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.