1.

Characterisation

a. Jing Mei
Characteri Quotes + Analysis
stic

Insecure ‘After seeing my mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside of me began to die.’
- repeated failures to meet her mother’s lofty expectations starts to weary her and cause her
to resent Suyuan for making her feel that way
- thought herself as an ordinary girl and Suyuan imposing a false identity of a prodigy on her

‘Such a sad, ugly girl! [...] Scratch out my face in the mirror.’
- violent diction shows how she wants to obliterate herself for being unable to meet her
mothers’ expectations

Becomes
Rebellious
Idealistic
(Self
‘I knew, without a doubt that the prodigy side of me really did exist.’
Asserts
through ‘Why don’t you like me the way I am? I am not a genius.’
Failure) - after failing so often, jingmei refuses to try meeting her mother’s expectations anymore as
this ensures that her hopes & her mother’s expectations will not eventually be crushed
‘Determined not to try, not to be anybody different from who I am.”
- she enforces her ordinary identity, abandoning learned talent as she does not want to
disappoint herself & her mother again

Soon after Suyuan’s passing, June returns to her childhood home and discovers her old
lesson books in the piano bench. She flips to “Pleading Child”, the same song she botched in
the talent show and learns that a song called “Perfectly Contented”, printed on the adjacent
page, is actually the other half of “Pleading Child”. The realisation that two drastically different
songs can combine into one complete song shows that June does not have to abandon
learned talent for the sake of being true to herself, because they can actually converse
together.

Jing Mei &

Chinese
Dismissive (at first)
Culture
‘I never thought my mother’s Kweilin story… a Chinese fairy tale.’
- diction of “never” - absolute word shows extent of her dismissiveness of her culture,
diction of “fairy tale” - believes that her Chinese culture is fictional and fantasy-like, thus
showing her lack of understanding of it
‘A werewolf, mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered’
- thinks of her being chinese as unnatural (does not identify with her chinese side)
- sardonic tone, making fun of chinese culture

Acceptance
 ‘My mother was right I am becoming Chinese’
- although this is simply a hyperbole, it suggests that Jing Mei is starting to consider her
chinese culture with greater acceptiveness
‘I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.’

b. Waverly

Characteri Quotes + Analysis

stic

Proactive ‘I read the rules and looked up all the big words in a dictionary.’
- does not rely on other people to tell her the rules, instead she proactively works hard to
improve in chess
- makes the most of what she has
‘Want to play?’
- takes the initiative to find new opponents
- enough confidence in self to challenge those far older than her (contrasts with jingmei’s
insecure personality)

Deductive ‘It is a game of secrets in which one must show and never tell’
- understands the importance of concealing her strengths and making use of them later on
(the art of invisible strength)
‘I knew this strategy.’
- understood her mother’s tactics to get her to admit defeat and speak to her first, countering
them and only being willing to fight on her own terms

Competitiv ‘I closed my eyes and pondered my next move.’

e - views her mother as an opponent on the chessboard, and had to carefully think on how to
outmanoeuvre and defeat her mother (to a certain extent cynical, especially towards her
mother)

Selfish ‘Waverly was the first and picked the best crab.’
- waverly always puts her needs above others
- furthermore, this had happened in Jing Mei’s house, and as a guest she should have
displayed good courtesy by letting others have the better crabs out of gratefulness for them
having invited you

Manipulati ‘I concocted a way for Rich to meet my mother and win her over.’
ve - had to think and orchestrate an entire plan for her husband to win her mother over and get
her mother’s approval for their marriage

c. Rose
Characteri Quotes + Analysis
stic

Passive ‘After a while, there were no more discussions. Ted simply decided.’
- rose barely made any decisions in their marriage, and if she did, they were of little
importance.
- she was the submissive partner who simply went along and accepted everything ted said
(caused the eventual doom of their marriage, when ted refused to make any decisions due
to how he had lost his confidence in his abilities and in general, life after losing the
malpractice lawsuit)
‘Faith was an illusion that you were somehow in control.’
- pessimistic resignation to a lack of control in life
- resigned and accepts how she had failed to watch out and act on the signs of tragedy
within her marriage with ted
‘I was victim to his hero.’
- wanted to depend on ted for her life, submit to him
- unequal dynamics in their relationship - rose was fully dependent on ted

Passive ‘You can’t just pull me out of your life and throw me away… I said I’m staying here’
TO - likens herself to the weeds in Ted’s garden
ASSERTIV - just like how they refused to be pulled out from the ground, Rose refuses to withdraw from
E the marriage and leave the house that she likes so much
- takes a confident stand for herself
‘I said what I wanted: his eyes, confused, then scared.’
- established her dominance in the marriage, instead of letting ted scare her
- realised her decisions could actually change the outcome of her life, now her and ted would
not get divorced

