Looking for a New Life
Jake Kroencke
Parable
My favorite parable was Feathers from a Thousand Li Away because it presents the idea that the power of hope can strive you towards new beginnings. The mother gives her daughter whats left of the swan and tells her '"This feather may look worthless, but it comes from afar and carries with it all my good intentions"'(Amy Tan 17). This shows how far the mother took the feather in hope that it would show her daughter how much she actually cares about her.
Mother/Daughter Pair-Jong
Lindo teaches her daughter something she will never forget, and that will stay with her for the rest of her life. Waverley "was six when [her] mother taught [her] 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"(Amy Tan 89). She teaches her daughter this because she wants to create a stronger bond with her and show her how to deal with the real world.
Favorite Quote
My favorite quote is when Lindo tells Waverley that she doesn't look Chinese, which upsets her even though she would have had the opposite reaction if she told her the same thing when she was younger. "My daughter did not look pleased when I told her this, that she didn’t look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray! – as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her! She followed my Chinese ways only until she learned how to walk out the door by herself and go to school "(Amy Tan 253). This shows that Waverley's identity has changed from when she was younger and that she wants to be Chinese.
Theme Paragraph
In The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan presents the idea that identity can change from what one realize around them. Linda realizes this when she witnesses the power of the wind. "I asked myself, what is true about a person? Would I change in the same way the river changes color but still be the same person? And then I saw the curtains blowing wildly, and outside rain was falling harder, causing everyone to scurry and shout. I smiled. And then I realized it was the first time I could see the power of the wind. I couldn’t see the wind itself, but I could see it carried the water that filled the rivers and shaped the countryside. It caused men to yelp and dance "(Amy Tan 58). Lindo's identity is shaped by the wind because it shows her to be strong and true to herself. It also teaches her that even if her identity changes she will still be the same person.