Well, after another fun-filled day day as a working/single mom, I am tired....ran errands all over town, went to son's baseball game, cooked dinner, mowed the front & back yards, and finally finished The Joy Luck Club (JLC). I found myself disappointed that the story had to end once I had finally started to put the pieces together and remember which mother belonged with which daughter. Though I found the stories of the American daughters easy to read, I was much more intrigued with the lives of their mothers and the varying backgrounds these women came from to end up in the same place in America. They all have daughters that they wish could do better than they are, always hoping that this younger generation would live up to greater expectations than they themselves ever could. I really wish that I had kept better track at the beginning of JLC to the names in my head (I found myself constantly referring back to the page at the front of the book that lays out who belongs with who) and what generation they belonged to. I absolutely LOVE to read, but sometimes (and I won't say this often) it helps me to watch the movie version so that I can easily remember who's who. I'm going to try to find the movie this week and see if it helps jog any parts from the book that I may not have picked up on at first.
One of my favorite parts of the book was when Rose Jordan tells her soon to be ex-husband that she plans on fighting him for the house in their divorce and he says, "who says?" like a spoiled little boy who isn't getting his way...and her reference to being like a weed in his life when she says, "You can't just pull me out of your life and throw me away" helps to show that Rose wants to be like those weeds, wild and uncontrollable, now that she can be free of the rigid life with Ted.
I really enjoy reading your comments, Tina! I too have trouble with the names of the characters, and I, like you also, am intrigued by the older women. Maybe it is because I am trying to understand where my own mother is coming from, especially since my father died on New Years Eve day. Maybe I am trying to understand how her experiences, even though we have been living miles apart for nearly 40 years, have trickled to me. Maybe too I am seeing how my life is trickling to the lives of my daughters, one who just became a mother and one who is being married in June. I need to keep in mind, too, that some of the events portrayed in the novel are based on the life of Amy Tan--or taken from those around her. Much of the novel is based on real-life experiences. She discussed that when my daughter and I saw her at Purdue a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited. I must not be as far as you. I have been procrastinating with this project worse than I usually do the others. I am excited because your post says there are stories about American mothers/daughters and they are easier to read. That's good news! I am tired of these stories that I am not really able to follow that easily.
ReplyDeleteHowdy, it is a beautiful day and almost the end of a wonderful semester! I did enjoy the Joy Luck Club and most of the time found myself looking to the front of the book for a reference between the daughters and mothers as well! I totally agree, the mothers pasts and hardships they endured were totally different from their daughters experience who grew up in America. Their lives were filled with many trials and tribulations and they successfully learned how to overcome them. Hope is all we have when everything else seems to fall out from under our feet. The descriptions and stories of these mother's lives were unique and very interesting compared to their daughters. Rules were stricter and premarital arrangements were already in the process by the time a girl child was twelve. To me cultures and beliefs are vastly different throughout the world. It takes time, patience, and a great deal of willingness to listen and understand another person's way of life.
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