Indecisive ‘Should I run to the water…? Can I rise on my feet fast enough? Can I take it all back?”
ness - stream of questions, no answers
- repetition of “Can I” suggests the extent of indecisiveness, even in such a critical situation
where her brother was drowning and on the brink of death
‘She said I was without wood. Born without wood so that I Iistened to too many people.’
- rose loses her own opinions and choices as a result of constantly listening to others
- needs to be able to assert herself, instead of staying passive and living in others’ shadow

Relationsh ‘He used to work on the garden every weekend.’

ip with Ted - ted’s controlling and obsessive nature is reflected physically onto how her cares for the
plants
- ted having complete control over the garden represents him controlling the marriage and
Rose, as her name suggests, is just a flower in his harden which he could freely control
‘A cut of aloe vera that Lena gave me did not belong anywhere because we had no other
succulents.’
- even though lena’s gift was so small, ted still denied its presence in the garden.
- shows that lena’s friendship did not have a place in their marriage and in general, how even
for such insignificant things, rose had no say in their marriage

Lena
Characteri Quotes + Analysis
stic

Paranoid ‘I never knew when it would happen, so I became very nervous all the time, waiting.’
- constantly afraid that something bad was going to happen to her

Empatheti I heard them laughing and crying, crying and laughing, shouting with love... I was crying for
c joy with them, because I had been wrong. (129)
- felt relieved for Teresa and hope for herself that maybe one day, she and her mother will
also find happiness and have a good, close relationship
- the Sorci’s are a foil (direct contrast) to St Clairs - they talk out their emotions unlike the St
Clairs - serves to show us the event of how much the St Clairs keep their problems to
themselves & how much trouble that causes them

Insecure ‘Wondering how such a remarkable person as Harold could think I was extraordinary.’
- Felt ordinary and thus, undeserving of Harold, who was arguably better than her in many
aspects (e.g., financially, where he was making seven times more than her)

‘And it’s such a simple question’

- lena realises how her own passivity has caused her relationship with Harold to deteriorate
- realises that it is her fault for their breakdown in their relationship as she did not change
anything

Relationsh ‘None of this seems right. Nothing makes sense.’

ip with - lena is frustrated with her own feelings
Harold - emotionally drained by Harold
‘Mirugai is your cat and so they’re your fleas’
- Mirugai is objectified and considered a commodity to be shoved to each other for payment,
they do not consider it to be “their” pet like normal couples would - unhealthy dynamic in
their relationship
- unlike harold, lena feels that a way of expressing love is by helping to pay for each other's
expenses. hence, when harold suggests to split their expenses in half so everything is fair,
lena naturally feels tired and grows tired of it. (‘I wanted to protest. I wanted to say, “No!
I’m not really this way about money, the way we’ve been doing it.”’)
‘Unevenly cut marble… cylindrical black vase on the top starts to wobble. The table is a
poorly designed piece.’
- unstable table is a symbolic of their unstable relationship due to their contrasting opinions
‘He thinks it’s manipulative but I can’t help it.’
- harold oppressed lena, disallowing her from showcasing her emotions even when she is in
despair, and even insults her as having a ulterior motive for crying

Suyuan
Characteri Quotes + Analysis
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Determine Blisters grew on her palms from holding two leather suitcases. And the blisters burst and began to
d bleed…Singing songs to her little girls, until she was delirious with pain and fever. (344)

Optimistic It’s not that we had no heart or eyes for pain. We were all afraid. We all had our miseries. But to
 despair was to wish back for something that was already lost. (14)
- knew that clinging on to the past would only bring despair, hence she chose to not pity
herself and instead, think about the future how to improve her life (practical)

Competitiv Something was always missing. Something always needed improving. Something was not in
e & Critical balance. (22)

‘Just like you,’ She said. ‘Not the best. Because you not trying.’ (156)
- suyuan wants jingmei to be the best thus she constantly criticises Jing Mei and pressurises
her to try her best. however, this is eventually misinterpreted by Jing Mei as suyuan never
being satisfied with her and trying to impose a false identity of a prodigy on her, and thus
this led to their relationship souring.

Lindo
Characteri Quotes + Analysis
stic

Understoo What I saw was even more valuable. I was strong. I was pure. I had genuine thoughts inside that
d her no one could see, that no one could ever take away from me. I was like the wind. (58)
Self-Worth - repetition of ‘I’ creates a cumulative effect showing the extent of Lindo’s ability to cherish her
independent thoughts and her self-worth
‘I would always remember my parents' wishes, but I would never forget myself.’
- does not give in to her fate, and strives to make her life better (works her way around her
tricky circumstance - she is unable to dishonour her parents promise, but has to leave the
marriage due to the abuse of the Huang household. eventually, she makes use of chinese
traditions to remove herself from the household whilst still honouring the promise she made
with her promise.)

