The Apple Does Not Fall from the Tree

In The Joy Luck Club, a cycle of enforcement has occurred. In the sections of the daughters they described their experiences of their mothers forcing them to do certain things that they did not want to do. It is similar to the mother’s sections because they were also forced in doing things they did not want to do. From the mother’s childhood of enforcement, then pass on the feeling of force to their daughters.

In The Red Candles, Lindo was forced to get married with a guy she did not have any special connection. She was forced to this marriage because it would be best for her. Lido said, “ This is how i became betrothed to Huang Taitia’s son... his name was Tyan-yu... But even if had known i was getting such a bad husband, I had no choice, now or later,” (Tan 51). Since she had no choice because of the match maker told her parents and Tyan-yu’s parents that they would be a great match, they arrange the marriage. For Lindo, the experience was horrible and impacted her life. It made her to stand for her self. “ It was really quite simple. I made Huang think it was their idea to get rid of me, that they would be the ones to say the marriage contract was not valid. I though about my plan for many days. I have observed everyone around me,.. and then i was ready,” (Tan 63). With her plan trying to get out the horrible marriage, it was a way of Lindo telling the Tyan-yu and his family that they do not belong with each other and she deserve better. With the events that happened to Lindo when she was a teenager, similar events occurred to Waverly Jong.

Waverly Jong is the daughter of Lindo Jong. She was too forced in doing things she did not like. At Rules of the Game, Waverly talked about how her mother forced her in playing chess. Her mother forced her to keep playing chess because Lindo believed that it would make her daughter’s life much better, but after a while Waverly got tired of playing chess. “I no longer played in the alley of Waverly Place. I never visited the playground where the pigeons and old men gathered. I went to school, then directly home to learn new chess secrets...,” (Tan 98). After winning tournaments and becoming a national chess champion, she barely had time to be a child. With her mom always in her back watching every move she made, she cannot do or say fun, including that her mother made her like a trophy to show off to everyone that looked at Lindo. Soon enough Waverly finally told her mother, enough is enough. She stood to her mother and told her that she has had it with the practice, tournaments and to flaunt her to everyone. “One day, after we left a shop i said under my breath, ‘i wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your daughter.’...’It’s just so embarrassing’,” (Tan 99). After saying that to her mother, he gave a sense of relief, but also guilt because she told her mother she was embarrassing in public. It is similar to Lindo’s childhood, on forced marriage. She forced her daughter in playing chess after it got less interesting. Also that they both stood for themselves, so that they would get out of a situation they would not be in. It concludes as the apple does not fall from the tree.

The book was structured to have similar experiences that the mothers had in their childhood and also the daughters. Like in Red Candles and Rules of the Games, Waverly Jong had similar feelings and actions as her mother Lindo Jong did. Because at Lindo’s story she had expericed force and her for her to get out of the situation she need to stand up for her self. Same has Waverly, Lindo forced to keep on playing chess even though it was less interesting, she was forced to continue playing. Until she told her mother that she had enough of playing chess. And so the apple does not fall from the tree.

Similaties and Difference of Amy Chua and Joy Luck Mothers

Amy Chua’s article about being a "great" Chinese mother has some similarities to the book Joy Luck Club written by Amy Tan. In Joy Luck Club the mothers would treat their daughters like they are items to show off. In the Rules of the Game, Waverly Jong felt the same way. She felt that her mother was showing her off until on day she had enough of her mother showing her off. “My mother placed my first trophy next to the a new plastic chess [...] As she wiped each piece with a soft cloth, she said, ‘Next time win more, lose less’,”(Tan 97). Waverly’s mother only cared about her winning instead of being proud of her. It just proves that her mother is like Amy Chua. They both want their daughter(s) to be best so that they could represent their family name. Same thing happened in Amy Chua’s article titled Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior. She believed that chines parents are very strict and know that fun equals to working hard“What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work [..],”. Amy Chua’s thinking of Chinese mothers are the same as in the mothers in Joy Luck Club. They both force their daughters to do things that they do not want to do. They want to make their children to be perfect, so that within the future their kids would be independent and could stand on their own. But not all things are the same.

Even though there is a similarities in both reading, both are still different. The difference is that Joy Luck seems to be a little looser than Amy Chua. Because Amy Chua went all extreme, she made her daughter practice day and night their instrument and she did not let them go to any socialization with their friends or classmates.

"Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do: attend a sleepover, have a playdate, be in a school play, complain about not being in a school play, watch TV or play computer games, choose their own extracurricular activities, get any grade less than an A, not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama, [and] play any instrument other than the piano or violin”

. Amy Chua is much tougher than the mothers in Joy Luck Club, because they only have on goal as a parent is to make their children to be perfect. She expects a lot more in her daughter, she does these things because wanted her kids to be a prodigy. Same as in Two kinds at Joy Luck, Jing Mei Woo’s mother expected her as a prodigy when she was little girl. “‘Of course you can be prodigy, too,’ my mother told me when I was nine,”(Tan 132). Her made her do things that she did not want to do. She wanted to be a kid and play around all day long, but her mother wanted her to be a prodigy. But the difference in these two is that Amy Chua is harder on her children, but in Amy Tan’s book, the mothers are only expected on thing from their child, was to be perfect.

The Joy Luck Club and Amy Chua has the similarities because they both wanted to expect their daughters to be perfect and intelligent. But the difference is that Amy Chua is harder on her daughter, while the Joy Luck mothers are expecting their children to be perfect.

Standing Up = Falling

From my observation of the introduction of the The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates, it the beginning of the daughter’s independence. They stood up to their parents, especially to their mothers. On the introduction the little girl demanded her mother to tell her about they The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates book, but her mother ignored her. She rebelled against her mother, by riding her bike - even though her mother restricted her not too - and before she got to the corner, she fell. This part of the introduction connects to Rules of the Game. After all the time her mom has forced her to focus on playing chess, to give her own room, and did less chores, she told her mother that she was embarrassing. “ One day. after we left a shop i said underneath my breath, ‘ I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your daughter,’”(Tan 99). With her mother being a show off because her daughter is a International Chess Player, and she got tired of it. She was annoyed by her mother always showing her off to people, even though they were just shopping. Her mother puts her on the spotlight to much, and she is sick of it. This was the first time a child has spoken up to a parent.

In the other hand, towards the end of the introduction explains about the girl falling because she did not listen to her mother. It is similar to Waverly Jong’s story of Rules of the Game. After she stood up to her mother about her being embarrassing and a show off ,she felt guilty and ran away from her mother’s arms.

“I raced down the street, dashing between people, not looking back as my mother screamed shrilly, “Memimei! Meimei! [...] The alleys contained no escape routes. [...] I imagined my mother mother, first walking briskly down one street to another looking for me, then giving up and returning home to await my arrival. [...] i stood up on cracking legs and slowly walked home,” (Tan 99-100)

. After having a terrible fight with her mother and running away from her, she had a guilt trip. She felt bad the she ran away and starting to think about her mother looking for her. Even though she stood up to her mother, it gave her a sense that she was wrong. That she should of left the the conversation after she said “I knew it was a mistake to say anything more [...], “ (Tan 99). She realized the she was wrong after running away. Like the little girl from the introduction, after standing up to her mother, she ended falling off her bike. I think the moral lesson of the introduction is that even though we start being independent or standing up on own, we would fall and someone has to catch us.

Scar: Family and honor or individual family member?

The story titled Scar narrated by An-Mei HSU. In this story is about a little girl name An-Mei that is living with her Popo or Grandmother, her aunt, her uncle, and little brother. While she is living with them her grandmother tells her that if she ever motioned her mother’s name or any part of her mother he would have a certain curse that will ruin her life. Basically her grandmother is threatening her that if she mentioned her mother’s name or something she wants to know she would be cursed.

“In those days a ghost was anything we were forbidden to talk about So i knew Popo wanted me to forget my mother on purpose, and this is how i came to remember nothing of her... But i often heard storied of ghost who tried to take children away, especially strong willed little girls who were disobedient... All my life, Popo scared me,”(Tan 42).

This was basically what happened in the story. Her grandmother tried to make her forget her own mother just because she married a new man and forced to leave her home and her children.

Now, the prompt said how do you think An-mei and her mother would respond to "Family and honor should take priority over the rights of the individual family member."? Well An-mei and her mother would probably be neutral because it is hard to look for evidence for An-mei’s thought of family honor versus an individual family member. Ever since An-mei was a little girl, her Popo told her that her mother is a disgrace to the family and that her grandmother has been telling stories about disobeying the family that a ghost will capture her. So it is hard for her to choose whether to listen to her grandmother of listen to herself. It is a win lose decision. In the other hand, her mother wanted to come back to the family, she believed that the family’s honor should come first. After being kicked out of the house for a long time, she wanted to return home. She did anything to come back home. In the end she was there with her mother,

“This is how a daughter honors her mother. It is shou so deep it is in your bones. The pain of the flesh is nothing. The pain you must forget. Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother before her. Until, there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh,” (Tan 48).

Family is important to her and nothing else and all she wanted was to be forgiven. It just proves that family is important to An-Mei’s mother because even though she was a disgrace to the family she was there with her mother as she dies in her death bed. Family honor is important to An-mei’s mother and a little bit from An-mei. In the end family honor wins rather an individual family member.