In America is in the Heart Carlos Bulosan eloquently describes the paradox of America, especially for the Asian-American immigrant. Those who came to America seeking the "land of opportunity" often found themselves limited by political policies and social practices based on racism. Bulosan's novel focuses on the experiences of Filipino migrant workers who were predominantly men. Faced with deplorable working and living conditions, these men found solace and solidarity in the fraternal bond. In The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan gives voice to another group of Asian immigrants, this time a group of Chinese women and their American-born daughters. While Bulosan's male characters seem to be drawn closer together as they face the challenges of life as an immigrant, Tan's female characters often seem to be driven apart. In the following exchange between Waverly Jong and her mother, Lindo, the daughter seems to be trying to distance herself from her mother:"I wish you wouldn't do that, telling everybody I'm your daughter." My mother stopped walking. Crowds of people with heavy bags pushed past us on the sidewalk, bumping into first one shoulder, then another. "Aiii-ya. So shame be with mother?' She grasped my hand even tighter as she glared at me. I looked down. "It's not that, it's just so obvious. It's just so embarrassing" (99).
Why was Waverly embarrassed? Was her mother "too Chinese"? Is Wavery (and the other daughters) caught between two cultures? How? Did Tan's characters face challenges similar to those faced by Bulosan's? How/why are these experiences different?
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ReplyDeleteWaverly was embarrassed that her mother shows her off, like she was some sort of trophy to her accomplishments as a mother (101,187). By denying her mother her chess playing she attempts to wound her. However at this point I don’t think it was because she was necessarily because she thinks her mother is too Chinese. Rather she was annoyed at her mother’s failure to understand the rules of chess, and her failure to acknowledge her skill (97, 98, 187). By screaming and running away from her mother she ended her mother’s boasting (103). Jing-Mei similarly tried to separate herself from her mother’s expectations by saying she wished she’d never been born (153). The girls are caught in between two cultures, the Chinese culture where you do things for the glory of your parents and the American culture where you do things for your own glory and satisfaction. As Jing-Mei says, “I didn’t budge. And then I decided. I didn’t have to do what my mother said anymore. I wasn’t her slave. This wasn’t China. I had listened to her before and look what happened. She was the stupid one” (152). They are also caught between their mother’s and their Chinese culture because they do not read Chinese or understand why their mother’s came to America. As Jing-Mei says of the mothers, “They are frightened. In me, they see their own daughters, just as ignorant, just as unmindful of all the truths and hopes hey have brought to America. They see daughters who grow impatient when their mothers talk in Chinese, who think they are stupid when they explain things in fractured English” (31). Lena is caught between the two cultures literally struggling to maker herself more like her father, less Chinese, pushing her eyes to make them look rounder (106). She actually is embarrassed by her mother’s behavior in the supermarket when she opens the jar and the man yells at her (109). But unlike the other two she does not seem to try to separate herself from her mother because her mother’s fears already separated them (109-112).
ReplyDeleteThe main thing the characters in Tan’s novel face that is similar to Bulosan’s is prejudice within the older generations. For instance when Rose meets Ted’s parents his mother implies that while she is not racist Ted is entering a profession that he would be judged if he married her (124). As in Bulosan’s book Rose is loped into a minority category by the mother regardless of her actual origin (125). Like in Bulosan’s novel where the male characters are unable to marry white women, when Ying-Ying St. Clair comes back to the US with her white husband they don’t know how to classify her but label her a displaced person (107). The only difference here is that the police do not come and try to take her away like they did to the white women with the Filipino men. I think the experiences of these characters are different because Tan’s main aim is not the same as Bulosan’s. Bulosan is trying to make the reader see the difficulties the Filipino’s faced culturally to be accepted and also highlight their fight for equality. Tan’s purpose is more to highlight the difference between two generation of women and how coming to America has changed them. Mainly the daughters struggle to identify with their mothers. In the end they do come to realize they are not much different from their mothers.
Waverly becomes extremely embarrassed as she walks through the Saturday market with her mother. They walk into many shops; however, buy very little. Instead of purchasing items, Waverly's mother announces that Waverly is her daughter to whoever looks her way while shopping. I believe that there are many factors influencing Waverly's distaste for her mother's words about her. It seems as though her mother is trying to live vicariously through her, taking as much credit for Waverly's success as a champion chess player as she possibly can. It is not as though Waverly's mother even helps Waverly win the matches, if anything she just distracts her by standing over her shoulder as she practices. Her mother is trying to obtain pride by her daughter's success and this angers Waverly. At one of her tournaments Waverly illustrates her mother's self-pride when she states, "I won again, but it was my mother who wore the triumphant grin" (97). Her mother being "too Chinese" could also be a factor in Waverly's embarrassment. Waverly's mother seems to not have adapted to American life. This is shown by her comments such as the one about Chinese torture. She exclaims, "Chinese people do many things...Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people. We do torture. Best torture" (91). Waverly may also be embarrassed of the way that her mother is speaking in broken English. Her sentence of "This my daughter Wave-ly Jong" (99) gives away the fact that she is a Chinese immigrant which Waverly may be ashamed of.
ReplyDeleteWaverly and the other daughters are extremely caught between the two cultures. They want to experience the American way of life; however, also want to carry on the Chinese tradition that their mothers have experienced. For example, Waverly Jong states that her mother "imparted her daily truths so she could help (her) older brothers and (her) rise above (their) circumstances" (89). The daughters also struggle with trying to conserve the pride and honor of their mothers while experiencing the American lifestyle. Waverly describes Christmas day when her brother Vincent gets the chess set from the "Santa man" (92) and all of the boys are excited to play with it even though it is used. The mother wants to obtain her pride and tells Vincent to throw the chess set away claiming "She not want it. We not want it" (93). The boys end up keeping the chess set, but Waverly claims that her brothers had "deaf ears" (93). It would be interesting to see what Waverly would have done in the position of throwing away the used chess set or not upon her mother's orders.