Self-Suffici My mother imparted her daily truths so she could help my older brothers and me rise above our
ent circumstances. (95)

Perceptive I thought about my plan for many days. I observed everyone around me, the thoughts they showed
/ Astute in their faces, and then I was ready. (65)
- orchestrates a plan to leave the huang household, that would not only prevent any blame
for falling on her & her from dishonouring her parents’ promise, but also helped to maiden
cope with her pregnancy (made use of Huang Tai Tai’s firm belief in chinese superstitions)

Critical How they make everything look like an old imperial city or emperor’s tomb.’ (316)
- Criticises America’s superficiality and how they are stereotyping the Chinese culture

An Mei
Characteri Quotes + Analysis
stic

‘Your tears do not wash away your sorrows. They feed someone else’s joy.’
- taught the cruelty of the world from such a young age

Materialisti - easily swayed by all her desires, does not understand where real happiness comes from
c to (for example, she was nearly won over by the later-proven-fake pearl necklace that second
Assertive wife had gave to her)
‘I can see the truth, too. I am strong, too.’
‘On that day, I learned to shout.’
- proactively speaking up for herself so she can make life better

Close ‘Here is how I came to love my mother. How I saw in her my own true nature. What was beneath
Connectio my skin. Inside my bones.’
n with her - saw herself in her mother and her mother in herself
Mother - physical & spiritual reflection of mother in anmei reflects similarity and understanding
between them
‘I was the girl whose belly held a colourless winter melon.’
- despite the cautionary tale from popo that if she gave in to her desires, in this case went to
her mother, she would face painful punishments, she still followed her mother.
- this shows the extent of how much An Mei wished to be with her mother & how deep their
connection was
‘She would rather kill her own weak spirit so she could give me a stronger one.’ (SACRIFICE)
- giving her daughter power through her own sacrifice
- sacrificed something as extreme as her life
- suggests the extent of mother’s love

An Mei’s mother
- ‘The pain of the flesh is nothing. The pain you must forget.’
No amount of pain and suffering can ever overshadow the love a child has for their parent.

Faith (Not Her faith in her own nengkan convinced her that what these Americans couldn't do, she could. She
Fate!) could find Bing. (144)
NengKan - An Mei has decided to try her best and do whatever she can and rely on god to grant her
wishes
- Thinks of hard work as an offering to god which will definitely grant results (faith)
- Shows her desperation in faith to save sons, shows how much she is willing to do for her
children

She wrote ‘Bing Hsu’ lightly, in erasable pencil. (150)

-Pencil can be erased - ambiguous ending, still has faith that Bing can come back to life
-Reference to “half and half” - half lost faith, half still has faith.

LOST FAITH (Submit to Fate)

My mother had a look on her face that I’ll never forget. It was one of complete despair and horror,
for losing Bing, for being so foolish as to think she could use faith to change fate. (149)

Ying Ying
Characteri Quotes + Analysis
stic

Child Yet today I can remember a time when I ran and shouted, when I could not stand still. (70)
(Active) - energetic and fidgety as a child

Adult For all these years I kept my mouth closed so selfish desires would not fall out.’(69)
(Passive - taught not to speak for herself, or else she would be greedy
Nature)
I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the years washing away the pain (69)
- process of losing herself wore her down gradually
- lost her personality trying to get over her trauma and pain
- laments that she did nothing to stop herself from losing herself

Losing Moon Lady

Herself ‘That’s not me!’ She cried. ‘I’m here. I didn’t fall in the water.’ (85)
- She keeps denying reality so as to console herself that such a traumatic experience is n
actually happening, that she is n actually abandoned and is just dreaming
- Reveals her dashed hopes and heightens her sense of abandonment

I was filled with terror. Maybe this was true. I had turned into a beggar girl, lost without my family.
(86)
- Identity crisis and change of perception - realises how she has no true value without her
family and hence feels as if she should always listen to her family and be passive as they
say so
- Diction of “beggar girl” contrasts with her being from one of the most wealthy families,
showing her strong loss of self-worth without her family’s presence

Bad Guy
My eyes, so bright and flashy at sixteen, are now yellow-stained clouded. (299)
- ‘Eyes are the windows to the soul’ - YY is now aged but never g back her lively nature back
- Loss of youth and beauty over time due to her suffering

I became a stranger to myself. I was pretty for him. (299)

- Chooses to sacrifice her own individuality for her husband
- Placed husband’s need before her own - the ‘Perfect Wife’ (Subservient to husband)

Marriage with Mr St. Clair

So my father would put words in her mouth (117)
- YY loses her own thoughts, opinions and any power in the family

Let Saint marry me… let myself become a wounded animal… willingly gave up my chi (305)
- Process of losing herself started with her first husband, ended with St Clair
- Giving up on her spirit to save herself from suffering more pain by giving up on her hatred

I was a tiger that neither pounced nor lay waiting between the trees. I became an unseen spirit.
(305)
- No longer had her own identity
- Lost all her power, spirit and will
- No longer lying in wait but truly having given up

Paranoid She did not speak of the joys of having a new baby; she talked about a heaviness around her,
about things being out of balance, not in harmony with one another. (122)
- Baby seen as a burden, which negatively impacts their life
- Foreshadowing for later death of baby as all it brought was tragedy
Guilty My fault, my fault. I knew this before it happened,’ she babbled. ‘I did nothing to prevent it.’ (124)
- Passivity caused her to n take action to prevent a tragedy
- Self blame and guilt

