“This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better...than Western ones. But instead it is about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old” (Chua). Amy Chua wanted to write a book about the superiority of Chinese parenting. What happened instead resulted in a journey of learning, for both her and her family. Her determination as a tiger mother led her to write a memoir about her experiences. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, a self-proclaimed memoir by Amy Chua is a noteworthy “story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs” (Chua). Amy was determined to raise her kids the Chinese way. Through hard work and determination, she achieved high levels of success with her …show more content…
Amy’s hours of endless practicing and pushing with her daughters payed off quite well, demonstrating the power of effort through Lulu and Sophia’s numerous musical achievements. Lulu and Sophia performed together at a special gala for an opera singer (49). The sisters performed in Budapest, Hungary as prodigies from America (145). Sophia won multiple local piano awards (Chua 29). She went on to win a piano competition and perform at Yale (57). Lulu auditioned for Juilliard, and ended up landing a place with a prestigious teacher (143). Eventually, Sophia won an extremely competitive contest and performs at the reputable Carnegie Hall (136). Both of Amy’s daughters were very successful in their musical careers as a result of the many hours practicing. Sophia and Lulu even had sought-after teachers with a high level of demands. Sophia’s teacher Wei-Yi usually only taught college students, but after hearing Sophia play, he was willing to take her on. “When Wei-Yi and I first met, he explained that he’d never had a student as young as Sophia…” (122). When auditioning for Juilliard, Miss Tanaka, a famous teacher, heard Lulu’s playing and was impressed. She offered to teach Lulu. “Miss Tanaka’s private studio was famously exclusive-almost impossible to get into” (143). These factors contribute to the level of achievement they reached. In fact, Sophia got one of the highest …show more content…
Throughout the book, Amy had conflicts with her family and harsh words were exchanged, however the underlying reason for the conflicts was love. In her sacrifices, the enormous commitment of time and energy, and the heartbreak and pain she’s willing to endure, the depth of her love for her children shone through. A notable example of this was her conflict with Lulu over a piano piece.“I rolled up my sleeves and went back to Lulu. I used every weapon and tactic I could think of. We worked right through dinner into the night, and I wouldn’t let Lulu get up, not for water, not even to go to the bathroom. The house became a war zone, and I lost my voice yelling…” (62). But her efforts paid off, and Lulu realized that her mother was trying to help her. “After [getting it], she wanted to play the piece over and over...That night...we snuggled and hugged, cracking each other up” (62). Everything Amy did, as she states, is “for [her] children to achieve something [she] hadn’t” (23). An example she provided of Chinese parent’s love for their children is “[Chinese mothers] believe their children can be “the best” students” (5). Chinese mothers show their love by believing in their children’s potential. Amy explained throughout her book that her purpose for all the practice and other efforts is so that her kids could be successful. She also said that this is because she
Throughout Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club, the reader can see the difficulites in the mother-daughter relationships. The mothers came to America from China hoping to give their daughters better lives than what they had. In China, women were “to be obedient, to honor one’s parents, one’s husband, and to try to please him and his family,” (Chinese-American Women in American Culture). They were not expected to have their own will and to make their own way through life. These mothers did not want this for their children so they thought that in America “nobody [would] say her worth [was] measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch…nobody [would] look down on her…” (3). To
“Man is the cruelest animal.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche. Many americans have pets to keep them company, but some people take this concept to the extreme by keeping exotic animals as pets. Exotic animals should not be kept as pets for various reasons.
The story is around an American-conceived Chinese lady, Jing-mei, who goes to China to meet her twin stepsisters that her mom was compelled to relinquish numerous prior years. Since her mom had passed away just a couple of months prior, the meeting is full of vulnerability and bitterness. Jing-mei battles with self-character issues and what it truly intends to be Chinese. En route, she takes in reality about the reasons her mom deserted her sisters and the significance behind their names. At last, she at last associates with her sisters and makes the passionate association with her Chinese legacy.
Amy Tan was born in China on February 19, 1952. She was one of three children to her parents. Amy was born to her mother’s second husband. Later on, her family escaped China on the last boat before the Communist takeover of China in 1949. Her mother left behind three other kids from a previous marriage. Amy finished high school in Switzerland, and fought with her mom the whole time. She went to college at a Baptist college. She then defied her mother by leaving that college and following her boyfriend to San Jose State University. She further defied her mother by abandoning her pre-medical degree for an English and linguistics major. She eventually married her boyfriend, Louis DeMattei, and they moved to San Francisco. Amy Tan started to repair her relationship with her mother, once she was deathly ill and in the hospital. Amy made a promise to take her mom to China to find the children that she left behind. This allowed for Amy to finish her book and get closer to her mother. She went on to write many books and essays after her time with her mother. What caused that dramatic of a change in major for Amy? What caused the rift between her and her mother?
Couple go through a discussion on how they should raise their children. Parenting style in countries such as China, Japan, and Korea have different views than Western’s parenting style in the United States. In recent years, a term Tiger Mother has brought an idea that these mothers have a strict parenting philosophy that incorporates firm parental control and high standards for excellence (Chua, 2011). Parents everywhere agree that raising a child is a complex and daunting task, in which, parents have encompassed both their beliefs and practiced into their own parenting style. Both stories, Mother Inferior was written by Hanna Rosin and Why Chinese Mothers are Superior was written by Amy Chua, explore the different parenting styles and methods. Mother Inferior focuses on allowing children to freely express themselves, while Why Chinese Mothers are Superior
In the article, “Adapted From Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” Amy Chua, the author, gave some very valid points about how Western children and Chinese children are raised very diversely. Chinese parents are more strict and Western parents are more laid back. Most of the authors points that she made were backed up with statics so they were reliable and valid. There were just a few she didn't back up it was just her opinion. The statements about how the Chinese mothers raise their children are not agreeable or realistic. In all the authors article was valid and had some great points.
