their life stories full of wisdom and sacrifice, Tan demonstrates the deep and precious bond between a mother and her daughter. An-Mei Hsu reveals more about her complex relationships with her mother and daughter through wisdom passed down from generation to generation. After An-Mei's mother put her flesh in the soup, she advised, "You must remove your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother before her." An-mei says her daughter has to metaphorically peel back to see her mother's love and influence underneath. All mothers and daughters are connected and daughters must honor that. But they also need to discover their individual strength independent of that of their mother. Additionally, in the article "An-Mei Hsu", Catherine Romagnolo describes how, although An-Mei feels she failed to raise her daughter in the opposite way she was raised, "Rose manages to better understand herself and her own desires by listening to thewisdom of her mother and, in the end, she manages to escape from a loveless marriage” (Romagnolo). Basically, even though An-Mei thinks she failed at raising her daughter, Rose realizes what she really needs with the help of her mother. Ultimately, Tan presents An-Mei Hsu with great sagacity given by previous generations and her attempt to pass it on to the next to continue and develop her mother-daughter relationship. Tan uses jewelry and chess pieces to illustrate a deeper meaning behind the lives and mindsets of mothers and daughters. For example, almost all mothers grew up in poor families without excessive luxury, so jewelry illustrates a mother's love for her daughter; After a Chinese New Year party, Jing-Mei recalls, "my mother gave me 'the importance of my life,' a jade pendant on a gold chain... the whole thing looked fake: too big, too green, too ornate. I stuffed the necklace in my lacquer box and forgot about it.” Jing-Mei didn't understand the jade necklace in the same way she didn't understand her mother until later in life. After her mother died, she believes that her mother was the only person who could talk to her about the importance and sorrow of life. The jade was given to Jing-Mei not only to bring her a sense of positivity and protection, but it also expresses and reveals Suyuan's love for her daughter. Additionally, as Waverly lies on her bed after finally returning home from an argument with her mother earlier in the day, she imagines, "Her mother's black men advanced through the plane, slowly threatening each successive level as a single unit. My white pieces screamed as they rushed and fell off the board one by one.” When it comes to her relationship with her mother, the black and white chessboard pieces symbolize Waverly's black and white way of thinking, as she associates her criticism with bitterness, even though it is ultimately not the intention of Lindo Jong. Overall, through everyday objects, the novel shows a more meaningful understanding of women's thoughts. Of the many people who immigrate to America, many end up not achieving the goal they wanted. Tan reveals the irony through Jing-Mei Woo and her mother, Suyuan Woo. After losing everything in China and coming to America, Suyuan believed that anyone, including her daughter, could become hugely successful: “You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and enjoy a good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no down payment. You could become rich. You could become instantly famous. Suyuan believes in the hope of being and doing everything imaginable in the new country. Even though America is known as a land of new beginnings and new beginnings, her hopes are subsequently diminished, as she later discovers that it is not as easy as she believes. Suyuan loves her daughter and wants the best for her, such as encouraging her to become a "Chinese Shirley Temple" or a piano prodigy by sending her to a beauty training school and taking piano lessons, but ultimately Jing -Mei describes: “I didn't like his daughter. I'm not going straight to the point. I didn't become class president. I didn't get into Stanford. I left my studies.” Jing-Mei spends much of her childhood training to become a person her mother can be proud of, but ultimately, despite all the time and effort put into classes and training, Jing-Mei fails and thinks she is a disappointment and failure to her mother. Even though her daughter didn't achieve what she had planned, she still loved and supported her. In conclusion, Suyuan's hopes for, 28(3), 85-102.