Tan's characters faced some of the challenges that Bulosan's characters were afflicted with. Some examples of challenges that both characters are forced to endure include how they both seem to live in neighborhoods primarily populated by their same culture. In Tan's novel, all of the Chinese children are described as playing in the back alleys of restaurants and curio shops in San Francisco's Chinatown. When Lena St. Clair moves into an Italian neighborhood from Chinatown, her father explains it as "moving up in the world" (107). The characters also face the similar challenges of forced into being Americanized. This is exemplified how in both stories, many of the characters lose their birth names upon entering their new lives in America. In Tan's novel, Lena's mother is declared as a Displaced Person during the immigration process and then her father proudly renames her Betty St. Clair, completely disregarding her Chinese given name Gu Ying-ying. Lena's father also writes down her wrong birthday year, making her a Dragon instead of a Tiger. This is significant because it symbolizes a change in her personality. In Bulosan's novel, Allos is renamed Carlos by his brothers as he enters America. The main character struggles with his new identity as he attempts to find his place in the new country. Characters in both novels face derogatory comments from people of higher classes. In Bulosan's novel, the Filipino people are labeled as "monkeys," criticized, and negatively stereotyped in many instances. In Tan's novel, when Lucy's mom hugs her to get her away from a man, the man mistakenly calls the mother a maid. This is a complete stereotype because Lucy does not look as Chinese as her mother does so the men assume that the Chinese woman must be a maid to the “poor girl” of Lucy because she Lucy has light skin.
The character’s struggles seem different in many ways. Bulosan’s novel describes characters that face inhumane living conditions on a daily basis while the Chinese immigrants in Tan’s novel seem to be living comfortably. This could be because the Chinese were considered to be of a higher class over the Filipino immigrants. Waverly states that she “didn’t think (her family) was poor” (89). They most always have good food to eat, have apartments with bedrooms, and other comfortable amenities. On the other hand, the characters in Bulosan’s novel face extreme poverty all the time. They are forced to cram many people into small rooms. If they have somewhere to live, the conditions are always very appalling. The characters in Tan’s novel also seem to be able to find work much more easily than in Bulosan’s novel. The work is not grueling farm-work or manual labor either. The characters in Tan’s novel seem much better off than the characters in Bulosan’s novel.
I wanted to mention that my page numbers are different because they correspond to my edition.
ReplyDeleteWaverly is embarrassed by her mother's actions because she thinks that her mother is taking away all of the pride of winning away from her. Since her mother is the one bragging about all of the success of her daughter, she is the one who is seen in a brighter light, not Waverly. Her mother does not realize the internal pain that she is causing and Waverly also does not realize what her mother's real intentions were for the bragging. Waverly just sees her mother as embarrassing when all her mother wants to do is make her feel proud of her accomplishments. The change of the two generations seem to drive the mother/daughter relationship apart. They cannot see eye to eye because they are not living the same lives. While the mother grew up in China, Waverly is learning on the fly in America. Things that worked in Asia do not work the same way in North America.
ReplyDeleteBulosan's characters are alike Tan's because they are both immigrants and have to figure out how to support themselves in America. Like Anna said, there are the groupings of the different cultures and racesin the cities. They do have to face racism and have to struggle to become on the same level as the natives. However, I do feel that Tan's novel focuses more on the struggle between the generations of mothers and daughters while Bulosan's novel focused on the struggle of the Filipino's as a whole. Carlos represented the Filipino man trying to make his mark on the world while the Asian mothers and daughters represent the struggle to connect from the passing generations.
I think Waverly's problem is the cultural lense that she was raised in. When she looks at her mother's actions in the street through the lense of her American environment and upbringing, she sees someone really showing off something that doesn't belong to her. There is an ethic that is unique to American culture that all hard word done is credited to the person who did it. In Chinese culture, at least from my own experience, a bit of the credit is also dedicated to the family and especially parents, as it is only right to honor the family with your acts. It becomes a collective achievement, not just restricted to an individual. Another example of this (and I may be deterring here) is way back when an individual of a village passed the scholar's exam and could attain high positions in older Chinese dynasties. The entire village would dedicate a section (usually the entrance to the village) to the name and family of the individual, bringing great honor to the village as well.
ReplyDeleteI think Waverly, as a result, is moreso caught in being barraged by the Chinese culture and tradition. We know for certain that Waverly is rooted into the American tradition, yet we also know that her mother is and has been the Chinese presence in her life. I think we could go to an extreme where Waverly may view this perspective of her mother as a nuisance. The way Amy Tan writes, however, always implies that there is another level to that naive view - probably extending to the mother/daughter relationship and the idea of what mothers have in hopes for their daughters. There is a very strong sense of that, and I'm sure it will continue and develop as the story goes on.
Bulosan's own story, I think, is very different from Amy Tan's stories. Although there are similarities such as the confrontation with the American culture as an immigrant, I think the fundamental differences lie in the shift in focus from assimilation to the conflict of two cultures. Bulosan also does slightly touch on his home filipino culture of family and the importance of it, but not as much as Tan does in her novel. Tan definitely cements a lot of hidden Chinese traditions and cultures (even words) that can confuse a non-native reader, but at the same time it draws them into a world of simple mysteries that the reader can begin to see an underlying message.
I personally do see myself caught between two cultures, but that's for another story.
I want to throw forward some questions though - Why is it that despite all the specialized and seemingly inclusive language that Tan uses we still get a feel of knowing what she is trying to speak about?
Is it a question of legacy from mother to daughter in the form of hope, or is it a question of letting the daughter become things that the mother couldn't have because of her past/the things she have lost? Or is it both?
Definitely more answers to come out in the reading to come.
Whoops! My name on the blog came out as my er, Nick-name. This is Elon, buy the way. Elon, Elon, Elon.
ReplyDeleteWaverly was embarrassed because like Elizabeth said, her mother is trying to “show her off” to the rest of the people in the market. This actually seems odd because as we discussed in class today, one of the virtues of the Chinese culture is “modesty.” Clearly Waverly’s mother is not being very modest about her daughter’s accomplishments in this scene. However, she probably feels that it is okay for her to boast about her daughter because she is not talking about herself, however in actuality she is boasting about herself because she sees her daughter as a reflection of herself as a mother. Waverly’s mother could be seen as acting “too Chinese” because of the way she speaks. Often times her mother does not use proper English like when she says sentences such as “A mother is best” instead of saying “ A mother knows what is best” which would be more assimilated to American slang. This scene between Waverly and her mother is symbolic of the “two cultures” that the daughters in this novel are torn between. On one hand, the daughter are trying to assimilate to the American cultures and values and on the other hand they are trying to hold on to their Chinese heritage. However, the girls seem to be leaning more so towards their new American lives that they are living instead of their Chinese roots. The trouble they have connecting with their Chinese heritage stems from the fact that they have trouble connecting with their mothers. Although the mothers in this book care for their daughters and love them they do not interact with them in a positive fashion. The character Jing Mei expresses the way she feels her mother treats her when she says, “that parents shouldn’t criticize children. They should encourage instead. You know, people rise to other people’s expectations. And when you criticize, it just means you’re expecting failure” (31). This quote shows the amount of pressure and criticism that the mothers in this novel put on their daughters. We learn throughout the mother’s stories that, their critical mentality derives from the difficult childhood’s they experienced. Because the mothers don’t relate their past experiences to their daughters, their daughters are confused about who their mothers are, and therefore are unsure of their own identities.
