《喜福会》中西文化差异

时间:2024.3.24

电影《喜福会》影评

——从主观幸福感来体验的跨文化差异

我思故我在

有一只鸭子,它一直觉得自己不幸福,因为它不甘心自己是鸭子,因此一直伸长脖子想作天鹅,没想到后来它真的成了天鹅。电影《喜福会》讲述的是四位华人移民妇女和她们在美国长大的儿女各自之间的故事。每个母亲都被她成长中的社会视为鸭子,不值一爱地被轻贱,但她们不甘于这被轻贱的命运,于是她们为自己的命运孤注一掷奋力一搏,离开了中国来到美国。她们正像伸长脖子的鸭子,寻找着幸福感,想要留给女儿天鹅的羽毛。当然最终也给了她们女儿尊贵的身份与地位,但是她们在新的地方,幸福感的追寻之路因两代人两种文化的差异显得并不是那么顺利。

不同的语言交流

《喜福会》中母亲们在美国居住多年之后依旧用汉语来表达她们重要的情感。然而她们的女儿虽会说一些汉语都在美国长大,在美国接受教育,说的是一口流利的美式英语,这就导致了母女之间的冲突: 她们因为母亲们“结结巴巴”的英语,总是认为母亲们“脑子不灵活”“没有见识”, 她们的话不值得认真地听,显得不耐烦;而母亲们用蹩脚汉式英语无法向女儿表达自己真正爱她们的情感。不同的语言,在两代人之间的一个无法逾越的鸿沟,阻碍了母女之间的相互了解,彼此疏远。语言文化的差异是影响她们幸福感主要阻碍因素。

不同的权力距离

不同的权力距离导致了不同的家庭观念。中国是权力距离相对较大的国家,家长权威是绝对的、不容冒犯的,子女孝顺父母听从训导是天经地义的。管自己的孩子那是家长的权利,子女服从家长那是孩子的“义务”。而美国是权力距离相对较小的国家,他们崇尚自由、平等和民主,具有很强的独立意识。深受美国文化影响的女儿们,认为母亲的家长制是侵权性的,绝对不能容忍。于是他们反抗,“我从不相信,我能成为任何我想成为的人,我只可能是我自己。”母亲认

为理所当然的管理权和子女平等、自由想挣脱束缚的独立意识发生冲突,父母一味的理所当然,而孩子却是反抗、忤逆。不同的家庭观念,让母亲始终不解自己有何错,而因孩子感到不幸福,自己的幸福感度也不高。

集体主义与个人主义

在中国, 人与人之间的联系十分紧密, 非常重视集体主义,一个人的好坏,会影响整个“家族”。所以母亲龚琳达将女儿超人的象棋天赋当成向他人炫耀的资本,希望通过女儿体现自身存在的价值。深受美国个人主义的女儿薇弗莱,强调自我和独立意识, 深信“我就是我自己”,不喜欢母亲的干涉,因为母亲的炫耀而尴尬。母女冲突白热化了: “为什么你非要拿我出风头? 如果你自己想出风头, 那么你为啥不学下棋?”因为价值文化观念的不同,影响了母亲和女儿的幸福观,而造成了她们间关系的不和谐。

文化差异融合的幸福感

令人欣慰的是, 不管两代人、两种文化之间的隔阂和冲突曾经多么严重, 最终还是会达到和解。片尾,日渐老弱的母亲不再试图把自己的意愿强加于已长大成人的女儿,而是在精神上给了女儿们支持。 而经历了事业、婚姻和家庭等种种生活磨砺成熟后的女儿也逐渐理解了母亲的良苦用心。在母爱的感召下,开始认同母亲,找回了迷失的自我和婚姻中的权利,树立积极的人生态度。母亲和女儿用爱了解彼此、重新调整自己文化视角,让彼此之间的关系和谐融洽以及收获母女情亲间的幸福感。

《喜福会》中的母女两代人主观幸福感体验一定程度上反映代表了两个社会和两种文化的冲突和差异。主人公主观幸福感的体验折射出的文化差异,从冲突到调整,最终达到了和谐的状态。


第二篇:论《喜福会》中东西方文化的冲突与融合


东北林业大学

硕士学位论文

论《喜福会》中东西方文化的冲突与融合

姓名:王宇

申请学位级别:硕士

专业:英语语言文学

指导教师:王新春

20070601

摘要

美国华裔女作家谭恩美,以其为数不多的几部作品享誉美国文坛。她的处女作《喜福会》讲述了中国母亲和美国化的女儿之间的冲突,以讲故事的形式将自身经历,移民母亲和子女的矛盾冲突呈现给读者。小说主题表现丰富,除了母女冲突,还侧重f两代人之间的理解与沟通。她创作的最终目的也是借两代人之间的冲突与融合来阐明东西方两种文化也必将从冲突走向融合。

谭恩美在《喜福会》中,就是通过寻求黄神人与白种人,东方文化与西方文化的差异柬表现中国文化的文化理念与价值观,

为t-:流文化的“他者”,体现她自己对中国文化难以割舍的情结。作她利用自己特殊的身份,利用母亲的故事,以不同文化背景F的母女冲突、婚姻作为出发点,着眼于全球视野下的文化碰撞与融合,探讨了中西文化的差异与沟通。

本文从多角度讨论谭恩美在作品中反映的“冲突”及“融合”的主题,深入分析产生“冲突”及“融合”的原因,并探讨了在东西方文化中“家”的概念。母女两代共同的“家”,代表了他们共属的母性文化一一中国传统文化。

第一部分主要介绍谭恩美的生平以及她的作品《喜福会》,并分析了她独特的写作技巧。

第二部分从华裔美国文学出发,论述了华裔美国文学的发展历程、现状,并着重提出了女性作家在其中的卓越贡献。

第三部分分别从母女两代人及文化的角度具体分析了小说中所反映的“冲突”这一主题。并且结合跨文化交际理论阐述了产生冲突的原因。第四部分从两个角度分析了小说的另一主题“融合”~两代母女最终实现互相第五部分探讨了在不同文化下,“家”的概念。并结合小说中“家”对于母女两代理解,走向融合;他们所代表的不同语言及文化也终于彼此融合。母女间的最终融合,也反映了在男性社会中,女性地位日益增强。人的意义,女儿从“逃家”,到“归家”,指出“家”在小说中所代表的文化意义。

第六部分通过上述的论述得出结论:在小说中,母女两代人从误解、冲突到沟通和理解,不仅折射着东西方文化互相碰撞、沟通和交融的历史,也预示着在全球化时期,不㈦的国家、民族和文化相互共存应采取的态度~一理解、沟通与信任。

关键词喜福会;冲突:融合;母女关系:家

Abstract

AmyTan。afamousChinese

ChineseAmericanLuckwriter,hasbecomeoneoftherepresentativesofaAmericanliterature.卯坩JoyCIub,Tan’Sdebutnovel,iS

daughters.111enarrativeaboutthethemesareconflictsbetweenChinesemothers

conflicts,betweenandAmericanizedmajorthetheimmigrantsandAmericanizedsecondgeneration.Shepaysgreatattentiontotheunderstandingandcommunicationbetweentwogenerations.

砌PJoyLuckClubstimulatesethnicappreciationwhileallowingreaderstoobjectifytheirownsituations,makingconnectionsbetweentheirownlivesandtheculturallydistantlivesinTan’Scharacters.As‘'theother'’inthe

reconciliation

generationsmainstream.伽ldiscussedtheconflictsandtwobetweentwocultures,startingfromdescriptionofconflictsbetweenandtheirmarriages.

majorthemesof“conflict'’and“reconciliation”

reconciliation.andcompleteswithThethesiscomprehensivelydiscussesthein77醒JoyLuck(1,曲.exploresthereasonsforconflictand

theconceptof“family”inEasterncultureandWesternCulture.Inthenovel,thecommonfamilyofmothersanddaughtersistheirmotherculture---Chinesetraditionalculture.

PartOneintroduces

uniquewritingskill.AmyTan’Slifestory,herdebutnovel砌PJoyLuckClub.andher

PartTwomainlyfoCBSeS

situationonthedevelopmentofChineseAmericanliterature,itspresentandthecontributionoffemalewriters.

PartThreeanalyzesthemaintopicof‘'conflict'’inthenovelfromtwopointsofview-一generationsandcultures.andexplainsthat、vitllthetheoryofInterculturalCommunication.

PartFourresearchesanothertopicofthenovel一‘"reconciliation'’.Two

differentgenerationsofculturesmothersanddaughtersachievemutual

finallymarchforreconciliation.

PartFiveunderstanding,twolanguagesandstudies“family"as

conclusionasourceforculturaldevelopment,anditsculturalconnotation.PartSixcomestothe

daughterrelationshipby

mothersthatthenovelmakesanattempttoanalyzethemother-presentingtheconflicts,communicationandintegrationbetweenandtheirdaughtersand

andculturesbetweentWOcultures,whichreflectstheaUitudesthatdifferentshouldtakeintheageofglobalizationunderstanding,nations,races

communicationandtrust.

Keywords

familyTheJoyLuckClub;conflict;reconciliation;mother-daughterrelation;

.1I.

独创性声明

本人声明所呈交的学位论文是本人在导师指导下进行的研究工作及取得的研究成果。据我所知,除了文中特别加以标注和致谢的地方外,论文中不包含其他人已经发表或撰写过的研究成果,也不包含为获得壅韭盎些盘堂或其他教育机构的学位或证书而使用过的材料。与我一同工作的同志对本研究所做的任何贡献均己在论文中作了明确的说明并表示谢意。

学位论文作者签名:1.罾签字日期:。驴7年6月“日

学位论文版权使用授权书

本学位论文作者完全了解盔些盎些盘堂有关保留、使用学位论文的规定,有权保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和磁盘,允许论文被查阅和借阅。本人授权峦韭盎些盘堂可以将学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索,可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存、汇编学位论文。

(保密的学位论文在解密后适用本授权书)

学位论文作者签名:导师签名:乡耘寿签字日期:山司年6月p6日签字日期:也刀年6、再“日学位论文作者毕业后去向:

工作单位:存、龙1姝业天荨

通讯地址:1}、靶抓芷六等瓠目绣芽f屯电话:雪夕I,口牛,_,邮编2/r神4。

1Introduction

Bornin1952inOakland,California,AmyRuthTanisthesecondgenerationofaChineseimmigrantfamily.BeingraisedandeducatedinthedominantWesternculture,youngAmy

putfoundherselfalwaysatoddswithherparents’expectations.Asshe

parent圳wanted

collegecareerusonceit,“砌叫(hertohaveAmericancircumstancesandChinesecharacter.’’。TanbeganhersoonatLinfieldCollegebuttransferredtoSanJoseStateUniversitywhereshe

inlinguistics.In1975,receivedherB,A.degreeinEnglishandlinguistics

shemarriedLouisDematteiandherM.A.degreeandaftermarriageshecontinuedhereducationattheUniversityofCaliforniaatSanta

aCruzandatBerkley.However,decidingtodosomethingotherthanacontinuingtobe

shestudent,Tandroppedherdoctoralprogramwithoutgeaingdegree.Beforebartendertoabecameafull一timewriter,Tanhadavarietyofjobs.everythingfroma

counselorfordevelopmentallydisabledehildren.

‘"Likethemshewritesaboutthelimitedidentity

culturalchasms

linguisticgapsofthehyphenatedAmerican.aboutthebetweenimmigrantparentsandtheirAmerican-bornoffspringandathebetweengenerationsand:nat&abouttheneedtodiscoverusableandrecognizablepast.ButshedoesnotwriteexclusivelyabouttheAsianexperience。nor捃herstylespecificallyandwhollyAsiandespiteitsfrequentallusionstotraditionalChinesefolkgenresandits

Herfirstborrowingsfromthetalkstorytradition.“novel弛eJoyLuckClub(1989)isabelovedinternationalbest-sellingnovelwhichexplorestherelationshipsofChinesewomenandtheirChinese-AmericandaughtersintheUnitedStates.Publishedin1989,11lcJoyLuckClubwasenthusiasticallyreceivedby

oncriticsandthepublic.It

alsonominatedlandedtheNew场地17ruesbest-sellerlistforninemonths.ItwasasaandthenselectedfinalistfortheNationalBookAwardandtheNationalBookCriticsCircleAward,Inaddition,itreceivedtheBayAreaBookReviewersAwardforFictionandtheCommonwealthClubGoldAward.TheBookhasbeentranslatedinto25languagesincludingChinese,andhasbeen

Tan’smadeintoamajormotionpicture.novelshavedrawnherwidereadershipthroughouttheUnitedStatesandtheworldandalsodrawnherextensivecriticalat£ention,mostofwhichwerehighlycomplimentary.Thereceptionofherworkssuggeststhatherworksresonatesamongreadersofallbackgrounds.Shewritesaboutrelationshipsand

concernsfamilialbondsandselfandidentity,whicharetheuniversalandcommonlyrecognizedthemes.

Tanhassaidthatherintentioninwritingisnotto‘"providehistorical

createaworkinformation,buttoofart.”CriticshavesaidthatherworksarenotnecessarilyChineseinnature.butareinsteadstorieswithuniversalthemes(generationalconflicts,warofthesexes,etc.)that

have

an

addeddimensionofbeingtoldthroughnarratorsthat

are

constantlysearchingfor

balancebetweentheirChineseheritageandAmericanlifestyle.

DifferentfromotherChineseAmericanfemalewriters,AmyTancannotgetridofherChinesecomplex.Infact.thishasalSObecome

Tan’Suniqueness.Likeotherwriters,herworks

reflecttheconflictsoftwocultures,twoworlds,twogenerationsandtwocountries.TheconflictsbetweentwoculturestheyexploreSino—American

are

whatmostChinese

American

writerspayattentiontowhen

relationship.While

Tanhasmadegreatcontributiontothespread

ofChineseculturewithherworks。shehassetmodelas

culturalcommunicator.

are

劢e

JoyLuckClubisthestoryofeightChinesewomen.Four

are

motherswhosuffered

differenthardshipthatforcedthemtolcaveChina;andfourownstrugglesintheireverydaylives.Eachchapterisevents.Thefirstmaincharacteristheisaskedto

thedaughterswhofacetheir

vignetteofeachwoman’sviewpointof

daughter

Jing—mei

Woo,whosemotherpassedaway,She

are

jointhe‘'Joy

LuckClub”andplayMahJongwithheradoptiveaunts.Allplots

IinkedtogetherbythenarrativeofJing—mei

Woo.whose

motherhadfounded

women’Ssocial

clubinChinatomakeitsmemberstellabouttheirpastexperiencesnotonlytoempowerthemselves,butalsotopasswisdom

on

totheirdaughters,whoarealluncertainabouttheir

maritalrelationships.ThestoriesarereminiscentofMaxineHangKingston’Sportrayalofmother-daughterconflictsin

that

these

daughters。too,aretryingtoestablishtheiridentitiesin

are

themainstreamofAmericanlifewithoutalienatingtheirmotherswhoChinesetraditionalculture.

thepurveyorsof

In“SugarSisterhood:SituatingtheAmyTanPhenomenon”,Sau—ling

popularityofAmyTan’SworksbeforeTan:‘‘the

aSa

Wanganalyzesthe

culturalphenomenonandcomparesitwithotherauthors

fortunesof

for

once-popular,nowoverlookedculturalinterpretersinChinese

as

Americanliteraryhistory,suchmediation

LinYutang,andJadeSnowWang,suggestthatcultural

of

theOrient

the‘mainstream’readershiprequirescontinualrepackagingto

remaininsyncwith

changingtimesandresultantshifts加ideologicalneeds.“

circumscribedby

Suchconflictsandchallengesarespecificethnicculture?????-??theareuniversaI

in

nature

Chinese.American

culture

ofnorthern

Califomia一.they

and

significance.Themothersin

thenovelare

foreign.born

AmericanswithAmerican.born

daughters.Tan’SnovelsstimulateethnicappreciationbetweentWOgenerationsandtwocultures

Although

studyofAmy

lotofresearchhasbeendone

on

AmyTan

and砌P

JoyLuckClub.mostof

themareabout“identityissues”.Theauthorofthisthesiswantsto

give

morecomprehensive

Tan’S

favorite

themes-…the

between

relationbetweenChinese—bommothersandcultures,complete

American—bornbetweenthem.

daughters,and

two

the‘‘family’’philosophy

.2.

:!!!呈竺!12尘竺:!塑:堡垒尘坠!!坠些堡

2TheDevelopmentofChineseAmericanLiterature2.1TheHistoryofChineseAmericanLiterature

In1982,ElaineKim’Sstudy,AsianAmericanLiterature:AnIntroductiontotheWritingsandSocialContext,essentiallybroughtanentirebodyoflittleknownliteratureintothe

gainrecognitionasaAmericanliteraryconsciousness,andhelpedAsianAmericanliterature

significantbody

一.andveryofwritingwithbotha‘*newtradition”ofliteraryKimdefinedcreationandadiscernible~literatureasfluid…一canon.’’5InherworLAsianAmerican‘"publishedcreativewritingsinEnglishbyAmericansofChinese,Japanese,Korean,and

asFilipinodescent.”AlthoughthatdefinitionlostitscurrencyimmigrantsfromCambodia.

Vietnam,India,Pakistan,and

StatesotherAsiancountriesbegantomaketheirhomesintheUnitedandtowriteabouttheirexperiences.onecrucialelementofKim’sdefinitionstillholdstrue.

