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.
Hi Amber. My book of choice is also The Joy Luck Club. Your first choice sounds interesting, it is great that you may be comfortable writing on your personal life in comparison the book. I would not be comfortable. I am eager to read what happens in the end of this book; I am not there yet. I also think that your third choice would be a great topic. Writing on Waverly and her mother will be very interesting. Their relationship seems very complex and Waverly seems like she has little patience and hurt with her mother. They have a rocky relationship. I think it is due to them growing up differently. What if you write about how their values are different and the things that make them different, if you choose the third topic. If you choose the third topic, I look forward to reading it. Thanks for sharing.
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