Lifes Sacrifices
By: Parker Jay
Subjection
The parable I found most interested in was "Feather From A Thousand LI Away". This parable really spoke out to me about the hardships a woman faced during that time and how they were not treated as equal to men. With essentially no freedom in her early life, Lindo Jong experiences a sense of desperation and despair "Because I was promised to the Huangs' son for marriage, my own family began treating me as if I belonged to somebody else" (Tan 50).
Unforgotten Love
Another mother daughter duo that interests me is the Woo family. The mother and daughter of the Woo family show examples that you can be left with all your moms memories and traditions even after she is gone and nothing has to be forgotten. To me that sounds very important and is a topic I would be interested to know more about and how it is expressed more in the book.
Never Change
"I remember the day when I finally knew a genuine thought and could follow where it went. That was the day I was a young girl with my face under a red marriage scarf. I promised not to forget myself" (Tan 66). This quote from Lindo Jong shows how she has overcome her feeling of sadness and despair with hope that she will never forget who she is. The quote reaches out to the reader and details how hard Lindo's early life was, following her young marriage and the issues that arose.
Final Outlook
In the "Joy Luck Club", Amy Tan presents the idea that the Jongs must make sacrifices in order to please their families by any means, even if it is a tough choice. Lindo makes many great sacrifices in order to please both her families. Her mother, before Lindo is forced to leave makes one statement that sticks with Lindo, "Obey your family. Do not disgrace us,' she said. 'Act happy when you arrive. Really, you're very lucky'" (Tan 54). Waverly is introduced to chess in "Rules of the Game" by her mother. Waverly finds herself being very good and wins, she wins and becomes stuck playing chess to pleaser her mother. Playing for her mother, a great sacrifice because she knows her mother just likes to brag and gloat about the wins "Why do you have to use me to show off? If you want to show off, then why don't you learn to play chess" (Tan 99). Waverly later overcomes that sacrifice, and begins to make decisions for herself. She meets a nice man who she intends to marry but stumbles into complication. this complication is because Waverly is afraid her mother will not approve of this man. Waverly continues to be pressed by her mother even while Waverly is an adult. The whole legacy of this mother and daughter duo has been related to sacrifice for the family in one way or another. Making such sacrifices for the ones you love is really what this duo is about, and making decisions for yourself that will affect you for the rest of your life.