Thehistoryof

menlefttheirAsianAmericansgoesback'tothenineteentheenau3,whenthousandsoffamiliesandhomesinChina,Japan,Korea,andthePhilippinestoseektheir

asfortunesintheUnitedStates,acountrythattheChinesereferredtogumsanor‘'theGold

therailroad,Mountain”,Seekingopportunity,possibilityandwealth。thesemenfoundworkon

ingold-and-silverminingtowns,andinlumbercampsinthewestoftheUnitedStates,industriouslysettingaboutmakinglivesforthemselvesandforthepicturebridesfromChinaandJapanwhoeventuallytraveledtotheUnitedStatestomarrythementheyhadnevermet.Theearliestofficialimmigrantarrivalsseemto

firstto

thehavebeenmenfromGuangdongProvinceinChina.Perhapsbecausetheywerearrive,theChinesefirstformedthelargestAsianinstitutionalizedimmigrant

majoritygroup,andtheybecameAsianstoexperiencediscriminationwhentheChineseExclusionActof1882waspassedbyCongress,barfingtheofChinesefromenteringtheUnitedStates.Notuntil1943WasexclusionlegallyendedwiththepassageoftheMagnusonAct,whichallowed105ChineseimmigrantstoentertheUnitedStateslegallyeachyearandgaveChinesetheprivilegeofearningcitizenshipthroughnaturalization.TheoldergenerationportrayedinAmyTan’Snovelsrepresentsthat

entry.一groupofnewChineseimmigrants…一especiallythewomenwhohadlongbeendenied

????whoenteredtheUnitedStatesafterthewarintheyearsimmediatelyfollowingtheMagnusonAct.

2.2ThePresentSituationofChineseAmerieanLiteratureOwingtothedifficultconditionsthattheChineseimmigrantsencountered,manyconsideredthemselveshuaqiao(overseasChinese)who

.3.intendedtoreturntoChina.andthis

!!坚呈::窒!g竺:坠:!三!!!:兰垒呈::尘!:!!!:竺!:呈

inevitablyinfluencedtheemergenceofChineseAiD_ericanliterature,AsElaineKimdiscussesattheWritingsandtheirSociallengthinAsianAmericanLiterature:AnIntroductionto

aismainlylimitedtoContext,earlyChineseAmericanliteraryproduction

andtestimoniesbymalewriters.ofteninfewautobiographiesChinese.ManyofthefirstChineseAmerican

anarrativesinEnglishwerewrittenbystudents.LeeYanPhou’SWhen,WasBoyin("hma

American(1887),hasrecentlyreceived

oneextensivecriticalattentionasaproto—Asianautobiography,andwasofthefirsttobewritteninEnglish.SomeofthefirstChinese

Americanfemalewriting,asAmyLinghasmadeclearinBetweenWorlds:WomenWriters0j1ChineseAncestry,wasbyupper-classfemaleimmigrants,includingHelenaKuo.Mai-maiSzeandLinTai.yi.whowereChine鼬ornandwesternized,andwhooftencamefromdiplomaticbackgrounds.Inlightofthisfact,itisunsurprisingthatsubsequentChineseAmericanwritingcontinuedtOshowaheightenedawarenessofracismtowardsAsians.

OwingtothegenderimbalanceofearlyChinese

specificfeatureofaAmericanimmigration,onegender-seriesofnarrativeswrittenbyChineseimmigrantsistheirfocusuponbachelorsociety.Forexample,LouisChu’SEataBowlofTea(1961),ChinYangLee’SFlowerDrumsong(1957)、andLinYutang!SChinatownFamily(1948),

ThecontemporaryChineseAmericanwritersfocusedonracesandculturalidentityallthe

aJltime.AnotablefeatureofmorecontemporaryChineseAmericanwomen’Swritingis

emphasisuponmother-daughterrelationship,whichCanbeseeninthenovelsandmemoirsofMaxineHongKingston(TheWomanWarrior(1976),TripmasterMonkey(1989)),thenovelsofAmyTan(TheJoyLuckClub(1989),TheKitchenGod'sWife(199I),TheHundredSecretSenses(1995)。TheBonesetter§Daughter但001))。FaeMyenneNg’SBone(1993),andGish

textsinJen(TypicalAmerican(1992)),andMomaintheProm括edLand(199∥),These

particularhavebeensuccessful,perhapsbecausetIleyhavekeyedinto

attentionfurfeministsinthelatetwentiethcentury.apopularareaof

2.3TheCauseoftheDevelopmentofChineseAmericanLiteratureThehistoricalprocessoftheformationoftheUSAtellsthatthecultureinthiscountryhadforalongtimeexperiencedtheprocessofthe“meltingpot”,especiallyafteralltheyears

asoftheminorityresistingthedominantculture,suchblackcultureandJewishcultureagainst

whiteculture,feministmovementagainstmaledominance,siblingliteratureforitsdeservedattention.

However,withtheexpansionofthedominantAmericancultureacrossthewholeworld,theminoritybegantorealizethatthemetaphor‘‘meltingpot'’ishardlyrepresentativefortheirhopetowardsthedevelopmentoftheirculture.Oncebeingdumpedintotheseemingly

tothemargin,voidgenerous‘‘meltingpot'’,theminorityculturewilleitherbeignoredandleft

.4.

!!!:呈:::!:£尘望!!!!!!!:彗垒尘::尘竺坠:些坚

ofanychanceforsay,OrbemeltedintothepotandassimilatedtOlosetheirownethnictradition.Thuswiththeactiveendeavorofalltheminorityrepresentatives,therechangeswithinthecultureoftheUSA,especiallyintheendofthe1970s

arose

rapid

andin

the1980s.It

seemedthat,suddenly,conceptionof‘'multiculturalism'’becamethetopicwithintheliterary,

economicandpoliticalfields.Nomatterhowmuchtheexpectationhasbeenrealized,theconceptionmore

or

lessexpressesthehopefortotallyequalCO—existenceofdiversecultures.

Multiculturalism,asthebackground,offeredpreciouschancesforpromptgrowingand

strengtheningoftheminorityculture,whichhadlongfor

been

excluded

and

ignored.They

asked

as

recognitionandevaluationtheydeserved

andshowed

theiruniqueglamourasmuch

the

socialopportunityprovided.Thus.therecameChinese

timefortheexpressionandrevelationof

American

writers.

W汕the

subJectof

promotionofmulticulturalismandactivemovementfordifferentidentities.the

cultureandliteraryworksaboutassimilationand

fromliterarycritics,and

even

immigrantexperience,immigrant

acculturationhavegainedincreasing

concern

socialistsand

historians.ChineseliteraturealSOenteredtheclassroomoftheAmericanuniversities.Even

somebooks

or

essays

about

howtoteachAsian

Americanworks(for

example.Kingston’s

andconcem

WomanWarriorlhavebeen

tolifeexperience,Chinese

ignored.111eemphasisof

Americanliteratureconsequentlymoves

theinterest

welcomedbyeveryChineseAmerican

atitsverybeginning.

American

literatureto

somedegreesatisfies

ofthewesternreaders.Such

popularity,thou曲not

writer,willhelpthedevelopmentofChinese

Americanliterature

2.4TheAwakeningSenseofResponsibilityofChineseAmerican

Writers

ThoughtheChinese

Senseor

immigrantshadchanged

to

beboth

involuntary

and

voluntary,theleftunrealized

ofresponsibilitytowardsChineseculturehasnotbeen

diminished,though

hiddeninsomeperiods.

Chinese

Americanbegan

tOdoubtthe

strengths

or

weaknessesofChinesetraditionwhen

they,mostly,activelytriedtoassimilateandbecome

Americanized.especially

use

whenthey

confrontedcomplicatedculturalclashes.Afternumerousdoubtsuponthenecessityto

preservethetradition,mature

immigrants

wouldeventuallychoosetOmake

oftheir

special

status

betweenthetwoworlds,tomediatetheclashestheirethnicidentitywouldleadthemtofindthesuddenlybecomethe

and

maintain

balance.The

regainedfavorof

reasons

forallthedoubtstheyfelt.whichwill

advantages

to

tOhelp

theminthenewworld.Theconclusiontheymadewill

resumetheirresponsibility

beingChinese

activateChineseAmericancultureandwinbackthe

Americans.

ToviewAsianAmericanliterature鹊awhole,itis

.5.

dignity

of

nothardtofindspecificinter-.intra-.

:!坠呈:兰!!£尘:尘!!!!!!:琶垒尘::!:竺坠::::尘錾

andCROSS—culturalconflictspermeatingtheworksthroughwhichthespecificationsofChineseculturearede’monstrated.Theseconflictsincludesocial-culturalconflicts,generationalconflicts,languageconflicts,raceconflictsandgenderconflicts..6.

:!::些!:!!兰!呈:!!壁::彗型!::::型坚:

3ConflictofTw0GenerationsandTw0Cultures

3.1TheCauseofConflictbetweenTwoGenerations

ReviewerCarolynSeeclaimsitiSimaginationandcontributedtothesilenced

devotionaltourde

force.seized

the

Western

world’S

canon

offeministliterature.Itgivesvoicetopreviously

Chinesewomen,someofwhomwerevictimsofpatriarchalfamiliesandfeudal

marriages.CriticAmyLingcharacterizes

Tan’S

fiction

as‘"an

echoandresponseandinparts

continuationandexpansion’’7ofherpredecessor’Snovel.Structuredasnarrativesabouteight

seriesofpersonal

JoyLuckClub

women一?four

pairsofmothers

and

daughters—The

chroniclesthelivesofitsprotagonists

andRaces

theconnectionsbetweenthemultiplecultures

throughwhichthewomenmustnegotiatetheirlives.TheClubofthetitleis

investmentgroupformedbyfourChineseimmigrantwomeninthelate1940s.

mah-jong

and

The

JoyLuckClubintroduceslife—definingepisodes

andtheir

fromthelivesoffourChinese

the

immigrantmothers

American-borndaughters.TanUSeS

mahjongclub

tostructure

thedevelopmentofmother-daughterpairs.Onecritichassuggestedthattheintroductionofmultiple

narratives

about

two

generationsof

ChineseAmericanwomen

is

inherently

challengingtostereotypicalreadingsthattreatChinesewomenasfungiblebecausetheysharedefining

Chinese‘‘essence”,andMelanieMcAlisterargues,alongthe

saIne

lines,that“the

novel'scomplexrepresentationrangeamong

of

Chinese

subjectivities

requires

careful

attentiontO

the.full

of

temperaments,clnssvariations,and

mothers.’’8

differencesinpersonalhistory,particularly

thefour

uses

Tan

Suyuan

thefour-playermahjong

clubtostructurethefour

mother-daughter

relationships:

WooandJiIlg-meiJuneWoo;An-mei

and

HsuandRoseHsuJordan;LindoJong

and

WaverlyJong;andYing—yingSt.Clair

Lena

St.Clair.The

storiesofthesepairsare

interwoveninfourisat

majorsegments

whereeachwomannarrateshowshehasbecome

whatshe

asan

particularpointinherlife.Eachofthefourmajorsections,startingwith

vignette

introduction,includesfoursupervision

chapters.Thedaughtersgrowupundertheirmothers’incessant

andinterventionagainsttheircompleteculturelassimilation.

IntheJoyLuckClub,Tan’Scontributiontotheproblemof

narratingAsianAmericanmother-daughter

on

subject

formationliesinherelaborationofanestablishedform,the

plot,in

whichthe

immigrantmother’S

desireforAmericabecomesfocusedherAmerican—born

daughter.

3.2TheConflict

“Tan

between

TwoG}enerations

found

an

untappedaudience

for

stories

of

ChineseAmericanmothersand

.7.

!!些坚!!!::塑!型::娑!!::型坚:

daughters.”9

Inthenovel。theAmerican—bomdaughtersknowverylittleabouttheirmothers.

AlltheirlivestheyhavetriedhardtoassimilmeintomainstreamAmerica.whichChineseareatbestavoided,atworstshameful.Byignoringtheirmothers’efforttoinculcateChinesetraditionintothem,the

danghters

havefrustratedthehopesofthemothersthattheirdaughterswould

maintaintheirChinesecharactersunder

Americancircumstances.Thepricethedaughterspay

sense∥unease

wisdom

intheidentities

never

fortheirseeminglysuccessfulassimilationis“theirnaggingthattheyhavelaboriouslycreatedgiveupthehopeofimpalingsomethingthatconsequenceis

for

themselves.’’…Ontheotherhand,themothers

characterand

to

theirChinese

by

theirdaughters。

contr01.The

isoftenperceived

theirchildren

asmanipulation

and

completebreakdownofcommunicationbetweenthemothers

and

daughters.

Thedisparitybetweenparents’hopesandchildren’sfailuresbringstension.

Theduckis

symbolofthemother’sunrealisticambitionsforherdaughterwhoismerely

see

duckbutwhomthemotherwantsto

Theoldwomanremembered

as

swan.

swanshehadboughtmanyyearsagoinShanghaifo,a

foolishsum.砌妇bird,boastedthe

hopes《becomingagoose.and

Suyuanchildtobe

marketvendor,was

oncea

duckthatstretcheditsneckin

eat.“

now

look.,~ItiS

too

beautifulto

Woo

hasenormousfaiththateverythingispossibleinAmericaandexpectedher

prodigy.First,she

wanted

concea

Jing—meitobeanotherShirleyTemple,andwhenthat

seemedunlikely,thenatleastpianist.Itistouchingyetridiculous.Thedaughters

are

exasperatedbytheirmother’simpossibledemand,resentfuloftheirmother’sinstructions

theirlivesandsometimes

on

ashamed

oftheirstubborn,superstitiousolddays.Inthefirst

prologue,theswanbecomeswantstosharewithherAmerican

symbolofthemother’spastlifeinChina,allexperienceshe

thewomanfromChinaarrivedintheUnitedStates,leavingherwithonly

one

daughter.When

swan

officialsconfiscatedthe

featherandthememoryof

an

thebeautifulbird.Shewantstotellherdaughterabouttheisstillwaitingforthedaywhenshe

“over

bird,though

old

womannow.she

cantell

herstoryin“perfectAmericanEnglish”.Shesays,

therenobodywilllookdown

on

her,because1willmakeherspeak

hasachievedthis

on,pcryectAmerican

motherherself.who

English’’“However,becausethe

hasnotmasteredEnglish,cannot

daughter

dream,the

speakwith

herowndaughter.Ironically,themother’sdream

forher

daughter,which

ismarkedbytheirphysicalremovalfromthemotherland,resultsinthedaughter.The

alienationofmother

and

daughterreadilyandentirelyadaptstothecustomsand

languageofthenewland,whilethemotherstillholdsontothoseoftheold.It’sjustlikeLindoJongsays.‘Ywantedmychildrentohavethebestcombination:AmericancircumstancesandChinesecharacter,howcouMIknowthesetwothingsdo

‘‘Tolive

not

m打?’’13

will

goodlifeintheUSA'’,recallsthemotherhopesthatthedaughter

speak

excellentEnglish

and

live

an

Americanized

lifeofmiddleclass.Thedaughtersarethusraised

.8.

!!型坠!!!兰!呈:!些::錾型!圣:型些譬

andshapedintheAmericaneducationalsystemandinthesocietymarkedbyConsequently,theynaturallyresisttheChinesenormswiththeir

American

values.

American

thought,carriedby

theirEnglishlanguage,thoughsometimestheyhavetoretuNltoChinesestrengthwhentheyfailtogetpsychological

balancewith

theirAmericanideas.

‘‘ForChineseAmericanwomen,speakingEnglishthem

to

affirmstheirpublicidentityandgives

legitimateculturalvoiceto

their

claimfo,a

space伽thissocietyEnglishgivesthem

to

meansthey

assert

independence

and

tool

fightagainstsexism

and

racism

that

encounter.’’14

Theabilitytospeakexcellent

AmericanEnglish.and

thustosharedominant

languagegenerallyusedwithinthecommunity,equipsthedaughterswithnecessaryconfidence

so

as

tosucceed

asCaucasianmiddleclasspeople-??????-thisis

notonly

theAmericandreamof

once

generationsofnative

Americans,butalsothedreamheldbythemotherswhohad

American

traveled

with

swanand

naive

dream,as

intheprelude,andtheirgenerationsafteraswell.

