Cyclical Blog

There are many ways how the Joy Luck Club stories are cyclical. First, the stories connect at the end and go to the different type of character. It continues to do that but there is always a big step of development. Many of the items that are portrayed in the book at the end were from earlier parts such as the photograph and other items. Other things that are cyclical are the issues they go through such as the trouble of marriage, strict mothers, and trying to find their identity whether it remains Chinese or American. An example of marriage would be both The Red Candle and Magpies which are both chapters talking about marriages of hell. Both Magpies and Red Candle's marriages are arranged and the husband does not seem loyal to the wife.

Some other cyclical examples would be how many mothers are strict or really want to influence their daughters  in the story. Each mother acts differently but they all see the mother as superior. There are many stories where the mothers are very strict towards their daughter so that they can teach them a lesson. An example of that would be Waverly Jong and her mother Lindo who deserts her at the end to teach her a lesson that she should  think about her family. In the last two chapters, the mothers are more looking forward to the future and hope their daughters become independent and wise women. Even if that means put them in marriages which cause chaos for the whole family. However, the attitude of the mother brings everything together at the end and a new step or a generation begins.

Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long cherished wish (288)

This shows that the mother can cause happiness and another journey for her daughters and her granddaughters.

The purpose of cyclical elements in the novel is to show how the main idea or character is the purpose of the story. An example of that would be the mother daughter relationships and how they became the strength of the Joy luck Club.

Similarites

A month ago, I wrote a blog about Amy Chua and her article titled "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior". I also wrote blogs about a book called "The Joy Luck Club".

When I read Amy Chua's article and some of the stories of Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club", I can see some of the similarities between the two. In Amy Chua's article, she talks about what Chinese mothers go through supposed to "Western mothers". She explains why Chinese mothers are strict while Western parents are more relaxed when it comes to their children.

What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences

From that, Chinese parents are very strict and have something Western parents don't.

In Joy Luck Club, there is a section called "The Twenty-Six Malignant Games"where mother and daughter relationships are mainly targeted. The story I chose to write about was the first one" Rules of the Game". Rules of the Game is about a young girl named Waverly Jong who decides to like the game of chess. Her mother sees this and wants her daughter to become a child prodigy. When Waverly does, mother Lindo pressures her to succeed and not fail.

If I lost, I would bring shame on my family, 'Is shame you fall down, nobody push you', said my mother.

To Waverly, it is just a game and fun to play. However, Lindo does not see this and wishes that she doesn't fail or else her family does not accept her. This is similar to Amy Chua's perspective and how she talks about the situation she had with her daughter in the article. In the article, her daughter decides not to play piano anymore which Chua gets angry about. She wishes her daughter would continue and not give up. The way Chua and Lindo handle the situation is harsh as well. At the end of Rules of Game, Lindo disowns Waverly becuase she gave up being a prodigy. In Chua's article, she barely fed Lulu (the daughter) and called her cowardly, lazy, and pathetic. She is only seven years old!

Both mothers are very strict towards their young daughters, which relates to why Chua says that Chinese mothers are superior.

Intro of Twenty Six Malignant Gates

Amy Tan's purpose behind writing the intro on pg. 87 for section 2 (Twenty Six Malignnat Gates) was to write about what the theme of the section of the book. Basically what happens in the intro is that the daughter does not listen to the mother because she seems like she is speaking nonsense. The daughter does not listen to the mother and goes for what she believes and fails at the end. In Rules of the Game, the young girl is in love with the game of chess. Waverly Jong's mother Lindo started to brag about her daughter's playing, which embarassed Waverly and made her upset at her mother. Lindo then tells Waverly that "if she is not concerned for her family, then her family is not concerned for her." This relates to what Amy Tan was illustrating in her intro. The mother eventually gives up on her daughter and leaves the young daughter feeling sad and that she failed.

In the Voice of the Wall, it is more feeling sad than anything else. Lena feels bad after her motherYing Ying fnds herself crazy and the fact that she lost her baby. The intro relates because it is sort of in reverse. Lena is not the one who is hardheaded and really fails. she is sad about the misfortune her mother goes through. However, Ying Ying starts to have psychological problems and Lena starts to have some too. Then, Lena realizes that she may not be crazy but the rest of the story is left hangign like the intro.

Tan may be doing this for all the intros- to get a main idea of what the stories in the section may be about.

The Joy Luck Club Post

"Family and honor should take priority over the rights of the individual family member." In my opinion, I find this statement in between- meaning that I feel it is both true and false because I feel that family should focus on everyone in the family and not just one person. However, if one person in the family needs help or is in major trouble then the family should pay attention or think about how they can help the certain member and the situation they are in. Then again, it depends on what the situation may be because the family member may have done something very ridiculous.

The question is "How do you think An-mei and her mother would respond to this statement?" I believe that it would be in- between with them. An-mei who cares deeply about her mother would want her to be a part of the family again. However,the rest of her family would disagree and believe it is true. They would do this because they do not see how they should pay more attention to one family memeber instead of the whole family. An-mei was young to understand the hate her family had towards the actions her mother made. As An-Mei grew up, she now realizes the importance of family and how she has to deal with the future and eventually let go of the past.