Week 17, Weekly Analysis, America is in the Heart

America Is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan (604-610)

How do you keep your personal worth from changing when your environment tells you are not worthy?

In the passage, America is in the Heart, by Carlos Bulosan, there is a man that has traveled from his home country of the Philippines, to the United States. The passage talks about his travels from Seattle to Lompoc. During his travels from Stockton to Lompc, the main character, Carlos, traveled by many trains in the freight cars, and then was driven by car by another Filipino man. When Carlos arrived in Lompc he found his brother. His brother was not the same person he was in American as he was in the Philippines. “We are in the bootleg racket,” said my brother. “Alfredo and I will make plenty of money. But it is dangerous.” (609) This quote is an example of how Carlo's brother changed from the man he was when he was in the Philippines from an honest working man, to who he is now, which was a result to his new environment. 

I came to know afterwards that in many ways it was a crime to be a Filipino in California. I came to know that the public streets were not free to my people….. We were suspect each time that we were seen with a white woman. And perhaps it was this narrowing of our life into an island, into a filthy segment of American society, that driven Filipinos like Doro inward, hating everyone and despising all positive urgencies toward freedom. (606) The literary device used in this quote is tone, the author uses this to let the reader know how Filipinos were treated and how it affected them. 

In the following quote Carlos's brother lets him know that he is there for his brother and if he wants to go to school he will support him and reminds him to not lose his self worth because of what happens around him. “If you would like to go to school, “ said my brother in parting, “just let me know. But whatever you do, Carlos, don’t lose your head. Good-bye!” (610)

“Please, God, don’t change me in America!” I said to myself, looking the other way so that I would not cry.” (610) Carlos is talking to himself to remind him, do not let the environment around him change him. 

Reading Notes B, Week 17, Bulosan

America Is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan (604-610)

Go back to Stockton and look for a job in the tomato fields…(604)

I was in flight, again from an unknown terror that seemed to follow me everywhere. (604)

Niles (grape fields and apricot trees)

San Jose got on a freight going south

Salinas to San Luis Obispo

Filipino man too him by car to Pismo Beach.

…community was a small block near the sea- a block of poolrooms, gambling houses, and little green cottages where prostitutes were doing business. (606)

Filipino man took him to Lompoc, passed through Santa Maria

I came to know afterwards that in many ways it was a crime to be a Filipino in California. I came to know that the public streets were not free to my people….. We were suspect each time that we were seen with a white woman. And perhaps it was this narrowing of our life into an island, into a filthy segment of American society, that driven Filipinos like Doro inward, hating everyone and despising all positive urgencies toward freedom. (606)

Standing behind him was my brother Amado, holding a long-bladed knife. (607)

My brother grabbed me affectionately and for a long time he could not say a word. (608)

“We are in the bootleg racket,” said my brother. “Alfrado and I will make plenty of money. But it is dangerous.” (609)

He put some money in my pocket. “Here is something for you to remember me by.” (609)

“If you would like to go to school, “ said my brother in parting, “just let me know. But whatever you do, Carlos, don’t lose your head. Good-bye!” (610)

“Please, God, don’t change me in America!” I said to myself, looking the other way so that I would not cry.” (610)

Reading Notes A, Week 17, Wong

From Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong (593-603)

Chapter: A Person as Well as a Female

After graduation from the Chinese school, Jade Snow seriously sought a solution to her money problem. (593)

Jade Snow  worked in seven different homes and was exposed to a series of candid views of the private lives of these American families. (593)

“Education is your path to freedom,” Daddy had said. “In China, you would have had little private tutoring and no free advanced schooling. Make the most of your American opportunity.” (596)

“But Daddy, I want to be more than an average Chinese or American girl…..”If you have the talent, you can provide for your own college education.” (597)

No, his answer tonight left Jade Snow with a new and sudden bitterness against the one person whom she had always trusted as fair to her. (597)

She was trapped in a mesh of her tradition woven thousands of miles away by ancestors who had had no knowledge that someday one generation of their progeny might be raised in another culture. (597)

Chapter: “Learning can never be poor or exhausted” – Chinese Proverb

Jade Snow’s years at Mills College were inseparably colored by living at “Kapioani,” the dean’s little brown-shingled home. This simple structure located on a hillside road wore a charming crown: a garden of gaily colored fuchsias, bamboo….(598)

Now, living became fun! The fun was partly in being able to participate in the home activities of one of the campus’ central figures. (599)

Jade Snow though hard, wove her best Chinese and English knowledge into the paper, and felt satisfied with her work……. He told her that he had chosen the paper for reading at an English conference to be held at the college…. Jade Snow heard this announcement, smiled, but could find no words to answer when her classmates congratulated her. (603)

Revision 1, Project 3, The Joy Luck Club

Editing Challenges:

Answer the Question with a Clear, Debatable Thesis

Paragraph Development

Expand your submission

Project 3: Choose a reading selection. Explore the relationship between elements of the selection. 

Growing up in two different settings, such as China and San Francisco can influence a characters development.

In the book, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tran, there are four mothers, who were born and raised in China. All four woman immigrated to San Francisco, California, and had children of their own. Their children were born and raised in San Francisco, which was very different from China. Each mother had at least one daughter. The mothers wanted a different life for their children, a better one, but at the same time tried to instill their cultural values. Many years later, the mothers realized that although they wanted a better life for their children in America, it was very different from what they had envisioned and expected.

The author Amy Tran used many different literary devices throughout the book. The four literary devices that were used to tell the story of their past and current lives were flashback, characterization, paradox, and simile.

Flashback is one literary device that was used in the book, in the following quote; “My mother, she suffered. She lost her face and tried to hide it. She found only greater misery and finally could not hide that. There is nothing more to understand. That was China… They had no choice. They could not speak up. They could not run away. That was their fate. But now they can do something else. Now they no longer have to swallow their own tears…” (241) Ani- mei Hsu, one of the mother’s was flashing back to her childhood, which was a memory of her mother. Ani-mei watched her mother not have a voice for herself. She had to keep her feelings to herself, which lead to her misery, and ended when she killed herself with an overdose of opioids. Ani- mei did not want this for her daughter Rose Hsu Jordan, she wanted her daughter to speak up for herself and fight for what she wanted. In the  end Rose did speak up for what she wanted from her soon to be ex-husband, Ted, she tried to fight for her marriage but once she realized it was over, she fought for her house because she wanted to keep it and live there.