Ironically,itissuch

For

one

dream

thatwidensthegenerationgapbetweenthemothers

and

daughters.

thing,the

daughters,who

acceptthedominantwhiteconceptionofnon—standard

ale

English???-????thoughEnglishwithdifferentdialects

notconcealtheir

acceptedasEnglishvariationsnow,can

impatiencewhentheirmothersspeakbroken

English.Their

contemptuous

languageattitudetowardstheawkwardEnglishspokenbytheirpowerlessmothersandtheirdifficultyinunderstandingChinesehavebothforcedtheirmothersinYingyingSt.Clairsaid,‘‘ForalltheseyearsIkeptmymouthclosed

silencemost

so

ofthetime.

selfish

desireswould

notfallOUt.And

sitsby

because1remainedswimmingpool

quietfor

SO

longnowmydaughterdoesnothearme.She

big,

herfancy

andhearsonlyher勋砂Walkman,hercordlessphone,her

andnolighterfluid.’’1’

mademe

importanthusbandaskingherwhytheyhavecharcoal

AsJing—meilaments,‘‘Thesekinds

two

ofexplanationsfeelmymotherandIspoke

different

languages,whichwecfid.Italkedtoherin

motherandI

never

English,sheansweredbackin

one

Chinese”’6

and‘"Myreallyunderstood

another.geetranslatedeach

otherimeanings

and

Iseemedtohearlessthanwhatwagsaid,whilemymotherheard

more.’’1’Thecomprehensiondiscrepancy

is

so

startlinglysadthat

our

concemaboutthe

mother-daughter

andalso

cultural

relationshipnaturallyextendstothesurvivalconditionforChineseAmerican

otherminorityethnicity.‘‘Th/sabsence

transcends

thesimplelinguisticdichotomies

or

misunderstandings;bothmothersanddaughtersarenegotiatingtheir

socialpositionsandcontestingtheiridentitiesasChineseAmericanwomenin

that

can

relationalandthelanguages

enhance

or

undermine

theirpower,legitimacy,andvoice.”15

oreven

Jing-meidoesnothertragicpastdaughtersin

understand

fullyknowshermother

because

shedoesn’tknow

andthe

painshestillfeelsfromthememoryofit.BecauseSuyuanlost

two

Chinaandherentire

family

waskilledinthewar,sheleavesthisplacebehindher

andplacesallofherhopesin

Americaandherfamilythere.Shewantsthevery

.9.

bestfor

her

!!:尘呈:!!圣:!!:坚篓::些型!圣!型些:

daughterJing-mei.EvenhernameSuyuanmeaning‘’long-cherishedwish”。speaksofthishopeforJing—meimeaning“thepureessential,bestdaughterJing—meithatshefirst,Jing—meiisexcited

was

can

qualityyoungersister'’.Suyuantellsher

to

beanythingshe

wants

be,andthatshehasgreattalent.At

and

dreamsaboutwhatshewillbecome:“/nallmyimaginations.1

soon

filled

withasensethat1would

become

never

perfect.Myfeel

mother

andfather

yor

wouldadore

me.1wouldbebeyondapproach.1would

theneedtosulk

anything.’’‘9After

failingtoexcelateachtasksetbeforeher,Jing—meibeginstofeelmoreandmoreresentfultowardshermother.Sheuptothese,shefeelslike

atatalentshow,she

sees

hermother’shopes

as

expectations,andwhenshedoesnotlive

loser.Finally,whenJing-meiperforms

pianofilledwithmistakes

believesthathermotheriscompletelyashamedanddisappointedwithher,

reason

What

Jing—meididnotrealizewasthatthereal

whyhermotherwasupsetwasnot

care

becauseshehadnotliveduptoherexpectations。butbecauseJing-meididnothavingthebestforherself.ShedidnothavehighhopesShefailedbecauseshedidnottry

or

about

passion

to

be

successfulatanything.

and

shedidnotcare.ThisisstrongoppositiontoSuyuan’s

highhopesthatoriginatedfromthestrongloveshehasforherdaughter

Mothers

are

estrangedfromtheirdaughters,anddaughtersbecomeemotionallycrippled

by

theirmothers.In“RiceHusband,”forexample,LenaSt.Clmrcomplainsthathermotherhas“themysteriousabilityto

see

things

before

theyhappen…she

sees

onlybadthings"about

our

family.She

takes

never

didanythingtostop

them.’“Once

whenLenais

younggirl,hermother

one

lookatLena’sricebowl

andcommentsthat‘'yourfuture

once

husbandhas

pockmark

joveveryriceyounotfinish…l

see

know

pockmark

man。Mean

manjbadmanj“。This

curse

remarkleadsyoungLenatoArnold,aneighborhoodbully,asherfuturehusbandand

himbyleavingmorericeinherbowl.Manyyearslater,whenLenareadsinthepaperaboutArnold’sdeathduetocomplicationsfrommeasles,sheisconvincedthatsheisresponsibleforhisdeath.Thus,whenLenafindsherselfinnothingother

dysfunctionmarriagewithHarold.shedoes

than

feelresentment,believingthatHaroldisherretributionandpunishment

and

for

heradolescenthatred

ofArnold.“Wedeserve

whatweget。”22Lenathinks.

to

ThemothersinTan’snovelsexpecttheirdaughterstoobeytheireldersobedience,observation

andimimtion.astheydidinChina.Theirelders

learnby

didnotexplain.

Becausethemothersinternalizevaluesinnate

and

knowledge,theyseemtoassumethatknowledgeis

andthat

itispresentintheirdaughtersandonlyhaveto

be

broughtout

or

activated。In

TheJoyLuckCl“6,Anmei,seesinhermother“Hereishow,cametolovemymotherHow,

sawinhermyowntrue

nature.What

wasbeneathmyskin.inside

so

mybones.”23To

her,

connectiontohermotherherown

or

filialrespectisdeepthatitisinherbones.Therefore,shehopes

daughterhasthesamefeelingtoherasshehastohermothert

ButinAmerica,the

mothers’warnings,instructions,and

.10.

examples

arenotsupportedbythe

:!::堡竺尘:至:呈:::些!:::竺!!圣:!:!!:錾:

context

ofAmericanculture.and

SO

theirdaughtersdo

not

understand.Theyhate

and

misinterprettheirmothers’alienChineseways

and

beliefs.Similarlgthemothersdonot

as

understandwhytheydonothavethekindofrelationshipswiththeirdaughterstheirmothersinChina,TheJoyLuckmothersregardthemselves

111e

as

areso

theyhadwith

closetotheirownmothersthatthey

continuationsoftheirmothers,likestairs.

relationshipsbetweenthemothersand

are

daughtersbetween

are

alltenseandproblematic.

motheristheandmother

Mothers

thebridge

between

the

daughters

andthe

daughters’homeland.The

theAmerican

Americandaughter’SChinese

isthe

one

heritage.Thecrisisdaughter

betweenthe

American

daughterandherChineseheritage.ThereaSonforthe

conflictsbetweenthemothers

anddaughters

iSthe

daughters’aSsimilation.Living

in

society

inwhichmultipleformsofracismexist,Chinesecolonial

American

youngsterscannothelp

becoming

to

subjects.Educated

in

American

schools,itisdifficultforthese

colonialsubjects

rebelagainstsuperiority

and

theirowninferiority.Asnaturalresult,theytrytheirbesttO

become“Americanized'’,atthesame

andthuskeep

timecastingofftheirChineseheritage.Whentheyfind

theirmotherscannotassimilateintothe

American

culture,theyfeel

ashamedand

humiliated,

distanceandalienationfromthem.

TheJoyLuckmothersarepainfullyawareoftheirdaughters’distancefromthem.Suyuan.

forexample.isexaSperatedwhenJing—meimentionstheirph)7sicalresemblance:“Youdon}

even

knowlitterpercentofme!Howcanyoubeme?’’“AnduponJing-mei’Sconfessionofher

ignorance

aboutherlatemother’Slifeexperience,theothermothersare

see

frightened

as

bytheir

realizationthat:inJing-mei,theyallthetruths

theirown

daughters,just

as

ignorant,justdaughters

unmindfulof

andhopesthey

havebroughtto

America.They

are

see

whogrowimpatient

whentheirmotherstalkinChinese,whothinktheyfracturedEnglish.111ey

sce

stupidwhentheyexplainthingsin

thatjoyand

luckdonotmeanthesametotheir

nota

daughters,thatto

see

theseclosed

American-bornminds,‘'joyluck'’is

willbear

grandchildren

word,and

itdoesnotexist.They

hope

daughterswho

born

without

anyconnecting

passed

from

generationtogeneration.

Atthesametime,thetheirstories,toneitherdesire

daughters

finditloathsometo

beidentified

withtheirmothersand

speaktheChineselanguage,and

tokeeptheoldways

andcustoms.They

have

nor

interesttoknowtheirmothers’stories,whichmothershavebroughtfrom

ChinatoAmerica

andare

unabletotellin

perfect

English.Thus,inrefusing

toreachacrossthe

culturalandlinguisticdivisionandlisteningtothe“storiesfromthemotherline.”the

cut

daughters

themselvesfromthelegacyoftheirmothers

and

themotherlineofwhichtheyare

part.A

fifteen—year-oldsophomoreat

SanFrancisco

highschool,Jing—meihas“vigorouslydenied

that(she)hadanyChinesewhatsoeverbelow伪er)skin";shehasbecome

such

Americanized

as

to

degree

that

allher

Caucasian

friendsagreethatsheis‘'about

.ff.

as

Chinese

theywere.’’25

:!!:!!呈!!!兰:!!:!::竺!::;::!!兰:呈!!些!彗

AndthatisalsowhyLindosaysofherdaughter

are

Waverly

withregret,“Onlyherskinandhair

Chinese

Inside…-she

isallAmerican—made.’“oLivinginasocietythathasalonghistory

ofoppressingChineseAmericans,Waverlyandtheotherdaughterscannothelpbutabsorb

certainstereotypicalandracistviewsoftheChinese,which,regrettably,alienatethemfromtheirmothers,allembodimentofwhatis

Chinese.Waverly,for

instance,feelsverydispleased

no

withherphysicalresemblancetohermother,whoinherandherCaucasianfriends’eyesis

morethana“backwardoldChinesewoman.’“7AndwhenSuyuanclaimsthatJing.meiisChinesebyblood.thedaughtercannothelpimaginingherselfqueerhabits.

,sawreplicating

asa

monsterwithhermother’S

myselftransforming

like

werewolf,疗mutant

tag

ofDNAsuddenlytriggered,

itselfinsidiously

into

syndrome,aclusteroftelltaleChinesebehaviors,allthose

thingsmymothercOdtoembarrass

me…一haggling

fact

withsomeowners.peckinghermouthwiththatlemonyellowandpalepink

are

toothpickinpublic,beingcolor-blindtothe

not

goodcombinationsforwinterclothes.28

Such

mothershas

pulledthe

the

daughters

away

fromtheirmothersandmadeperfect

Trees”.Yingying

says

identification

impossible.In

chapter‘‘WaitingBetweenthe

plaintivelythatshehasalltheyears“watched(Lena)gISthoughshore’’29Herallusiontothe

ocean,as

E.D.Huntleycorrectlyreads,isnotjustafigureofspeechbut

all

essentialtruthabout

theculturalseparationbetweenherandLenainandtheirAmerican—born

particular,andbetweentheimmigrantmothers

daughtersin

general.

Mostoftheconflictsmothersand

daughters

face

liein

themisunderstanding

and

negligenceconcerningeachother’Sfeelingsandbeliefs.

3.3TheCauseofConflietbetweenTw0Cultures

3.3.1TheConflictbetweenTwolanguages

Theroleofinformation.Itislanguage.Aswe

languageinsocietyissignificant

asa

vehicleforme

exchangeof

impossibletoliveinanotherculturecomfortablywithoutspeakingthe

not

know,languageisjustaboutknowingthewords,asanyonewhospeaks

see

foreigntonguerealizes.It’Saboutculture,andunderstandinghowotherpeople

Inthisnovel。theimmigrantmothersstruggletospeak

theworld.

as

andmaster

English

new

language.TheexperienceofmovingoutofChineseintoEnglishispainfulandemotionallydebilitating.Sincethe

can

AmericanizedAmerican

daughters,theywerebom

and

educatedinAmerica.They

speak

fluentperfect

English.Buttheycannotunderstandtheirmothers’language

verywell,whichis

mixtureofEnglishandChinese.Observingheraunties,Junethinks,“The

JoyLuckauntiesbegintomakesmallm阮notreallyl括teningtoeachothertheirspecial

language.haIfinbroken

Theyspeakin

English,halfin

.12.

theirownChinesediniecc?如

:!::些!!!!::呈:!:些:!!:!些!兰:型些些!

When

LindoJongisspeakingto

WaverlywithgreatprideaboutTaiyuan,thecapitalcity

ofShanxi,herhometown,butWaverlythinkshermotheristalkingaboutTaiwan:

‘'Ai.n’shecriedloudly.‘"IamAnd

notfrom

Taiwan.”

justlikethat,thefragileconnectionwewerestartingtobuildsnapped.

‘‘,wasborninChina.inTaiyuan,”Shesaid.“Taiwan妇notChina.”

‘‘Well,Ionlythoughtyousaid。Taiwan’becauseitsoundsthesame,”Iargued,irritated

that

shewasupsetbysuch

all

unintentionalmistake.

saidin

‘'Soundiscompletelydifferent#Country括completelydifferentP’she

ifyou

are

huff.

“Peoplethereonlydreamthat缸China,becauseChinainyourmind.””Fortheoverseas

Chineseyou

cannever

letgoof

Chinesemother,wherevershegoes,shealways

or

considersherself嬲adescendantofthedragonthescionsofHuangDi

and

YahDi.They

liveinChinatown.TaiyuanistheplacetheChinesemotherhasbeenlongingforallherlife.Shefeelsthe

SO

sadwhenshehearsherdaughterrefersit

as

Taiwan.Chinesepeople’Sloyalty

to

motherlandisdeeplyrootedintheChinesetraditionalmainstream.IntraditionalChinese

society,thefamilyandtheand

countrysharethesamestructure.Afamilyis

or

minimizedcountry

countryis

or

maximized

family.Familymembers

that

languagehas

citizens

shouldkeeployaltothehea

wherevershe

This

hegoes.Thetieisespeciallystrong.

perfectlyshows

example

been

greatgapbetweenmotherand

SO

daughter.ForLindo,itishardtobelievethatherdaughterTaiwan

couldbe

ignorant

as

toconfuse

and

Taiyuan.Andfor

Waverly,sheCan’t

understandwhyhermotherisin

passion

OVersuchaninadvertent,minorslip.

3.3.2High-contextandLow-contextAnalysis

AllofTan’SworksexploretheclashbetweenChineseculturewayofcultureculture.

Ahigh—contextcultureisinformation,SOlistenershares

andAmerican

culture.One

understandingthedifferenceistolookatcommunicationinthesecultures.ChineseCanbeclassified笛ahigh-contextcultureandAmericanculture嬲alow-context

cultureinwhichtheindividualhasinternalized

meaningand

or

that

littleisexplicitlystatedinwritten

spokenmessages.Inconversation。the

Call

thesameknowledgeandassumptions,thelistener

piecetogetherthe

speaker’smeaning.

Alow。contextcultureis

one

inwhichinformationand

meaningsareexplicitlystatedinthe

message

or

communication.Individualsin

or

low-context

cultureexpect

explanations

when

not

statements

situations

are

unclear,astheyoftenare.Informationandmeaningare

oran

internalizedbytheindividualbutarederivedfromcontext。e.g.,fromthesituation

In

event.

high-contextculture,theindividualacquiresculturalinformationandmeaningfrom

.13.

!!!:些!:::尘呈:!:罂!:::竺!些!:些望:

obediencetoauthority,throughobservationandimitation.Toacquireknowledgeinthiswayandtointernalizeit,childrenmustbecarefullytrained.High-contextculturesarehighlystableandslowtochange,formey

are

rootedinthepast.

orare

Insuchcultures,theindividualmustknowwhatismeantatthecovert

level;theindividualunderstandwithoutregardsthelistener

issupposedtoknowandtoreactproperly.Others

or

unexpressedexpected

to

explanation

as

specificdetails.Explanations

are

insulting,asifthespeaker

notknowledgeableorsocializedenoughtounderstand.Tomembersofa

low—contextculture,speakersin

tothepoint.

high—contextseemtotalkaround

subjectand

never

toget

Thebondsamongpeople

are

verystrongin

high—contextculture.Peopleinauthority

are

personallyandliterallyresponsiblefortheactionsofsubordinates,whetheringovernment,inbusiness.orinthefamily.In

are

high-contextculture,theforms(conventionalwaysofbehaving)

notobservethe

important;theindividualwhodoesformsisperceivednegatively;the

negative

judgmentsfor

an

individual’s

badbehavior,becausetheyexpectthatthestrongfamily

cause

tradition.whichisbased

In

on

ancestors,will

thechildultimatelytobehaveproperly.

low—contextculture,asEdwardtHall

explains.“Mostoftheinformation

mustbein

thetransmittedmessageinordertomakeupand

fo,whatismissinginthecontext仿othinternal

are

extern洲.”“In

low—contextculturechangeisrapidandeasy;bondsbetweenpeople

changed

or

looser;actionis

undertakeneasilyandcanbe

stopped

once

initiated.

Thecommunicationproblemsthatarisewhenandtheotherisfrom

one

speakerisfromhJ【gh—contextculture

low.contextculture

never

can

be

seen

intheconversationsofJuneand

Suyuan,“My

motherandI

reallyunderstood

one

another.Wetranslatedeachother≥

meaningsandIseemedtohearlessthanwhatwassaidwhilemymotherheardmore.”33Junelooksformeaninginwhatisstated

and

doesnotunderstandthathermotheromitsimportant

informationbecausesheassumesherdaughterotherhand,looksformeaninginwhathasthatsurpriseherdaughter.

Tan’s

use

knows

it

andcan

inferit;hermother,onthe

comesupwithmeanings

been

statedexplicitly

and

oftalkstoryisalso

anexample

ofthedifferencebetweenhigh?contextculture

andlow—contextculture.Inthetalkstorythenarrator

expectsthelistenertograspthepoint,whichisnotstated.Thosemothersliketellingstoriestotheirdaughters,inwhich

theyhidetheirimplications.

In

Tan’s

laterworks,we

can

often

see

themisunderstandingsandconflictsthatarecaused

bythedifferencesbetween

high?contextcultureand

low—contextculture.