Able to But even when I was my happiest, I had a worry that started right above my brow. (300)
See into - Able to sense that something was off with her marriage
the Future - Later comes true when first husband cheats on her

I know a thing before it happens. She will hear the vase and table crashing to the floor. (306)
- YY able to sense the future, see the signs leading to the breaking up of Lena’s marriage with
Harold, able to know what her daughter will experience

2. Themes
a. East vs West
● Language Barrier & Miscommunication
○ Suyuan & Jing Mei:
■ My mother and I never really understood each other. We translated each
other’s meanings and I seemed to hear less than what was said, while my
mother heard more. (31) || Diction of Never - Absolute Term
● ‘Not through hugs and kisses but with stern offerings’ - Suyuan & JM
○ Food is symbolic of a mother's love for daughter, hide the indirect message that
they want children to eat more so they can be healthy and happy
● ‘My mother imparted her daily truths so she could help my older brothers and me rise
above our circumstances. (95)’ Lindo & Waverly
● Mother unwrapped something in her lap. It was her chang, a small tablet of red jade
which held the sun’s fire. (104)
Lindo shows her support through actions instead of words
The red jade is something precious to Lindo from her mother, it is a symbol of her
love and pride for Waverly → meant to inspire Waverly and to make her know that Lindo
had her back and supported her endeavours so that Waverly can get the confidence she
needs to attain success
● ‘My mother’s own version of organic chemistry. Each person is made of five elements.
(22)’ - Contrast between JM’s practical knowledge of organic chemistry and SY using her
knowledge of chinese superstition to justify her actions - superstitions are false and
unscientific
● ‘A missing leg is a bad sign on Chinese New Year.’ (240) On such prominent festivals,
such superstitions play a big role in deciding what kind of food and house decoration
should be - superstitions play a big role in events and life
● My mother’s long cherished wish. Me, the younger sister who was supposed to be the
essence of others. Even names (a person’s identity) have symbolic meanings and
hidden expectations
● That red candle was supposed to seal me forever with my husband and his family, no
excuse afterward (60) Something like just a mere candle could have such symbolism
and power to seal a person’s life Superstitions might also give people strong faith and
 belief - eg. Lindo started having confidence in ruining marriage aer she reversed the
superstition by blowing out the candle
● My mother took her flesh and put it in the soup. She cooked magic in the ancient
tradition to try to cure her mother this one last time. (45) By one’s sacrifice, anher can
get benefit Her flesh was symbolic of her hopes and strong desire of wanting her mher to
healHer willingness to sacrifice her own flesh for her mher and endure all that opain
shows her strong believe in superstitions (sacrifice - even after her own mother had
openly discriminated and embarrassed her for becoming a concubine to Tyan-yu despite
her being forced into the situation)
● My mother had a superstition that children were predisposed to certain dangers on
certain days, all depending on their Chinese birthdate. (141)
○ AM is extremely paranoid as she grew up in fear listening to Pop’s stories
○ Tells Rose about all these dangers so she can avoid them
● I began to see terrible things. I saw these things with my chinese eyes… lightning had
eyes… beetle wearing the face of a child… I could see things that Causasian girls at
school did not (114) Superstition may bring paranoia and make make people constantly
anxious and worried Beetle wearing the face of child “ shows a very gory and disturbing
image of what Lena sees and since beetles are very common to be seen, we can see
how prevalent and common this superstition is in her life

b. Fate vs Autonomy
As a child, Lindo is arranged to be
married to Tyan-yu, a spoiled boy from a rich family. Once she’s
folded into the family, more as a servant than a wife, Lindo nitially resigns herself to the
harsh life. She changes her mind
when she sees her marriage candle blow out, signaling an
inauspicious end to her marriage. When the candle is lit again in
the morning, she knows someone artificially maintained the
light, not fate itself. She then constructs a plan to scare her in-
laws into releasing her from the marital contract and paying her
way to America. Though fate might have delivered her to such
circumstances, it is her own will and ingenuity that construct
the solution and change the course of her life.

Similarly, An-mei’s mother refuses to accept her abusive lot in

life, especially as her children suffer alongside her. Though
seemingly fated to live with her shame, An-mei’s mother
decides to kill herself at a time when her husband cannot
refuse her anything, thus placing An-mei and her baby brother
in a position of power. Though she dies, in doing so An-mei’s
mother decides her own destiny and the fortune of her
children. Though the traditional Chinese belief in
predetermined fate exists and determines much of a person’s
life, The Joy Luck Club reminds the reader that there is always
room for free will to alter the future for the better.

