Ode to Joy

The story of Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah is a story of a little girl that is isolated from her family, her whole life. From Adeline’s birth her family didn’t accept her and didn’t like her; especially Niang. Although Adeline’s biological brother and sisters were treated worse than their step-brother and sister, Adeline was treated worse. She didn’t have anyone to look out for her, besides Aunt Baba. Adeline had one person to look out for her, Aunt Baba, but she also had a pet that she…

The passage, “A Pair of Tickets” is an excerpt from the book, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan. Tan’s book is a narrative that derives from Tan’s life growing up as a Chinese-American. Jing-Mei “June” Woo is a thirty-six year old woman who has always considered herself to be “American” as she was born and raised in San Francisco, California. June finally travels to her motherland as a result of her recently deceased mother’s desire to reconcile with her long lost daughters. Throughout her journey…

read. Amy Tan is no exception and succeeded in getting her readers to dispute over her works. For instance scholars argue over whether the narrative beginnings in The Joy Luck Club took a feminist view point or if the beginnings were there to analyze cultural identity (Romagnolo). Her works like The Bonesetter’s Daughter and The Joy Luck Club assess controversial deliberations. Tan expresses her argument through her characters based on real life situations. Amy Tan evaluates controversial…

The short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan tells about a young Chinese girl named Ni Kan who lives in America and learns to play the piano. I will be comparing and contrasting this story to my personal story, where as a child I moved to China and learned to play the piano. There are some similarities and some surprising differences in the stories obstacles, conflicts, and transformations. In the story "Two Kinds" Ni Kan faced many obstacles trying to learn to play the piano. Her first obstacle was…

In the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, a relationship is shown between a mother and daughter that exemplifies the complexities and intricacies between the two. Throughout the story, the mother chooses to showcase different musical talents towards her daughter, in hope that her daughter masters one and becomes a “child prodigy.” Meanwhile, the daughter chooses to find herself through her own means rather than through the dreams of her mother, which sets the theme of how the expectations of a…

In Annie Murphy's " Tiger Moms: Is Tough Parenting Really the Answer" article, the reader know about how mother Amy Chua raised her children in a rigorous matter to ensure that her two daughters were prepared for their future the author, Annie Murphy Paul, describes why Amy Chua, who is a Chinese mother, commonly used the parenting style of Tiger mother to treat and raise her children. First of all, Paul states that the Tiger Moms style is the most effective way to raise our children for…

This modified passage, which goes on for more than a whole page is a double climax because on the one hand, Kingston breaks free from the repression she has felt throughout the childhood by her family and the Chinese customs (). On the other hand, she takes up the agency and “makes a statement” to her parents (): Kingston chooses to form her own identity regardless of the ethnic background as a Chinese American and rejects the idea of what her parents expect her to be. It might be true that her…

The song “Someone’s Watching Over Me” by Hilary Duff is about someone finally finding themselves and becoming comfortable with who they are after struggling with their identity for some time. I feel that this song aptly conveys Jing-mei Woo’s character traits, emotions, thoughts and predicament as an adult after the passing of her mother, Suyuan woo as she too had a prejudice against her Chinese self. As a child, Jing-mei had always detested her Chinese culture and “had vigorously denied that…

In the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, the author creates a conflict between a Chinese mother and her daughter. The relationship between the mother who wanted her daughter to be prodigy, and her daughter who refused to be prodigy is presented (43). She uses dialogue, irony, similes and metaphors to illustrate and set her writing. Tan’s main message that stands out in the story is parents-to-kids relationship, in this case mother-to-daughter relationship. With all the details given by the…

Many books, such as Pride and Prejudice and A Midsummer Night's Dream depict the different layers of relationships and marriage: the good, the bad and the ugly. The novel The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, is no different. This novel describes the life of four pairs of Chinese immigrant mothers and American-born daughters, and their different struggles, ranging from the clash of cultures to adaptation to the american society and, in many cases, marriage itself. Most of the women in the story have,…