“My daughter did not look pleases when I told her this, that she did not look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray!- as if it were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her!” (253) This quote is using characterization as a literary device as Lindo Jong tried to explain to her daughter, Waverly Jong, even though she is Chinese, when she goes to visit China, they will know that she is a foreigner. Lindo also explains her frustration about all of the years she tried to teach Waverly about her Chinese culture, she did not want to have anything to do with it or learn. Now that she is an adult she wants to know and learn but her mother knows she cannot teach her everything that she wanted to in a lifetime, it’s too late to learn everything.  

An example of a paradox from the story is “.. Chinese New Year, my mother gave me my “life’s importance,” a jade pendant on a gold chain. …..I stuffed the necklace in my lacquer box and forgot about it. ….I wonder what it means, because my mother died three months ago…. Shes the only person I could have asked, to tell me about life’s importance to help me understand my grief. I now wear that pendant every day” (197) This quote shows that although the jade pendant was supposed to show life’s importance to June Woo, but it did not mean anything until her mother, Suyuan Woo was gone. Now June wears it daily and wants to know what her life’s importance is, but she has no one to ask what will give her the meaning that her mother wanted for her.

The following quote is an example of a simile in the book, “I love my daughter. She and I have shared the same body. There is a part of her mind that is a part of her mind. But when she was born, she sprang 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.” (242) Ying-ying St Clair, the forth mother, watches her daughter Lena St. Clair, live a life that appears to be good on the outside but on the inside, it is meaningless and broken. Ying-ying wants her daughter to have a meaningful and wonder life and not settle for anything less, so she decides to tell her about her past so it can open her eyes.

The following are quotes from the last few chapters when the mothers realize that although they wanted a better life for their children and they tried to find a balance and teach them the Chinese and American cultures, it could not be done and they feel like they failed and now it is too late.

 “It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things did not mix?” (254)

“…but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities.” (254)

I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing the difference from the Chinese and American cultures and how hard it is to find a balance and teach children a different culture when they are surrounded by another. Especially, when the children can not see the benefits of knowing both. The children also want to be like the other children and families they seen around then, which is a part of assimilation, wanting to be like others and not being different because they might stand out.

Cited Work

Tran, Amy, et at “The Joy Luck Club”, Penguin Books, 2006

Reading Notes B, Week 16, The Californians by Gertrude Atherton

The Californians by Gertrude Atherton chapter 6

·         Magdalena had failed at every point. She had expected to fail, but she felt miserable and discouraged, nevertheless….With the sad philosophy of her nature she put the impossible for her, and considered the future. It had been arranged long ago that she, Helena, Ila and Tiny, were to come out at the same time; the great function which should introduce to San Francisco three of its most beautiful girls.. (311)

·         … stared in fascinated amazement at the red tongues darting among the blackened shells, the crashing roofs, the black masses of smoke above, cut with narrow swords of flame, the solid pillar of fire above the factory, the futile streams of water, the gallant efforts of the firemen….. her brain a medley of new sensations, as Helena went about, questioning, fascinating, sympathizing, giving. It was the first time she had seen poverty; she had barely heard of its existence…(314)

·         …it was her father she feared, not the law…. She had been a dociled child, and her father’s anger had never been visited upon her; but she had seen his frightful outburst at the servants… (315)

·         …he called her a “greaser.” She had all the pride of her race. This insult stifled her. She felt smirched and degraded. (316)

·         His face had turned livid, then purple. “”Dios!” he gasped…. Her father sprang to his feet with a yell of rage. He caught his riding –whip from the mantel… She turned her back on it and sat down on the floor. She had not uttered a word as her father beat her. .. But her self-respect had been cut through at every blow, and it quivered and writhed within her. She hated her father and she hated life with an intensity which added to her misery, and she decided that she had made her last confession to any one but the priest, who always forgave her. (320)

Reading Notes A, Week 16, Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson

Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson, chapter 4

·         As he brooked over sad memories and still sadder anticipations, - the downfall of the Missions, the loss of their vast estates, and the growing power of the ungodly in the land. The final decision of the United Sates Governent in regard to the Mission-lands had been a terrible blow to him. (269-270)

·         The fairer this beautiful land, the sadder to know it lost to the Church, - alien hands reaping its fullness, establishing new customs, new laws. (270)

·         The plant is tyrant and a nuisance, - the terror of the farmer; it takes riotous possession of a whole field in a season; once in, never out; for one plant this year, a million the next; but it is impossible to wish that the land were freed from it. Its gold is as distinct a value to the eye as the nuggest gold is in the pocket. (271)

·         Her hair was like her Indian mother’s, heavy and black, but her eyes were like her father’s steel-blue. (272)

·         “Ah, Father, I knew you would come by this path, and something told me you were near!” (272)

·         ..have perceived, perhaps, what would have saved him sorrow, it he had known it, that a girl who looked at  a man thus, would be hard to win to look at him as a lover. But being a lover, he could not see this. He saw only enough to perplex and deter him. (274)

·         … Senora had resigned herself to the inevitable; piously praying, however, morning and night, and at odd moments in the day, that the Father might arrive before the Indians did. (276)

Project 3, Week 15, The Joy Luck Club

Project 3: Choose a reading selection. Explore the relationship between elements of the selection. 

How does setting influence character development – China vs San Francisco, California, US.

In the book, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tran, there are four mothers, who were born and raised in China. All four woman immigrated to San Francisco, California, and had children of their own. Their children were born and raised in San Francisco, which was very different from China. Each mother had at least one daughter. The mothers wanted a different life for their children, a better one, but at the same time tried to instill their cultural values. Many years later, the mothers realized that although they wanted a better life for their children in America, it was very different from what they wanted and expected.

The author Amy Tran used many different literary devices throughout the book. The four literary devices that are used to tell the story of their current and past lives are flashback, characterization, paradox, and simile.

Flashback is used as a literary device in the following quote; “My mother, she suffered. She lost her face and tried to hide it. She found only greater misery and finally could not hide that. There is nothing more to understand. That was China… They had no choice. They could not speak up. They could not run away. That was their fate. But now they can do something else. Now they no longer have to swallow their own tears…” (241) The mother is flashing back to her childhood, tells a memory of her mother and how she could not have a voice for herself, she had to keep her feelings to herself, which lead to her misery and killing herself with an overdose of opioids.