ReplyDeleteTan experienced similar challenges to that of Bulson because they both are attempting to a culture not of their own. While both characters are trying to adapt to the new American culture they become apart of, they still try to hold on to their values invested in their true heritage. Because both Bulson and Tan are torn between two cultures, they are unsure of their identities. Like Anna said, this can be more literally seen by the way the character Ying Ying “loses herself.” When her husband changes her name it is similar to the way Bulson’s name changed from Carlos to Carl. The changes in these characters names represents a loss of identity and an uncertainty about who these characters actually are. Although both Tan and Bulson are similar because they both are confused about their identity and have trouble assimilating to American values, Bulson seems to have a tougher time in his adapting into American life. Unlike the daughters, Bulson experiences physical torture for being of a different race. The girls on the other hand, are never physically injured for their differences, however they do experience racist comments and stereotypes. Overall, Bulson’s goal is to find a way to tell the story of the Hispanic people, in order to help liberate them from the injustices they have faced. In Tan’s novel, however, the main goal these daughters are trying to achieve is to better understand their identity and their connection with their mothers.
Waverly is embarrassed that her mother is showing her off to strangers in the street. This shows a culture clash, where Waverly has been influenced by the American culture and is embarrassed by her mother’s Chinese ways of thinking and acting. Waverly does not understand why her mother is proud of her chess playing, and when her mother stands over her when she is practicing chess, Waverly gets annoyed and says, “Ma, I can’t practice when you stand there like that” (98). Her mother constantly wants to be involved in her achievements, and tries to give her advice on not losing too many pieces. Waverly thinks that the chess playing is her individual achievement and that her mother does not have anything to do with it. This shows a clash between American and Chinese cultures because in the American culture individuality is valued, while in the Chinese culture helping the greater good and working for the pride of your family is more important. Waverly is embarrassed that her mother brags about her, which is not seen as a good quality in the American culture.
ReplyDeleteAmy Tan shows that these daughters are caught between two cultures. This is how the characters are different from Bulosan’s characters. The Philippinoes in his story were born in the Philippines and are therefore not faced with the same type of culture clash where they come into conflict with the older generations within their families. Carlos is constantly connected with his family and his sense of self stems from the connection he keeps with his brothers. There is no culture clash within his family. The culture clash that occurs instead here is the misunderstanding between Americans and immigrants. This difference highlights two very different problems that can come out of immigrants coming to the United States. Bulosan shows that conflict occurs between the immigrants and people who are already there because the cultures of these two groups are immediately put together where no time is allowed for justification. Tan, however, shows that another type of clash slowly develops as the generations that are born in the United States are shaped by both their parents’ culture and the culture where they are living. This creates problems within the immigrant population itself.
I have to agree with Elon when he said that Waverly sees her mother as a nuisance but that Tan implied that there is more to their relationship. I’ve read the book before so I know that is exactly what she does. As the story goes on Waverly comes to understand her mother and her own resistance (204). She comes to understand that her mother was just loving her in her own way, in the Chinese tradition waiting for her to let her in (204). I also agree that the Chinese traditions and words Tan weaves into her story, mixed in with the English, serve to illustrate her underlying message. I would say that message is that to understand yourself, you must first understand your parents, if you are a daughter that means understanding your mother. I would also say that she is saying that each of us is more like our parents and a product of their experiences than we would like to admit.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Casey’s post, I agree that it seemed strange for Waverly’s mother to brag about her to complete strangers in the street, when modesty is valued in the Chinese culture. The reason why the culture clash occurs between Waverly and her mother in this situation is because Waverly believes her accomplishments are simply her own, while Waverly’s mother believes that she can take part of Waverly’s accomplishments because she is her mother. Therefore, when she brags about Waverly’s accomplishments, she is, in a way, bragging about her own accomplishments. In the same way, when Waverly and Jing-Mei’s mothers compare their daughters and try to compete, bragging about their daughters’ accomplishments, it seems again like these mothers are acting against the code of modesty. However, I believe that the idea of ‘modesty’ in the Chinese culture must be different, and that we, as western readers, are judging the characters’ actions through a western lens and by what we believe modesty is. Bragging about a true accomplishment can be seen as a sense of pride to increase one’s reputation, rather than a way of lacking modesty.
ReplyDeleteI also like Casey’s comment about how we as readers gain an understanding of the mothers because of the stories we are told in the first section of the book. I think Tan structures the book cleverly, by first showing stories in the perspective of the mothers, and then the daughters. When we read the stories from the daughters’ perspectives, it is very obvious they do not understand their mothers. An example of this is when Waverly is afraid of telling her mother she is getting married, and how her mother constantly nags her and points out Waverly’s future husband’s negative qualities. When Waverly finally tells her mother of the marriage, she did not realize her mother had already figured it out. She also explains how she gets hurt by her mother’s negative comments, and her mother replies, “Ai-ya, why do you think these bad things about me?” (181). It is evident these women do not understand each other. This lack of understanding is enhanced by the fact that we, as readers, almost understand more than the daughters do. The daughters in the story have not been told of their mothers’ stories, but we as readers have. This enhances the gap between these mothers and daughters and the culture clash is intensified.