Infact,thedifferencesofgrowingupin

familyfrom

high-contextcultureandlivingin

low-contextcultureappearinotherChinese

American

writers.ThenarratorofMaxineHong

sees

Kingston’sTheWomanWarriorisunabletodecidewhetherfiguresshe

.f4.

arerealpersons

or

:!:型呈:!!圣:呈:!:些!:錾堡!至!型些:

ghosts,whetherstoriessheistoldisshetoldthestories,andwhether

are

trueorfictional,whatthemeaningofthosestories.whyeventreallyhappensorisimagined.

an

3.4TheConflictbetweenTwoCultures

Tan

writesaboutfamilyissues,sheextends

family

conflictstoculturalones.Thelost

motherrepresentsthelostmotherlandforallthedaughters.MothersrepresentChina,and

daughtersrepresentallChinese

immigrants.111edisappearance

ofmisunderstandingbetween

relationship.Tanputsher

mothersanddaughtersindicatetheimprovementofownexperienceinthecontextofallChinesemeaningswitIldeepercultural

Sino—American

Americans.∞her

novelshavemoresymbolic

connotation.

3.4.1InevitableCulturalConflict

Allof

Tan’S

worksmoveback

and

the

forth

across

thedivisionbetweenthetwo

or

more

generations,the

transportedprone

twocontinentsand

two

cultures.InreadingTan,we

findourselves

across

thePacificOceanfromtheupwardlymobile,design—conscious,divorce

worldofthedaughtersin

andAmericanized

and

AmericatotheworldofChinawhichseems

common

Publishers’Weekly

morefantastic

dreamlikethanreal.Sheincorporatesthehistoricaleventsinto

people’Slives,whichmakestheseeventsmoretruetolife.Areviewin

mentions“thepleasureofTaniseductiveprose”andtheFortunanotesthat“whatmost

commendsthenovel(TheJoyLuckClub)arethefragmentsofactualChinesehistory,SO

exoticallyretrievedthatthereaderhurriesthroughthemodernnarrativeinordertolearnmoreaboutthepast.’“Inherfournovels,we

cansensetheWife

and

crueltyofwars,Anti—JapanesewarsinBonesetteriDaughter,theHeavenly

砀F

JoyLuckClub,TheKitchenGod's

The

Kingdom

Movement

inThe

HundredSecretSenses.JustbecauseoftheseWarS,these

characterssuffer

lotfromthedeathoftheirbelovedones,theseparationfromtheirrelatives,

andthedeparturefromtheirnovels.

homeland.War

hasbecometheindispensableelementinTan’S

Moreover,thereis

conflict

tremendous

continuityofthemes

betweenthebicultural,bilingualimmigrantand

AmyTan’Snovels…一the

thoroughlyAmericanizedsecond

among

as

generation,andthethemeofdeath

andlife.Thesethemesunfoldthestoriesmovefrom

daughterstOmothers,fromCalifomiatoChina,fromthepresenttothepast

tothepreviouslife.

and

fromthislife

Thedescriptionoftheconflicts

betweenmothersand

daughtersexpressestheclash

between

and

Chineseculture

represents

daughter

Americanculture.MotherrepresentsChinesetraditionalcultureAmericanculture.Thetwoculturesalwaysclashintheprocessof

and

tothe

mother-daughtercommunication.Themotherstelltheirhistoryfromtheirchildhood

currentsituationinthe

USA,whereasthe

daughters’stories

.15.

mainlydealwiththeirpresentlives.

:三!:!:竺!!!圣!!!::::!!!!:!!!!圣!耋:!些呈:

Tan’snovelsarefullofChinesehistoricaleventsandorientalflavor.Readinghernovels,isherpastandpresentlife,

Clothingalsosignifiesculturalconfusionsandcollisions,andtosignalconcealment,subterfuge,orthe

legends.We

Callsense

strong

justlikelisteningto

ChineseAmericantalkingabout

performanceof

feigned

who

or

manufacturedidentity,Characters

who

are

unabletointegratetheirtwocultures

or

are

experiencingsomeformofculturaldislocation

tendtoberecognizableinthenovelbythewaytheydress.SuyuanStates

with

no

Woo

arrivesintheUnitedthat

are

luggage

saveone

trunk

full

offancysilk

dresses

completely

inappropriatetohernewlife,andshemustresorttowearinghand—medown

one

ofonlytwomuch—too—large

Western

dresses.AphotographofYing—yingSt.Clairtakenwhenshewas

releasedfromAngelIslandImmigrationStationshows

anAsian

womanwearing

traditional

ankle?lengthChinesedress,oddlypairedwith

Westernizedjacket

constructedwithpadded

shoulders,widelapels.andlargeclothbuaons.TheelementsofYing-ying’scostumeclash。

eastagainstwest.providingavisualrepresentationoftheconflictinYing—ying’sownmind

whensherealizesthatherhusband

hasgivenher

anAmericanname

and

newbirthdate.

Morecomplex

are

the

instances

inwhichacharacterdressestoperformfalseidentity.

one

TravelingwithhermothertoliveinTientsinwithhermother’sprotector,An—meiisstartledmorningtofindhermotherdressedelaboratelyin

Western

clothing.An-mei,too,ishastily

bundledintowesterngarb?-一一?-amuch—too—largeruffledwhitedressthatresemblesnothingshe

has

ever

worn.Shelaterfinds

outthat

Wu

Tsing,whoownsthehousewheretheywilllive.has

hadmadehimrich’’”,andguesseseventually

taste

forimportedluxuries“becauseforeigners

thathermothermustweartheWesternclothestomakebeabletokeephereconomicsecurity.

“Culturessurvivebecauseculturesexistbecausenumber

Wu

Tsinghappy;by

so

doing,shewill

ofancestors

andtheir

influence

on

thepresentgeneration,"

ona

ofmemory

narratedthroughstory.Culturalsurvival括dependent

relations.and

of

factors…history,memory,ancestral

and

community

of

shared

values.’’”Itisthroughmemorymotherstrytoregain

narration。reinterpretationofpastinChinesethatthe

balancebetweenselfprideandoutsideprejudice.The

through

conflictbetweenthewholebook.

thepast(mother/east)andtheS_tarting

present(daughter/west)is

begin

running

from

storytelling,themothers

rewrite‘"stories

to“healpast

experiences

of

lossand

separation’’“and

ofoppressionandvictimizationintoparables

ofse胙

affirmation

transformed

andindividualempowerment.’’33from

Gradually,maternal

andsubjectivity

silenceininto

all

thenovelisinstrument

even

medium

ofself-inscription

of

intersubjectivityanddialogue.asthemothers

utterthehushedinnatesenseand

move

fromenmitytocommunicationwiththedaughters。“/ninvitingthe

daughters’interjections.the

discoverhowtheywill

砌iftfrom

interiormonologueto

dialogue

enablesthemothersto

.16.

!!:!!!!竺!!!::呈:!!堡::::竺!!圣:!型::!呈

mediate

:,,-

betweenpastandthepresentfo,theirdaughter.’o’

theirChineseidentitythatthemainstreamsociety

theirmothersand

Thoughtheyhaverealizedthecommunicationdisharmonybetween

themselves,the

daughters

call

hardly

erase

labelsthem.TheysucceedinsomedegreetochangetheirinsideintowhiteAmericansthroughtheEnglish

language一---so

as

tomaltyEnglish—speakingAmericans

and

workin

an

English

environment,whiletheirtheypossess.As

appearanceandtheirunderstanding

realizes,‘"Bicultural

one

ofChineserevealtheotherface

Tan

later

identitycannotbereducedto

twoneutral

that

pristine,andequallinguisticdomains

simplypicksandchoosestoparticipatein

with口讲personalrelational,social,andpoliticalconsequences.’枷Theirpendentproblems

arousedintheparticipationintheEnglishworldandtheirobviousfailureintheChineseworld,aftertheir

inexperienced

attempt,leavetheminpassivity.

traditionalChinesemythsareappliedby

Chineseclassicssettings

andtransmutes

using

American

are

and

often

slangylanguages.Inthe

novel,mainstream

traditions

are

American’Sconcerns

transformedto

some

of

foregroundedandoldChinese

supporting

role.This

complex

superstitiousand

social

playthethe

bitter

conflict

wouldalso

explain

controversiesbetweenthe

maincultures.

IntheUSA,Chineseimmigrantsinparticular

have

alwaysbeenlookedupon

as

notonly

beingthe

otherbutalsoexotic

andinassimilable.OnemightsaythatChinesewomenwere

doublymarginalized.First,aswomentheyweresuppressedbytheirownculture,andsecond,

as

first

or

second

generation

immigrantstheyendured

suppressionby

American

majority

in

culture.Theheterogeneousconstitutionoftheindividualandsocialnovels.

subjectisexposed

Tan’S

Motherand

is

daughter

represent

twoopposites,ChinesecultureandAmerican

exhausted

culture.One

dystopiaoftragedies,sufferings,war,poverty,oppression,and

possibilities,

whereastheotheris

utopia

of

happiness,justice,hope,gender

and

equality,andendless

noare

opportunities.Themothersareconstructed嬲representativeChinesewomen.whohave

verylittleintheUnitedStates,whilethedaughters

naltle

controloftheirlivesatallinChinapresentedasmodemtheyareall

AmericanwomenwhoCan

are

theirlivesmostofthetime.IntheUSA,

immigrants.who

alwayshauntedwi也asenseofloss.

Thedaughterstransformation

daughters.She

seelntotally

Americanizedat

somepoint

intheirlives,‘'swallowingmore

Coca—Colathansorrow.’,4l

TandepictstheStates,and

mothers’frustrations

and

problemsintheirculturalwiththeir

intheUnited

USeS

intheirdomestic

to

conflicts

American—born

whereeach

the

four-playermahjongclubstructurethefourmother-daughter

relationships.Thestoryofthesepairsareinterwoveninfour

majorsegments

womennarrateshowshehasbecomewhatsheisataparticular

point

inherlife.Eachofthe

fourmajorsections,startingwith

vignette船an

.17.

introduction,includesfourchapters.The

i!!:些!!!圣!呈::些些!些!圣!型!:錾

andpreventionagainsttheir

daughtersgrowupundertheirmother’Sincessantsupervisioncompleteculturalassimilation.

Tan’sworksreflecttheconflictsoftwocultures,twoworlds,twogenerationsandtwocountries.Theconflictsbetween

two

cultures

are

whatmostChineseAmericanwriterspay

greatattentiontowhentheyexploreSino—American

relationship.WhileTanhas

madegreat

as

contributiontothespreadofChineseculturewithherWOrksshehassetcommunicator.‘'Amidagreeablypicturesqueandlively

model

culturaldeeper

family

scenes,Taninserts

message砂describing

differences

changes伽theChineseAmericanexperienceandunderscoringthe

betweennewimmigran括’views

ofAmericanlife

and

oftheirforebears."m

LikemostofAmericanwritersofrecent

interestinissuesthat

are

immigrantancestry,AmyTanhas

natural

centraltothelives

ofhyphenatedAmericans.“Likethemshewrites

aboutthelimitedidentity

ofthehyphenatedAmerican,abouttheculturalchasms

between

immigrantparentsandtheirAmerican—bornoffspring

andthelinguisticgaps"between

generationsandfinallyabouttheneedtodiscover

usableandrecognizablepast.Butshe

doesnotwriteexclusivelyabouttheAsianexperience,norisherstyle

Asian

specificallyandwholly

despifeitsfrequent

allusionstotraditional

ChinesefoIkgenres

andits

borrowings"from

thetalkstorytradition.’…Inherwork.Tanraisesquestionsabouttherelationshipbetweenethnicity,difference,gendeLmanyaspects

andidentity.She

writesabouttheDiasporaculture

problems

as

wellasthe

within

ofbiculturalism:culturaldislocation;theand

challenges

immigrantfamilies;theconflictbetweenassimilationkindsofwritingin

andparochialism.Tan

mixesnumerous

hernovels:thebiography,theautobiography,the

memoir;history,

mythology,thefolktale,andthetalkstory。

3.4.2MaterialCulture

Contactsandcommunicationbetweenculturesbeginatthemateriallevelandgraduallyinfluencethesocialandideologicalculture

Level1

Level2SocialCulture

Level3

IdeologicalCulture

MaterialCulture

Aculture,regardlessofitstypeandstageofdevelopment。consistsofthreelevels.Atthe

outsetisthemateriallevel;atthecoreis

theideologicallevel;inthemiddleisthecombination

ofthetwo:thesocialculture.

When

peopleofdifferentculturalbackgroundscometOcontact

andcommunicate,the

ale

first

thingtheynoticearethematerialdifferencesbecausethesedifferencesveryobvious.

Atthebeginningofthenovel,Jing?meiis36yearsold,andhersuddenlydiedof

mother,Suyuan,has

cerebralaneurysm.Jing—mei’SfatheraskshertogototheJoyLuckClubin

one

hermother’splace.tohonorhermemory.SheagreestoaRend

ofthemeetings.She

describeshermother’soldfriendAuntieAn-mei’Shouse.‘¨havenotbeentotheHsus≥house

.18.

!!:型竺:!!尘竺:墼堡型!些竺:至

inmanyyears.butthelivingroomisexactlythesameandUncleGeorgemovedtOtheSunsetdistrictboughtnew

as

Irememberit.WhenAuntieAn—mei

pom

Chinatown

twenty-five

yearsago,they

furniture.It's

allthere,stilllookingmostlynew

underyellow

plastic.Thesame

turquoisecouchshapedinheavymaple.AlampBank

semicircle

ofknobbytweed

Thecolonialendtablesmadeout

of

offake

crackedporcelain.Onlythescroll-lengthcalendarfree

from

the

ofCanton.changeseveryyear’”

TheabovepassagedescribesthelivingenvironmentofAuntieAn-mei,animmigrantChinese.FromJing-mei’Sperspective,everythinginherauntie’Shousehasbeenkeptinwayfordecades.Sheviewsthesefromalways

all

one

opaqueanddistantplaceanditshowsthatsheiS

an

outsiderwho

Can’t

appreciatethiswayoflifeata11.

3。4.3IndividualismVs.Collectivism

Hofstede’SresearchindicatesthatindividualismiS

culturalpattemwhichiSfoundinmost

toacultural

northernandwesternregiOIlSofEuropeandNorthAmerica.Collectivismrefers

pattemcommoninAsia,theMiddleEast.CentralandSouthAmerica,andthepacificislands.

Inthisnovel,theinfluenceoftraditionalChineseideologies

andpresence

ofcontemporary

American

culturecoexist

andare

equally

strong.Wheneverthemothers

tryto

express

to

any

or

wishes

or

getcommandoftheirdaughters,the

In

daughtersrelentlessly

counter

themresist.

collectivism—orientedculture,familyisvalued

astheprototypeofallthesocial

organizations

and,accordingly,Chinesepeople

start

acquiringtheiridentitiesfromthefamily.

Chineseembracetheideathatthe

family

as

makesits

members.Inthis

kindoffamily,afamily

member’S

primarymotivationforactionisthoughttobringhonor

or

and

or

creditforhisorher

parents.He

sheisnot

thoughtof

acting

on

his

or

herown

Call

behalf

forownpurpose.On

or

theotherhand,individualism-orientedculture,personhasaccomplishedbyhimselfinto

or

takecreditonlyforwhathe

she

hersel£Theyget

no

credit

whatsoeverfor

poor

having

beenbom

theirownlevelthey

rich

family.They

pridethemselvesin

havingbeenbom

and,through

to

sacrificeandhard

work,having

climbedthedifficultladderof

SUCCESS

whatever

the

have

achievedallbythemselves.TheyupholdtheIn

conceptthatindividualsmake

from

family.

valueof

The

JoyLuckClub,themothersemigrate

to

traditionalChinese

societythat

emphasizescollectivism

America,which

attaches

greatimportance

to

the

individualism.Theirroleschange.forformerlytheyrepresentauthority,buthavingimmigratedintothistotallynewsociety,theyareansurcof

themselves.Theirdaughters

no

longeridentify

withhermother

or

intemalizetheirauthorityinthesamewayasinChina.Sothefamilyties

betweenthe

mother

anddaughter

ineachofthesefour

or

Chinese.Americanfamilies

theChinese

iS

no

longer

whatdeterminestheChinese

daughters’obligations

mothers’authority.Family

causes

isnotsomethingtobeproudofasinChina,butrathersomethingthat

embarrassment

on

.19.

:!型坚!!:::呈:::竺::!::些!::型坚:

onesideortheother,andoftenbethsides.

3.4.4PrivacyVs.Harmony

RichSchieldsisWaverlyJong’sFianc6,whoisanAmericancolleagueworkedasatax—accountantinareputedfinn.ThoughWaverlyisanintelligentadult,shestillfearshermother’s

indirectlyblameshermotherfordisapproval.ForLindohasdislikedherfirsthusband,Waverly

thefailureofherfirstmarriage.Nowsheisworriedthathermother’sdisapprovalwouldpoisonthissecondmarriageaswell.WaverlymakesmanyplansaboutwaystobreakthenewstoLindo.HerfriendissoastonishedtodiscoverthatWaverlyissonel~OUSaboutthis

somatter.Fromherpointofview,Waverlyissuchacapablewoman,sowhydoesshebecome

aweakinfrontofhermother.Inhereyes.Waverlyeven“cantelltheIRStopissuprope.butcan}

standuptoownmother,”and“tellhertostopruiningyour

Richasks,“Howlongdoesittaketolife.TellhertoshutUP.’’45Justassay?Mom,Dad.I'mgettingmarried’“6

Waverly’sworries.InAmerica,peoplelearntoexpressBothofthemcannotunderstand

theirindividualdesiresandmakechoiceswhentheyareveryyoung.Theyactindependentlyandareresponsiblefortheirownactions.TheirreactionisverycommonforAmericans。asmarriageisaverypersonalaffair.InAmerica,privacyisnotonlyseenasaverypositive

findequallycondition。butitisalsoviewedasarequirementwhichallhumanswould

necessary,desirableandsatisfying.Buttheword‘"privacy"’hasstronglynegativeconnotationinChinese,suggestinglonelinessorisolationfromthegroup.