c. Mother-Daughter
● Suyuan and Jing Mei
○ Suyuan wants the best for Jing Mei
■ ‘She did housework for an old retired piano teacher.’
■ ‘I thought I was doing the right thing, taking the crab with the missing leg.
But my mother cried, ‘No! No! Big one, you eat it. I cannot finish.’
○ Jing Mei misinterprets Suyuan incessant pushing of her to be BETTER and lofty
expectations as harsh criticism & feels that Suyuan is disappointed in her (trying
to impose a false identity on her, when all she wants is Jing Mei to live the
American dream).
■ ‘My mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside me began
to die.’
■ You’re giving this to me only because of what happened tonight.’
● Not used to Suyuan being nice to her
● Believes that Suyuan has an ulterior motive for gifting her the Jade
Pendant
○ Dismissive of Mother
■ To me, the whole effect looked wrong: too large, too green, too garnish
ornate’
● Parallel structure of all the problems with SuYuan’s gift she gave
to her from her heart
● This creates a cumulative effect which emphasises how Jing Mei
felt that the necklace was ugly. She “stuffed the necklace in my
(her) lacquer box and forgot about it” which shows she did not
understand the meaning behind Suyuan giving her the necklace at
all and completely dismissed it.
○ Reconciliation
■ Together we look like our mother. (352)
● Being reunited with her sisters makes it clear to her that she is
Chinese by the virtue of her family
● She always had the conflict of being American or Chinese but now
this burden can finally be let go
● Familial bond-feels a sense of completeness aer understanding
herself, what part of her is Chinese
● Lindo & Waverly
○ Waverly thinks of Lindo as her competitor
■ ‘Remains of a large fish, its fleshy head still connected to bones
swimming upstream in vain escape.’
 ● Waverly sees herself as the fish, stripped clean by her mother’s
power, unable to break free
● ‘Vain escape’ suggests how she feels that it is useless to fight
against her mother as she is too good of an opponent (she views
her mother as an opponent, someone to emancipate herself from,
in the first place?)
■ ‘In her hands, I always became the pawn. I could only run away. And she
was the queen, able to move in all directions, relentless in her pursuit,
able to find my weakest spots.’
● While the pawn, representing herself, is the weakest piece in the
game, the queen that it is playing against, representing Lindo, is
the strongest piece.
● Waverly feels that she is vulnerable & easy to be defeated by her
mother not only in the metaphorical chess game, but in real life as
well
○ Waverly believes that Lindo is overly critical and does not understand her true
intentions
■ I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your daughter’ (108)
● Waverly is embarrassed of her mother's boasting, thinks she is
being obnoxious
● By her mom boasting about it, it makes it seem as if Lindo was the
one who helped Waverly reach that level of success, hence,
Waverly wants the praise all to herself.
● Lindo, on the other hand, believes that Waverly reaching her level
of success in chess was due to a familial effort, and therefore
everyone in the family should get bragging rights for her win.
○ Lindo cares about Waverly
I wanted you to have the best circumstances, the best character, I didn't want you to regret
anything. (323)
- Hopes and wanted the best for her daughter, wanted her to be the best she could be and
content
- Did not want daughter to go through any pain or suffer like she did in her arranged marriage

I am becoming ashamed. I am ashamed she is ashamed… not proud of me. (310)

- Repetition - Extent of Lindo’s shame, hurt by her feelings
- Ashamed that her daughter is ashamed of her

Why do you make this joke? This is not sincere. This was not true! (315)
- Waverly romanticised meeting of parents to make Lindo sound more interesting
- Ends up being insincere and lies just to make it sound cool
- Lindo feels as if Waverly does n respect or understand the importance behind her past, hence,
twists it to make it better for superficial reasons

The coat looked shabby, an imitation of romance (199)

-Waverly wants Lindo’s approval and is hence deeply affected by her opinions
-Waverly thought very highly of Rich’s eravagant gi and thought of it dearly but one comment
from Lindo demeaned his gift - extent of how important Lindo’s opinions are for Waverly

I wondered if perhaps my mother had poisoned my marriage. (206)

- Strong use and negative connations to Lindo’s influence
- Waverly thinks she ruined her love life, clearly does n make sense
-Emphasised what her mher is capable to doing

‘You think I have a secret meaning. But it is you who has this meaning.’ (215)
- Lindo knows that only Waverly has developed misconceptions and misunderstood her
- Waverly has thought all this time that her mher was out to pull her down but it was only an
illusion of her own mind
-Unfamiliarity of such conflicted views of Lindo

She looked like a young girl, frail, guileless, and innocent (213)
- Waverly sees her mher in a different light - Weak, vulnerable and human
- Destroys her perception of her mher as an indomitable opponent
- Paradigm shi (a ndamental change in approach or underlying assumptions)
- Finally sees her mher for who she was, simply a mher who cared for her own daughter, was n
anyone who was out to put her down

The same happiness, the same sadness, the same good fortune, the same faults (311)
- Lindo’s overwhelming emions
-Parallel structure “the same”, -Emphasis of the eent of similarity between bh

