Lost and Found
By: Grant Kipp
Favorite Parable
Other Mother-Daughter Pair
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In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan presents the idea that identity is influenced by one's heritage and no matter how hard someone tries, their true identity will never change. All of the mothers in this book were born in China and tried to force Chinese heritage upon their daughters. They wanted their "...children to have the best possible combination: American circumstances and Chinese character," (Tan 254). They don't realize they can't change who their daughters are because their daughters were born and raised in different circumstances than they were. No matter how much the daughters appreciate their mother's Chinese culture and heritage, they will always be American on the inside. Most of the interactions in this book is the mother and daughters trying to relate to each other, despite their different upbringings.