Tosomeextent.itisdesirabletraitforChinesetothinkforothersinordertoachieveharmoniousrelationship.Toavoidconflicts,peopletendtosubordinatetheirownneedstoother’s,toshowrespectorlove.Especially,intraditionalChinesesociety,wifeissubordinatetoherhusband,Personaldesiresarebestsubjugated

atothewillofthemaleheadinthefamily.RosewaseducatedinAmericaandbroughtupinChineseimmigrantfamily.Shejuxtaposed

one’stheChinesewaywiththe

notAmericanway.Theformerconsistedofnotexpressingdesires.speaking印,not

seriousflawmakingchoices.Thelatterconsistedofexercisingchoicesandspeakingupforoneself.ShechoseChinesewasaway,becauseshefound‘‘itwasonlylaterIdiscoveredtherewiththeAmericanversion.Thereweretoomanychoices,soitwaseasytogetconfusedandpickthewrongthing.That'showIfeltaboutmysituationwithTed.’“7

InRose’sstory,we

miserablecanseeitistheincompatiblevaluesthatleadthiscoupletotheareend.TheAmericandaughtersfacingtheproblemof‘‘choosingbetweentheworlds.”Compared晰th

demandsfrom

culturalChinesemothers.theyoungergenerationsliveinthedilemma.Theyoftenaresplitbytwodifferentcultures.Unliketheirmothers,suchwomenfaceconflictingtwoopposingcultures.WhileAmerican—bomdaughtersarefamiliarwiththen啪cesofChineselife,theirdilemmasfrequentlystemfromhavingtovacillate.20.

:呈!:些!!!::呈::些尘:堡!圣:竺:錾:

betweenc?Chineseness'’and‘"Americanness.’’TheirChinesemo血ers,incontrast,alelessplaguedbythecomplexitiesofbeingChinese,American,andwomen..21.

!!:!!:::!:篓!!!!!!:!!!!!!望!::!:竺!!兰:三:!!:錾:

4ReconciliationofT’】.,0GenerationsandTw0Cultures4.1ReconciliationofJoyLuckMothersandTheirDaughters

Despitetheintenseconflictsbetweenthemothersanddaughters,Tanisquiteoptimisticaboutthedaughters’reconnectiontothemotherlineandfurthertotheChineseheritage.Inthenovelthemother-daughterconflictsalldevelopinto

Thestoriesareasatisfyingreconciliation.aarrangedintoaquiteorganizedform.EachstoryistoldinwayofthefirstpersonsingularexceptJing—mei

her

inaWoo’smother,whodiedearly,leavingherstorytobetoldbygenerallineleadingthestoriesofTheJoyLuck(_Tubbackandfonhfromthemothers’pastexperiencestodaughter,andwhosestoryservesasarunscompletenet.Thewholenovel

thedaughters’modemlives.Tan

useusesflashbacksinthenoveltoexplorethemothers’differenthardships.Throughherofflashbacksandthedevelopmentofstrong—willedcharactersshe

bringsintoperspectiveafterexperiencingherowndevastatingtragedies,amotherwillgotogreatstrengthstoteachher

devastatinglifetragedies.

Itisachildrenthevaluesthatwillprotectthemfromtheirowndrawn-outprocessinvolving,firstofall,themothers’effortstoreachacrossthelinguisticandculturalgulf'tobreaktheexternallyimposedandself-imposedsilenceabouttheirpast.andtospeakinordertobeheardbythedaughters.Themothersmustbreaktheirsilencetobreakdownthestereotypesthattheextemalsocietyhasimposeduponthemandthe

isthepreconditionforprejudicesthattheirassimilateddaughtersholdagainstthem.This

mother-daughterreconciliation

becausetheiridentityasaandthereconciliationisextremelyimportantforthedaughtersChineseAmerican“/sacquiredthroughconnectionto,andknowledgeof.hermotherandthemotherlineofwhichsheisapart.’“8

aEvenLena,oneofthedaughters,hasgot

silencethathasalmostbiuersensethatitistheweightofmaternalstrangledherloveforhermother:“Ialwaysthoughtitmattered,to

canknowwhat捃theworstpossiblethingthat

nottobedrawnbythemagichappentoyou.toknowhowyoucanavoidit.toof历Punspeakable.’御Lindo.mindful

joy,insistsofWaverly’signoranceofherstoriesofstruggleandthatherdaughter“mustunderstand仿er)real

waycircumstances.how(she)married,how(she)lostmer)Chineseface.why(Waverlyis}the

(sheis).’’50Andforthesamepurpose.thethreeauntiesurgeJing-meitotellherlatemother’s..?-andbothbyimplicationandbyextension.theirown…一historytoherhalf-sistersinChina.

Oncebothmothersanddaughterstakeactivestepstoreconnectwitheachother,thereisnoquestionaboutthedaughters’re—identificationwiththeirChineseheritage

racialandrecoveryoftheiridentity.ThispointisbestillustratedinJing—mei’snarratives.Liketheotherdaughters,.22.

:!:::型竺:::!!些呈::圣筌::錾型!圣!!:!些錾

Jing?meihasdistancedherselffromhermother,firstlyemotionallyandthen…一ascircumstancesandherfinances

mei’smotherhas

turningpointinpermit…-physicallyandgeographically.Yetunlikethem.Jing—servejustpassedawayduetoillness.ThedeathofhermotherismeanttoasaJing-mei’slife,orrather,apointofdepartureforJing?mei’squestforunderstandingofhermotherandherselfintermsofracialidentityaswellasgender.

seenInthefirststorywiththesametitleasthenovel。‘‘TheJoyLuckClub”,Jing—meiis

sittinginhermother’splaceatthemalljongtableandbecomingamemberoftheJoyLuckcfub.whichshehasalwaysregardedasalien.Herreluctantcontactwiththismaternalworld,fortunately,bringstoherconsciousnessthematernalanxietyovermother-daughteralienationandtheruptureinthe

onmotherline.TheJoyLuckClHbauntiesexpectJing-meitomeetherhalf-sistersinChinaherlatemother’sbehalfandthuscreateanopportunityforhertogaina

first-handknowledgeofherChineseheritage.Bytheendofthenovel,in‘APairofTickets”,Jing?meiisalreadyinChinaandrealizesthatshehas‘"neverreallyknownwhatitmeanstobeChinese.””UponenteringdowntownGuangzhou.Jing?meiseemstoexperiencesurpriseanddisbeliefcausedbytheincompatibilitybetweenOrientalistdescriptionsofChinawhatsheandhears.DowntownseesGnangzhoulookslike‘.amirrorAmericancity”from

everywhere.’’’。Shealsoadistance.“withhighrisesandconstructiongoing

family’seconomic

richF’53onrecordswhatoneAiyisaysaboutherconditions:“YouAmericansaren}thehasonlywhoknowshowtogetistakenabackbvitsAndwhenshereachesthehotelshebooked。she

magnificenceandcannothelpexclaiming:“Th/s妇communistChina?”whichsherepeatsupon

adiscoveringinherhotelroomsmallrefrigeratorfullofwell—knownWesterndrinks.Although

judged

earsJing—meicannotridherselfofherdeep—seatedEurocentrism-~everythinginChinaisbyheraccordingtotheAmericanstandard??—??-shehascometotrustherowneyesand

ratherthanwhatshehasbeentaughtbyAmericanOrientalism.Meanwhile,Jing-mei

Chinafromalsohasabetterideaofhermother’spastlifeinthestoriestoldbyherfather.Shelearns

theprofoundloveSuyuanhadforabouttheincredibletragediesthathermother

herendured,aboutandherhalf-sisters,andaboutSuyuan’s一-ashernameindicates一.“long-cher括hedwish’’tofindandreunifPwithherlostdaughters.””Jing-meibeginstofeelthemostacutepainoflosinghermother:“,layawakethinkingaboutmymotheristor?A,real拓inghowmuch,haveneverknownabouther,grievingthatmysistersandIhasbothlosther’’55Herpainfulrealizationofloss,paradoxically,signalshernewandfirmbondwithhermother.BythetimeJing—meidoesreunitewithhermother’slong?lost

deadmotherinherheartasnowshe

dramaticdaughters,shehascompletelyrevivedheraknowshermotherbeRer.Inthisway,TanenactswithhandJing?mei’semotional

isatthisandpsychologicalreconnectionwiththemotherline.Andasensesignificantly,itpointthatJing-meiacquires

seeofwholenessassoaChineseAmericanwoman:‘'AndglowIalsowhatpart

.23.ofmeisChinese,Itisobvious.Itismy

!!:::型篓:!::!!兰!塑竺!!:::!!::型些:

Jam咖It捃inourbloodAfteralltheseyears,itcanfinallybeletgo.””

IntravelingtoChinatomeethertwinhalf-sisters一一??thenow—grownbabiesforwhomSuyuanhadsearchedforalmostfonymother’sstory

as

years…?Jing—meibringsclosureandresolutiontoher

is

an

well

as

toherown.ForJing—mei,thejoumeyepiphanyand

discoverystory

as

ofself:finallyawareofhermother’smeaning,sheisabletogivevoicetowell

as

Suyuan’s

tothestorythattheyshare

asmotheranddaughter.TheJoyLuckaunties,whosegiftof

on

generouscheckhassentJing-meiherpilgrimagetoChina,arewellawareofthe

totellherhalf-sisters

significanceoftheabout

journey

forherandforthemselves.Theybegher

Suyuan…一how

shewasabletocreate

success

full

andrewarding

lifeforherselfinAmerica。

to

howsheraisedmake

familyandgainedinherownway.TheauntiesencourageJing—mei

Suyuancome

aliveforherotherdaughtersthroughnarrative,throughdescriptionsofher

once

hopesanddreams,throughrecreationsofstoriesthatsherevealtheirowndreamsthatintimetheirownandrecountthestoriestheirmothershavetold.

In

told

Jing—mei.Their

words

daughters

will,likeJing—mei,alsoremember

GuangzhouhotelearlyinthevisittoChina,Jing—meiasksherfathertorecounttoher

therestofthestoryofthe

twin

babygirls,thestorythatSuyuanhadnot

had

theopportunityto

finishtellingher.Duringthatlatenightconversation,Jing—meialsolearnsthatherChinese

name…一the

namethathermothergaveherwhenshewasbom.the

name

thatshe

once

repudiatedinfavorofthemorepresent,losses

American

sounding

June…一representshermother’spastand

essence

andhopes.Jing—meimeans‘'younger

Suyuan.herAmericandaughter

sisterwhoissupposedtobetheof

theothers.’’“Forenable

wouldbethereplacementchildwhowould

Suyuantobearthelossofthetwins.IngoingtoChina,then,tomeetheroldersisters.

Jing?meireconcilesSuyuan’stwolives,twocultures,twocountries;shereconcilesherselfwith

hermother;andshegivestheauntiesthehopethatthey,too,willbereconciledwiththe

daughters.

Jing—mei

Woo

finallytravelstoChinatomeether

twin

sisters,fulfillinghermother’s

dreamaswellasbringingepiphanyand

resolutiontoherownstory.‘'ForJing-mei,the

aware

journey括an

discovery

as

ofself:finally

well

as

ofhermotherimeaning,she括abletogive

as

voice.toSuyuan"sstory

tothe

storythattheyshare

motheranddaughter’’58Tan

findsresolutionoftheconflictsbetweenself-images,ofbeingChinese

or

two

nationalities,worlds,andgenerations.Conflictsof

Americanareeventuallyreconciled.Havingmethersisters,

even

Jing—meirealizesthatdeepdown,somepartofherisinfactChinese,andthat

maynotthinkshelookslikehersisters

or

thoughshe

that

hersisterslooklikehermother,thethreeofthe

sisterstogetherresembleSuyuan;thesisterswillhelpJing—meitocometoknow

partsofhermotherthatshe

scene

never

understood

before,andthus

helphertotellSuyuan’sstory.Inthislast

ofthe

book,Jing—meisuccessfully

creates

bridge

between

two

countries,two

.24.

!坚::::呈!!竺:!:::!圣呈呈:::::!:::竺!!圣:呈:!些:譬

generations,andtwocultures.

It’snotuntillaterinherlife,afterSuyuan’sdeaththatJing-meirealizesjusthowmuchhermotherlovedherandhowproudshewasofher.AfterSuyuan’sdeath,andafterJing—meilearnsmoreofthedetailsabouthermother’spast,Jing?mei’seyesopentothe900dintentionshermotheralwayshadforherinallofthewaysthatsheacted.Sherealizesthathermotherwasproudofhereventhoughshewasnotagreatgeniusatanything.AfterWaverlyhumiliated

thattheworkshehaddoneforherfirmwasnotgoodJing-meiatthedinnertablebystating

enough.SuyuanattemptedtodisplayherprideinJing—meibygivingherthe

alwayswore,which

lifehadvaluejadependentshesymbolizedherlife’simportance.ShewantedJing?meitoknowthatherandthatshejustneededtodevelopandusehertalentsinordertodiscoverthis.Afterhermother’sdeath,Jing-meibeginswearingthisnecklaceeveryday.Shealsothinksbacktoherjobanddecides,‘']wasverygoodatwhatIdid,succeedingatsomethingsmalllikethat"09BecauseJing.meidoesnotmakemanyofthesediscoveriesuntilafterhermother’sdeath,shefearsthatshedidnotappreciateherenoughduringher

died,,askedmyselfalotlife:“Right雌ermymothergrieveofthings,thingsthatcouldn}bean6qⅣered,toforcemyselfto

myselflmore.Itseemedas西1wantedtosustainmygrief.toassurehadcareddeeplyenough.

lovedherButnowIaskthequestionsmostlybecause1wanttoknowthe

daughtermoreanswers.'“Suyuanthanherownlife,butJing—meididnotrealizethisuntilherquestionswereansweredandshebegantounderstandhermother’sintentioninlife,andwhereherhopesoriginatesfrom.Jing—meitakeshermother’sturninthe

opportunitytomahjongtable,whichletsherhavetheknowhermotherbetterfromotherJoyLuckmothers.Thenattheendofthenovel,Jingrneifindshermotherinhertwohalf-sisters.Mother’sdeathseemstobecomethewayofgettingridofdifferencesandmisunderstandingsbetweenmothersanddaughters.

Jing-meiWooisarepresentativeoftheyoungergeneration,theAmerican-borndaughterswhofeellargelyoutoftouchwiththeirChineseidentities

Jing?meiandwiththeirChinesemothers.Asacknowledgesthis.shealsoshowsadeepsympathywitlltheoldergeneration.She

distressattheunderstandstheirfearsabouttheirdaughters,theirthoughtthattheirhopesand

dreamsmaynotsurvivetheminthesemodemAmericanwomenforwhomsomanyoftheoldvaluesnolongerhavemeaning.However,evenwhileJing-meiperceivesthemother-daughter

servesgapfrom

bridgebothsides,thisdoubleperceptionultimatelynottoaccentuatethegap.buttoit.Throughout

thatshethenovel,Jing—meiprovidestheconnectingvoicebetweenthegenerations.Shetellsboththestoryofhermother,whofreedomneverfoughthardtogiveherdaughtersthehad.Thus,attheendofthebook,Jing-meicomestorepresentafigure

ofhopeforbothgenerationsthattheymightunderstandeachotherbetterthantheyhadthought

aintheirownculture,thattheymightsharein

TheJoyLuckmothersdialogueoflove.havegivenbirthtodaughters,and

.25..investedinthemallofthehopes

:圣:::!::尘篓:!!:!!兰!竺:!:呈!:呈:;!!!!兰:呈:!些竺:

anddreamsthathavepropelledtheoldergenerationdaughtersthebestthattheNewWbrldtheirhomeland.Andyet,thedaughtersdisciplinarians,domineering

Call

acrossallocean

toAmerica.Togivethose

offer’themothershavesacrificedtheiryouthand

intheirmothersnotnurturingangels,onlystem

see

and

possessivewomenwhorefusetorelinquishanymaternal

controlalthoughthedaughtersareadultswi血theirownhomes.Significantly,thesectioninwhichdaughtersandmothersachievethebeginningsofreconciliationisofthe

called“QueenMother

as

Western

no

Skies.”Thetitlehasenormoussignificance.suggesting

or

itdoesthatthe

daughters

as

longerviewtheirmothersasgorgons

harpies

or

devouringgoddessesbutrather

thatmostexaltedoftheGreatMother’spersonas,thequeenofheaven.AuntieAn—meicries

toJune.“Yourmother缸inyourbones.’’61

The

on

unbreakablebondbetweentheJoyLuck

mothersandtheirdaughters,theirdifferenceswith

thesamenessin

space。historybackground

and

languagealong

the

theirbonesdefinestheChinese

American

identity,especially

daughtersborninAmerica.

