Shanghai Girls was written by Lisa See in 2009. In the beginning of the novel, the setting of the story is Shanghai and as the story goes on it moves to the United States. When the story shifts Shanghai to America it also impacts the character’s life and culture. Each culture has its own beliefs, clothing style, food and may more. Chines culture is different from other cultures, their clothing style, female beauty standards, and Chines zodiac. Chines zodiac is another name for a horoscope. One character is Pearl, she is the protagonist, another character is May is also the protagonist of the story. Lisa See starts this novel by showing the strong bond between two sister Pearl and May. Although, the goal of this novel was to explore the Chines …show more content…
Chines zodiac is a twelve-year cycle, each year in that cycle related to an animal sign. These signs are the rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, ox, rat, rooster, dog, tiger, and pig. It is determined by the lunar year in which you were born. “The Chinese believe the animal ruling one’s birth years has a profound influence on personality, and destiny” (Chines zodiac). In this novel mother believes in astrology and sometimes she blames their daughter because they were born in zodiac cycle. For example, “She believes in astrology, blaming or praising May and me for one thing or another because we were born in the year of the sheep and the year of the dragon, respectively” (5). One of the sisters Pearl was born in the year of the sheep, which mean she is tender, polite, filial, clever and kind- hearted and …show more content…
This novel takes place in two different countries when the novel starts it take place in Asia Shanghai, but as the story goes on it take place in America. When the story shifts Shanghai to America it also impacts the character’s life and culture. Different culture has their own beliefs. Chines culture is unique from other cultures, by their clothing style, beliefs and religious. Chines culture also has Chines zodiac, which is another name for a horoscope. In western astrology is predicting destiny, while Chinese astrology is chines zodiac it also deals with earth, fire, water, metal, and wood. Lisa See starts this novel by showing the strong bond between two sister Pearl and May. Although, the goal of this novel was to explore the Chines culture and how Chinese tradition value change to western in Zodiac, female beauty stander, and
if you believe tan's first novel "the joy luck club," asian amerca is some mystical oddity, conforming to the mascot-culture view of the white thirtysomething women who predominated at tan's reading. san francisco chinatown is filled with hysterical chinese women playing secret mah jong games. china itself is a dreamlik landscape, filled with secrets and traditions, all exuding a delicate, storybook aura.
Amy Tan 's novel, The Joy Luck Club, explores the relationships and experiences of four Chinese mothers with that of their four Chinese-American daughters. The differences in the upbringing of those women born around the 1920’s in China, and their daughters born in California in the 80’s, is undeniable. The relationships between the two are difficult due to lack of understanding and the considerable amount of barriers that exist between them.
Traditional Chinese culture has a very strict set of rules which need to be followed. Only if one follows the rules, will they fit into the Chinese society. This is depicted in the book The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy and Iron Road directed by David Wu. The Jade Peony portrays a story about three Chinese-Canadian siblings living in Vancouver’s Chinatown: Jook-Liang, Jung-Sum, and Sek-Lung. Each child experiences different complications depending on their age and gender. Their Grandmother, Poh Poh, teaches them to balance their Chinese culture along with Canadian culture. Moreover, Iron Road portrays a story about a strong-willed 19 year old girl, Little Tiger, who presents herself as a boy in order to survive as an orphan in the male-dominated
One of the greater messages conveyed through An Ocean Apart, A World Away, pertains to the eradication of sexism, encouraging equality between all genders, and re-establishing the independence of women in many cultures. The author demonstrates the struggles of one individual assimilating into a foreign culture. The difference between the Chinese and American culture is evident as are the attempts of the main character to assimilate, and adapt to his/her new surroundings. The novel compares the stereotypes women face in both the Chinese and American culture and clearly regards it as an issue. An Ocean Apart, A World Away is a unique story with an important message, providing great insight into the history of China while maintaining a subtle sense of humour to keep the story entertaining. It also has a strong female protagonist but failed to successfully develop secondary characters. Other female characters could have aided the story in giving a stronger message as well as creating a more interesting plot. The plot lacked many details during the events, causing the plot to seem rushed. Although the story is lacking in some aspects, readers will find themselves fully engrossed into the daily lives of Chinese women during the early 1900s.
The journey from Chongqing to America was one with many obstacles and Suyuan sacrificed so much for her daughter hoping that one day June will be successful. The support and care that Suyuan provided for June ended when she suddenly passes away which forces June discerns how little she actually knows about her own mother. This seemingly ordinary life of June disappears as she discovers her mother’s past which included siblings that have been abandoned and thus attempts to find her long lost sisters. This idea was brought up by the Aunties of the Joy Luck Club that her mother founded which can be seen as the call to an adventure. The purpose of this journey was not only to find her sisters but to also discover her mother for who Suyuan truly was. In June’s eyes, Suyuan was always impossible to please and she was never on the same page as her mother who believes a person could be anything they wanted in America-the land of opportunities. But as the Joy Luck Club reminds June of how smart, dutiful, and kind her
A Pair of Tickets”, by Amy Tan, is a brief narrative about the conscience and reminiscence of a young Chinese American woman, Jing-Mei, who is on a trip to China to meet her two half-sisters for the first time in her life. Amy Tan is an author who uses the theme of Chinese-American life, converging primarily on mother-daughter relationships, where the mother is an emigrant from China and the daughter is fully Americanized --yellow on the surface and white underneath. In this story, the mother tries to communicate rich Chinese history and legacy to her daughter, but she is completely ignorant of their heritage. At the opening of the story "A Pair of Tickets" Jandale Woo and her father are on a train, the are destined for China. Their first stop will be Guangzhou, China where father will reunite with his long lost aunt. After visiting with her for a day they plan to take a plane to Shanghai, China where Jandale meets her two half-sisters for the first time. It is both a joyful time and yet a time of contrition, Jandale has come to China to find her Chinese roots that her mother told ...