An-Mei & Rose

She said my ear would bend too easily to other people, all saying words that had no lasting
meaning,
because they came from the bottom of their hearts, where their own desires lived, a place
where I could not
belong. (220)
-An Mei gave Rose good advice to n be so weak-willed and always listen to her people
-An Mei wants Rose to have opinions for herself and follow them so people would n misuse her
-An Mei uses her past experience of knowing that many people are bad to teach Rose n to
make a
mistake of believing in everyone so that Rose would n be sad

‘You are getting too thin,’ my mother said in her pained voice when I sat down next to her. ‘You
must eat
more.’ (222)
-Notices everything about Rose
-Shows her love to Rose indirectly by asking her if she is physically healthy, symbolically, if she
was feeling mentally alright

‘You must think for yourself, what you must do. If someone tells you, then you are not trying.’
(150)
- An Mei urges Rose to take responsibility
- Tells her to try and make her own decisions because if someone else does it for her, she has n
put in any effort in the first place
-From her own experience she knows that happiness would only be achieved if you proactively
exert your
thought and opinions and n just passively accept everything
-Wants Rose to do the same so that she can be happy

‘You must stand tall and listen to your mother standing next to you. That is the only way to grow
strong and
straight. But if you bend and listen to other people, you will grow crooked and weak. (227)
-An Mei only wants best for daughter and wants Rose to listen to her so that she would n suffer
and get hurt like she did in her past
-Wants Rose to stop listening to her people because she knows hers may be best

‘I have just planted them this morning, some for you and some for me,’ And below the
heimongmong, all along the ground, were weeds already spilling out over the edges, running
wild in every direction. (235)
-Even though An Mei felt that weeds were unsightly and lacking direction, she accepts Rose’s
identity as she is proud of Rose that she was able to exert herself and found herself a identity
-They were doing a shared activity together, shows improvement in their relationship
-An Mei wanted to tell Rose that she would be there to support Rose to do what she wants

Ying Ying & Lena

● Lack of Communication
But when she was born, she sprang away from me like a slippery fish, and has been swimming
away ever since. All her life I have watched her as though from another shore. (293)
-Just like how it is hard to hold on to a slippery fish as it just leaves your grasp all of a sudden
and it hard
to get back, Lena was slipped off YY’s grasp and has been “swimming away” - increasing
distance
-YY makes no effort to solve this worsening situation and passively watched her “from anher
shore”
● Ying Ying Dependent on Lena
And she looked at me in a strange way, as if she were begging me for her life, as if I could
pardon her. (125)
- YY pleads with Lena to comfort her and absolve her of her sins
- YY saw Lena as someone who would heal her and remove her guilt
 ● Mother Daughter Similarities
She and I have shared the same body. There is a part of her mind that is part of mine. (293)
- Bh share the same flesh and blood, as well as the same thoughts
- YY acknowledges that her daughter is very similar to her and that Lena has inherited her
passivity and
way of thinking

● Ying Ying projects her fears on Lena

I started to scream, seeing this dangerous man lunge closer (120)
- Lena also feared the man after she sees her mother in terror

Ying Ying even tells Lena cautionary tales so she won’t make the same mistakes she did
Terrible things, I saw these things with my Chinese eyes, the part of me I got from my mother.
(114)
- Lena inherits her mother's paranoia and fear of the world
- She assumes that it is a result of her own culture and heritage
- Lived a life filled with fear and negativity as a result

● Protective
She grabbed my hand so fast, I knew at that instant how sorry she was that she had not
protected me better (120)
-YY feels extremely guilt for abandoning Lena because she was scared if the dangerous man
-YY feels as if she betrayed Lena and was being selfish and now holds onto Lena so tightly as a
way of protecting Lena and to promise that she will never let go of her hand ne time

‘I knew it would happen. [...] Then why don’t you stop it?’
- YY knows that Lena’s marriage is n going well and tries to use the table as an example
of telling her that she should do something instead of sit passively
- When the table was always about to fall down due to how unsteady it was and Lena did
n do anything to stabilise it and now it fell and broke. This table is symbolic of their
unstable marriage which will break
- YY tries to convince Lena that instead of sitting passively and just accept their sad
marriage while breaking on the inside, she should do something and take a stand for
herself and her wishes
- Lena called this a “simple question” shows how this really isn’t as simple as it seems and
there are many complexities of this marriage and she can’t just easily break it but due to
YY’s question, Lena is slowly understanding her passivity and how it will lead to
disastrous things

Now I must tell my daughter everything… The pain that cut my spirit loose. I will hold that pain in
my hand until it becomes hard and shiny, more clear. And then my fierceness can come back,
my golden side, my black side. I will use this sharp pain to penetrate my daughter’s tough skin
and cut her tiger spirit loose. She will fight me, because that is the nature of two tigers. But then
I will win and give her my spirit, because that is the way a mother loves her daughter. (306)
- YY will bring her “fierceness” will come back to her, with her “golden” and “black” side,
showing how YY will no longer remain the passive ghost she is, instead she would
convert back to being a fierce tiger who will fight her past and her greatest fears
- YY’s love and concern for her daughter prompts her to confront her painful past and face
all the pain she has endured so that she can sacrifice her spirit to give Lena a stronger
spirit that would enable Lena to likewise face her failing marriage and do something
about it so she would n repeat the same mistakes YY did with her first marriage

