The Bonesetter's Daughter Character Analysis

The book The Bonesetter’s Daughter possesses a structure with high levels of complexity, parallel to the life and mind of LuLing. The author Amy Tan expressed Ruth’s experience with destiny and heroism though the discovery of LuLing’s autobiography. This idea was also expressed in “Marked for Greatness” from Thomas C. Foster’s book How to Read Literature Like a Professor (HTRLLAP). In chapter “Heart”, Precious Auntie attempted suicide after the murder of her father and her new groom. The Liu family saved her but as a result scars were left on her face and she could not speak. Besides from ruining her beauty, her scars act as a camouflage, masking her true identity as a nursemaid of LuLing rather than the mother. People made fun of her misfortune by saying, “Better than having white hair and a burnt face.” (Tan, 178) In HTRLLAP, Foster

The suspense of the name mystery ends to the very end, when finally Ruth learns that she really does belong to a family and that their name was “Gu.” From the beginning of the novel, Ruth is identified as a person who is out of place, and one who is taken advantage of. However, her situation soon changes by the second part, where she reads about her mother’s account on her past. At the very end, when she learns about the meaning behind all the family names, she feels happy in that she was loved and cared for very much. She feels the connection between her grandmother and herself still present because all the meanings of the name correlate with events from her life. Ruth was also labeled as one who didn't understand the value of name, especially when she says she hates American and Chinese names. When she learns that her name meant “All that you wish,” she is touched that her mother took her time to come up with such a name. This, once again, correlates to the importance of communication, and how Ruth and LuLing were so distant without