1. Do you believe that the daughter is cherished? Defend your answer.

In the poem ‘ The Cherished Daughter’, the title seems to be ironic because yes the
mother cherished the daughter, but too much that made it different from the real positive
meaning of being cherished. She never let her daughter to get married unless her standard will
be sufficed. Even the daughter is in legal age already and longing to get married at the right age,
she needs to obey and respect her mother as also part of their culture. The daughter always
asking what is the plan of her mother because she really value the decisions of her mother
especially in terms of getting married. In the last stanza of the poem, the daughter is already
forty-three but then still without a husband because her mother cherished her too much and
overvaluing her daughter’s value in marriage.

2. What is the present day equivalent of magpie from the context?

In present day, the equivalent of magpie when referring to a person is someone who is
highly vocal who creates a creative communication and expression. Thus magpie is someone
who can arrange certain events and relationships like marriage.

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3. What can you say about the culture of the Vietnamese shown in the poem?

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I really respect the culture of the Vietnamese but for me in terms of getting married,

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individual must be prioritized and of important over the family. In Vietnam, it is expected that

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the family will have a major voice in the selection of wives and husbands of their children and

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sometimes they do it through horoscopes. Also, the social status of the families should be
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considered when choosing a marital partner. In my opinion, voice of parents or family should be
heard and considered also but the beliefs of valuing legal age that a person has the right for
his/her own decision-making is most important. A marriage should be the most important
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decision a person makes in his or her life. Marriage is a commitment of love and not arranged or
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set according to the standards of other people who’s not the one getting married. For me real
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love doesn’t happen after marriage. Every person has the right to choose to whom he/she will
be getting married because love is mysterious and magical.

4. Say something about the value of challenges of the mother.

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The mother is really interested in securing a good mate for her daughter. The challenges
of the mother is her way to name the man who’s in best fit to her daughter. There’s a saying that
mother knows best but in here, it seems like the mother’s standard were too high. For me, what
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really matter is that the mother guides and leads her daughter properly in recognizing choices,
preferences and should not negatively interfere in her marital choice which may lead to regrets
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and pains later in the life of the daughter like in the last part of poem wherein there’s a
desperation. The mother is overvaluing the value of her daughter.

5. How do you feel for the daughter at forty-three?

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I feel sad for the daughter at forty-three longing to get married at the right age. I feel her
desperation to break the chain from her mother. At forty-three, she must on the stage of her life
where she already has her own family. As she said “Mother, will you please give me away”, she
really wanted to get married and she’s confused if her mother is overvaluing the culture of
Vietnamese or she’s being cherished too much by her mother. Whatever the reason is, she must

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 be given a chance to choose his partner and to get married especially she’s already forty-three
regardless of not being able to meet her mother’s standard.

6. What family, economic, education, and social values should be cherished based on the poem?

Based on the poem, the respect the daughter has to her mother is one of the values that
should be cherished. In the poem, the mother is trying to teach the daughter of the accepted
norms and culture in their society and the daughter obey her mother. Even though there are
times that it is hard to maintain the tie between them, the daughter tries to understand her
mother’s actions and decisions. It is not because the daughter remains dependent on her
mother but maintaining the respect to the mother and existing culture. I know that the daughter
thinks that her mother has good intentions behind those standards and challenges. It is also very
important to consider the feelings and opinion of the daughter because the standard set by the
mother creates the communication barrier between them and result to the desperation of the
daughter in some part of the poem. Sometimes parents need to let their children decide on their
own especially when they are in the right or legal age but with appropriate guidance from them.

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