“My daughter did not look pleases when I told her this, that she did not look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray!- as if it were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her!” (253) This quote is using characterization as a literary device as the mother tried to explain to her daughter even though, she is Chinese, when she goes to visit China, they will know that she is a foreigner. She also explains her frustration about all of the years she tired to teach her daughter about her Chinese culture, she did not want to have anything to do with it or learn and now that she is an adult she wants to know and also her mother can teach her, it’s too late to learn everything.  

An example of a paradox from the story is “.. Chinese New Year, my mother gave me my “life’s importance,” a jade pendant on a gold chain. …..I stuffed the necklace in my lacquer box and forgot about it. ….I wonder what it means, because my mother died three months ago…. Shes the only person I could have asked, to tell me about life’s importance to help me understand my grief. I now wear that pendant every day” (197) This quote shows that although the jade pendant was suppose to show life’s importance but it did not mean anything until her mother was gone and now she wants to know what her life’s importance is.

The following quote is an example of simile, used as a literary device in the story. “She lies down on a psychiatrist couch, squeezing the tears out about this shame…..I know this, because I was raised the Chinese way. I was taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people’s misery, to eat my own bitterness. And even though I taught my daughter the opposite, still she came out the same way!” (215) The mother expresses her frustration about her daughter being able to tell a psychiatrist about her failures but does not tell her mother. She also gives a perfect example about how she was raised the “Chinese way” and she tried to teach her daughter the opposite. Although, she wanted differently for her daughter, still turned out the same way. The mother blames herself because her daughter watched her desire nothing and learned it from her.

The following are quotes from the last few chapters when the mothers realize that although they wanted a better life for their children and they tried to find a balance and teach them the Chinese and American cultures, it could not be done and they feel like they failed and now it is too late.

 “It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things did not mix?” (254)

“…but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities.” (254)

I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing the difference from the Chinese and American cultures and how hard it is to find a balance and teach children a different culture when they are surrounded by another and the children can not see the benefits of knowing both. The children also want to be like the other children and families they see which a part of assimilation, wanting to be like others and not being different because they might stand out.

Cited Work

Tran, Amy, et at “The Joy Luck Club”, Penguin Books, 2006

Literary Analysis, Week 15, Orientation: A Short Story by Daniel Orozco

This week I read and am using Orientation: A Short Story by Daniel Orozco, which was about an employee’s first day of work and is given an orientation by another co-worker for my analysis. The information given was too much, would be very overwhelming, and could cause anxiety. As I was reading this story I was getting anxiety with the information overload and trying to figure out who everyone is, and how to process all of the information given to me. I have given many new employee orientations and they were nothing like this. During the reading, I was envisioning the new employee’s face during this orientation and was laughing to myself.

Literary Elements: The character I will be analyzing as my literary element is the employee giving the Orientation. From the beginning of Orientation: A Short Story by Daniel Orozco, the employee giving the new employee the first day orientation provided too much information at one time and also provided information that was not needed and did not relate to the job. He was too concerned with sharing the other’s personal business and not focused on the new employee. Additionally, the information he provided was very vague and overwhelming, “This is your phone. Never answer your phone. Let the Voicemail System answer it. This is your Voicemail System Manual.” Paragraph 1.

Themes: The whole short story was about information given during a new employee orientation. During this time the employee was given a lot of information about his workplace, however much of this information had nothing to do with his actual job. I feel like of the personal information given about the co workers was inappropriate, not related, and could cause pre-judgement of them. It is important to learn about others character for yourself because the experience or view someone else has may not be yours and can cause issues.

Context: The amount of personal and non-work related information given was inappropriate. “Russell Nash, who sits in the cubicle to your left, is in love with Amanda Pierce, who sits in the cubicle to your right. They ride the same bus together afterwork.” Paragraph 4. This is a perfect example of information given and not needed.

This was a good short story to read because it made me think about how I have felt during a first day orientation of a new job. I already feel anxious, nervous, and unsure, if I had this orientation, I honestly would not come back. I believe first impressions are everything.

Cited Work
https://fsgworkinprogress.com/2011/05/17/orientation-by-daniel-orozco/

Reading Notes B, Week 15, Cathedral By Raymond Carver (1981)

This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night.

She hadn’t seen him since she worked for him one summer in Seattle ten years ago.

I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit.

And his being blind bothered me.

My idea of blindness came from the movies.

She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose- even her neck!

“I don’t have blind friends,” I said.

They’d married, lived and worked together, slept together – had sex, sure – and then the blind man had to bury her.

Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one.

I saw my wife laughing as she parked the car. I saw her get of the car and shut the door. She was still wearing a smile. Just amazing.

This blind man was late forties, a heavy-set, balding man with stooped shoulders, as if he carried a great weight there. He wore brown slack, brown shoes, a light brown shirt, a tie, a sports coat. Spiffy. He also had this full beard.

I watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat. He’d cut two pieces of the meat, fork the meat into his mouth, and then go all out for the scalloped potatoes, the beans next, and then he’d tear off a hunk of butter bread and eat that.

“Close your eyes now,” the blind man said to me.

So we kept on with it. His fingers rose my fingers as my hand went over the paper. It was like nothing else in my life up to now.

My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything.

“It’s really something,” I said.

Literary devices used

Imagery

Setting

Characterization

Reading Notes A, Week 15, Orientation: A Short Story by Daniel Orozco

An employee is hired at a company. It is first day and is having an orientation about his workplace. The employee is being shown around the office and is even way too much information regarding his job, his surroundings, and co-workers. As I was reading it, I felt overwhelmed, I could not imagine being the employee. I also thought it was funny because of all of the details included.

Quotes from the reading:  

·         Those are the offices and these are the cubicles. That’s my cubicle there, and this is your cubicle. This is your phone. Never answer your phone. Let the Voicemail System answer it.

·         You must pace your work. If you have twelve hours of work in your in-box, for example, you must compress that work into the eight-hour day. If you have one hour of work in your in-box, you must expand that work to fill the eight- hour day.

·         Feel free to ask questions. Ask too many questions, however, and you may be let go.

