They were unaware of the emotional harm they caused her. Later, Lisa was diagnosed with a learning disability. Her school years were extremely difficult, both socially and academically. Lisa influenced me most when she was in high school, and I was in middle school. Lisa knew the importance of a good education, even though it was a struggle for her.
Although Rose believes that she has "no hope," inside she has a nengkan as powerful as her mothers, which makes her wish her marriage would last, just as her mother wishes Bing would still be alive. Overall, each mother in The Joy Luck Club went through something emotionally exhausting and saddening in her life. The mothers use their experiences to try to direct the course of their daughters' lives, to make them simpler and more carefree. Initially, however, the daughters only see that their mothers want to make decisions for them, not to help them. Ultimately, the daughters realize their mothers' intentions, but not all accept them.
Keturah didn’t know a thing about raising a baby. “It’s a bit of a challenge but also still pretty cool.” She said. It’s not easy taking care of a baby when you’re a teenager still in school. “Yeah it is hard because you know you still got to go to school and then come home to take care of the baby”, She said. Even when parents are mad at their daughters, they don’t stop caring and supporting their child.
Their mothers raised them to be proper, young ladies and expert housekeepers in expectation of marriage. If these women were fortunate enough to receive some kind of formalized schooling, they were to study penmanship, limited aspects of their mother language, and very little arithmetic (Philadelphia School of Design for Women 5). Unfortunately, this small degree of education was extremely constrictive to women. If they never married or were widowed at a young age, they really had no place to go. This form of women’s education created generations of women that were almost entirely dependent on their husbands and male relatives.
In the beginning, both the narrator and her mother had a delightful time spending time together, trying to figure out the narrator’s talent. Although the narrator soon began to dislike all the test and activities her mother would put her through. After failing each of the tests she was given she would see the disappointment on her mother’s face and “something inside me began to die” (Tan, 96). While the narrator refused her mother by saying that she was not a genius her mother replied by saying “who ask you to be genius? Only ask you be your best.
When Miss Brodie lashes out to Miss Mackay for trying to make her resign, she makes matters worse for herself because is only creates more tension and frustration between the two teachers. Miss Brodie unprofessional manner and inability to maintain her lust gives good reason for why she is a poor teacher. As a person, Miss Brodie does have many positive qualities that she seems to have used in the classroom. Her students did take interest in her teaching, but only because they were so different from what they were used to. Miss Brodie was a very smart and well-traveled woman, which was another positive aspect that she brought to her classroom.
June’s mother enjoyed having pride in her daughter, as she thought her daughter was a representation of how successful she was herself. June did not appreciate this at all. After making a fool of herself at the talent show she vowed to never play piano again. Her mother’s wishes for her success were mistaken for her mother’s selfishness. June thought her mother was only pushing her to find something in her daughter that was not in herself.
Dee explains that the other name did not suit her. Now even though Mother reluctantly goes along with this new name, it is obvious that she is not used to changing names, especially if it is one of great family importance. Another character that that has a hard time changing along with Mother is Maggie. When Mother sent Dee to a good school where she could get a very good education, Dee used to come back and try to teach her lowly, uneducated family members. Maggie and her Mother were not used to this, and they were happy with the education that they had.
The daughter is extremely bright and articulate. This family has come to therapy now because Judy believes Sarah is the problem. According to Judy, Sarah needs to go to school and stay in school and that Sarah’s boyfriend, Jason, is a bad influence. However, Lou desires the family to be closer through spending time together. As for Sarah, she would like things to get easier, be comfortable, and not feel ignored.
A myth about the disease is that she will become a better reader if she relies less on her tapes (tapes go along with all of her school books) and practices reading more. However, this is not true. Noelle needs the tapes and will not read better without them. Noelle is clearly hardworking and willing to put in the extra time required for her to do well in school. This is a strength that any teacher should appreciate.