I agree with Casey in that the failure of communication between the generations plays a large part in the girls feeling that they are caught between two cultures. This goes back to the girls being unable to understand their mothers and therefore theirs mothers' cultures. This misunderstanding is due to not only a language barrier but also a failure for the chinese-rooted mothers to be open about their emotions. Unlike American culture, where mothers are very open about their emotions and love for their daughters, the Chinese culture is more reserved. Although I do believe the girls know deep down that their mothers love them, it is sometimes hard for the girls to never get the verification of this love by their mothers. I also agree with Casey in that the girls feel more connected to their American culture than their Chinese one. Again, I feel this goes back to their inability to understand their Chinese culture completely due to lack of communication by the mothers. It seems that the mothers almost expect the girls to know things about the Chinese culture that may seem obvious to them. However, the girls are not growing up in China, and therefore, what seems obvious to the mothers may not be so apparent to the girls. Therefore, I feel that almost all of the cultural divide the girls are forced to struggle between goes back to the inability of mother and daughter to communicate efficiently.
ReplyDeleteWaverly is embarrassed because she feels that her mother is overbearing and she does not like being singled out in front of the others. Waverly wants her skill in chess to be an individual accomplishment. Her mother’s bragging takes that distinction away from her. Waverly’s mother is adhering to the Chinese cultural tradition of bringing honor to her family, which Waverly may be too young to realize. To her, it seems that her mother is trying to take credit for her skill at chess.
ReplyDeleteWaverly sees her mother as “too Chinese” at times like these. It is important to Waverly that her mother keeps a low profile to not differentiate her from her peers in the community, especially outside of Chinatown. Waverly sees tradition as manipulation, refusing to acknowledge her mother’s point of view. The result of the clash between American and Chinese culture is Waverly’s disenfranchisement with tradition. Unless Waverly’s mother realizes the folly of raising her daughter in such a polarized way, she will see her start to distance herself from her family to fracture the bonds of tradition.
Tan’s characters, such as Waverly, share certain similarities with Bulosan’s. Thematically, they both struggle with issues of identity. Tan and Bulosan’s characters share the challenge of reconciling their traditional beliefs with American culture. They are slightly different in that Tan’s writing does not quite have the pervasive tone of discontent that Bulosan’s has. Bulosan’s characters face physical danger and aggressive persecution. They are shown the ugly side of American society. In the Bulosan novel, culture clash is depicted as debilitating and demoralizing. Tan takes a lighter tone in comparison, using relationships such as Waverly and her mother’s to illustrate differences in culture instead of relatively anonymous incidents of intolerance from the outside.
When Waverly is embarrassed by her mother I think that this is something that most girls at some point can identify with. It might not necessarily be related to her mother being too Chinese and could just be a young girl’s inability to understand her mother’s pride and love. I also strongly agree with Elizabeth’s comment that one of the major differences in America for women was individualism versus communalism. A lot of the young daughters were working for themselves and not for the honor of their parents. Family values, like in Bulosan’s novel are of the utmost importance. In China upholding family honor can be seen in one form through a young girl being respectful and dutiful to her new husband and mother in law, as seen in the story The Red Candle. Family honor also required girls to be quite, good wives, who cooked, cleaned and bore male children. Women who strayed from this norm were brutally rejected, as can be seen in Scar. Certainly coming to America changed these values, girls were being raised in the individualistic culture of the U.S. and they began to separate more from the values and ties of family honor. The differences between the two cultures is really difficult for the mothers because on the one hand they wanted to come to American to give their daughters a better chance but on the other hand they wanted to retain some traditional values. These values often got lost in the Americanization process. This can be seen in Bulosan’s characters as well when the family falls apart as all the sons travel to the United States and leave the rest of the family behind. The brothers also experience tension like when Allos hits his older brother, a pretty severe breach of traditional values. I also think the naming process is interesting. Allos experiences this when his name is changed to Carlos and it can also be seen with Jing-mei who goes by June. I think this is just another step in the Americanization process; it removes generations one step further from their roots.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elon’s point that Waverly is caught between Chinese culture and tradition. He also brought up the point that I had not thought of before, that Waverly is caught between the mother daughter relationship barriers in which the mothers have hopes for their daughters and their daughters do not understand why the mothers are trying so hard. Upon mentioning that the daughters are caught between the Chinese culture and the American culture, I solely began to believe that this was the only reason for the misunderstanding between them; however, as the novel has progressed, I have come to realize that it is much more than that. Another barrier strengthening the divide between the mothers and daughters is the generation gap. It is not just a language, culture, or tradition, which divides a mother and a daughter it is also the mere fact that they are from different generations. The mothers have great stories of their childhoods to explain to their daughters; however, they cannot because they do not believe their daughters will understand or grasp the true meaning of the hardships and struggles. The story has made me think about my own relationship with my mother and how we face the same misunderstanding on a daily basis, and we are from the same American culture. There are many things that I have not known about her life until recently, and unlike the daughters in Tan’s novel, I have considered my relationship with my mother to be very good. This leads me to believe that not only are the girls just separated from their mothers because of the differences of birthplaces, but the fact that they are from different generations also plays an immense impact on the barriers between them.
ReplyDeleteThe tension between Waverly and her mother represents the tension between two generations of Chinese-Americans: the older generation, who identify more with their cultural roots, and the young generation, who identify more with their American lifestyles. Waverly and her mother’s reaction to chess, an American game, exemplifies their generational differences. When Waverly’s brother brings the chess set home, her mother immediately wants to throw the unfamiliar game away. Waverly, on the other hand, puts a lot of energy into learning the game: “I studied each chess piece, trying to absorb the power each contained,” (94). Waverly’s willingness to “absorb” the game of chess displays her willingness to absorb American culture.
ReplyDeleteWaverly is embarrassed by her mother’s unwillingness to adjust to their new culture. “Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people. We do torture. Best Torture,” her mother says, displaying a naïve level of pride. Having pride in one’s culture can be a great thing, but there is also a point at which one can be proud to a fault. However, I do not think that the mother being “too Chinese” is an appropriate judgment. Too proud? Perhaps. Too stubborn? Definitely. But one also has to take into account how difficult it must be to spend almost all your life in one culture and then having to adjust to a whole new way of life.
Waverly, at this point, is too young too completely understand
her mother’s situation, and is therefore embarrassed by her mother’s ways. The tension between these two generations is a major theme of The Joy Luck Club. In each story, the daughters are torn between their parent’s culture and the culture of their American surroundings. They are divided, very much like Carlos Bulosan and his fellow Philippine immigrants.