·         Russell Nash, who sits in the cubicle to your left, is in love with Amanda Pierce, who sits in the cubicle to your right.

·         This is the fire exit. There are several on this floor, and they are marked accordingly. These are precautions only. These things never happen.

·         This is the micro wave oven. You are allowed to heat food in the microwave oven. You are not, however, allowed to cook food in the microwave oven.

·         Barry Hacker, who sits over there, steals food from this refrigerator. His petty theft is an outlet for his grief. Last New Year’s Eve, while kissing his wife, a blood vessel burst in her brain.

·         Do not touch the shredder, which is located over there. The shredder is of no concern to you.

·         If you have problems with the photocopier, see Russell Nash. If you have any questions, ask your supervisor. If you can’t find your supervisor, ask Phillip Spiers. He sits over there. He’ll check with Clarissa Nicks. She sits over there. If you can’t find them, feel free to ask me. That’s my cubicle. I sit in there.

Cited work
https://fsgworkinprogress.com/2011/05/17/orientation-by-daniel-orozco/

Project Action Plan #3, Week 14, The Joy Luck Club

Choose a reading selection. Explore the relationship between elements of the selection. 

How does setting influence character development – China vs San Francisco, California, US.

The four mothers were born and grew up in China, their daughters were born and grew up in San Francisco. The mothers wanted a different life for their children, but still tried to instill their cultural values in them. The mothers realized that although they wanted a better life for their children in America, it was very different then what they expected.

Literary Devices:

Flashback

Characterization

Paradox

Simile

“.. Chinese New Year, my mother gave me my “life’s importance,” a jade pendant on a gold chain. …..I stuffed the necklace in my lacquer box and forgot about it. ….I wonder what it means, because my mother died three months ago…. Shes the only person I could have asked, to tell me about life’s importance to help me understand my grief. I now wear that pendant every day” (197)

“She lies down on a psychiatrist couch, squeezing the tears out about this shame…..I know this, because I was raised the Chinese way. I was taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people’s misery, to eat my own bitterness. And even though I taught my daughter the opposite, still she came out the same way!” (215)

“My mother, she suffered. She lost her face and tried to hide it. She found only greater misery and finally could not hide that. There is nothing more to understand. That was China… They had no choice. They could not speak up. They could not run away. That was their fate. But now they can do something else. Now they no longer have to swallow their own tears…” (241)

“When my daughter looks at me, she sees a small old lady. That is because she sees only with her outside eyes. She has no chuming, no inside knowing of things. If she had chuming, she would see a tiger lady. And she would have careful fear.” (248)

“Now I must tell my daughter everything. That she is the daughter of a ghost…. I will use this sharp pain to penetrate my daughter’s tough skin and cut her tiger spirit loose.” (252)

“My daughter did not look pleases when I told her this, that she did not look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray!- as if it were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her!” (253)

“It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things did not mix?” (254)
“…but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities.” (254)

Cited Work
Tran, Amy, et at “The Joy Luck Club”, Penguin Books, 2006

Analysis, Week 14, The Joy Luck Club

Life is not always what it seems.

In the book, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tran, there are four mothers born and raised in China, and later immigrated to San Francisco with their husbands and had daughters. The book contains stories from the mothers and daughters growing up and then talks about their relationships once the daughters became adults. The daughter’s views of what their mothers wanted for and from them were very different than what the mothers want for their daughters At the of the book the daughters finally see what their mothers have been trying to show and tell them for all of their lives.

There are many literary devises used throughout this book, however I am going to focus on tragedy and symbol.

Tragedy is shown in the following quote. “But today I realize I’ve never really known what is means to be Chinese. I am thirty-six years old. My mother is dead and I am on a train, carrying with me her dreams of coming home. I am going to China.” (268) This is a very meaningful quote to me, the character Jing-Mei, has a realization that she is not who she thought she was and now that her mother has died. Now, she is taking a journey with her father to find the two daughters her mother left on the side of the road in Kweilin and was never able to find while she was alive. Sometimes in life we have a picture in our mind about who we are, how we see our self and how others see you, even though you may think you know who you are, with a single event in your life, your whole world can change and you can find yourself lost, confused, and with a lot of unanswered questions. I have felt this way in life and in the previous quote it reflects that Jing-Mei feels the same way.

Symbol is another literary devise used in this book. “Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish.”(288) Jing Mei and her twin sisters are three adult children, who share the same mother, Suyuan Woo. Jing-Mei grew up in America with her mother that she did not always see eye to eye with and did not appreciate her, and now regrets. Her twin sisters grew up in China with a mother, who raised them, but also honored Suyuan Woo as their mother. The only thing these two daughters had of their mother was a picture. However, once they are together they see that they share the same facial features as their mother, a symbol that they share a special bond as sisters.

It is very true, Life is not always what is seems, but we have to make the best of it and try to take the challenges on head on, go with the flow and make the best of it. It might just turn out better than we had planned.

Citied Work

The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tran, Penguin Books 2006

Reading Notes B, Week 14, The Joy Luck Club

Double Face 253-266

Lindo Jong – at the hair salon getting her hair ready for the wedding. Waverly speaks for her mother.

Daughter – Waverly Jong – preparing for her wedding and thinking about her honeymoon in China.

“When you go to China,” I told her, “you don’t even need to open your mouth. They already know you are an outsider.” “What are you talking about? She asked. My daughter likes to speak back. She likes to question what I say.” (253)

“Even if you put on their clothes, even if you take off your makeup and hide your fancy jewelry, they know. They know just watching you walk, the way you carry your face. They know you do not belong.”(253)

“Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hangs – hurray!-as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable” (253)

“It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things did not mix?” (254)

“…but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities.” (254)

A Pair of Tickets (267-288)

Suyuan Woo – left twin babies on the side of the road, they are now adults and Jing-Mei and her father are traveling to China to meet them for the first time.

Daughter Jing-Mei Woo

“But today I realize I’ve never really known what is means to be Chinese. I am thirty-six years old. My mother is dead and I am on a train, carrying with me her dreams of coming home. I am going to China.” (268)

“Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish.”(288)

Reading Notes A, Week 14, The Joy Luck Club

Magpies 215-241

An-Mei Hsu - Mother left, raised by grandmother, Uncle, Aunt, Grandmother died

Daughter- Rose Hsu Jordan (divorce from Ted)

Rose told her mother, An-Mei her marriage was falling apart, Rose did not speak to her mother about her issues, but would talk to a psychiatrist, with tears of shame.