When I bit into a candy bar...full of secret dark spots and creamy goo, I sacrificed that as well
(178)
-Lena actively sacrifices things that she likes just because of her unquestionable belief in YY’s
words
-Vivid depiction of the candy bar being delectable and appealing, highlights eent of how much
Lena is willing to sacrifice to n marry Arnold just for the sake of her strong belief in YY’s
words

d. Storytelling
Parables
arable
- Parable 1: American Dream (female independence)
- ‘In America...Nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her
husband’s belch. Over there
nobody will look down on her, ...she will be too full to swallow any sorrow.’ (5)
- In America, a woman’s identity is no longer dependent on their husband’s approval
- Female strength and emancipation (independence) deemed more acceptable
- Indication of how mher’s have faced injustice and shame in China, do n want their
daughters to suffer
as they did
- Idealistic view of America and the immigration experience
- Faithlness of maternal love
- She had a daughter who grew up speaking only English and swallowing more
Coca-cola than sorrow. (5)
- ‘Coca-Cola’ - A popular cultural American icon
- American traits in daughters hard to balance with her Chinese ros and heritage
- Daughters lives are without any suffering or worry compared to mhers
- Cultural and language barrier and divide between mhers and daughters
- Breakdown in communication / miscommunication will be apparent
- Parable 2: Daughters should listen to their mother
- ‘The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates’ ….‘It is written in Chinese. You cannot understand
it. That is why you must
listen to me.’ (93)
- Presents the growing conflict between mhers and daughters as daughters don't
understand/ accept
their mhers
- Emblematic dialogue between parent and child
- Childhood stories and warnings that teach good behaviour
- Cultural differences between Chinese and American - mhers do n know how to convey
their messages
to their daughters clearly
- Well meaning intentions by mhers do n necessarily reach their daughters
- ‘You can’t tell me because you don’t know! ...she fell before she even reached the
corner. (93)
- Mher - daughter conflict; estrangement
- The girls in JLC fail to follow the rules set by their mhers and suffer the consequences
of their actions
- Introduces the themes of conflict between generations as daughters grow into
adolescence
- Mher’s (over) prectiveness expressed in attempts to dictate/control influence their
daughter’s lives
- Daughter’s rebellious resal to listen/obey only brings pain/suffering onto herself
- Parable 3: Fengshui (position of stu in your house aecting luck) and Chinese
Traditional Beliefs
- You cannot put mirrors at the foot of the bed (171)
- Feng Shui (Chinese geomancy) and Chinese traditional beliefs n understood by
daughters
- Governed by fear as n following fengshui ‘brings’ bad luck and causes unfortunate
incidents to occur (as
believed by the mhers)
Parable 4: ;You say you are…Queen mother of the western skies.’
- Mhers do n know whether to teach their daughters to shed their innocence in order to
prect herself
from emional injury or to preserve their optimism and faith in human goodness.
- ‘Queen mher of the Weestern Skies’ - The Queen Mher was held in especially high
regard by Chinese
women who did n represent the societal norm of the submissive woman. To these
women, The Queen
Mher of the West was seen as a powerl, independent deity representing the ultimate yin
controlling
immortality and the aerlife.
- How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to laugh forever. (255)
- Mher’s hopes and aspirations for their daughters, wants them to be happy
- Daughters must lose their innocence but n their hope; one must never stop laughing

Storytelling & the Hsus

1. Cautionary Tales against Female Autonomy
- A greedy girl whose belly grew fatter...girl poisoned herself after refusing to say whose child
she carried… they found inside a large white winter melon...if you are greedy, what is inside you
is what always makes you hungry (38)
- Cautionary tales against immoral behaviour
- Condemnation for greedy women to indulge in their own desires, seen as ‘selfish’
- Greedy girl’s ‘sins’ contrasted to the holy nature of monks
- Ironic and disturbing that holy monks would desecrate her body
- Shamed woman is portrayed as a victim in a visceral/disturbing way
2. A girl who refused to listen to her elders... shook her head vigorously to refuse her
auntie’s simple request that a little white ball fell from her ear and out poured all her
brains, as clear as chicken broth… ‘Your own thoughts are so busy swimming inside that
everything else gets pushed out.’ (38)
- Moral: Listen to orders and n think for herself
- Cognitive dissonance: Mundane image (Chicken brh) for disturbing idea (brains pouring out) 3.
Nightmare man mr chou
- Old Mr Chou chased me, shouting, ‘See what happens when you don’t listen to your
mother!’ And I became too paralysed, too scared to move in any direction. (222)
- Even in Rose's dreams, she fears the consequences of disobeying her mher’s words
- Intense fear of what would happen to her if she did n listen to her mher
4. Magpies (Women’s Suffering in China)
‘The turtle said, ‘I have eaten your tears, and this is why I know your misery. But I must warn
you. If you cry,
your life will always be sad.’ (259)
- Expectations of women in China to suffer and be powerless and always suffering
- Turtle and Magpies are a representation of the cycle of suffering for women due to
misogyny
- Lesson: If one chooses to remain sad and give in to their circumstances, their lives will
never change for the better