Another aspect of cultural conflict is that humility and obedient are considered as the traditional virtues of the Chinese culture. Children should unconditionally obey their parents because parents have the ability and willingness to teach and control their children. For example, according to Jing-mei’s mother, Jing-mei has to practice piano assiduously. She would not be punished if she devotes all her effort to playing piano. We can clearly see this point in her mother’s word in the quarrel, “Only two kinds of daughters, those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter” (461). But Jing-mei cannot understand this, because she is not familiar to Chinese culture. As a consequence of Jing-mei cannot understand her mother, she does not cooperate and has rebellious attitude against her mother. In the story, Jing-mei decided, “I didn’t have to do what my mother said anymore. I wasn’t her slave. This wasn’t China. I had listened to her before and look what happened. She was the stupid one” (460). As described above, Jing-mei cannot understand the humility and obedient of Chinese culture, even they are recognized as the
On October 26th 1962, one of the most known authors was born: Amy Chua. Amy Chua was born in Champaign, Illinois in the Unites States. She was raised as a catholic. Despite her having ancestry whom are Chinese, to be more specific Kokkein dialect, she proudly carries around an American identity. She was born in the year of the Tiger. In their culture, that represents people who are fearless, powerful, noble, and authoritative. “My family comes from southern China’s Fujian Province, which is famous for producing scholars and scientists.” Her parents migrated from the Philippines to the States before she was born in order to continue their educational studies. Her father, “Leon Ong Chua is an American electrical engineer and computer scientist. He is a professor in the electrical engineering and computer sciences department at the University of California, Berkeley.” His nationality is Holko and American. On the other side, the authors mother, Diana Chua was born in China and moved to the Philippines at the age of 2. She converted to Catholicism when she was in high school and received a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Santo Tomas. Amy has three sisters and they are all known to be successful in their own ways. Amy Chua has 2 daughters: Sophia and Louisa. With Chua’s Tiger parenting methods, Sophia seems to respect and listen to her mother which is the opposite than Lulu (Louisa). Lulu has more western characteristics. For example, she talks back and doesn’t respect her mother’s orders. Briefly, these aspects form her native identity.
Our mothers have played very valuable roles in making us who a we are and what we have become of ourselves. They have been the shoulder we can lean on when there was no one else to turn to. They have been the ones we can count on when there was no one else. They have been the ones who love of us for who we are and forgive us when no one else wouldn’t. In Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds,” the character Jing-mei experiences being raised by a mother who has overwhelming expectations for her daughter, causes Jing-mei to struggle with who she wants to be. “Only two kind of daughters,” “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!”(476). When a mother pushes her daughter to hard the daughter rebels, but realizes in the end that their mothers
Emotions are expressed immediately at the beginning of the writing to have his readers grasp his feelings of the situation. Goldstein compares Chua’s “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” a “depiction of Chinese-style extreme parenting” (Goldstein 272). He then continues to maintain the reader’s attention by explaining Chua’s parenting skills by addressing the fact how the children cannot have play dates, or even watch television. Goldstein inspires his readers by giving individual’s personal experiences that reflect how they became successful.
Amy is known as a ‘Tiger Mom”, one who pushes their children to be the best of the best academically. Chinese parents raise their children to meet high expectations.
The Chinese morals of obedience and modesty pale in the face of the individualism and determination adopted by the Chinese-American daughters, causing deep-rooted conflict. These misunderstandings lead to feelings of doubt and shame for the daughters as they attempt to define themselves among clashing cultures. For both the Woos and the Jongs, their integral differences in perspective impede meaningful conversation between mother and
In 2005, David Wallace delivered his insightful “Kenyon Commencement Speech,” where he persuades his audience to change the way they think. He introduces the idea of a default setting to his audience, or in other words, a person’s unconscious perspective where situations are all about themselves. In 2011, Amy Chua wrote Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, where she shares her experience raising her two daughters in western culture as a “Chinese mother,” which is what she refers to as a strict parenting style that teaches absolute success to their children. At first glance, these two ideas don’t seem to have a common connection, although Wallace and Chua have a connected idea that is hidden between the lines. In Chua’s story, she explains how she had to see herself from her daughter’s perspective to understand her difficulties. I believe that these two ideas can merge together to show that in order to become a successful parent (“Chinese mother” or not), a level of consciousness, or an open-awarness, needs to be obtained.
Jing-mei’s inability to connect with her mother arises from her upbringing. Mrs. Woo pushed Jing-mei to extremes with her parenting and failed to realize the lasting trauma it had on her daughter. Jing-mei as a fragile child wants nothing more than for her “mother and father [to] adore [her]” (233). The developing girl is looking for acceptance through her parents, but Mrs. Woo does not understand the positive reinforcement required in those early stages of development. Instead
Amy Chua, the author of the much debated book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom was just sitting at her labtop writing on her blog like any regular day. On this day, however, she had just gotten into an argument with her 13 year old daughter. Frustrated, Chua went to her blog to vent. What was just a venting session became an instant controversial debate. She had no clue her blog would turn into a book and that her book would become a worldwide discussion.