“She cried, “No choice! No choice!” She does not know. If she doesn’t speak, she is making a choice. If she doesn’t try she can lose her chance forever. I know this, because I was raised the Chinese way: I was taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people’s misery, to eat my own bitterness. And even though I taught my daughter the opposite, still she came out the same way!”(215)

In this chapter An-Mei tells a story about when she made a choice to leave her uncles house and follow her mother. Her mother was happy as they traveled home but once they reached her home as the third wife of an older man, she changed. An-Mei learned that her mother had no power or respect as the third wife and she actually gave birth to a son that the first wife claimed as her own. The second wife pretended suicide so she was treated well. An-Mei’s mother could no longer handle the suffering she had so she poisioned herself with opium. “…she whispered to me that she would rather kill her own weak spirit so she could give me a stronger one.”(240)

Waiting Between the Trees

Ying-ying St. Clair – quiet, husband died.

Daughter - Lena St. Clair – unhappy marriage,  quite, nice house, split everything 50/50

“This is the guest bedroom,” Lena said in her proud American way. I smiled. But to Chinese ways of thinking, the guest bedroom is the best bedroom, where she and her husband sleep. I do not tell her this.” (242)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Project Planning #3, Week 13, The Joy Luck Club

For our third and final project, I will be using the free choice book, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tran. I really enjoyed this book and the contents. Below are the three choices that I will use to select my topic for my project.

Choice One - Think about a theme you see running through your life. Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme. Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading.

Theme - Life is not always what it seems

In the book, The Joy Luck Club, there are four mothers born and raised in China, and later immigrated to San Francisco with their husbands and had daughters. The book has stories from the mothers and daughters grew up and then talks about their relationships once the daughters became adults. The daughters views of what their mothers wanted for and from them are different than what the mothers want for their daughters and at the end of the book the daughters finally see what their mothers have been trying to show and tell them for all of their lives.

Choice Two – Choose a reading selection. Explore the relationship between elements of the selection.

How does setting influence character development – China vs San Francisco, California, US.

The four mothers were born and grew up in China, their daughters were born and grew up in San Francisco. The mothers wanted a different life for their children, but still tried to instill their cultural values in them. The mothers realized that although they wanted a better life for their children in America, it was very different then what they expected.

Choice Three – What does this work reflect about its historical, social, political and/or economic context? You may focus in race, class, power, cultural values and beliefs, historical events, etc)

Focus – Cultural values and beliefs -  The cultural values and belief were very different for the mothers and daughters in the book, The Joy Luck Club. Lindo Jong was raised to keep her families promise to marry the man she was promised to by the town matchmaker, she could not dishonor her family. Waverly Jong was her daughter, she did not think her mother would approve of her new boyfriend, she felt like she needed to trick her mom into inviting him over for dinner, after she felt defeated because the dinner did not go well. She later came to realize that her mother loved her no matter what and tired to find a balance and build a stronger, trusting relationship with her mother.

Reading Notes B, Week 13, The Joy Luck Club

The Voice from the Wall: Lena St. Clair daughter of Ying-ying St. Clair

Because, even as a young child, I could sense the unspoken terrors that surrounded out house, the ones that chased my mother until she hid in a secret dark corner of her mind. And still they found her. I watched, over the years, as they devoured her, piece by piece, until she disappeared and became a ghost. (103)

Lena was a very aware of her surroundings as a young child, because her mother, Ying-ying would tell her dark stories, such has how her grandfather sentenced a beggar to die and then he came back and killed her great grandfather a week later, there was a bad man who lived in the basement of their home. Lena started to see the bad around her and did not tell anyone. Ying-ying did not speak good English and her husband who was not Chinese, would try to say what she was thinking and speak for her. Ying-ying arrived in SF through Angel Island Immigration Station, which she stayed there for 3weeks, she was claimed as a Displaced Person, since they did not have rules for a Chinese wide of a Caucasian citizen. When Ying-ying and Lena were alone her mother would speak Chinese, and say that everything was danegerous. Lena’s father was promoted and they moved to a better area, up a hill in North Beach. Ying-ying was still not happy, did not feel like her home was balanced and started to move many things around in the apartment, food, furniture.

“When something goes against your nature, you are not in balance. This house was built too steep, and a bad wind from the top blows all your strength back down the hill. So you can never get ahead. You are always rolling backwards.” (109)

Ying-ying was pregnant and was nesting, but she did not take care of herself, she would bump into things and did not seem happy about being pregnant.

Lena’s bed was moved once the baby’s crib was in the room and she could hear a woman shouting at girl, she would hear yelling, pushing and hitting sounds, this would happen all of the time. Lena seen the girl in the stairs of the apartment but she would not look at Lena.

One day she was picked up from school from a family friend, who took her to the hospital, her mother lost the baby and was blaming herself. After this her mother was lost and slowly fell apart, piece by piece.

One night the neighbor girl who Lena could hear through the window came to her door, she came into the house and then started to go through Lena’s window back up to her room. Even though, her mother beat her, and treated her badly, she went back home and said her mom would be happy she returned. Later that night she heard, “you stupida girl. You almost gave me a heart attack……. Then I heard them laughing and crying, shouting with love.” (115)

Reading Notes A, Week 13, The Joy Luck Club

Rules of the Game: Waverly Jong daughter of Lindo Jong

I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect for others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games.(89)

At home, she said, “Wise guy, he not go again wind. In Chinese we say, Come from South, blow with wind-poom!- North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen.” (89)

“Some boy in my class said Chinese people do Chinese torture.” “Chinese people do many tings, she said simply. “Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people. We do torture. Best torture.” (91)

During an annual Christmas party help at the First Chinese Baptist Church near their home, her older brother, Vincent was given a chess set, Waverly got a 12 pack of Life Savers. Her older brothers played chess and she watched them and begged them to let her play, she used her Life Savers as replacements for the missing pieces they allowed her to play. Waverly studied and learned the rules for the game.

