Joy Luck Club Ref Paper

Lilian October 15, 2009 BA Psychology IV

B.Cuarteros

Reflection Paper The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan has written an enlightening story that depicts the intricacy of preserving one’s heritage and culture when one immigrates to a foreign country. It is a story of how a person's native culture can survive and still exist with its worth in a dominant society. The major characters in the story are the four mothers namely Suyuan, Yingying, An-Mie, and Lindo who belong to the first generation of the Chinese immigrants in America and created the Joy Luck Club of San Francisco. These four ladies came to America bringing with them dreadful experiences in China that define their character in the novel. Eventually, these ladies became mothers and created their own family. They tried to teach their children about their native land, China and its customs and traditions however, the children seem to be resistant and are not interested. The younger generations of Chinese have greatly adopted the American way of life. Jing-Mei, Lena, Rose, and Waverly were born in America and resist their mothers and as well their histories without even fully understanding or knowing them. They represent the younger Chinese generation who wanted to have dispositions like Americans and be accepted in this society which they are looked down. They wanted to be to be independent and different from their parents. However, their mothers never loose hope to change the way of things with their children. I can relate this story to my personal life in which my mother has a positive influence on me. I am what I am now because of her. Eventually in the story, each of the daughters realizes the strength and dignity of her mother and learns to appreciate and embrace their Chinese legacy. All mothers want best for their children and will risk everything whether it is a matter of life and death or it will threat a conflict between their relationship with their children just to make them learn what is just and right. In the story, they want their children to have the advantages that America has to offer, yet they want them to live their Chinese heritage and give importance to their Chinese values. The daughters have lost their identity and do not even know of what they truly are. They have been living in an easy life that they have not built the character that their mothers were forced to have because of what they struggled in China. When the daughters learned about the suffering and experiences of their mothers, they were inspired to be strong like them. They have accepted their past that constitute their whole self and present identity. The story can also be reflected in Filipino society and culture. In reality, there is a similarity between the characters of the story and the way most of us especially those who have lived in abroad. Many of our fellow Filipinos are influenced by Western countries that when they get back here in the country, they act like who they think they are. Their values of being Filipino are gone with the wind, and pretentiousness is all that left. We should not forget the Filipino identity which our great heroes die for. This is what define the way we are and who we are in this

world. Our culture must be instilled in our hearts and value it for that what make us unique and special. This story touches one's life, history, society, and culture that make us whole.