Perfect Chinese Children: Love And Sacrifice

In Amy tans short stories Rules of the Game, Fish Cheeks, and Two Kinds part of the novel the Joys Luck Club uses topics concerning the limits and connections in the relationships between mothers and their daughters. In an Asian society, especially Chinese society assumes a vital part in every one of the three short stories, giving the primary conflict an interesting plot. Amy Tans short stories for the most part depict the inconveniences and strain between Chinese immigrant moms and their Americanized daughters through their common experiences in a captivating way. The daughters disregard the Chinese part of their heritage and personality and grasp the American side. They ponder their adolescence up with solid order and desires that the greater part of them have not met prompting future blame. Presently as developed ladies with their own particular families, the Americanized daughters mirror the past with contradictions they had with their Chinese society. Every daughter in the story’s in the long run perceives how their tradition and generation had huge influence in forming their characters making them grasp their Chinese legacy.

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path " (Christie). Mothers want their children to be the best they can, but at what cost? For Amy Tan, the cost was her happiness. Amy Tan, an American born citizen, conceived from two emigrated Chinese parents, was burdened at a young age. As a young girl, both her father and brother died of brain tumors which caused her mother to retreat into her Chinese roots and religious beliefs by believing that their house became cursed. After moving and finding a new home, over time, Tan's mother developed an unrealistic standard for her daughter's future. With changing her major in college and switching

In a different story and a different life, the same connection that responsibility to one’s family is important. From the eyes of a school aged girl who came with her family to america from the Dominican Republic, it is clear to see that family is always important. When the girl and her family came to America, all her mother wanted to do was invent. Her mami wanted to just do something great. But her home and job needed her first. She would work full day then come home and run her home. Only once her house was settled down for the night, would she think. With her husband asleep next to her, she “in her lighted corner, like some devoted scholar burning the midnight oil” (Alvarez 1) would the devoted mother invent. She would do her duties to

Her family was old-fashioned and well-mannered. When her family’s English was mocked, they kept their mouths shut and laughed along. When her family was ostracized from the rest of the neighborhood, they pretended not to notice, not to care. Her family taught her how to exercise caution, how to be afraid, how to categorize events as either blessings or lessons.

Certain events can affect the way a person acts or feels towards a person or an object. In the novel The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros makes sure that the audience understands the struggle that comes with a single parent with several children. Cisneros says,“They are bad those Vargases, and how can they help it with only one mother who is tired all the time from buttoning and bottling and babying, and who cries everyday for the man who left without even leaving a dollar for bologna or a note explaining how come.”(29). The fact that the mother struggles from the workload of two parents is demeaning. It makes it easier for the lonely parent to fantasize about how much better their lives would have been with that one person instead of stopping to take the time to think about how their life is presently stopping to take the time to think and about how much they are needed by someone else.

Often times mothers can be pushy, annoying, and a bit overbearing but in the long run they always just want what is best for their child. Everyone wants their child to be the best, most popular and overall number one. In Amy Tan’s short story “Two Kinds” we see this type of fame hungry mother. The short story is about a Chinese family who lost everything. The mother had lost her entire family full of children except for the one in the story. With the belief “you could be anything you want in America” (Tan 305) in mind the mother set off to find what her child can do. This ultimately will resort in disappointment for both the mother and child, as they do not share the same goals throughout the short story. My initial personal interpretation of this piece is that the mother wants to live vicariously through her daughter. This was proven throughout the story time and time again. Through further thought, different literary techniques, and class discussion I became aware of an alternate interpretation of the story. This is that their are two kinds of daughters and the way the mother daughter relationship could be. Both interpretations have many examples to support them and the story can truly be analyzed in more then one way.

In the 18th century, China was influenced by various teachings of philosophers and beliefs that the society had placed emphasis on. Filial piety (xiao) was a major practice around this period when it was strongly carried inside and outside the household. Filial piety is not only the guiding principle of Chinese ethics but it also played an affirmative role in determining the Chinese lifestyle; it was practiced daily in the family and in other areas such as education, religion and government. It was the central root of Chinese morals and the society was constructed upon the principles of xiao, which certainly became the premises of Chinese culture and the society. In Confucianism, the approach of respect, fidelity, and care toward one’s