I agree with Chris when he writes, "Waverly's mother does not realize the internal pain that she is causing and Waverly also does not realize what her mother's real intentions were for the bragging". The problem in Waverly and her mother's relationship is that their lack of communication prevents the two from realizing that they truly love each other. These two characters only act on their best intentions, but these well-intended actions are often misinterpreted. This is further illuminated later in the book, when Waverly decides to tell her mom that she is engaged to Rich
ReplyDeleteWaverly feels as if her mom is constantly trying to destroy her relationships with men. Waverly's previous marriage failed after her mother's criticisms of her husband caused her to become obsessed with his faults. Waverly was worried that her mother would persuade her into dis-liking Rich. Waverly is surprised, however, when she announces the engagement to her mother, and rather then being upset, her mother is understanding. "I already know this" (181) her mother says, as if Waverly had already told her. This scene brings Waverly to an important realization: her mother is not a monster, hell-bent on destroying all of Waverly's relationships with men. She is simply an old women who loves her daughter, yet does not know how to communicate this love. When Waverly's mother brings up Rich's freckles, she is not expressing hate for him, but rather just saying what is on her mind.
I think Kelly's point is valid in a sense, but I think there is also more than just their Chinese mothers being arrogant to the American culture that the daughters have so embraced.
ReplyDeleteTan's book, I think, has a refined focus on the question of what it means to be Chinese, despite living in a completely foreign atmosphere. The essence of being a Chinese person, I think, is to understand the subtleties associated with the Chinese culture. There are unwritten laws about how to act, how to honor your family, how to properly behave... Many things that a lot of the characters in Tan's book struggle and are confused about in their upbringing as American citizens.
Still, though, there is the element of the mother and daughter relationship that is another core theme in her book. I believe she is trying to reach for a sort of universal affection that mothers have for their daughters. In this book's case, especially, the affection that the mothers and daughters have very much symbolize something beyond cultures and artificial traditions. The role of the American Culture's complexity in the book, I think, just serves as an obstacle or a complication to that relationship.
First of all, I think that it is natural for any child to be embarrassed by their parents. In this case, Waverly is especially embarrassed because of the huge cultural gap between her and her mother. Waverly does not understand why her mother wishes to show her off, and her mother does not understand why Waverly does not accept this Chinese tradition. This scene highlights the gaps and lack of communication between the mother and daughter that also relates to the gaps between the other mothers and daughters in this story.
ReplyDeleteThere are similarities between Bulosan's novel and Tan's novel. When Ying-Ying St. Clair comes to the United States married to a white man, the authorities don't know what to do with her or what to call her. This is similar to how the Filipinos were seen; they were not aliens but they were not citizens. The Filipinos' status' were undetermined, like Ying-Ying's.
The two stories also deal with adapting to American culture, while still retaining cultural roots. Allos struggles with keeping the ideals he held as a boy and surviving in the face of harsh prejudice in America. Tan's characters struggle to teach the importance of Chinese tradition and culture to their daughters, while still allowing their daughters to be fully assimilated into American culture.
The cultural gap between American-born Waverly and her Chinese-born mother is responsible for Waverly’s embarrassment. Her mother is deeply rooted in her traditional Chinese values, including a sense of constant competition to prove that her progeny is the most successful. This sense of competition Chinese parents feel for their children is partly due to the perception of their children as an extension of themselves; if the child is seen as successful, they are seen as successful. Thus, because of Waverly’s remarkable talent in chess competitions, her mother feels that it is necessary for her to showcase Waverly to the public and their neighbors to reflect well upon the family. However, because this value of intense competition between children and showcasing of success is not a prime value of the American culture that Waverly has become so assimilated to, she is embarrassed by her mother’s actions and feels that her mother is making them stand out. Her mother is not “too Chinese,” she is just embodying the values that she was raised with, and her daughter, having been assimilated into the American value set, has a hard time understanding where her mother is coming from with many of her actions. Waverly, and the other daughters of the Joy Luck Club members are caught between two cultures; they have all been raised by Chinese parents who are deeply rooted in the traditional ways and values sets, but have been encouraged to assimilate into American society to give them a better chance at success. This cultural conflict between what the parents believe and what the society that they are pushing on their children believes is exemplified when Waverly’s mother comments, “Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people” (91). Although the elders believe that American culture and society can provide more opportunities for their children than their homeland, they still acknowledge that American values are not completely in line with their own.
ReplyDeleteBoth Tan and Bulosan’s characters face similar challenges that tend to plague immigrants.
Both novels’ characters must struggle to find their identity between two conflicting cultures. In the Joy Luck Club, the daughters struggle to find the right balance between embracing their parent’s traditional Chinese values and the American values that surround them in everyday life. Bulosan’s man character struggles with a similar issue, evidenced by his changing of his name throughout the novel, it becoming more American with every change. Although the characters from the two different novels do face many of the same struggles, there are some major differences. Unlike Carlos, the daughters are American-born, and thus are more easily assimilated into the American culture. Also, while Carlos came to America seeking opportunity, America represented more of a safe haven from travesty for the members of the Joy Luck Club.
In response to Elon’s comment on legacy from mother to daughter in the form of hope, I agree with this idea, and think that it is a recurring theme that we will continue to see throughout the novel. The underlying reason for the members of the Joy Luck Club to leave China and come to America was the hope that their children could have a better life and more opportunities than they did. Thus by moving to America, they are continuing the legacy of hope that could have been shattered by the unstable climate in China. The mothers hope that their daughters will obtain great success in their lives in America, but they believe that this great success will only be obtained by following the traditional Chinese values they were raised with. However, because their children have become so assimilated into the American culture, they do not possess the same value sets as their mothers, many times causing a miscommunication. Despite communication failures due to cultural boundaries, the legacy of hope transcends as the mothers and daughters begin to understand one another more and accept their differences, passing on the mother’s legacies to the daughters.
ReplyDeleteWaverly is probably embarrassed because as we know from reading, she is a prodigy at the game of chess. She is mad with her mother because she believes her mother uses her to simply show ,and she hates the bragging her mother does. Instead of realizing that her mother is just proud of her amazing accomplishment, Waverly thinks she is just trying to somewhat take credit for it. Waverly almost sees it as her mother trying to live vicariously through her instead of allowing Waverly to have something that is her strictly her own.
