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Symbolism In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

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On the contrary, Waverly's mother kept her Chinese heritage throughout the story, unlike Waverly. Her mother was the antagonist in the story and her viewpoint is of a Chinese-American who does not fully understand American culture. By keeping her Chinese heritage she displayed how proud she was of Waverly. However, she did not understand her daughter fully. In the text, Waverly's mother stated, "Next time win more, lose less" (Tan 504). Waverly told her mother that the amount did not matter, but her mother still was set on the idea that to win chess, the player needed to lose the least amount of pieces. An example of when Mrs. Jong took pride in her Chinese culture was when she stated that "Chinese people do many things. Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people. We do torture. Best torture." (Tan 499). This showed that her joy in Waverly's accomplishments is evidence of her great pride. However, the plot was greatly affected because of the conflict between the two …show more content…

Tan created a clear setting for the reader by describing the people, places, and grime of the neighborhood. Since Waverly’s family did not have much money, they were forced to live in a poor part of Chinatown. Tan created a poverty-ridden setting by stating, in the story, that the community Christmas party was held, "...at the end of the alley” (499). Through this statement, it is clear that Waverly's community was unable to afford a place to hold their Christmas party, so they were required to have it at the end of the alley. Tan stated that Waverly was, "...eight by the Chinese calendar" (500). This statement not only helped the reader to get a better understanding of the time period in which the story took place, but it also directly related to the theme of cultures clashing by showing how she was young and how this impacted her views on her

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However, this was not done in Waverly’s favor. Waverly felt as if the attention was unnecessary, and that her mom was very selfish to use Waverly’s fame to improve the impression that other people had of her. The mother put all the focus on herself, as

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In “Rules of the Game,” the author directs her focus on the strained relationship between an immigrant mother and her daughter born in America but of intense Chinese background. The narrator, Waverly Jong describes her encounter at the marketplace with her mom; who taught her the art of invincible strength. She explains how her mother termed it as a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others stating that the strongest wind never meets the eye. This lesson proves pivotal in Jong’s spectacular chess expeditions that saw her crowned national champion as well as defined the latter`s relationship with her mother, whom she often saw as an opponent. Jong becomes entrapped in her conflicting environments, forcing her to adjust accordingly to both her physical and social environment.

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In the novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, Taylor faces many obstacles. Throughout the obstacles that Taylor faces she grows and changes into a new person unlike the one that she was before. Taylor is a girl who does not want to be stuck in her home state of Kentucky any longer. She leaves her mother in Kentucky to try and find a way to create herself a new life. Becoming a mother so quickly and helping Esperanza and Estevan are obstacles that Taylor faces during trying to start her new life.

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She credits her success to her mother’s lesson of the power of invisible strength. She recounts how “my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games.” (p. 89) Waverly goes on to have a lucrative career as an attorney, while her mother 's power over her gradually wanes reminiscent of the Taitai’s power over Lindo.

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”This shows how the author developed her character in the story.

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At first Waverly was curious as to why a stranger would want to play with her, but she gave in and looked at her mom for a sign of approval. Waverly narrates: “A man who watched me play in the park suggested that my mother allow me to play in local chess tournaments. My mother smiled graciously” ( Tan, “Rules of the Game”). Waverly’s mother allows her to go and play chess with an old man showing that

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845 Words | 4 Pages

In literature, the technique of symbolism is used to convey an idea about a subject, person, or place. In the works of Amy Tan and Julia Alvarez, symbolism is influential throughout their stories. The story of ¡Yo! is a great example of how well Julia establishes the symbols of a haunting folklore to a real-life terror. Although the story of ¡Yo! takes place in the United States, it tells the story of a family that escapes from The Dominican Republic during the time of a terrifying wave of dictatorship.

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In Chinese we say, Come from South, blow with wind-poom!-North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen.” Waverly’s mother, Lindo, is saying that if she shows emotions then she won’t get what she wants in life. She has to show that she is strong at all times. Amy Tan goes on to write, “The next week I bit back my tongue [...]

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“After losing everything in China…She never looked back with regret. ”(Chunk 1 ¶3). Jing-Mei’s mother is a Chinese immigrant with the typical ‘everything is better in America’ mindset. Jing-Mei, being raised in America, had more of an American mindset. “You want me to be someone i’m not…I’ll never be the daughter you want me to be!”

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Sometimes life can be hard for those that aren’t “normal”, but then again, who is? In the book Rain Reign, a very important symbol that the author, Ann M. Martin, was trying to show readers is that Rain represents hopen and strength.. Rose is a twelve year old in fifth grade. She has Asperger’s syndrome or autism so she had to start school later. Living with only a father, life is hard for her with little money to afford comfort items and such.

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Waverly’s conclusive thoughts reveal to, “see the endgame before the game begins” (3). In a literal sense, “seeing the endgame” means predicting the outcome of your opponent before they begin to make a move. In the context of Waverly’s game, however, this phrase takes on the meaning that Waverly needs to predict her mother’s reactions before she herself acts based on her mother’s personality and habits. It is clear, therefore, that the link between the necessity of premonitions and adaptation are mirrored through Waverly’s

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(MINOR 1 FOR MAJOR A) In the story, she would consistently dedicate her time and effort in the game of chess. As a result, at age nine, she was a national chess champion. In addition, Waverly would spend countless of hours trying to discover and learn new strategic ways/techniques always to win the game. For instance, Waverly stated, “I went to school, then directly

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Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club is an amazing representation of what Chinese immigrants and their families face. The broad spectrum of the mothers’ and daughters’ stories all connect back to a couple of constantly recurring patterns. These patterns are used to show that how the mothers and daughters were so differently raised affected their relationships with each other, for better and for worse. To begin with, the ever-present pattern of disconnect between the two groups of women is used to show how drastically differently they were raised.

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In The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan, we are introduced to Suyuan and her daughter Jing-Mei “June” Woo. As with any relationship, there is conflict between Suyuan Woo and her daughter, as it seems that Jing-Mei doesn’t understand her mother’s Chinese culture and ambitions. In the Chinese culture, women are seen as inferior and often lack basic rights such as the right to marriage or financial holdings, thus deprived of their potential. This is why the rights in the U.S. are seen as privileges to Chinese women, among other minorities, and why Suyuan endeavored for her daughter to become a prodigy and excel in anything and everything. Yet as Jing-Mei was forced into this ideal, and the more her mother tried to enforce this idea, the further she begun to despise her mother for attempting to turn her into a “fraud”.

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1159 Words | 5 Pages

That in return turns into resentment within the mother daughter relationship. In a study performed by Akm Aminur Rashid that was published in the Journal Of Humanities And Social Science states Mrs. Woo “places unreasonable expectations on the shoulders of her young tender daughter. While the mother may not exactly know where her daughter’s prodigal talents lie, she is nevertheless adamant that her daughter is destined for greatness, by virtue of having been born in America” (Matondang, A. Yakub, and Dja’Far Siddik, IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Www.iosrjournals.org). Although, Tan’s story is set 29 years ago, this issue of elevated expectations and cultural differences still remains today.

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