I loved the secrets I found within the sixty-four black and white squares. I carefully drew a handmade chessboard and pinned it to the wall next to my bed, where at night I would stare for hours at imaginary battles. Soon I no longer lost any games or Life Savers, but I lost my adversaries. (95)

Waverly found a man at the park to play, Lau Po, she played, learned a lot from him, and became an even better chest player.

Waverly started playing in local tournaments, and won trophy’s .

By my ninth birthday, I was a national chess champion. I was still some 429 points away from grand-master status, but I was touted as the Great American Hope, child prodigy and a girl to boot. (97)

Lindo was very proud of her daughter, Waverly, and bragged about her often to people, and she did not like that. One day she told her mom that she wished she did not do that, her and her mother argued and Waverly ran off, she was in the alley by her house. When she went home she though she would be in a lot of trouble, her parents did not yell at her, which made her unsure of the situation. She went to her room and thought about her mom and chess.

Weekly Review, Week 12

This last week I am feeling great. Honestly, I was nervous about having to read our free choice book because I was not sure if I would be able to complete the book, mostly because of the time it would require and normally I am not into reading that much and it is a struggle to sit and read a book. However, I started reading my first section on Sunday evening, and finished it by Tuesday evening. I felt great about it, enjoyed reading it and did not see it as a homework assignment; it was something I wanted to do when I had a few extra minutes. Wednesday I woke up with a swollen eye, was not able to go to work for two days, so I sat in my backyard, and finished the book by Thursday afternoon. This was some much-needed time to myself; I just sat, and read for a few hours each day. I was shocked that I had done this, never in my life have I read a book so fast. This was a great experience, to choose a book and enjoy it. I think the exercise we had to complete before we choose the book, really helped.

I think that I was able to enjoy the book because it was about Asian mothers, their daughters, and their stories. I have been getting into my culture lately and it really held my interest.

This week I will be completing my reading notes and analysis for the next two weeks, which also feels really good. This week is crazy at home and work, so not having to stress about completing the reading for this week, feels great.

I am so happy I took this class it has taught me so much about myself and what I can accomplish when I am focused and set my mind to it.

Close Reading, Week 12, The Joy Luck Club

“I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents’ promise.” (49)

This is a quote from, The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tran, the chapter was about one of the club members, Lindo Jong, and the title was The Red Candle. When Lindo Jong was 2 years old she was betrothed to a younger baby boy, Tyan-yu by the towns old village matchmaker. At the age of 12 years old her family had to move away because their family home was destroyed. Lindo Jong had to stay and was sent to live with the betrothed’s family. “But I could not stop my mother from giving me her chang, a necklace made out of a tablet of red jade. When she put it around my neck, she acted very stern, so I knew she was very sad. “Obey your family. Do not disgrace us.” She said. “Act happy when you arrive. Really, you’re very lucky.” (54) Throughout this chapter Lindo Jong is mistreated and is expected to learn all of the things she needs to know to be a good wife to her soon to be husband. Lindo Jong was not happy with her life and once she married Tyan-yu at the age of 16 years old, they acted happy infront of the family but slept separately at night in the same room. Tyan-yu was not happy and did not want to be with Lindo Jong, they never sleep with each other and were forced to after many months of her not being pregnant. Through the unhappiness Lindo Jong did not disobey her family, she acted as if she was happy and did everything she was told. She was able to use a dream and a young pregnant servant girl as her way to be released of her promise to Tyan-yu and at the same time she did not disobey her parents, however she did scarified her life for many years to keep her parents promise.

The literary devises used in this section of the story were flashback and imagery. Flashback was used to tell the story of her past and how she kept her parents promise. Imagery was used when she tricked the Tyan-yu’s mother and the matchmaker in thinking she had a dream and used facts she had seen to create a story that she was able to prove and use to show that she was not Tyan-yu’s spiritual wife. These literary devices were key to this part of the story and really give it meaning and kept me as the reader engaged.

Works Cited

Tran, Amy, “The Joy Luck Club.” Pp 49-66

Reading Notes B, Week 12, The Joy Luck Club

An-Mei Hsu - Was from China, as a young girl, she lived with her little brother, grandmother, Popo, aunt and uncle, in their home in Ningpo. Her father had passed away and was told that her mother was a ghost, it did not mean that her mother was dead. Her mother had left An-Mei and her brother after their father, her husband died. When An-Mei was 9 years old, in 1923, her grandmother became very sick. Popo would call An-Mei into her room and tell her stories that she did not understand. An-Mei was told never to speak her mothers name and if she did, it was like spitting on her fathers grave. The feeling of her home was unhappy, cold hallways and tall stairs. An-Mei's mother returned to help take care of Popo, An-Mei's aunt was upset and tried to get her to leave, but she stayed and took care of her mother Popo. Popo was very ill and did not realize it was An-Mei's mother caring for her or else she would have been upset. An-Mei, mother rubbed her fingers under her chin, where she had a scare. An-Mei had a memory of when she was 4 years old at the dinner table, An-Mei's mother came back for her and begged her to come to her but during the commotion of the uncle, aunt, and Popo arguing An-Mei was burned under her chin with soup. Ani-Mei learned to love her mother because of the way she took care of Popo, she even cut some of her flesh to mix in a soup to try to save her but Popo passed that night.

Lindo Jong sacrifieced her life to keep her parents promise. She was promised to a boy at the age of 2 by the village matchmaker. She continued to live with her parents until there was a heavy storm that flooded their home and her family was forced to move, but she had to stay and go to live with the family she was promised to at the age of 12. When her mother left she was told, "Obey your family. Do not disgrace us." (54) Lindo was treated like a servant in the home, she had to live on the same floor of the home with them and was taught daily how to care for her soon to be husband, Tyan-yu. When Lindo was 16 she was told that Tyan-yu's mother, Huang Taitai, she wanted a grandson. The couple was married soon after but on their wedding night, Tyan-yu made her sleep on the couch next to the bed and there she slept for a long time, until one night she was forced to sleep next to him, but Tyan-yu did not want to touch her, she realized that he was still a young child and was scared. She had to think of a way to make the family release her of her commitment with out disgracing her family. She found a way and was released and was free from the promise her family made so many years before and she did it without disgracing her family.

Ying-Ying St. Clair was not always a quite woman but became that way after the night of telling the Moon Lady her secret wish.