ReplyDeleteI don't think her mother is too Chinese. Most mothers are proud of their kids when they are really good as something. I am an accomplished equestrian, and sometimes my mom does the same thing. She's proud of her child's accomplishments.
In a way, they are caught between two cultures as they are American-raised, but the mothers are always taking about things more applicable to Chinese-raised people. Like the book, The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates, that Waverly's mother tells her to read, yet Waverly can't because it's written in Chinese. There is almost a cultural conflict at hand between mother and daughter without it being an intolerance to any one culture. There seem to be a lot of simple misunderstandings between mothers and daughters because of the cultural differences.
In response to quite a few different peoples responses saying that her mother is obviously trying to live vicariously through her, I disagree. I believe that Waverly does see it that way but from the way her mother acts, I think it is simply the difference in cultures that creates that conflict. She has accomplished something worthy of admiration and bragging rights which is something culturalistic of her mother's identity whereas most Americans are taught to be modest and never brag.
In this scene, Waverly Jong is embarrassed by her mother because she feels that her mother is trying to take responsibility for Waverly’s accomplishments. One of the next exchanges that take place between mother and daughter goes as follows: “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? (101)” It’s this statement that tells me that Waverly is indeed feeling the two cultures pulling at her; she knows that in the Chinese culture it is her mother’s right to take credit for the deeds of the daughter, but Waverly also feels the pull of the American culture that allows her to take pride and responsibility for her own actions and accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteThe largest difference we see between Bulosan’s characters and those of Tan, is the blatant racism that Bulosan shows us. Thus far in the novel the only reference to hardships in America that we really get is Waverly’s childhood ignorance: “Like most of the other Chinese children who played in the back alleys of restaurants and curio shops, I didn’t think we were poor. My bowl was always full, three five-course meals every day…(90)” So to this point we haven’t seen the brutal hardships faced by these Asian immigrants after they arrive in the United States. This is a long ways from the days without eating that Carlos faced after arriving in the United States, but this is a story (so far) of second generation immigrants and the hardships they’ll face as they grow up.
I agree with what Hayley said about all children being embarrassed by their parents, I’m sure we can all remember a time when our own parents embarrassed us at some point in public. Part of the embarrassment on Waverly’s part is definitely due to the cultural differences between her and her mother; the differences arise when these Chinese women try to raise their daughters with all of the benefits an American child has, and still maintain their Chinese values. Lindo Jong (Waverly’s mother) perhaps puts it best in one of the last stories in the book: “It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?” (289).
ReplyDeleteWhile Bulosan’s and Tan’s characters are all struggling to acclimate to the American culture, the focus is very different. Tan’s stories are all about the mothers’ hardships in China, and how they affect their relationships’ with their American born daughters. Bulosan focuses on the rough times and racism faced when the Filipinos are struggling for the American dream in America. In a sense you could say that Tan focuses on the cultural divide between small families and their members, whereas Bulosan is more focused on the violent divide between two very large cultures.
Waverly is embarrassed because she does not understand what it is like to grow up in one culture and be despised for it in another one. In America is in the Heart, the Filipino migrants banded together because they had a common enemy and it was really the only way for them to survive. Waverly, on the other hand, has learned to play chess in America and is particularly skilled. She does not have to support herself or struggle against a rejecting culture for survival. Instead, her concern is acceptance as her livelihood is provided for. Look, for example, at who Waverly plays chess against. Her opponents are Americans so she seeks to develop a relationship or respect from Americans while playing the game. On the other hand, the Filipinos in America is in the Heart only have the opportunity to bond with other Filipinos and other minorities as those are the people they are working on a day to day basis with and traveling on the trains with. The difference between the two books is Waverly has less exposure to the culture of her home country and is not forced to struggle for survival.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Elizabeth,
I agree that the generational factor is not really applied to America is in the Heart. The authors do set out to make separate points, as Elizabeth notes. It is important to note, however, that the Chinese culture and Filipino culture are very different. For example, in America is in the Heart many of the sons of the main family leave without proper blessing. Only the main character stays on to help his father plow and mom sell trinkets. Perhaps more of a product of their poorer status than a cultural difference, it seems in the Filipino culture that less emphasis is put on the family and its honor. The one exception seems to be the scene where a brother marries a non-virgin and the entire town engages in beating them. This scene however is about individual honor and civil standards. It does not seem that the entire family’s honor is shamed. In the Chinese culture, it is very important to behave well as it reflects on a family’s honor and ancestors. While not in China the girls notice the incentive to do what pleases them without consideration of their family. As I noted earlier, this is a generational affect. While In the Heart of America the characters see first hand their parents struggle Tan’s characters are once removed from that situation. Although they also see their parents struggle it is in an environment that the understand better than their parents and not the other way around.
In the novel Waverly was embarrassed at the fact that her mother had bragged so much about her. Waverly felt that her mother was fueling off her success and by bragging to everyone, only made Waverly embarrassed. I don’t know if we can say whether Waverly’s mother was “too Chinese” or not, only because she was accustomed to the Chinese culture and really didn’t know any different. The daughters of the Chinese cultures did things for the family honor, but since Waverly was young the Chinese culture was not enrooted in Waverly and she was caught up in whether she wanted to be Chinese and do things for the family or take the American perspective and take the honor for herself.
ReplyDeleteI think Tan’s characters faced some of the same challenges as those in Bulosan’s did. In both cases the characters were viewed in a prejudice way, more so in Bulosan’s, but we do see glimpses of this in Tan’s characters. They still face the challenge of marriage just like in Bulosan’s where they are getting looked down to by everyone around them because the Chinese women still are not seen as equal as American women. The main difference that I see between the characters in the two novels is that in Tan’s novel, the women are facing more challenges in trying decide what way to follow, the Chinese way or the American way. In Bulosan’s novel they are faced with more challenges of racism between Americans and Filipino’s.
