This poem is about two sisters; one who is in China, and one who is in America. There are many similarities and differences between the two sisters.
Between the two sisters, one remained in China to be the subservient daughter, “(gathering) patience” and learning how to “walk in shoes the size of teacups” and “learning to stretch the family rice” to provide for the family. She became the traditional Chinese woman, being meek and quiet, to be seen and not heard. Her name Jade is a mark of prestige yet also a mark of servitude to her family.
The other sister seems to have let go of her Chinese roots and culture, “(relinquishing) her name, diluting jade green with the blue of the Pacific.” She went to America to find freedom, as it was a place where “women (could) stride along with men”, signifying that the sister in America could break free of the restrains she had back in China, to become a citizen with rights equal to that of any man, and not just a second class citizen who had to obey the
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The sister in America, despite finally realising her dream of ‘gaining freedom’, had to deal with “dough-faced landlords (slipping) in and out of (her) keyholes” and also the loneliness of being away from her family. She was strong to have survived in such circumstances.
The sister in China was also strong in her own merit, because although she was never allowed to leave her home, she willingly gave up her freedom for her duty to her family. She had to learn how to walk with bound feet and keep her family alive. Just like the common Chinese name, Jade, the two sisters, although worlds apart, were as strong as the stone itself.
Another difference between the two sisters is that one gave up her culture for freedom while the other sister gave up her freedom for her
In the beginning paragraphs of Mrs. Spring Fragrance, Sui Sin Far introduces readers to the Chin Yeuns and their beautiful 18-year-old daughter, Mai Fwi Fan, who goes by her American name, Laura. Sui Sin Far describes the Chin Yeuns as living “in a house furnished in American style, and wore American clothes, yet they religiously observed many Chinese customs, and their ideals of life were the ideals of their Chinese forefathers” (865). Abiding by Chinese tradition, Laura’s parents have “betrothed their daughter” (865) to the son of the Chinese Government school-teacher. Laura confesses to Mrs. Spring Fragrance that she is actually in love with Kai Tzu. Mrs. Spring Fragrance is the only person who knows about the relationship between Laura and Kai Tzu. Unfortunately, for Laura, her betrothal is quickly approaching. Mrs. Spring Fragrance, trying to cheer up her young friend, quotes the famous l...
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In many scenarios, it is the younger generations who represent new times and challenge old tradition to be left in the past. Considering the reading of “Hangzhou” by Chang, Shitai, the fortune teller exhorts Chanyi, the illustrator grandma, to adapt to the modern generation where their “own ideas of love and power” (Chang 103) will decide the faith of their future. Taken by surprise, Chanyi disagrees, rationalizing and remaining silent on the topic. In similarity, Alice Walker relates to this reaction by echoing the illustrator of “Everyday Use” as she is informed of her daughter’s name change from Dee to Wangero. Asserted by Dee, it was a burden to be named after the people who oppress her” (Walker 318). This proves to the reader that in both families an adaptation is required by the mother. Therefore, both families have been driven to the similar situations regardless of their origin or ethnicity. Modern times request for new changes, a difficulty that families must
In “Princess of Nebraska” the author exemplifies the disenchantment of America when she writes, “If only her baby were a visa that would admit her into this prosperity, Sasha thought, saddened by the memories of Inner Mongolia and Nebraska, the night skies of both places black with lonely stars”(79). Although America is unique in certain rights and freedoms, these freedoms just as anything else have limitations. Sasha feels unchanged by her new environment, still feeling unable to grow her sense of self or escape the problems she attempted to abandon in her old world. The prosperity of America does not keep Sasha from the loneliness and troubles that consume her life, thus making the “night skies” of America and China comparable. In “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers”, Mr. Shi has similar struggles coping with the anticlimactic realities of true America and his inability to provoke change within his relationship with his daughter. The narrator highlights the lack of communication and distance that still exists between them when stating, “He feels disappointed in his daughter, someone he shares a language with but with whom he can no longer share a dear moment”(194). Although Mr.Shi feels America should serve him the liberties to be a better
Sister lives in China Grove, Mississippi presumably a very small town with only a few occupants. She lives with her mother, grandfather and uncle in their home, being the center of attention for the duration of the time until her younger sister, Stella-Rondo returns home. The return of Stella-Rondo sparks a conflict with Sister immediately because Sister is obviously envious of her and has been even before she came back to China Grove. The reader gets clear evidence of Sister’s jealousy toward Stella-Rondo when Sister says “She’s always had anything in the world she wanted and then she’d throw it away.”(594). Clearly Sister has a predisposition toward Stella-Rondo returning for many reasons, and this is the beginning of the conflict that she begins to have with herself.
Since Sister was affected the most by certain actions of the family, Welty narrated this short story through Sister’s point of view to show how the function of the family declined through these actions. Sister was greatly affected when her sister broke the bonds of sisterhood by stealing her boyfriend and marrying him. Secondly, Sister was affected by the favoritism shown by her family towards her younger sister. Since her sister was favored more than her, this caused her to be jealous of her sister. For example, Sister shows a lot of jealousy by the tone she uses when describing what Stella-Rondo did with the bracelet that their grandfather gave her. Sister’s description was, “She’d always had anything in the world she wanted and then she’d throw it away. Papa-Daddy gave her this gorgeous Add-a-Pearl necklace when sh...
Both of these unfortunate women are not bad people. The reader is able to see their characters completely unfold before him or her as he or she reads the story of the Displaced Person. These women have just been lulled into a false sense of security and thus have not been able to built spiritual diversity that would have enabled them to face the harsh realities life threw their way.
...in her essay “No Name Woman”. The Chinese tradition of story telling is kept by Kingston in her books. Becoming Americanized allowed these women the freedom to show their rebellious side and make their own choices. Rebelling against the ideals of their culture but at the same time preserving some of the heritage they grew up with. Both woman overcame many obstacles and broke free of old cultural ways which allowed them an identity in a new culture. But most importantly they were able to find identity while preserving cultural heritage.
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.
In both of these stories there are certain characteristics of females that are the same, they are inner strength, obedience, honor and respect, the good of the family is better than the good of the individual.
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
Sister’s frustration with Stella-Rondo obstructs their relationship, and even though Sister thinks she wants freedom from her family, her self-consciousness will keep her from achieving it. Sister acts hastily about the matter of moving out in order to gain independence. Independence comes from experience, not a split decisions made in a hurry. This quote by Steve Schmidt explains what Sister has quickly found out over the past five days, “the price for independence is often isolation and solitude."
Based on Deconstruction theory, Lan Cao’s novel Monkey Bridge depicts the mother-daughter relationship before and after living in exile in terms of language, familial roles and deception.
“Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on. She tested our strengths to establish realities”(5). In the book “The Woman Warrior,” Maxine Kingston is most interested in finding out about Chinese culture and history and relating them to her emerging American sense of self. One of the main ways she does so is listening to her mother’s talk-stories about the family’s Chinese past and applying them to her life.
The Soong sisters were very close to each other at the start of their lives, but always had distinctions between each other. In childhood, “…lively little Mei-ling wishe[d] she had been born a boy so she could ‘do things’. Sweet, shy Ching-ling astonishe[d] them all by the ardor of her determination to serve the revolution which [was] prophesied by her father and his friend, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Clever, capable Ai-ling [was] looking forward to college”(Spencer 92).