4.2ReeonciliationofJoyLuck

MothersandTheirMothers

InthestorytoldbyJing—mei,shetakesthememoriesofherownchildhoodexperiences,includingstoriesshehasheardabouthermotherSuyuan’searlylifeinChina.Thesestorieshelptoexplainwhysheteachesherdaughterthevaluesofoptimismthewarreachesthetown,Suyuanloseseverythingsheowns

anddetermination.When

triesto

on

save

andherlifeby

fleeingfromChina.Sheisforcedtoleavehertwotwinbabiesbehindhopingtheymighthaveherein1949were

so

thesideoftheroadin

chance

living

goodlife.Jing—meirecallsthathermother‘‘hadcome

never

afterlosingeverythinginChina…butshe

lookedbackwithregret.They

Call

many

waysforthingstogetbetter.’’62AsSuyuan’spastisrevealed.shenothelp

butrealizeherdetermination,optimismestablish

and

strongwillassheperseveresagainsttheoddsto

on

betterlife

inAmerica.Suyuantriestopass

hervirtuesof

determination,

mother

sees

optimismandperseverancetoher

American-borndaughter,Jing—mei.Jing—mei’s

on

American

movie

stars’performing

aspire

thetelevisionset

and

believesthatwithhardworkand

theconstantprotestsofher

practiceher

daughtercan

tothesanlestardom.Despite

daughter,Suyuanforceshertopracticethepiano.ThoughforJing-meithismayseemlike

pointlesstorture,hermotheronlyintendsforthistohelpheroptimistic

daughter

and

learnhowtobe

to

and

determined

regardlessofwhatchallengesshemayfacein

never

life.Whenlearning

playthepiano,Jing—mei’smotherexpectshertobecome

genius

toldherinbroken

English.“OnlyaskyoubeyourbesLForyoursake.’“Byencouraginghertobeherbest.Suyuan

wants

toteachher

daughter

tobethebestshe

can

be

and

never

have

toregretnot

trying.Suyuan’s

miserable,but

intentionwaslikethatofmostmothers.nottomakeherdaughter’slifehelpher.By

teachingher

daughter

to

thevaluesof

determinationand

..26..

!坠!:竺!!!竺錾!:!!::呈:!:罂:!::竺!!圣!!:!竺篁:

一.—:::::。

inherlife,Suyuanintendsto

perseverancethathavehelpedSuyuantoovercomechallenges

thatresultfromgivingupand

protectherdaughterfromthetragedyanddisappointmentsettlingforlessthanthebestsheLindohas

can

be.ThecharacterLindoJongalsorevealshertragicpast.

beenbetrothedtothesonofawealthy

mail.anarrangement

tokeep

shewasnotveryfondof

lives

Shegoesthroughwiththemarriageinunhappinessunlessshedevisesshametoher

and‘"sacrificedlife

parents’promise’一.and

plan

toreleaseher

fromthemarriagewithoutbringing

demonstratesherwillingnesstoherinnerstrengthtocontinue

family.By

revealingLindo’sunhappyyouth,Tan

and

sacrificeherownleading

an

happiness

tokeepherfamily’shonor

so

unhappylifefor

long

jlist

toavoidbreakinga

to

promise.Lindopasses

herdaughter

onas

thisshe

invisiblestrength

sheacquiresthroughherexperienceWaverly

encourageshertopracticechessonly

and

to‘'riseaboveher

circumstances.”’Though

becoming

poorand

child。Waverly

daresnotletthese“circumstance”preventherfrom

national

chess

champion

atageofnine.Lindoencourages

Waverly

toriseaboveherownunfortunate

“circumstances”everIas

her

child.After

being

forcedtorise

aa

above

thetragic

circumstancesof

to

unhappy

marriagebyusingherinnerstrength,as

on

mother,Lindofeelsobligated

try

to

passthesevirtues

to

her

daughterbyteachingher

valuablelessonthroughexperienceas

any

othermotherwoulddotoprotectherchildfrom

tragiclifeofunhappiness.Thegreatest

tragedyofAn—mei’slifeispictured:thedeathofheryoungestson,Bing.Herdaughterrecallstheeventsofthistragicdayspends

as

well

as

hermother’srefusaltogiveuphope.When

and

thefamily

dayatthebeach,youngBingmanagesto

wander

fromhidsibling

getstooclose

tothewaterwhereheissuckedup

by

waves,nevertoresurface.Theeffortsof

family’s

toletgo

membersto

ofthe

son’s

findhim

amongthewavesproved

call

fruitless;however,An-reelisreluctant

slightestbody

so

possibilityhecouldbealive.Evenlatef,sheis

have

persistentinsearchingforher

thathe

properburialceremony.Therescuerscalledoffthesearchfor

thatwhattheseAmericanscouldn}do,

Bingafter

fewhours,“buther力ith…convincedher

shecouldShe

couldfindBing.’”The

are

unfortunatedeathofhersonrevealsAn—mei’sstrong

faithandhopewhenthingsinTheJoyLuckClub.

againsther,thatthistragedycouldstill

have

positivecharacter

Regardlessoftheidentityofthenarrator,eachofJoyLuck’sstoriesdemonstratestheimpactofthepastindividual’sculturalconsequencesof

on

the

present,reinforcing

thenotionthat

personalhistory

shapes

an

identityandattitudesaboutthe

world.The

mothers’livesthe

case

arethe

difficultchildhoods,war,poverty,starvation,and…-in

ofYing?ying

St.Clairalonehad

privileged

upbringing…-a

single

traumaticchildhoodexperience.

not

Moreover,threeofthemothersweremarriedintheirteens,twoofthemtomenwhodid

appreciatethem

andone

to

goodmarlwhowas

or

killed

inthewar;and

one

hadchildrenfrom

herfirstmarriage.Forgood

forevil,in

avarietyofways,personalhistoriesbecomethe.27.

!!::::!:!l:!!!呈!!::呈:!::鐾!:些::!!呈:!:!尘錾:

foundationthepast

on

whichthemothersbuildtheirnewlivesinAmerica.Ineachstory,theimpactof

on

thepresentisclearlydemonstrated.Eachmother’sChinesepastinfluencesher

on

Americanpresent;eachdaughterfeelstheimpactofherownchildhood

heradultlife:and

eachmother’spastaffectsherdaughter’spresent.Tocomplicatetheequation,eachmotherhasbeeninfluencedbyherownmother’slife.Thepaststretchesbackgenerationaftergeneration,

and….ironically…一moves

forward

as

wellintothe

unseen

future.

4.3ReconciliationofLanguages

Languageinthebookstandstogetherwith

outstandingas

thoughtandculture,hutitappearsparticularly

threadthroughtheseisolatedstories。anditobviouslybringsoutthenecessity

forfurtherconsiderationupontheelementsunderlyingit.

Languageis

so

prominent

mediumthatitcarriesthedebating,comending,balancing

andmediatingbetweenthemothersanddaughtersformsofmonologue,dialogue,languageconstructsculture,rightthroughtheconversionoftime

throughout

the

book.Through

different

and

web—workwithdifferent

race,sex

andspace.

Languageinthebookhasexperienced

self-presentation。and

backto

journey

in

the

fromdisharmony,misunderstanding,

thediscussion

beginning,and

then

ending

with

experimentalmutualacceptance.Languageisoftenmarkedwith“ShesaidinChinese’’toremind

us

ofthearticulationbythemothers.However,Chinesephonetics,Pinyin。notesthefeltbythedaughtersin

difficultyunderstandingChinese.Inheressay

MotherTongue(1991),

AmyTancelebratesusing‘'a//theEnglishesIgrewupwith’。7despitetheimperfectioninher

mother’sEnglish.Bygivingexamplesofhermother’svividChineseexpressionwith

no

English(Englishby

literaltranslationof

English

counterpart),Tansaysthathermother’sversionof

thebeautyandwisdominher

observationand

Englishgivesherbicuhuralinsightandstrength,madshemotherjs

sees

language,“Herlanguage,asIhear{l’isvivid.direcf,知llof

cannever

imagery.’’68‘Vwantedtocapturewhatlanguageabilitytestspassion。herimagery,therhythms

reveal:herintenther

pure

ofherspeechandthenature

us

ofherthoughts”.Withthe

narrationandmostlymonologuetoprovidebetweenthemothersand

withfullpresentationofthechasmformation

daughters,theclimaxoflinguisticempathyofshared“Mama”

forthefutureofChineseAmericans.

rebelledagainst

appearsnaturalforthewholebookandmeaningful

InheranotheressayThelanguageofDiscretion(1990)。vehemently

viewingculturaldescriptionsasdichotomouscategories,‘'/tkdangerousbusiness.thissorting

out

oflanguageand

behavio,:Which

woman

is

oneis

English?Which缸Chinese?Reject

in

themall!””

EachChinese

American

and

grantedsubjectivity

as

with

narratingherownstories

differentmetaphors

allegory,so

tofill

intheoutlineofseparateChinese

American

imageswithvividmeaningsand

colors

andbecome

characterswithfleshyfeatures.Their

..28..

!!::!!尘!!筌呈!篓!::2:!:墼:!!:!!!!::!:!!:!雾

voices,fullofmisery

andbitternessandalsostrengthandperseverance,joinin

strong

ChineseAmericanarticulationforidentityaffirmation.

4.4ReconciliationofTwOCultures

h1840.AlexisdeTocquevilleraisedthetermindividualisminthe

1841.individualismwasredefinedconfidenceinself,orrelianceupon

as

Americansociety.In

perceived

as

thedrivingforceoftheAmericansociety,strong

ownexertion

one’S

andresources,and

the

sourceofallpublicvirtueandthusthemechanismthroughwhich

promise.In

Americawill

fulfillits

the

1885reportitWasheldbytheSanFranciscoBoardof

Supervisors,that

Chinese

race

is“onethatcannotreadilythrowo∥its

habitsandcustoms”.Fromtheabove,

CyrusR.K.Patellanalyzes:“In

otherwords,unlikeblacksandIndians,the

itis

Chinesehave

culturethatputsthematoddswithsimplybepulverized.”70

The

Americanindividualism,and

culturethat

cannot

American-bornchildreneducatedundertheprincipleofindividualism

are

are

unwillingto

listencarefullytowhattheirmotherssayinginChinese,the

as

language

oftheminority,let

alonetoaccepttheChineseculturalsymbols,suchchi,twelveChinese

thefive

elements(WuXing),yengshui.

Chinesebeliefs

horoscopes,balancebetween

and

Y/n

andYang,etc.These

havecomeoutofBuddhism

TaoisminthelonghistoryofChineseculturaldevelopment.

Themothersputgreatemphasisuponthedivinearrangementoftheirfatehave

andatthesame

time

resolutebeliefinhumanabilitytochangebadthingsintogood

ones.

Yingyingissensitivetothearrangementofthefurnitureathomethat

and

Lenaonlyconsidered

an

eccentricbehaviorofher

mother’S.When

Yingying

murmured

inChineseatthedeath

ofherbabyinhospiml.sheblamedherselffornot

efficiently

are

stoppingthe

accident,…Chinese

or

culturepermitspeople

toavoid

malignanceifthey

equippedwitllcertainfaith

to

protectionmorefor

asa

accordingtotherules.Herwords

sounded

incomprehensible

thedaughterand

even

herhusband.However,itistheChinese

belief

thathelpedYingying

become

strongagain

‘。tiger”tooffer‘"chf’toLena,SOastogivesomestrcng出totideher

over

themarriage

difficulty,though

and

LenadidnotrealizethatitWasfromhermotherthatsheregainedcourage

wisdomtoconfrontthecrueltyof

Americanculture.Similarly'Waverly’S

help-…the

failureinclass-

playingresultssomewhatfromthelackofhermother’Sequipsherwithinvisiblesuength.

Infact,themothers,thesilenced

powerful“、vind”which

and

marginalizedwomen,hadalso

on

acceptedAmerican

hadtolearn

culture

English

to

someextent.Atthebeginningoftheirsettlement

getin

thenew

land,they

and

contactwith

thenatives.Religionistheeasiestwayforthemtoknowpeople

and

themembersofJoyLuckClubcametoknoweachotherinchurch,forsometimes。they

wouldseekhelpfrom

ChristianGodat

emergency.

.29.

!!::呈:!:!茎:!:::!兰::!:!!!竺:!!:竺!!兰:呈!!!:錾:

Stimulatedbydeeplovetowardherson,AnmeiHsuactedwithstrangeresolutionandbraveryinanattempttofindherdrownedson,whichamazedRoseinherconfessionofherownnegligence.CarryingtheBibleinthemorning,AnmeiHsuprayedwithzealouspietyandfaithinthehopeofsavinghersonmiraculouslywiththehelpofbothwesternGodandChinesefaith.However,allherendeavorwasuseless.ShejudgedwesternGodinapracticalway…?sinceGoddidnothavethepowertOsaveherson,shelefttheBibleintactafterwards.InChineseculture.thegodswillheartherequestoftheworshipperifheorsheprayswithenoughpietyandtheywillsatisfyhis/herdemandthereafter.Forthemothers,theywouldemploywesternreligioninemergencyandmakeculturalconcessionwhenitisnecessary.

Withthecombinedinfluenceofreligion,publicattitude,educationandpoliticalstatusofdifferentclassesandethnicgroupsinsociety,themother-daughterrelationshipgoesfarbeyondgenerationalgapandcontainsculturalconflicts,andisexpectedtomovefromconfrontationtoreconciliationandcommunicationonthebaseofmutualunderstandingandcomprehension.4.5EmpowermentofMothersandDaughtersasWomenThedaughters’reconnectiontothemotherlinenotonlyplaysallessentialroleinhelpingtheassimilateddaughtersembracetheirracialandculturalidentityasawhole,butalsoconstitutesanimportantmodeofresistanceandempowerment??-?-?--fordaughtersandmothersalike一一?—?inthefaceofthedevouringpatriarchy.Manyfeministshavenoticedthatthemother-daughterbondcanempowerboththemotheranddaughter.E.AnnKaplanstates,“Motherhooddoesnotimplyareaffirmationofthephallusbutratherasubversivemoment.’’”Inherargument,KaplanmakesuseofKristeva’sideathatingivingbirth,“thewomenentersintocontactwithhermother,"shebecomes,sheisherOwnmother;thevarethesamecontinuitydifferentiatingitsel厂“andinthisprocess,woman‘"actualizesl}lehomosexual缸cetofmotherhood,throughwhichawomanissimultaneouslyclosertoherinstinctualmemory,morenugatoryofthesocialsymbolicbond’’”Kristeva’Sideaindicatesthecontinuitybetweenmotheranddaughter,anditimpliesthatmotherhoodortheroleofmotherisnotofferingmaleheirsto,therefore,thecontinuityforapatriarchalfamily.Itemphasizesthatthefunctionofmotherhoodistoteachawoman/daughtermorenugatoryaboutthesocialandsymbolicbondthatisimposeduponbothmotheranddaughterbypatriarchalfamilysystem.

Tocopewithmaledominancegenerallyandthemenwhohavecausedthemmuchsufferingspecifically,thedaughtersreclaimthemother-daughterbondanddependontheirmothersforafeministlessonofstrengthandagencybecausealmostallthemothershaveoncelivedtraumaticlivesinfeudalChina.Theywereoncethevictimsofthetraditionalrulesandhavebeensilentandsubmissive.Theyhavefocusedtheirenergiesonfulfillingtheirobligationasdaughter,wifeandmother,buttheirownvalueshaveneverbeenrecognized.Thenthrough.30.

!!:::!!!:篓!!!尘!些呈::::耋!!錾!!!!兰:!:!墼堡:

theirowncourageandwisdom,theysuccessfullyrebelledagainstthefeudalistrulesand

constraintsandimmigratedtotheUnitedStates.

4.5.1TraumaticExperiencesoftheMothersinFeudaIChina

IntraditionalChinesefeudalsociety,awomanisidentifiedthrough

traditionalrelationship.Shemustinhabit

herrole

in

identitythathasbeencodifiedbytheseverely

patriarchalculture,inwhichthestandardforjudging

womenwaswhether

or

nottheywere

passiveandsilent

as

daughters,wivesand

mothers.

LindoJongistheprotagonistofTheJoyLuckClub.Inlightofthesocietyshegrewupin.

shehadtriedtobe‘‘agoodgirl”.TobeLindo

once

an

obedient

daughter,tokeepherparents’promise,

to

sacrificedherlife.Attheageoftwo,Lindowas

spoiledboy

one

betrothed

theHuangfamily’s

son-…Tyan-yu.ayam@began

irritatedby

yearyoungerthanLondo.Afterthat,Lindosaid,“myown

treatingmeas簪I

belongedtosomebodyelse.”“Insteadoffeelinghurtand

the

family’s

mistreatment

Lindo,the

obedient

dau曲ter,tried

to

seek

all

understandingofanysympathyforhershedidn}loveme,Shewouldsomethingthatwas

no

mother.“Mymother西甜nottreatmethiswaybecause

say

this

bitingbackhertongue,5Dshewouldn}wish

for

longerhers.”。AsLindounderstoodit,hermotherrejection

wasbut

defensivemaskforherownvulnerability

andlove.When

sheutteredthoseconventionalwords,

hermotherwasactuallyforcingherselftoswallowandlearntolikethetasteofbitterpills.