How should I raise my child to get the best results? People have been asking themselves this question since the beginning of mankind. Some methods are better than others and some are quite questionable. In “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”, Amy Chua discusses the effectiveness of her parenting style. This is an excerpt from Amy Chua’s book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. According to Behrens and Rosen, “the title “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” was written by the editors of the [Wall Street] Journal, not by Chua, most likely in an attempt (a successful one) to attract attention and encourage controversy” (261). Chua is a professor at Yale Law School (Behrens and Rosen 261). The purpose of this text is to inform readers about Chinese parenting styles and why Chinese parents raise their children in this somewhat unorthodox manner. I believe that Chua hopes to open the minds of the individuals that immediately shun her style of parenting. The obvious theme throughout the article is rearing children. Chua focuses on her strict methods of raising children compared to others that use methods contrary to hers. I have a particular interest in this article because I have acquired an appreciation for other cultures and their practices. I believe that by learning about other cultures I learn to appreciate the things I have. Chua’s text is not arguing for nor against any parenting method, specifically. She is simply, if anything, shedding light on a method of parenting which has

Relationships are the most important part of everyone’s life and most of them start from the very beginning. Many people assume that our first relationship, especially with our mothers are very important. As opposed to, our mothers play a meaningful role of being the primary nurturer and teacher. This is a unique situation, since when a mother gives birth to a daughter she becomes her nurturer and a role model because of that child start to mimic their mother, which may lead to a complex relationship. The characters from Tillie Olsen’s essay demonstrates this kind of a sophisticated relationship. However, their situation is happen to be so because the narrator is a teen mother left alone with a newborn baby at the Great Depression time without

Author Amy Tan introduces readers to her perspective of the voracious love relationships between mother and daughters. In the story, the protagonist is a young girl called Jing Mei who is also the main character in the story with her Mother being the antagonist. Being first generation Americans set forward multiple expectations and implications for the protagonist to deliver. Young Jing Mei struggled to find the freedom to express her own identity rather then live up to her mothers standards. Both mother and daughter soon fell into conflict because of their complexities and views. Jing Mei’s mother wanted to transform her into a prodigy, as Jing Mei just wanted life and experience life as a normal american girl. As being the product of an immigrant family, as a parent, Mother Woo wanted very open opportunity for her child. Being in this country was a privilege and had much more meaning to Mother Woo than Jing Mei. Multiple barriers were experienced by both charters. Cultural indifferences,the search for identity, and self improvement were key components to the personal interoperation established to readers through out its synopsis.

In the article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”, Amy Chua, Telling us that Chinese children are more successful in their life than Western children. She compares the methods she trains her kids is different than Western parents and Chinese parents. She gives examples of Chinese parents such as, her kids were trained music many hours a day. She made many rules for her kids were not allowed to do and using term of “Chinese Mothers” Chinese heritage. She chose the activities for her children. In Chua's study of 50 Western mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost of Western mothers said” that "stressing academic success is not good for children" and learning is fun.". but Chinese mothers said “nothing is fun until you're good at

Out-group page 154/ A group toward which one feels antagonism. Over one fourth of adopted babies from abroad are form China and are a girl. Girls from China are outcast because of the desire to uphold the family. With population restrictions and the values of the Chinese family, Chinese girls are part of the out group of the Chinese population. As stated in the video, Chinese girls will not be able to carry their family name. They are predicted to move away and get married. Traditional families prefer boys so that they have children who will take care of them in their old age and stay close to home.

This book was written by a Chinese woman Adeline Yen Mah who was living in feudal society. This book documents her experience being abused by her stepmother and being completely ignored by her father throughout her childhood. Because her mother died giving birth to her, her family members believe that she has brought them bad luck. This book is her autobiography and shows us an old feudal society in China and how a girl’s strong-mind helped her develop and grow as a great person.

Mothers and fathers play important roles in the growth of children’s life, with different approaches but a same goal: for the good of the children. In various publications, fatherhood complements motherhood: one represents the power that provides protections to the families while the other gives the most detailed care toward their children. However, what happens if only mothers present in the households? To the extreme, in Herland, Charlotte Perkins Gilman even depicts a utopia consisted of only female, a world operated solely on the love of mothers. This love contributes to the healthy growth and the continuation of their future generations in the absence of the fatherhood. Thorough and comprehensive, the mothers’ love delicately fruits the

As the head of the household it is a father’s duty to keep the family together whatever the situation lies ahead of them. However, this is the stereotypical view of what a father should be without taking into the fact that certain circumstances can impact each and every family. For example, both these short stories face the same tragedy in which both families lose their sons to something that is unavoidable such as a disease or simply just death at a young age. Jhumpa Lahari explores the thought that a father needs to provide for the family financially in order to give the family a good life, while Bobbie Ann Mason encourages the idea that simply presence and materialistic things will help one’s family and at the same time happiness. However, this is not always the case as both the families in this story struggle with the aftermath of the loss of their sons. One chooses to continue working to give his family a good life even without his wife’s support while the other decides to find ways such as simply spending time with his wife to make her happy. These decisions will not only contribute to how each head of the family will change throughout, but also why each of their own characteristics will affect how their wives will view them.