Tuesday, December 3, 2013

What did the daughters in The Joy Luck Club teach their mothers?

I think that the daughters taught several elements to
their mothers.  One of the most basic elements taught is the idea that there are certain
"universalities" in being a woman.  While the conditions and circumstances might change,
there are some constants that have to be grasped.  The assertion of voice, the ability
to live with choices made and consequences received, all help to highlight this basic
idea.  At the same time, the daughters teach their mothers that the choices that the
previous generation of women made were the right ones.  When Ying-Ying sees Lena endure
the same silencing of voice that she underwent, she recognizes that the choices she made
were the rights ones, however painful they were, and that her daughter must make similar
choices.  At the same time, I think that the daughters teach the mothers that there is a
strength in displaying solidarity.  The mothers learn from the daughters that there is a
value in being able to validate one's voice and the voices of others through
collectivity and being able to relay these experiences to others.  One gets the
impression that the daughters have demonstrated to the mothers that what has been formed
with The Joy Luck Club is something that has to be transmitted to
the daughters' children, the mothers' grandchildren.

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