When

shewastwelveyearsold,Lindowas

considered

oldenoughto

be

senttolivewith

Huangs.Attheirdeparane,hermotherkeptthesewordsinherheart

accuse

said,“Obeyyourfanily,Donotdisgrace觚’’7。Lindo

soso

andwasdeterminedtohonorthemHuangTaitaicould

never

hermotheroflosingface.Forthenextfewyears,shewasoppressedbyhuangTaitai

thatshe

became

littlemorethan

servantwhowas

contentto

pleaseHuangTaitaiandTyan?yu.herfate

as

Eventhoughshedidnot

want

tomarry,LindosilentlyacceptedTyall-yu’s

wife.She

when

learnedtoshowloveforherhusbandand

be

anobedientwife嬲shewas

hadnot

taught.but

HuangTaitaiorderedLindotolieinbedallhadtimetothink

daybecauseshe

conceived,Lindo

finally

and

becomeherselfagain.Shehadpromisedtoherself,yearsagoather

wedding,thatshewouldneverforgetwhoshewas.Onherwedding

day,Lindo

once

cameto

herself-consciousnessandaskedherself,‘‘What捃trueaboutinthemirror,shewassurprised

thoughtsinsidethat

noone

person?’’7

When

shelooked

tofindthatshe

wasstrong,shewaspure,andshehadgenuine

couldevertakeaway.

outa

Later,onthedayoftheFestivalofPureBrightness,Lindocarried

plan

tosetherself

freefromhermiserablemarriagewithoutbreakingherpromisetoherfamily.Shemadethe

Huangs

pregnant

believethatTyan—yuwoulddieifhestayedinhismarriagewim

Lindo.and

thatthe

servant

girlhadTyan-yu’s

seedplantedinher

wombandwashistruespiritualwife.

.31.

!!::::些竺!!!兰!呈!坚竺型!竺竺坚——一

Inthisway。Lindocunninglymadethe

Hnnags

thinkthatitwastheirideastogetridofher.tO

offerLindoenoughmoneytobuy

saythatthemarriagecontractwasnotvalid,and

ticketto

Amedca.Notuntilthendidthisrebelliouswomanobtainherchanceofachievinghappiness

throughherownaction.

4.5.2OmnipresenceofPatriarchy

Thedaughters.despimtheirAmericallbirth,are

by

no

meansimmuneto

as

gender

discriminationalthoughtheAmericanpatriarchalsocietyseemsnowherenear

brutalasthe

cases。

Chinesesocietyinwhichtheirmothershaveliveduntilmiddleage,Nonethelessinboth

as

PhillipaKafkarightlypointsout。“Themenwhombothgenerationsencounterhavemade

the

rulesfor

In

theirownadvantageandforwomen'soppression.”’5

The

JoyLuckClub,Rosehasdeveloped

on

relationshipwithTedthatischaracterizedby

submissivenessanddependencefromtheverybeginning:

Rose’Spartanddomination

andcontrol

on

Ted’Spartright

Withimaginedtragedyhovering

ovey

us,webecameinseparable。twohalvescreatingthe

whole:yinandyang,1wasvictimto矗括hero.1wasalwaysindangerandhewasalwaysrescuingme.1

wouldfalland加would如疗me

ofUS.and

up…Theemotional

as

effectofsaving

ever

andbeing

saved

wasaddictingtoboth

that,asmuch

anythingwe

didinbed,washow

wemadelovetO

eachother:conjoinedwheremyweaknessneededprotection.79

and

consolidatedaftertheyhavegotmarried,with

Thispatternofinequalityisreinforced

Ted

taking

over

whathecalls‘‘decisionandresponsibility'’80andRosefeelingcomfortablesilentandpassiveprotege.Forfourteen

withherroleof

years,Tedhas

takengreatpleasureinmedicalaccidentrobs

makingfamilydecisionswithoutbotheringtoconsultwithRoseuntilhimofhisself-confidencefrustrationby

and

self-complacency.As

is

indecisive

consequence,TedgivesventtOhis

useless

as

complainingthatRose

and

marriagepartner.

Dissatisfiedwithhisformerlyperfectcreation,Tedrelentlesslypushesfor

thesametime

divorcewhile

at

planning

ona

newmarriage.Arichmall

at

as

heis。henOWwantstogetridofhis

wifeatthecostoftenthousanddollars

most.Ted,essentiallyanegocentricman,expects

him

thosearoundhim,particularlyhiswife,to

serve

andpander

tohim.Overthe

yearsoftheir

an

marriage,Rose’SlossofselfhasfunctionedtoRose’Stotaldependence

burdenratherthan

asset.heisdetermined,inRose’Sownwords,to‘『=justpull(her)outof仿is)lifeandthrow历P—

away,’’51Rosehasadmittedlydeveloped

yielding

and

irresolutecharacterbeforeshemeets

Tedlwhoactivelymoldsheragainatwill.

Thefive—yearmarriageofLena,Ying-ying’Sdaughterhasbroughthermoreangerand

biuernessthansatisfaction

andhappiness.Byandat

mutualconsent,Lena’Srelationshipwithher

husbandHaroldbothathome

workissuchthattheyCan“eliminatefalsedependencies…

.32.

!!竺型垒::::!:!呈:::些坠型!至:垒坠窒

beequab…lovewithoutobligations.’“Tiffs,however,appearstobe

on

healthyequalitybasedmale

economic

independenceandemotional

mutuality

butis

really

dominanceand

thatsheandHaroldareequalsineverywayexceptthather

exploitationindisguise.Lenafeelssalary

is

seven

timesless

thanhis.TheirunequalearningpoweriscausedbyHarold’s

tohercontributiontotheestablishment

unwillingnesstopromoteandpayheraccordingsubsequent

SUCCESS

and

ofthearchitectural

seems

firm.Asthe

on

nameofthe

finn一-“Livotny

as“a

&Associates”….indicates.Harold

having

bent

not

maintaininghispositionpartner"and

Lena够“anassociate'’.Lenais

plausible

reasons

unawareofHarold’sunfairtreatment,butshe

simplyacceptsthe

thathehasofferedwithout

anyprotest.Overtheyears,

costoflivingwith

Lenahasbeenusedtokeepingher

separatepersonalaccountandsharingthe

husband.Whatunsettlesher,however,isherrealizationthatHaroldfailstonoticeher

dislikeoficecream

and

refusestopayforanythingthatpleasesher.Lenabeginsto

sense

that

hermarriageisdeteriorating,butshecannotisYing-ying’smotherwhohelpshergainand

formulateaclear

ideaofwhattheproblemsare.it

all

insightbynoting

that

Harold“cannot

see

her”.

that‘"she

like

ghost,disappears.’’”With

capitalistmind.HarolddeemsitLena’schief

functiontoprovidecheaplaborforhiswholebusinessabout

firm

andPaysomehalfofthehouseholdexpenses.The

sense

beingequals

endsinbolsteringupHarold’sofmalesuperiorityand

economiccontr01.CaroynSeeiscertainlyrightthinking,this

'OUt

rightinobservingthat“加thename

so

offeminism

and

so

husbandis

takingLenaforeverycentsheigot,butshei

demoralized

has

no

ofbalance’加the

is

Chinesesense.thatshecan}do

thingaboutit.’’84

Lena

secure

sense

oftheself.Herself-worthismeasuredbyher

she

husband’s

recognitionof

andloveforher.

is

Although

economically

independent----??-also

inferior,unfortunately?????-?-she

psychologicallydependent

upon

her

husband.

4.5.3Empowerof

When

Mother-daughterBond

have

troubles

thedaughters

thantheir

andbe

inneedofrescue,the

rescuercannot

on

beby

anybodyothermothers.They

mustleam

feministlessonofstrengthpassed

theirmothersinorderto

empower

themselves.HoweveLthe

daughters

cannot

be

expectedto

rum

totheirmothersforhelpowingtotheirlong-standing

distrustoftheirmothers.Therefore,

themothersmusttaketheinitiativeinreachingouttothedaughterslessons.

Rose

and

teachingthemthe

can

neitherthinkof

wayto

save

hermarriage

nor

standupforherselfandfight

divorce.Eversinceherchildhood,Rosehasbelievedthat‘‘maybeitwas

fateallalong,that

廊ithwasjustan

illusionthatsomehowyou'reincontr01.Ifoundout

themostIcouMhavewas

hope.andwiththatlwasnotdenyinganypossibili班goodorbad.’’85shecustomarilyleaveshermarriage

Andnowatthisjuncture,

choice/Nochoice/”86

andher

lifeinthe

handsoffate.‘"No

.33.

!!::::些::錾::!!圣:!耋!:呈!!::竺!!::!:坠:::

Rose’slackofpsychologicalautonomyaswellasfaithinherownagency.whichaccountforhervictimizationbyTed,isputintoperspectivebyhermother:

“1wasraisedtheChineseway:1wastaughttodesirenothing,toswallowotherpeoplelmisery,toeatmyownbiHerness.And

cameoutthesameeventhough,taughtmydaughtertheopposite.stillshengirl.Andway!Maybeitisbecauseshewasborntomeandshewasbornlwasborntomymotherand,wasbornagirlAllofusarelikestairs.onestepafteranothe,:goingupanddown,butallgoingthesameway.”67

Butinsteadofcapitulatingto“fate”.An-meihasafirmbeliefinwomen’sagency.or‘‘nengkan”.anabilitytoaccomplishanythingtheysettheirmindto.Themother-daughterbondandmotheringasnurturanceandguidance,An—meiclaims,aretheonlyroadtostrengthforthedaughterwhilemother-daughterseparationdefinitelyleadstodisempowerment:

‘叫girl括likeayoungtree.Youmuststandtallandlistentoyourmotherstandingnextto

growstrongandstraight.Butyou.Thatistheonlywaytoifyoubendtolistentootherpeople.

wildinanydirection.youwillgrowcrookedandweak.Youwillbelikeaweed,growing

runningalongthegrounduntilsomeonepullsyououtandthrowsyouaway.”88

Overtheyears.Rosehasbeenplaying‘‘victim’’toTed

actually?r--????andnow,shemustleamathe“hero’’…-“villain’’toonthecore.feministlessonofstrengthpassed

onbyhermotherinordertoempowerherself.BothofAn-mei’snarratives,focusingherrelationshipwithher

ownmotherinChina,areaddressedtoRose.Inherfirststory,“Scar,’’An-meirecountshermother’sreunionwithPoposhortlybeforethelatter’sdeathandherownrekindledloveforhermotherandaffirmstheindissolubletiesbetweenmotheranddaughter.Andtheninthesecond

asanarrative,“Magpies,”An?mei

feudalrelatesthetragiclifeofherdisgracedmotherconcubineinChina.An?mei’s

Themotherhaschosentosuffersilentlyandthereisonlyoneonalternative…一suicide.Whenshefindsthatthepainistoomuchtobear,sheseeksrevengestoryofAn—mei’smotherindicatesthatonehervictimizerschoicebetween

reconnectswithbykillingherselfcontrollingone’scanmakeaownlife。An—mei’stalkstoriesabouther

agrandmother,Rosethemotherline,ofwhichsheis

themalepart.Andinsodoing,RoseisempoweredtostanduptoTedneverchauvinistwho,scaredandconfused,canmanipulateheragainasifshewere“nothing.’’

LikeRose,Lenaneedshelp

rescue.Inbothcases.theandagainitishermotherYing?yingwhohascometoheramother-daughterbond…?orrather.reconnection一一isadvocatedas

casesmodeofresistanceandempowerment.Bothinvolvethereclamationofmemoriesofthe

motherline,butYing-ying’sapproachisdifferentfromthatofAn.meiinthatsherecollectsherownvictimizationinbothChineseandAmericanpatriarchal

savesocietieswhileAn.meirecallsherscarsmother’StragiclifeinChina.Intryingto

layerbylayerLena,Ying—yingripsopentheinherheartandlooksintothebloodyandpainful

.34.woundinflicteduponherlargelybytwo

!!:::型型竺!!!圣:呈尘竺:::型!::型些窒

males,herformerChinese

husband

andherlateAmerican

husband,Clifford

St.CIair.As

littlesift,Ying—yingisinnocent,trustful,restless,and‘"Lihai.Wildandstubborn…toOgoodto

listen.’’89Butafterbeingmarriedtoyinglosesher

and

later

abandoned

by

cold—hearted

womanizer,Ⅵng—

strength…一the

and

fierce“goldside”ofthe

tiger-…andbecomes‘"ghost—like’’90

Fourteenyearslaterwhenshelearnsofthedeathofherformerhusband,Ying—yingacceptsSt.Clair’sproposal

followshimto

side”andletSt.Clairrummore

America.Bynowshehasgivenuphercunning‘‘black

herinto‘‘口tigerghost.州1HerAmericanhusband.whoismuch

husband,nevertheless

furthertransformsheraccordingtohis

spiritthatcausedhertomuch

benign

thanherChinese

ownfantasy

andleaveshercompletelywithout

none

her‘锄£the

other

pain."’”Her“chf’or‘"spirif’.actually,is

E.D.Huntley’swords.“theessential

than

herownfemaleself,ortoborrow

self,herpersonalityanddistinctiveidentity.”93Now

an

seeingLena’sinabilitytotacklewithherproblematicmarriage,Ying—yingfeels

urgetotell

herdaulghtereverythingaboutherpainfulpastwherehertrue

self,her‘'tigerspirit”andher“clli”lie

dormant.Inspeaking

herwordsof

pain-一and

once

alsowordsoflove一一Ying—yingwill

reconnectnotonlywith

thewomanthatshe

wasbutalsoherlostdaughterandsucceedin

cuttingloosethetigerspiritinrecognizes

the

both

herselfandherdaughter.As

lovingmother,Ying—ying

way

to

importance

of

memory

as

and

speech

as

the

necessary

mutual

empowermentforherandher

The

daughterwoman?alliesagainstpatriarchy

initsvariousforms.

mother-daughterreconciliationisnotonlyhelpfulfortheconstructionoftheethnic

identityofthemothersand

daughtem,but

alsohelpfulforthemtoresistagainstpatriarchy.In

thenovels.allthemothershadsuffered

lotinthefeudal

China,andtoo.When

thethe

daughtersdaughters

inthe

are

UnitedStatescannotescapefromthegenderdiscriminationneedofhelp,themothersreclaimtheirpastthem

in

and

telltheirdaughterstheirstories。Thereunionof

canempowerbothofthem.

.35.

i!:尘些彗些!!:筌!!!!型塑!!:型型竺

5FamilyastheSourceforCulturalDevelopment5.1TheImportanceofFamilyforCulture

Humanbeingsarenotonlythecarrierofculturaltraditionandreproductionbutalsothesubjectandeventhecreatorofcertainculture.Culturaltraditionisitselftheorganicsystemofalltheculturalelementsproducedoutofthecharacteristicsindifferentformsbythehumanbeings.whicharestillOntheroadofevolution.Thepersonwhohasinternalizedcertainculture

asawithinhimself/herselfhasacquiredthesocialquality,andwhatnecessaryforthesurvival

humanbeingwithinthesociety.Family

inseparablepartofculture.Intransferring

familyhasbeenplayingaasthebaSicunitofsocietyhasalwaysbeenananew-bornbabyintoasocializedhumanbeing,mostimportantrole.

onFamilyisthebasicunittocarry

ofthepeopleinaculturalforms?-?-?-??sincecultureillustratesthelifestyletheessencecertaincommunityandexternalizesofhumanbeings-?-?-r-?throughtheyoungergenerationlearningfromtheoldergenerationaboutthewaysofaffectation,behaviorandevaluationwithinthesociety.Atthesametime,family,the

akindergartenforfundamentaleducationoftheyoung,alsoshapesindividualswithitsownuniquestylequalitybesidesthegeneralculturalinfluence.soastocreate

ethnicandrace,withsharedspiritualstate,lifestyledistinctivecultureofaandcertainalsoandpsychologicalquality.anddifferencesbetweentheindividuals.

Familyprovidestheenvironmentofcommunity,affectation,parents’responsibilityforthe

onchildren,andcoincidentally,children’Sstrongreliance

decisiveroleinthetheparents.Thusfamilyplaysaadaptationofsocialstandardsandculturalnormsbygenerations.

senseTosummarize,familyisthecradleforthehumanculturemmeoftradition-handing—

on.education(includingknowledge,ethics,religion,norms)andpreparationforsocialparticipation.

5.2TheFamily’SRoleintheNovel

Centeredonthemother-daughterrelationship,TheJoyLuckClubnevergoesawayfromthe

afamilyissues.Familywiththeclashesbetweenthemothersanddaughters,becomessymbolic

sitefortheconflictbetweentheculturesinwhichtheyrepresent,andfinallythebirthplaceforChineseAmericanculture.

111enoveltakesaclose‘upuponeachfamilymemberandtheirpsychologicalandculturaljoumeytheyhadtaken,fromtheoldChinesefamily,theimmigrantfamilytothemodemAmericanfamily.Asthe

present,familybecomesoriginalplacefordifferentculturesthatdifferentculturalidentitiesthefocusofthegenerationalgap。culturalconflictsand

,36.language

些竺坠!!竺!:坚!!:型些!呈型:2尘垩

mistranslation.Family,inwhichdisharmonyappears,intensifiestheconflict,andsuddenlyhears

becauseofthedeathofSuyuan,andfinallyleadsthewomenin

pauseforeverything

save

thebooktodissolvethecontradictionandintendedtoexpress.

thelossofmeaningthatthemothershad

once

5。3TheConceptof“Family”fromChinatotheUSA

Inthenovel,thedaughtersoftheolder

generation(the

no

futuremothersofthe

American-born

hardshipthey

daughters)can

easilydecidetogetbackhome

matterwhathumiliation

or

wouldface,whilethe

daughtersofthe

and

youngergenerationarealwaysinsearchofawaytofree

themselvesfromtheirfamilythusawayfrom‘'thecontrol”ofthemothers.

