Mothers are our best friends and worst enemies. We talk to them about everything going on in our lives and share many good memories with them, but they are also the ones that push us the hardest and put high expectations on us. Although it seems annoying at times, they do it for our own good. There are many examples of mother’s sacrifices in The Joy Luck Club. In the book, The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan uses storytelling to develop the thematic idea that mothers will go great lengths and sacrifice a lot for the betterment of their children.
Suyuan had to go through many difficult experiences in her life and had to sacrifice a lot for her children. An example of Suyuan going to great lengths for children was in China. In the beginning of the book, we are told
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The significance of perspective is apparent when Jing-Mei’s father retells Suyuan’s story at the end of the book. Suyuan ran away from her hometown to escape the Japanese attack and she kept on running until she no longer could. Suyuan “knew that she could not bear to watch her babies die with her,” so she left her children with her valuables and a note hoping a kindhearted person will take care of them and keep them safe (Tan 382). Even after Suyuan came to America, she never stopped looking for her children. She sacrificed her children and left them behind so they could be safe and have a good life. When the story was told from Jing-mei’s perspective, Suyuan seemed like a selfish mother but when Suyuan’s story was told from Jing-mei’s father’s perspective, we saw the reality of Suyuan’s sacrifice. Another example of is when she takes on an extra job so that Jing-mei could take piano classes. After Suyuan had passed away, Jing-mei reminisced about her past and told her story of when she was 9. Her mother had wanted her to be a prodigy. When Suyuan saw a piano prodigy on TV, she called Jing-mei over and