Joy Luck Club
Azzouz Chokhmane Chokhmane1
Professor E. Chan
ESL 42
November 12th, 2013
Final Essay/D2
A Tough Motherly Love “The Joy Luck Club” book deals mainly with the relationship between mothers and daughters. From the point of view of the Chinese mothers, a mother passes on her strengths and weaknesses and most importantly, her Chinese heritage and values to her daughter, while the daughter is expected to respect, listen to and learn from her mother. In this manner, Lindo Jong makes sure to teach her daughter Waverly Jong two important Chinese values, since the latter was a child. The first Chinese value Lindo teaches her daughter is the art of invisible strength. She teaches her that crying to get what you want doesn’t always work, but being quiet and following the rules to your advantage does, Lindo tells Waverly that the strongest wind cannot be seen. Waverly was taught this value since a very early age, she recounts that her mother taught her the art of invisible art since she was six. Lindo remembers that she had this ability as a young girl, the day of her wedding when she realized that she was no longer scared and that she could see what was inside her. Therefore, she tries to hand on this value to Waverly by teaching her to hide her thoughts and emotions and be observant in order to predict other people’s moves in chess and in real life situations, Waverly says :” I also found out why I should never reveal “why” to others. A little knowledge withheld is a great advantage one should store for future use.” (94-95). This skill helps Waverly in winning arguments, respect from others and most importantly chess games. The second value Lindo Jong wants her daughter to learn is having a Chinese character in American circumstances. She is pleased that Waverly has had American opportunities, but she thinks her daughter lacks Chinese
Professor E. Chan
ESL 42
November 12th, 2013
Final Essay/D2
A Tough Motherly Love “The Joy Luck Club” book deals mainly with the relationship between mothers and daughters. From the point of view of the Chinese mothers, a mother passes on her strengths and weaknesses and most importantly, her Chinese heritage and values to her daughter, while the daughter is expected to respect, listen to and learn from her mother. In this manner, Lindo Jong makes sure to teach her daughter Waverly Jong two important Chinese values, since the latter was a child. The first Chinese value Lindo teaches her daughter is the art of invisible strength. She teaches her that crying to get what you want doesn’t always work, but being quiet and following the rules to your advantage does, Lindo tells Waverly that the strongest wind cannot be seen. Waverly was taught this value since a very early age, she recounts that her mother taught her the art of invisible art since she was six. Lindo remembers that she had this ability as a young girl, the day of her wedding when she realized that she was no longer scared and that she could see what was inside her. Therefore, she tries to hand on this value to Waverly by teaching her to hide her thoughts and emotions and be observant in order to predict other people’s moves in chess and in real life situations, Waverly says :” I also found out why I should never reveal “why” to others. A little knowledge withheld is a great advantage one should store for future use.” (94-95). This skill helps Waverly in winning arguments, respect from others and most importantly chess games. The second value Lindo Jong wants her daughter to learn is having a Chinese character in American circumstances. She is pleased that Waverly has had American opportunities, but she thinks her daughter lacks Chinese