3 Journals about Joy Luck Club
May 4; Prompt E)Knowing that faith was so important to the family, and learning that mom wrote Bing's name in pencil. Why do you think the bible is kept under the table leg?
That the bible was put under the table leg is symbolic that the mother lost faith and no longer believes. When she went to the beach she believed that if she had enough faith Bing would come back. Because of this faith she tried effortlessly to find him, staying at the beach for hours, she truly believed he would come back. She threw prized possessions into the sea in hopes that her sacrifice would help Bing return. But when Bing didn't return and she realized he died she lost faith and just used her once prized book as a table stabilizer.
However, she has not lost complete faith, this can be seen when she writes Bing's name in pencil and the fact that she didn't throw the book away. The fact that Bing's name was written in pencil means that it is easily erasable, this shows that the mother believes that although Bing probably died there is another chance that he survived. Also the bible was stuffed under the table, this suggests that she hasn't lost complete faith, because although she doesn't read it anymore it is very easy to read it in the future, when Bing comes back. If she would have lost complete faith then she would have thrown the bible away, but instead she choose to keep it, for the little hope that Bing might still be alive thanks to her prayers.
April 25; Prompt A. How does Ying Ying's story reflect her life and her daughter's life?
This chapter has a lot to do with the theme of history repeating itself. One can easily understand this in two ways the similarities between Lena's and her mother's marriage and the similarities by there fears. Her mother was afraid of everything and because of her constant fear she taught it to Lena, because of this fear that her mother had taught her, Lena was scared and developed major psychological disorders like her eating disorder that she got when she was eight and her hallucinations or dreams that the mother next door was killing her daughter over and over again when really they were just having an argument. Her mother also made many mistakes in her marriage that Lena learned, for example her mother married a man who he couldn't communicate to and this is because she didn't feel she was good enough to marry someone to whom she could speak to, readers can also analyze that when her mother speaks about how if Lena doesn't finish her rice bowls she will end up with a bad husband she is really looking for an excuse or reason why she ended up with her husband. Lena learned not to have self respect from her mother and the fact that she is dating Harold shows it, it is quite obvious to the reader that Harold is taking advantage of Lena's money and kindness but Lena has brainwashed herself into thinking that he is doing it because he loves her.
I think the way it was written was very descriptive and required a lot of deeper analysis then the other chapters, because the way the character thinks and describes things is very confusing because both her and her mother are a little insane. However this requirement for deeper analysis is good and very interesting because it allows me to see inside Lena's head and understand her, if this chapter was written in third person point of view it would not connect with the reader and would not help the reader understand Lena and her mother's pain.
May 9; Prompt A. The "broken English" of the mothers is often more colorful than the "perfect English" of their daughters. How does the way the mothers choose to express themselves reflect their identities? What is lost in translation?
The perfect English is a lot less colorful because we hear it everyday, the broken English implies struggle and hardship, where as the perfect English doesn't describe much unless something is said directly. With the broken English readers must think deeply about the meanings behind the words. The broken English reflects all the negative things in the mother's lives, they choose to speak in Chinese and converse with their daughters in it because this makes it easier for them to mask their pain and suffering.
The use of their native language keeps them in control and helps them advocate certain things at certain times, like if they are happy or want to be happy they can reflect happiness in Chinese better since they have learned it their entire life. However when they change to English it is hard for them to say most things so they end coming across as confused and sad. In many cases it is easier to understand them when they speak English because they are most vulnerable and cannot keep their guard up the entire time so we learn many things about them, like their past pains and trauma's.
