The Mother-Daughter Relationship In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

Were you really ever my age? This thought runs through the minds of every teenager while having issues with his or her parents. While growing up and finding oneself, one feels constantly pressured, misunderstood, battled and lonely. Ironically, teenage years are not only hard for teenagers. It took a lot of time for me to realize that when we start to develop into young adults, our parents automatically presses a replay button on their minds. As they see us growing up, they tend to remember their own mistakes, lessons and memories. Parents try to teach their children everything they have learned to save them from foolishly tripping in the path of life. Thus parents want their children to be the bettered reflection of his or her self. This is perfectly exemplified through Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club, by …show more content…
Like the Chinese daughters, it took time for me to realize that her opinion always comes from her best intentions, thus it is hard to accept advice when one is too young to notice one’s flaws. But in contrast with the mother-daughter relationships displayed in The Joy Luck Club, my mother and me have always kept an open communication. Nowadays, most mothers have mastered the art of balancing control and freedom, specifically regarding their teenagers. By having the freedom to choose our own path, us teenagers can avoid rebelling against feeling excluded or not taken into consideration. However we are still guided by our mother’s words of wisdom. This assures me that even though my mother sees me as her reflection, she will stop pressing the replay button on her mind to let me make my own mistakes and take my own decisions. Even though it might seem as if our mothers fast-forwarded our age, the truth is that they were once as young as we are, but now they are just twice as wise. And, while growing up, I have learned that defying timeless wisdom, is mostly just a waste of