I wanted to respond to Maria's post which I thought was particularly interesting. She says that Tan's novel is different from Bulosan’s because "The Philippinoes in his story were born in the Philippines and are therefore not faced with the same type of culture clash where they come into conflict with the older generations within their families. Carlos is constantly connected with his family and his sense of self stems from the connection he keeps with his brothers. There is no culture clash within his family." I partially agree with the statement because I can see that in Bulosan's novel the focus is more on one group against the other, the Philippinoes against the Americans, whereas Tan's novel is more about family relations. However, I do think that Bulosan's novel also has a fair amount of inter-family tension created by the Americanization/ assimilation process. When Allos find out that some of his brothers are selling bootleg alcohol and sleeping with women he is disappointed in them and feels like he doesn’t know them anymore. He also resents his older brother for working as a servant because he feels that he is not respecting himself. These examples show the rifts between the traditional values and the newer American values. Like in Tan's novel where Waverly and many of the other girls are embarrassed by their parents, Allos is also embarrassed by his brothers. I also think that Tan's novel portrays some of the more blatant racism that Bulosan describes. When Rose meets with her boyfriend’s mother in the park the future mother-in-law displays the same racism that many of Bulosan’s characters face (118). I think that both of these books focus on the two areas of conflict for immigrants, with society at large and within the family structure.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the points made in Sarah’s post, especially regarding the difficulty faced by Chinese mothers. Ostensibly, the mothers in most of these stories seem like negative influences on their daughters. They make up violent tales as warnings to their children not to misbehave, and never let their children know if something they accomplish pleases them. Sometimes it seems that these daughters grow up without love. This is what Amy Tan wants you to think at first and then invites you to look more closely at the dynamics of Chinese relationships put into the context of American life. The challenge to bridge the vast cultural gap between China and the United States is unavoidable for immigrant mothers and their children. There should be a comfortable middle ground established in the raising of a Chinese-American child. I believe it is necessary to maintain certain facets of heritage, but at the same time other parts need to be adapted taking the strong influence of American culture on youth into consideration. Hopefully, the characters in Tan’s novel learn to retain the best parts of both cultures in their lives. There is no difference in the amount of love that Chinese mothers have for their children than other mothers. It is important that their affection not be limited by the social parameters of either Chinese or American culture.
ReplyDeleteIn response to David’s post, I agree entirely and feel that the quote he used really helped his argument. I also felt as if she felt the pull between the two cultures. On one hand she has that pull from her mother and the Chinese culture that is allowing her to realize what her mother is doing, but then she has the pull from the American culture that is also making her feel embarrassed and making her feel like those accomplishments should be hers personally and not for the family honor. I also agree with David when it comes to the difference between this novel and Bulosan’s novel. Bulosan’s novel clearly expresses more harsh racism than is seen in Tan’s novel. Tan’s characters seem to have everything a lot nicer up to this point than the characters in Bulosan’s novel. I think that Tan may be purposely leaving out some of the racism they encountered in order for the reader to understand the relationship between the mother and the daughters.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Casey’s statement about the Chinese culture’s belief in modesty. I spent two weeks in China teaching English and it was a prominent aspect of life there. When we congratulated the students when they answered a question right they blushed and were very tentative to receive the prize we were giving them. It does seem plausible that Waverly’s mother could be boasting of her daughter’s success since it wasn’t her own, but it still seems unusual that she is bragging in the first place due to Chinese norms. Mother daughter relationships are very difficult in the adolescent stage and this could be a key factor to Waverly’s disagreements with her mother. Casey is right in saying that the mothers are unable to connect with their daughter’s experiences because they were raised in the Chinese culture not American society. Tan and Bulson are caught between two cultures and it is evident as characters lose their identity, while attempting to adapt to their environment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Casey that there is a serious disconnect between the mothers and daughters and that it stems from a lack of communication. The mothers want their daughters to understand their Chinese heritage, yet they do not tell them about the customs or tell them any of the stories of their struggles. June's mother tells her about her time in China, but changes the ending of the story so many times, it loses its validity. However, had June's mother told her the story straight, it might have had a much bigger impact upon her. There is a deep divide between the daughters and their mothers, and the only way to bridge the gap is for the mothers to share their stories. And its not the the daughters aren't aware of the Chinese traditions, they do not have any explanation or background that can help them to justify their mothers' actions. Like when Waverly cannot understand why her mother is showing her off. Waverly is unaware of the custom behind this because her mother does not explain it to her.
ReplyDeleteWaverly is embarrassed by her mother's behavior for two reasons; first, because like most American-born children, she finds her mother's compulsion to brag about her to strangers inexplicably annoying. Second, she feels as though her mother is using her victories to her own benefit. I'm not sure that I would say that her mother was acting "too Chinese", but I think that Waverly might be annoyed because she is aware of the fact that although pride and family honor are very important to the Chinese, many non-Chinese people view this pride as excessive. Waverly and the other daughters are definitely caught between two cultures because although they have tried so hard to embrace their American identities, they've also been made aware of the importance of embracing their Chinese heritage. They do not, however, feel a connection to this portion of their heritage, and therefore have a difficult time relating to their mothers. Unlike Bulosan's characters, half of Tan's characters have seen extreme poverty, injustice, and war while the other half have led comparably comfortable lives. Again, the differences between their experiences and the experiences of their parents leads to a disconnect between the two generations.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Joe's comment that the disconnect between Waverly and her mother is a result mostly of their differing levels of assimilation into American culture. Waverly, having been born into American society and treated as an American everywhere outside of her own home, does not understand why her mother clings so closely to her Chinese heritage, especially when, in Waverly's mind, SHE was the one to move them to America in the first place. To Waverly, her mother is contradicting herself, while in reality she is simply trying to do her best to adjust to a new culture while simultaneously holding on to who she was. The conflict between Waverly and her mother is similar to the one that all of the mothers and daughters have. These women do not know how to communicate with or understand one another, despite their best efforts, and it is because they are rooted in different places, with different values and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteWe find that Waverly becomes embarrassed by her mother’s actions when they walk through the market place one day. Her mother is constantly telling everyone that she sees that Waverly is her daughter. This embarrasses Waverly and makes her very uncomfortable. It is interesting to see this turn of events. It becomes plainly obvious to me that Waverly is still very young, immature, and insecure. If she were more accepting and understanding she would realize exactly where her mother is coming from and that there are only good intentions coming from her. Instead of her reaction in the book she could embrace her culture and heritage and simply go along with her mother and take baby steps with her by letting her know that she is uncomfortable and perhaps more of an introverted personality. Or maybe the best approach would be to from a reasonable argument for not bragging about her accomplishments because it is not the Chinese culture to be boastful. And maybe her mother is living through her life and her accomplishments but as long as this doesn’t hinder Waverly’s growth and life there really isn’t anything wrong with her mother’s intentions.