Reading Notes A, Week 12, The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Mothers                              The Daughters

Suyuan Woo                               Jing-mei “June” Woo (36YO)

An-mei Hsu                                 Rose Hsu Jordan

Lindo Jong                                   Waverly Jong

Ying-ying St. Clair                      Lena St. Clair

When Suyuan Woo was young, she was married to an officer, with two small children, people from many different lifestyles all fled to Kweilin to escape the Japanese. Suyuan Woo started the Joy Luck Club when she was in Kweilin. “My idea was to have a gathering of four woman, one for each corner of my mah jong table. I knew which woman I wanted to ask. They were all like me, with wishful faces.” (23) The woman would gather weekly, they took turns hosting the party, to raise money and their spirits. They would eat and play mah jong.

Suyuan Woo started the Joy Luck Club in San Francisco in 1949.

Suyuan Woo died and her daughter Jing-Mei Woo was asked by her father to sit in her mothers spot, at the fourth corner of the mah jong table.

Suyuan Woo would tell her daughter Jing-mei about her time in Kweilin, as Jing-mei grew older the story had different endings, until one day when it ended with her mother having to leave Kweilin with her two young children slinged to her, with a wheelbarrow to push any of her belongs that would fit, one of the items was her mah jong table. As she pushed toward Chungking to be with her 1^st husband, she slowly started loosing her stuff, the wheel broke, she used slings and bags, but by the time she arrived at Chungking, she only had three fancy silk dresses that she was wearing. Suyuan Woo only said that the babies were not Jing-mei, but did not speak about them again.

Jing-mei’s father said that Suyuan Woo died she had a thought in her head but before it came out, it grew too big and busted. The doctors said she died of cerebral aneurysm.

Jing-mei played mah jong with her aunts and after a long time she tried to leave but before she could the aunts had to tell her something. They told her that her mothers children were alive in China and they were daughters. The aunts gave Jing-mei $1200 to go to China to meet her sisters.

Project 2 Revision, Week 11, In the Land of the Free

Lae Choo is a very strong woman and loves her son, Little One, more than anything in her life. 

Lae Choo, is a female from the passage, In the Land of the Free, by Edith Maud Easton. I will be focusing on her as a female character and creating a project that will show what the author’s and my attitude are towards her. The project will also discuss two other character’s views of Lae Choo. Lastly, the project will discuss how Lae Choo views herself and give quotes from the passage to support the different views.

In the passage, Lae Choo is a Chinese woman, who was married to her husband, Hom Hing, they lived in San Francisco together. Lae Choo, returned to China to give birth to their child, the Little One. Her husband, Hom Hing stayed in San Francisco and continued to work as a merchant, he owned a store and they lived above it. Lae Choo and her son had stayed in China longer than they expected because Hom Hing’s parents were ill and she needed to take care of them. Hom Hing had never met his son, who was 20 months old. Lae Choo and the Little One arrived under the Golden Gate bridge aboard, Easter Queen. On this day, Hom Hing met his son for the first time and as they were leaving the ship the family was stopped by two men with the initials U.S.C. on their caps. The Little One did not have any papers from Washington allowing him to enter and none of the papers regarding Lae Choo had mentioned anything about a child, because he was not born when they were filed and approved. Against the parents will, they had to hand their son over to the men, until they could get approval from the government to let the child in to the US. It took the couple 10 months to get their son back.

The author’s attitude towards Lae Choo, is that she is a fighter and very strong, however she is also shown to be a victim. “”You, too,” reproached Law Choo in a voice eloquent with pain. But accustomed to obedience she yieled the boy to her husband, who in turned delivered him to the first officer.” (pg. 323) In this passage, the image of Lae Choo is of her being a victim of the law, although they had all of the required papers to return from China, no one informed them that they needed approval for the child. Lae Choo is described in the story has a strong woman because her child was taken away, although she was very sad, scared and depressed, she continued to live for her child and do everything she could to get him back in her arms.

My attitude towards Law Choo, is that she loves her son with all of her heart and he is everything to her. The love she has is what helps her through one of the toughest times in her life. “Ah, how could I close my eyes with my arms empty of the little body that has filled them every night for the more than twenty moons! You do not know – man – what it is to miss the feel of the little finger and the little toes… Even in the darkness his darling eyes used to shine up to mine..” (pg. 324) “She fell on her knees and stretch her hungry arms towards her son.” (pg. 329) Both of these quotes from the passage describe the love Lae Choo has for her son, the Little One. The following quote describes Lae Choo’s love for her child.

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 crushed down remorselessly all that stand in its path..

-Agatha Christie

The passage describes Hom Hing’s view of his wife as weak and heart broken. This is shown in the story with the following quote. “Her food she takes only when I bed her and her tears fall continually. She finds no pleasure in dress or flowers and cares not to see her friends. He eyes stare all night. I think before another moon she will pass into the land of spirits.” (pg. 326). Hom Hing describes his wife as a woman that has lost her reason for living and if she does not get her son, she will die of a broken heart.

The passage describes, James Clancy, the young white lawyer’s, view of Lae Choo as

feeling sad for her and wanting to help, but then he uses his position to take advantage of the couple and the love she has for her son. “It’s not right,” cried the young man indignantly. Then he made his proposition.” (pg. 326) “Well, I will need at least five hundred to start with.” (pg. 327) “Stop, white man, Stop!” Lae Choo, panting and terrified, had started forward and not stood beside him, clutching his sleeve excitedly.” (pg. 327) This quotes from the passage reveal, James Clancy acting like he is set that the couple has not gotten their son back but then he see an opportunity to use take advantage of them and charge them a large amount of money to help get their son back. If he truly and selfishly wanted to help the couple, he could have charged less or nothing at all, or allow them to make payments, instead he had already taken all of their money for the previous letters he wrote to Washington and now he accepted all of Lae Choo’s jewelry as payment. James Clancy is a perfect example of a person that can help another person, however he sees an opportunity and takes advantage of the situation.

Lae Choo views herself as a scared and strong woman, and knows that the love for her child will bring him back to her. The passage started with Lae Choo being scared to hand her son over to the men on the boat because she did not know what was going to happen and how her son was going to be taken care of, but the idea that it would only be for a night and obeying the law is why she let him go. The next day he did not come home and for the 10 months he was away she was scare she would never see him again. However, the love for her child keep her pushing and being willing to give up anything that she had to get him back.

