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Family and Amy Tan

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Family and Amy Tan
Snapshot: Lost Lives Of Women By: Amy Tan
1a)b) Three phrases that indicate the status of women in china in 1922 would be; "Jingmei, my own grandmother, She was the widow of a poor scholar, a man who had the misfortune of dying from influenza when he was about to be appointed a vice magistrate. In 1924 or so, a rich man forced her into becoming one of his concubines. My grandmother, now an outcast, took her young daughter to live with her on an island outside of Shanghai. She left her son behind, to save his face." In our society a women wouldn't be out casted if she was forced to have relations with a man, the man would be the one to pay. " Nunu Aiyi, "Precious Auntie." she divorced her husband, a daring thing for a woman to do. But then, finding no means to support herself or her young daughter, Nunu eventually accepted the lawyer's second proposal to become his number two concubine. "Where else could she go?" my mother asked. "Some people said she was lucky the lawyer still wanted her.'" In our country women get divorces all the time and wouldn't think herself lucky to be a man’s mistress. If she were to get a divorce she could work and support her family, not have to depend on a man to take care of her.

2. The connection Amy Tan discovers by the end of "Snapshot: Lost Lives of Women" is that she needs to tell the stories of these strong women and what they went through and her grandmother is the courage and strength running though her family that keeps Amy going, in hopes that life will change for the women in China.

3. A list of woman in the photo and their “terrible fates”:
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Divong (Great Grandmother) – committed suicide after being forced to become a concubine.
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Uncle’s wife – very disliked by her uncle said he was forced to have an ugly wife by his family always complained about her cooking.
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Aunt, Mothers second cousin (Nunu Alyi) – couldnt provide for her daughter after divorcing her husband so she was forced into concubinage.
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Mother – had hot soup spilled over her leaving her scared forever and had to witness her own mother commit suicide
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Grandmother (Jingmei) – lost her husband to influenza then forced by a man to be one of his concubines then out casted she gives birth to another son and commits suicide.

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