Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother Analysis

A strict mother that pushes her children to achieve exceptionally high levels through brute force and other Chinese parenting methods is known as a Tiger Mother. In the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua uses this type of parenting and becomes a tiger mother herself. She experiences conflicts and points in time where she feels the need to give up, but pushes through everything for her children. Amy Chua also learns from her experiences and builds on her mistakes to bring her children to their fullest potential. In Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, the author explores the theme of conflict between a parent and child causes the child to rebel and ultimately lose respect for the parent. One example of this is when Lulu wants to get her hair cut, but Amy Chua and her have an argument about how rude she is being lately; consequently, Lulu gives herself a horrific haircut. This altercation occurs in chapter 24, and represents just one of numerous rebellious actions Lulu has against her mother. During the argument, Lulu and Amy Chua discuss: "I need a haircut,' Lulu said one day. I replied, 'After you spoke to me so rudely and refused to play the Mendelssohn musically, you expect me to get in the car now and drive you where you want?" (Chua 264-265). Later on in the text, Amy Chua states, “Lulu had taken a pair of scissors and cut her own hair. On one side, it hung unevenly to about her chin. On the other, it was chopped off
Lulu's loss of respect in the beginning is what leads her to rebel in the end against her mother. Cutting her hair symbolized that Lulu did not need to listen to Amy Chua anymore. Had Lulu and Chua have built a strong relationship in the beginning and got along with each other, Lulu would not have cut her hair and began her long line of challenges against Chua's authority as a