Storytelling & the St. Clairs

The St Clairs
1. Cautionary tale against female desire
- For this was her fate: to stay lost on the moon, forever seeking her own selfish desires. (88)
- Women are punished for being selfish, reinforced the idea that women are n allowed to have
their own
desires
- Cautionary tale of how one will be lost and cast out forever by their own willness
2. the worst case scenario
- But before he could even raise the shape sword to whittle his life away, they found the
beggar’s mind had already broken into a thousand pieces. (112)
- Fear and anticipation of the worst possible outcome is what breaks a person, n experiencing
the actual outcome itself
- Psychological fear is greater than physical pain
- Parallels how Lena and YY lived their lives expecting the worst possible outcome, inducing
paranoia and fear in their daily lives
- When she opened her eyes, she saw no blood, no shredded flesh…’Now I have perfect
understanding. I have
already experienced the worst. After this, there is no worst possible thing.’ (130)
- When one overcomes the worst possible outcome, nhing else can hurt them anymore
- Being a ghost, being passive and ceasing to exist is the worst possible thing that could happen
to YY

3. Projection of mother’s fears on daughter

- Grab you o the streets, sell you to someone else, make you have a baby...you kill the
baby...go to jail die
there (118)
- YY creates a story which is realistic and could take place, yet also somewhat exaggerate chain
of events which results in the worst possible outcome to teach her daughter to always listen to
her
- Mirrors YY’s fears and past trauma, themes of babies and rape and prostitution
- Stresses the worst possible outcome

e. Gender Discrimination
An-Mei + her Mother
A greedy girl whose belly grew fatter and fatter...When the monks cut open her body, they found
inside a large white winter melon...‘If you are greedy, what is inside you is what makes you
always hungry.’ (38)
● Cautionary Tale Popo told An-Mei to warn her not to be greedy

I was taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people’s misery, to eat my own bitterness! (257)
-Even if the girls were in despair, they were taught to hide their emotions or they would be taken
advantage of - shows how girls were badly oppressed and n allowed to showcase their feelings

- Your mother did not scream or cry when he fell on her. (285)
-An cruel example of the fate women have to endure due to misogyny
-Even despite this n being her fault, her pride was lost and she had to n despair about it as she
was taught just to accept her fate and she is a girl

Filial Piety ‘My mother took her flesh and put it in the soup. She cooked magic in ancient
tradition to try and cure her mother this one last time. (45)’
-Theme of how the sacrifice of one, can heal another
-Girls were supposed to selflessly care of their parents + obey their every demand despite how
they were
-Her willingness to ensure such physical pain for her mother shows how filial piety in engraved
into her

What choice did she have? She was already as low as a prostitute. (286)
- An Mei’s mother was a victim of rape, not a willing prostitute
- Even despite such a traumatic experience, she did n get an sympathy, she was just oppressed
due to societal expectations and rules

LINDO
‘I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents’ promise.’
‘I was boiling with anger, but I said nothing, remembering my promise to my parents to be an
obedient wife.’

I came to think of Tyan-yu as a god, someone whose opinions were worth much more than my
own life. I came to think of Huang Taitai..my real mother...someone I wanted to please...follow
and obey without question (56)
- Extent of brainwash of the patriarchy and its effects into making girls feel that such
oppression is alright (even Lindo who is perceptive and has a high self-esteem was
brainwashed)

YING YING
Girls should not have desires
- For all these years I kept my mouth closed so selfish desires would not fall out. (69)
-First line of YY’s first chapter - this reveals her inner thoughts and beliefs on how anything she
wishes for
is considered selfish
-Diction of “all these years” - shows how prevalent and brainwashed she was into believing that
she
cann wish for anything as a child
- Haven’t I taught you - that it is wrong to think of your own needs? A girl can never ask, only
listen.’ (73)
-A need is something that’s is required and n a wish, a girl cann even take care and desire for
something necessary for her to live as it would be considered selfish

Expectations of Women (be passive)

‘A boy can run and chase dragonflies, because that is his nature,’ she said. ‘But a girl should
stand still.’ If you are still for a very long time, a dragonfly will no longer see you. (76)
- A girl cannot actively pursue her desires just because of their gender
-If a girl wants something she can only pray for it and hope that it would come true
- Diction of how “no longer see you (being seen)” is considered good - an ideal girl is someone
who is invisible to society - does n desire anything and just accepts everything that comes her
way
Lena’s deliberate mistranslation of Ying-ying’s pain, although out of good will, is the clearest
example of language alienation in the novel. Ying-ying cannot be her
authentic self, even in front of loved ones. Her despair is filtered
through Lena’s attempt to protect her father, at the expense of Ying-
ying herself.