ReplyDeleteHowever it may be unrealistic to expect this understanding from Waverly since she is in a very socially difficult situation. She finds herself to be an American living with a Chinese mother. Their values clash because of the unspoken pressures put on Waverly by her American peers. Had these women been in China they would have much less conflict and a truer understanding of each other’s actions and intentions. But they don’t live in China they live in America so they have two different points of view and sadly this mother and daughter share less on the surface than a mother and daughter should. Perhaps they will be surprised to find just how much they do share in common.
The character’s in both Tan’s and Bulosan’s novels share some obvious similarities. They are both Asian groups of immigrants to the United States. Tan’s portraying Chinese immigrants and Bulosan’s Novel describing Filipino immigration. They both are faced with assimilation difficulties. Tan demonstrates the challenges that arise between mothers and their daughters as their lives in America prove to strain and drive these women apart. The Filipino’s met difficulties with the Americans they encountered with only proved to drive them together as men who shared the same heritage and American struggle. Both groups lived in areas largely populated by their own race therefore segregating themselves from other Americans probably not to the dismay of their American neighbors. The characters in Tan’s novel seem to actually not have the same level of difficulty in their lives as the Filipinos. They find work more readily and it is not very strenuous manual labor as the men in Bulosan’s novel. Overall these two groups of people share more in common than they do not and provide an interesting insight into the lives and minds of these two groups of Asian American immigrants.
I agree with the idea that the difficulty of understanding between the generations largely determines how the girls feel that they are caught between two cultures. This goes back to the girls being unable to understand their mothers and therefore their mothers' cultures. Their relationship may very well have been perfect if both generations were raised in China. The daughters are of a different culture and nationality than their parents. This type of misunderstanding would happen between most people from China and America even if they were not related. Less generally, this misunderstanding is due to not only a language barrier but also to a cultural barrier with a failure for the Chinese-rooted mothers to be open about their emotions. Unlike American culture, where mothers tend to openly express their emotions and love for their daughters, the Chinese mothers are more reserved. Although I do believe the girls know deep down that their mothers love them, it is sometimes hard for the girls to never get the verification of this love by their mothers that their American emotions expect. So I also agree with the notion brought up by various people that the girls feel more connected to their American culture than their Chinese heritage. It seems that the families struggle because of the mothers’ general expectation for their daughters to understand them as well to grow up American, which proves to be very difficult and strenuous for the daughters.
ReplyDeleteWaverly definitely appeared to be embarrassed, or maybe even temporarily ashamed of her mother’s openly Chinese behavior. While that’s nothing to be ashamed of, it does seem to give Waverly a strong feeling of separation from the American culture around her. She feels separate and different when her mother points Waverly out to strangers with her strong accent, and she gets angry because her mother unconsciously is associating her with Chinese culture more than she wants to be associated with it in public America, and this balance of feelings, of self-association with the word “American” or the word “Chinese” is what is ultimately reflected in each of the daughter’s stories.
ReplyDeleteCarlos Bulosan retold the experience of a culture clash as it affected him mostly externally. His aim in America wasn’t to assimilate with the culture, but to attain some form of wealth in the land of opportunity. His experiences were mostly of how he was treated by people in America and the grand scheme of race-relations during his life. These things are where the differences lie for Amy Tan’s daughter stories. These girls were born in and are stuck in a position that is different because it is mostly internal. On one side, their lives and their futures are in America, and they must adapt to the culture to succeed. On the other hand, they can’t forget the values of their mothers and their Chinese honor heritage. Their experiences deal with the struggle between these two cultures as the girls try to solidify which values from both cultures are most important to each.
I strongly agree with Casey Kelley here: “The trouble they have connecting with their Chinese heritage stems from the fact that they have trouble connecting with their mothers.”
ReplyDeleteIt’s easy to see a connection between the quality of the relationship the girls have with their mothers and their level of connection to their Chinese cultural roots. The best example, I think, is in “Rice Husband” when Lena St. Clair is visited by her mother. She and her husband Harold do lots of work to keep an accurate account of their separate spending, and Lena goes along with it seemingly out of a pure desire to fit with somebody. Suddenly, when her mother comes to visit them Lena snaps out of it, remembers another culture and place where she used to fit, realizes she needs to change her environment, and subsequently causes a huge fight with Harold when her mother leaves. It seems to me to be almost a theme in this collection of stories that whenever the daughters connect with their mothers their inner Chinese values are brought to the surface.
I agree with Anna when she talks about the generation gap between every American. The stories that these women tell can help show either the mother or daughter reasons for their actions, as well as a new found respect for one another. While growing up, many think that their parents are just old men and women and that they had always been like that. However, we see through Tan's novel that if we are able to sit down and talk to our parents or any adult, we will be able to learn so much. They lived through history. They have stories of grief and anger and they also have stories of pure elation. Our parents were once children, and once we all come to realize that our relatives are more than just an authority figure, we will be able to progress in our relationships with one another.
ReplyDeleteThough the book does not follow the same structural arc as a traditional novel, it still appears to have a protagonist in Jing-mei Woo.
ReplyDeleteIt is through her narrative that readers are able to connect the two generations of storytellers present in the book.
Not only do we see Jing-Mei as a connection between the old and new but also between the East and West.
Despite this, Jing-Mei is still similar to a lot of the other characters whilst being distinguishable from them because they have their fears in common with each other. For example, they all appear to regret, on some level, rejecting aspects of their Chinese heritage.
the opening story allows us to understand the wall that exists even between families because of the differences between the cultures and the girls failure to fully understand their origins. Compared to her mother, one girl is lucky to be living the live she leads but because she does no know her mother's story, she cannot realise such luck.
I agree with Maria's point about the distinctions between 'America is in the Heart' and this book. Whilst the two deal with similar issues, for example racism, such issues stand in alone in completely different contexts.
ReplyDeleteThe characters in the first novel were, as Maria pointed out, born in another country and for the most part are learning to cope with life in a place that is relatively new to them. The characters in Amy Tan's work have two seperate culures embedded in their personalities and they therefore have to deal with a conflict of culture within themselves.