Lae Choo can be viewed in many different ways by many different people and depending on who the person is, they can each see her differently. 

Works Cited


Easton, Edith, et at. "Young, in the Land of the Free." The Literature of California, vol 1, University of California Press, 200, pp 312-329

A Mother's Love for her Child
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Week 11, Reading Notes A, Henderson

California 13 is a poem describing where Hwy 13 can lead you. It is a freeway between Berkeley and Alameda. Hwy 13 can lead you to Ashby Ave in Berkeley. “A patch of connecting highway thru the village of a philosopher’s theory, where nothing exists in pure logic.” (119) And describes the landscape seen while driving down Hwy 13, silver gleam of the bay, mountain range headings for L.A. Hwy 13 takes you to Hwy 5 to the Grapevine, which will lead you to L.A.

Lost Angeles is a poem describing Hwy 5, four lanes wide, from LAX to Hollywood to the ancient road to old Mexico. A couple meets on Hollywood Blvd, they look like movie stars, they go out to a movie and then go back to where they met, and parted their ways.

San Dijuana is a poem about a highway that leads to La Mesa, a mini-city in San Dijuana. It describes a series of events with a drunk couple. “a hyper filmic reality the latina and the black man often plastered in the placid night two drunken considerate clowns amid the lush vegetation lights from the window..” (129)

91 Bus is about a person on a bus driving down Sunset Blvd, towards Beverly Hills. While on the bus the person observes what is going on around him on the streets. “Santa Monica Boulevard West Hollywood to the sea the number 4.” (127)

In these poems by David Henderson, he uses imaginary to describe what is going on around him, he does this by describing the landscape, people, and events. Henderson uses one common symbol in all of these poems, which is a highway and where it leads.

Project 2, Week 10, Female Character: Lae Choo

Topic 3: From a piece of fiction choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project.

Lae Choo, is a female from the passage, In the Land of the Free, by Edith Maud Easton. I will be focusing on her as a female character and creating a project that will show what the author’s and my attitude are towards her. The project will also discuss two other character’s views of Lae Choo. Lastly, the project will discuss how Lae Choo views herself and give quotes from the passage to support the different views.

In the passage, Lae Choo is a Chinese woman, who was married to her husband, Hom Hing, they lived in San Francisco together. Lae Choo, returned to China to give birth to their child, the Little One. Her husband, Hom Hing stayed in San Francisco and continued to work as a merchant, he owned a store and they lived above it. Lae Choo and her son had stayed in China longer than they expected because Hom Hing’s parents were ill and she needed to take care of them. Hom Hing had never met his son, who was 20 months old. Lae Choo and the Little One arrived under the Golden Gate bridge aboard, Easter Queen. On this day, Hom Hing met his son for the first time and as they were leaving the ship the family was stopped by two men with the initials U.S.C. on their caps. The Little One did not have any papers from Washington allowing him to enter and none of the papers regarding Lae Choo had mentioned anything about a child, because he was not born when they were filed and approved. Against the parents will, they had to hand their son over to the men, until they could get approval from the government to let the child in to the US. It took the couple 10 months to get their son back.

The author’s attitude towards Lae Choo, is that she is a fighter and very strong, however she is also shown to be a victim. “”You, too,” reproached Law Choo in a voice eloquent with pain. But accustomed to obedience she yieled the boy to her husband, who in turned delivered him to the first officer.” (323) In this passage, the image of Lae Choo is of her being a victim of the law, although they had all of the required papers to return from China, no one informed them that they needed approval for the child. Lae Choo is described in the story has a strong woman because her child was taken away, although she was very sad, scared and depressed, she continued to live for her child and do everything she could to get him back in her arms.

My attitude towards Law Choo, is that she loves her son with all of her heart and he is everything to her. The love she has is what helps her through one of the toughest times in her life. “Ah, how could I close my eyes with my arms empty of the little body that has filled them every night for the more than twenty moons! You do not know – man – what it is to miss the feel of the little finger and the little toes… Even in the darkness his darling eyes used to shine up to mine..” (324) “She fell on her knees and stretch her hungry arms towards her son.” (329) Both of these quotes from the passage describe the love Lae Choo has for her son, the Little One. The following quote describes Lae Choo’s love for her child.

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 crushed down remorselessly all that stand in its path..

-Agatha Christie

The passage describes Hom Hing’s view of his wife as weak and heart broken. This is shown in the story with the following quote. “Her food she takes only when I bed her and her tears fall continually. She finds no pleasure in dress or flowers and cares not to see her friends. He eyes stare all night. I think before another moon she will pass into the land of spirits.” (326). Hom Hing describes his wife as a woman that has lost her reason for living and if she does not get her son, she will die of a broken heart.

The passage describes, James Clancy, the young white lawyer’s, view of Lae Choo as

feeling sad for her and wanting to help, but then he uses his position to take advantage of the couple and the love she has for her son. “It’s not right,” cried the young man indignantly. Then he made his proposition.” (326) “Well, I will need at least five hundred to start with.” (327) “Stop, white man, Stop!” Lae Choo, panting and terrified, had started forward and not stood beside him, clutching his sleeve excitedly.” (327) This quotes from the passage reveal, James Clancy acting like he is set that the couple has not gotten their son back but then he see an opportunity to use take advantage of them and charge them a large amount of money to help get their son back. If he truly and selfishly wanted to help the couple, he could have charged less or nothing at all, or allow them to make payments, instead he had already taken all of their money for the previous letters he wrote to Washington and now he accepted all of Lae Choo’s jewelry as payment. James Clancy is a perfect example of a person that can help another person, however he sees an opportunity and takes advantage of the situation.

Lae Choo views herself as a scared and strong woman, and knows that the love for her child will bring him back to her. The passage started with Lae Choo being scared to hand her son over to the men on the boat because she did not know what was going to happen and how her son was going to be taken care of, but the idea that it would only be for a night and obeying the law is why she let him go. The next day he did not come home and for the 10 months he was away she was scare she would never see him again. However, the love for her child keep her pushing and being willing to give up anything that she had to get him back.

Lae Choo can be viewed in many different ways by many different people and depending on who the person is, they can each see her differently. 

References:
The Literature of California, Volume 1, Hicks, Houston, Kingston, Young, In the Land of the Free, by Edith Maud Easton pg 321-329
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