Amy Tan's "A Pair of Tickets," especially, explores the relationship of setting to place, heritage, and ethnic identity. Jing-Mei Woo, the main character, has trouble accepting that she is Chinese, despite her heritage. Jing-Mei Woo believed, at fifteen, that she had no Chinese whatsoever below her skin. If anything, she perceives herself as Caucasian; even her Caucasian friends agreed that she "was as Chinese as they were." Her mother, however, told her differently, "It's in your blood, waiting to be let go." This terrified Jing-Mei, making her believe that it would cause her to suddenly change, "I saw myself transforming like a werewolf." Jing-Mei Woo finally realizes that she has never really known what it means to be Chinese because she was born and has lived in America all her life. After her mother's death, Jing-Mei discovers that she has two twin sisters living in China who have been searching for their mother and that s...
Sui Sin Far portrays the effects of "Americanization" on the Chinese who arrived in America during the early 1900's, in her story of "Mrs. Spring Fragrance". She describes the processes that the Chinese characters in the story undergo as they slowly begin to accept the American culture as their own. She shows how they become "Americanized", yet shows how they are still rooted in the Chinese tradition. The piece is presented in a lighthearted tone yet deals with issues of national and cultural identity.
Shanghai Girls is a fictional novel by Lisa Lee is a recounting of the journey two Chinese sisters-Pearl and May- takes after unfortunate circumstances force them to immigrate to the United States in 1937. The story starts with Pearl and May living in Shanghai, a modern glamorous city in China, and the girls are living the upper class life thanks to their father’s successful Rickshaw business. However their father’s gambling causes them to lose their fortune and both Pearl and May are sold to Chinese men in the United States for an arranged marriage. Both girls initially refuse to go, and decide to stay in China, causing them to get caught in the 2nd Sino-Japanese war and are forced to immigrate to the United States to avoid the warfare. Immigrating into the United States was no easy task thanks to the effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act enacted in 1882 and Angel Island’s grueling interrogation. Finally Getting into the U.S was not ...
The early part of the novel shows women’s place in Chinese culture. Women had no say or position in society. They were viewed as objects, and were used as concubines and treated with disparagement in society. The status of women’s social rank in the 20th century in China is a definite positive change. As the development of Communism continued, women were allowed to be involved in not only protests, but attended universities and more opportunities outside “house” work. Communism established gender equality and legimated free marriage, instead of concunbinage. Mao’s slogan, “Women hold half of the sky”, became extremely popular. Women did almost any job a man performed. Women were victims by being compared to objects and treated as sex slaves. This was compared to the human acts right, because it was an issue of inhumane treatment.
...all Chinese, and the daughters are Chinese-American. The mothers grew up in a more strict environment and followed the rules by the book. They were taught by their mothers, how to act, who they were, and what being Chinese meant. The daughters in this story grew up in a more relaxed world, where being an individual was accepted and appreciated. No one was punished for being themselves in America. For the women in this novel, finding their true identity was one of the most important things. By using their cultural background and discovering who their mothers were, they were able to find their true selves in the end as well giving them a complete sense of identity.
When she arrives, she feels somehow proud to be Chinese. But her main reason why she went back home is to reflect her mother past life on her present life. Through the setting and her relatives, Jing Mei learns the nature of Chinese American culture. The main setting takes place in China, effects of the main character’s point of view through changing her sense of culture and identity. The time period plays a large role on the story, there is disconnect between the mother and daughter who came from different culture. In “A Pair of Tickets”, we learn it’s a first person narrator, we also learn detail of what the narrator is thinking about, detail of her past and how life compared to China and the US are very different. The theme is associated with the motherland and also has to deal with her mother’s death and half sisters. Her imagination of her sister transforming into adult, she also expected them to dresses and talk different. She also saw herself transforming, the DNA of Chinese running through her blood. In her own mind, from a distance she thinks Shanghai, the city of China looks like a major American city. Amy Tan used positive imagery of consumerism to drive home her themes of culture and identity, discovering her ancestral
In the story "A Pair of Tickets," by Amy Tan, a woman by the name of Jing-mei struggles with her identity as a Chinese female. Throughout her childhood, she "vigorously denied" (857) that she had any Chinese under her skin. Then her mother dies when Jing-Mei is in her 30's, and only three months after her father receives a letter from her twin daughters, Jing-Mei's half sisters. It is when Jing-mei hears her sisters are alive, that she and her dad take a trip overseas to meet her relatives and finally unites with her sisters. This story focuses on a woman's philosophical struggle to accept her true identity.
Tan has written a novel without a central plot but with characters and events that are as powerful as myth, and which often entangle it. The stories of the aunties are interspersed with events involving the daughters, so that China and America come
“Factory Girls” by Leslie T. Chang provides an inside look on migration in the inner cities of China. The book follows the lives of women who have left their home villages to work in factories. Primarily, Chang focuses on the lives of two women, Min and Chunming. Min left her village at the age of sixteen with her older sister to chuqu, or to go out, and see the world. She often changed jobs while in Dongguan because she is never satisfied with her position. Chang met Chunming at a dating agency where men and women could mingle with one another. Chunming began her career at a toy factory. In her diary, she often wrote out the goals she wanted to accomplish and how to accomplish them. She was very determined to become successful. Her persistence