5。3.1BreakingAwayFromtheFamily

Raisedwiththeheavyinfluenceoftraditional

hadcollapsedin

Chinesemorals,thoughthefeudalsystem

turbulentsocialsituation,themotherswerestillbrainwashedtoacceptthe

fbuda“sticideaswhichrequirewomenofobediencetotheelders.toallthemeninthefamilyandinthesociety,ofcompletef缸mtothehonorand

face

ofherparents

and

her

husband’g

family.Thoughborn

to

be

resistantagainsttheseideasintheirsearchofhappinessandself-

setby

recognition,themothersstillacceptsomeideasChineseideology.Themothers’

againtheprimacyofthe

delineationofearlytwentieth—centuryChinastressesagain

and

family

asthefoundationofidentity

and

criterionforan

individual’splacementin

mostsocial

situations.Therefore,theactson—stage

betweenbalance

mothers

and

daughters,botlltheminorityin

family

loyaltysystemandtherebelfor

betweeninterdependent

family

identity

on

and

individual

selfhood,become

life.

pairofefficientlensesforthewatcherstofocus

Chinese

Americanwomen’s

Inthestory

ofMoon

Lady,Yingyingwas

tomboy,alwayscurious

about

newthingsinher

lifeexperience.However,sufferingisolationfromothercriticismfullofmystic

evilwordsfromhermost

familymembersontheboat,theintimateAmah,andtheincantatory

throughan

wereherfamilydoingwhenshewas

environmentwithinthenight

and

water,Yingyingfellintothewaterandwent

on

adventuretill

goingwish

shewassavedandleRalone

board.What

throughsomuchhardshipandrisk?Evenwasshatteredwhenthemoonladyturned

her

thelong—cherisheddreamtoexpress

outtobea

secret

man

whocruellyneglectedher

sincere嘶sh.Backto

before.The

family,though,Y'mgying

believed

shewashardlywhoshe

had

been

adventure

ofbreakingawayfromthefamilytaughther

on

hardlesson,sothatwhen

thefirstmarriagewas

thefringeoftopplingdown,shechosetohideinherfamily

or

and

lived

life.blindtoeithermisery

happiness.

IntheepisodeofARedCandle,LindoJonghadfullempathytoherparents’decisionofleavinghertoherfuturehusband’shouse

forever,though

.37.

thedecisionofChinesest)7lehas

i!:呈:!:筌:坚!::呈:!兰!:!::呈!呈!:!!:呈!錾尘

never

takenintoconsiderationhertruehappinessandself-respect。IntraditionalChinese

no

concept,thereispossibilityfor

an

unmarriedgirl

or

tohave

herselfidentified

or

respected.

Lindoknewherlifevaluelayinthesacrificehonorandpraiseforherclan

herselfforothers.......-tobe

continueher

goodwifetobringblood.Equipped

andgive

birthtoasonto

husband’s

withgoodunderstandingofthefeudalisticrequirementsuponwomen,shewaswillingtobearhumblyunfairlyphysical

andpsychological

treatmentand

even

enjoythesuperciliouspraise

intentionofpaidreal

difficulttowinfromhermother-in.1awandherhusband.However,withthehidden

breakingawayfromherattentiontoherfeelings

husband’sand

familyshetacticallycheatedthemwho

never

leftthe

family

whilesaving

another

girlwhowasdesexedin

ofherselfatheart,

pregnancy,fromhumiliationtohonorof

higher

position.Consciousness

shealwayscherishedwhatshehadbroughttoherfamily一?-????honor.

An-meiHsu’smotherhadsufferedremarriedconcubineatthemeanly

lotofunbearabledegradationshewasforeedtomakesuch

and

humiliation

asa

time,though

choiceafterbeing

tricked.When

shecut

pieceoffleshfromherarmforherdyingmother,Popo,

Chinesemoralswhichrequireheartyupon

her-?r?—?another

daughterwhocould

never

breakthe

curboffamilyvaluesthoughshehadtried:theonlyresultforrebelliouswomenatthattimeis

tojump

outofone

abyssandintoanother,noneofwhichprovidetherightplaceforthem.

FamilyisthecentralideafortraditionalChineseculture,asfamilyisplaceduponthesameimportantpositionas

one’s

country.Onereasonisthefeudalisticcontrolwithfamily

asa

solidabout

base;anotherthetraditionalethicprinciples,whichleadtheChinesepeopletohometownwhentheconceptsofbloodandbirthplacefamily

are

care

mixedtogether,toworshiptheir

courtformaterialand

clan

intheirancestral

hall,andtoregardfamilyasthemajor

spiritualsupportandbaseforsocialstatus.Thesteadiness

are

and

superpositionoffamilyvalues

the

reason

whyChineseputmuchemphasisupon

family

and

theaffectationbetweenthe

one

clanandfamilymembers,especiallywhentheygenerallyspendtheirwholelifein一the

place…

hometown,andseldommakeideologicalexchangeswith

others.Itisthroughthestrong

centripetalattractionfromfamilythattheChineseare,asofthefeudalsystemic

whole,easilytakenintotherange

contr01.Therefore,familyis

thebasisforthebenefitofthecountry,and

epitomeofthecountry,andthusispositionedwithuttermost

respect.Familyhonoris

andpromotion.

regarded

withgreatrespectandrequireslifelongendeavorforitspreservation

Inspiredbythedisorderlysocialenvironmentandoverturnedfeudalsystem,themotherstriedtofreethemselvesfromoldfettersstruggleto

andsearchedforrecognition.However,their

one

final

break

thecontrolof

family

istheirdeparturefromChina,whichcutstheirconcrete

relationshipwiththecountrytheirfamilies

and

Chinese

family

values.Whatisuncleartotheirstrongcontinuity)

American—borndaughters

isthatChineseculturestillhasits

influence(with

upontheevaluationandmoralsystemoftheirmothers,althoughthe

.38.

eastissofaraway

and

the

i!些:窒筌:!!!::垩:!!!!!!些呈!呈:::!:!呈!竺

newwesternworldis

SO

::。

deeplymeBedintotheirdailylife.

GenerationsofChinesewooers,beforenon-discriminativeimmigrationactshadbeenputintoeffect.hadkeptintheirmindstheirChinesehopesandhopedtheywouldgobackandhave

lookattheoldlovablethingsintheirhometown.Mostofthemdiedinpainfulbutpleasant

leftunrealized.NewimmigrantswhoaroundtheliberationofChinain

nostalgiawithdreams1949

Canhardly

dilutetheirChinesehome

are

notas

strong船thosebefore.Thefamilystories

thattookplaceinChinaarealwayshauntingintheirminds,withintheirvoicesthenovel.

Homeforthemisdeparture

and

throughout

partoftheirlivesthatcannotbetakenaway

resolutiontObuild

and

on

simply

deleted

by

anddistance.Their

on

newChinesehomethenewlandwill

certainlybebasedgenerationeagertOblind

as

theirChinesefamilyvalues,which

fromtheir

makethedaughtersof

versionof

new

escapehighexpectation(Chinese

AmericanDream),

obedience

to

theirmothers,Chinesewayofharshcriticismandmysticalbeliefs(regarded

superstitionbythedaughters).Allthe

are

silent

competition,opendevianceandenmitybetween

themothersand

daughters

infacttheChinese

family

for

valueagainst

Americancultureofflee

American

identity

that

development,equality,simplicityandalSOignoranceoffamilyaffectation.

The

daughters

also‘‘narratetheirsearch

Chinese

incorporatesallthecontributionstheir"American’selvesanddisparate

oftheirmothers’liveswithoutcompromisingthestabilityof

lives…ifthe

can

mothers’storiespresentwithsomeclaritythe

influences

andelementthat

affectthedevelopmentof

compoundChinese

Americanidenti够thedaughters’narrativesexplorethecontinuingprocessofbalancing

those

influences,a

are

processthatisnecessaryfor

boththeindividuals

andthe

newcommunitieslhey

creating.””Theirstoriesproverepeatedlythenecessitytounderstandmothers’stories

and

incorporatethemintothedaughters’searchfortheirownChineseAmerican

identity.

WhenWaverly

hermotherisusingtraditionalChinesestrategytoshowoffher

daughter’S

success,

shoutedout

shame

andrepugnancy,much

beyondthemother’Sexpectationupon

daughter’Sbehavior.Aftertheirquarrel.thereissomethingabnormalcomingintomother’sintentionalneglectof

being一-the

Waverly(revenge,hurtdisappointment,pretendedisolationof

the

daughter

withstifled

hopes)andWaverly’s

pretenseofgivingupthechess—playing(searchbyChinese

forself,oppositionagainstauthority

endowed

culture).This

strugglefindsthe

daughtermakingconcessionfirst,whenitistoolateforhertOregainthemystical‘'wind’’

inheritedfromhermother’sexpectationandnecessityforthepoppingoutin

bragging.Whatthisstoryimpliesseemstobethe

SO

daughters

togetstrength

fromthemothersastofacethefrustration

life.The

storyends

withWaverly’s

quittingchess—playingforeveLwhileJing-hurtseverybody

meialsofallsintounsolvedregretwithinthewiderapartallofasudden.

family

and

tearsthegapeven

.39.

i!:尘坚筌些:!坚尘:!些型呈:型:墼型

Marriageofthedaughtersmeanstheirdeparturefromthefamily,especiallyThedaughtersinTheJoyLuckClubhavenevertothemothers.succeededinobtainingfromtheirmothersthesatisfactionandagreementfortheirfuturehusband.TheproblemliesinthefactthatthedaughtersareeducatedinaChinesefamilyaftertheycomebackhomeandclosethedoorbehindtotheoutsideAmericanculturesincetheirchildhood.TheyfeelitdifficulttodisposecompletelyofChinesefamilyvaluethathasactuallyrootedinside

leavethefamilythem.Whentheycanlegallythroughmarriage…-thesymbolofenteringadulthood,theyfollowChinese

acustomstobringtheirhusbandunderthescrutinyofthereluctantmothers.Itistoohardfor

mothertoacceptherdaughter’sintentionofleavingthefamilybysettingupanotherfamilyofherownwill,andmoredifficultforhertoaccepttheson—in-law(theintruderofanotherdominantculture)whowill

BeforeneverbewillingtounderstandChinesefamilyculture.Waverlybroughtherboyfriend,Rich,tohermother,shewasscaredandnervousthathermotherwouldspoileverything.HerchatwithhergirlfriendrevealsdifferentattitudestakenbyAmericanandChinesedaughters???????-herfrienddealswith

motherwhileWaverly,thoughconsciousoftheAmerican

aeasetherejectionfromandoutnotionofindependencedemocracy,feelsthenecessitytorespecthermother’sideatodegree.Thesituationtums

tobebeyondhercontrolwhentheyhaveamealtogether:Richsimplynodsathermother’sChinesemodestytoapologizefortheimperfectnessofthemealwhilehermotheriscriticalaboutRich’sfrecklesonthefaceandhisnumbnesstoChineculture.ThereisabigironywhenWaverly

andhastofacehermother’sstubborndissatisfactionandcoldnesstowardstheirmarriageRich’snaivecontentednessatthismeetingandhismockingathermother’sawkwardEnglishatthesametime.WhenChineseculturesupportedbyfamilynormschallenges

tostopherAmericanculturewhichtriestodissolveeverylimitationupon

mother’seasydismissalofherboyfriend.almostlosesher

mothers’authorityissolidlyprotectedself.Waverly,unabledirection.Withintothefamily,thethoughthedaughtersaretaughtrebelagainstauthority.Whatthedaughtersaretryingtodoistoreachsomeconcessionbetweentheirmothersandthemselves,tothedegreewheretheirAmericanprinciplescanremainintactwhiletheirmothers’Chineseauthorityisstillin

concession,beforecontr01.Waverly’sstoryprovestheimpossibilityofsuchWaverlynevertrulyunderstandsthereasonforhermother’sdisagreement(thoughsheagreesthat“cookingwashowmymotherexpressedherlove,herpride.her

Richneverpower…””)andpreparestocomeclosertoChineseculture.Waverly’ssecond

attempttoleaveherfamilyinadulthoodseemstofallintothecyclewithfrustrationanddilemmaofherchildhood’sexperience.

Breakingawayfromthefamilyisthethemeinthegrowthofthedaughtersofyoungergeneration’sdaughters.Thethemeismarkedwithharshstruggle,culturalclashes.disposalofone’sorigininvain(aRerall,Chinaistheoriginfortheirlivesandtheoriginwhichprovides

:!竺坠筌些:::錾:坠呈坠堡!墼型12竺竺

strengthfortheirmotherstobuildthenewhomeintheUSA),andfailurewithouttheinspirationfromthemothers.Itistruethatapersoncannotachieveself-actualizationwithoutfirstidentifyinghis/herrelationshipwithhis/herownculturalheritage.TobeahyphenatedAmerican。however,alsomeansthattheyareblessedwithtwoculturesandCanhavethefreedomandluxurytobeselective.

5.3.2ReturningHome

Homeistheplacealwaysofpriorityinthemindofthemotherswhethertlleyalemarriedornot,theyateinChinaorintheUSA,thoughthesocialrealityteachesthemthenecessitytoclaimindependenceagainstthefeudalisticcontrol,includingthefamilyfetters.Thus,faith,attachment,rootandsenseofbelongingalethedefinitionstheyhavelabeledtheirhomeswith.ThatisthereasonwhyLindosacrificesherhappinessforthevainhonorofherfamily,whyAn—meiHsu’Smothercamebacktofulfillherfilialperformancewillingly,thoughshewascleataboutherfailuretowinrecognitionandwhyYingyinghidherselfintheshelterofherfamilyaftershefailedinherfirstmarriage.AftertheirimmigrationtotheUSA.theytakepainstokeeptheirChineselifestyleunderthepressureofcontemptanddiscrimination,clingingtothesymbolizedconceptof“returninghome”withintheirAmericanenvironmentandrefuseanypossibilityofassimilationandacculturation.

ThedaughtersoftheyoungergenerationhavetriedhardwiththespiritualweaponofwestemindependenceandeasyaccesstotheEnglish—speakingAmericansocietytofreethemselvesfromChinesehome-ties,establishedbytheirmothersthroughtheiroralstoriesintheChineselanguageandauthorizedtranslationofChinesebeliefs(Suyuanoncesaid,“Onlytwokin&o厂daughters.Thosewhoareobedientandthosewhofollowtheirownmind/Onlyonekindofdaughtercanliveinthishouse.Obedientdaughter/’’1AnmeiinthefrontwordofthechapterentitledThetwenty-sixMalignantGatessaid,‘'/tiswritteninChinese.YoucannotunderstandifThatiswhyyoumustlistentOme.’…ThemothersalsocreatedaChineseenvironmentthroughChinesefood,mahjong,get-together,etc.However,intheirattempttobreakthetiesofChineseculture.thedaughtersdiscoverfinallytheyhavetoreturntowheretheybegintheirjoumey.

Waverlycriedoutherresistanceagainsthermother’Svanity.Shebeganrunningaimlesslyuntilshefoundadeadendinfrontofher.Hersub-consciousnessbroughtherbackhomewhere

deeplyhurtmotherhaddecidedtOburyinhermindherhighexpectationofWaverly’Sfuture.Thechangedfamilyatmospherewasnotwhatithadbeen.Waverlylostherpreviousinspirationandthemagicalweaponendowedbyhermother.Herhome-returnwouldhavebeenmeaninglesswithoutsuccessfulcommunicationwithhermother.

LenaSt.Clairreturnedhomeandtookhermothertoherownhouse,whoimmediately.41.the

i!:竺:坚茎!!:!::錾:!::!:!些呈!呈!兰!:2呈呈:!

realizedtheseriousprobleminhermarriagefromherChinesepointofview:businesslikeofthechargeswithout

sharingwithoutfamilyaffectation,arrogantallotmenthusband.etc.Allthesetellaboutwasathermother’ssensitivityto

concern

fromthe

as

at

marriagepossiblybreakingup

any

time.Angry

she

see

allthebadparts,shehadtoadmitthecorrectnessofher

over

mother’sremarksaboutthecoolnessinthoseseeminglyfairAmericanrules.Inthinking

hermother’sblameaboutherignoranceoftheharmfulsources,Lenabegantotakeintoconsiderationhermother’sfamilyvaluebasedsupportinherfightforhomefornewstrength

on

Chinesecultureand1atertookit

as

the

changes

inmarriage.Inthissense,Lena

hadreturned

totheChinese

and

inspirationforthesolution.

RoseJordanseemedtofacesimilarproblemsinhermarriage.Thoughtreatedunfairlyandregarded

as

anaccessory,Rosewasactuallythe

one

forherhusband’s

success

inbusiness.She

wassunkinto

psychologicalmesswhenherhusbandsuddenlydeclareddivorceafterhis

wrongdecisionhadledto

for

bigfailureinbusiness.Hermother,AnmeiHsu’ssuggestion

braveconfrontationoftheproblemwaspsychiatristwhohardlycaredabouthercametorealizethat“…therewas

first哂ectedbyRose,whoputherhopeuponthe

thehelpofhermother,she

explanation.Later,with

seriousflaw

withtheAmericanversion.Thereweretoo

manychoice墨soitwaseasytogetmysituationwithTed.There

confused

andpickthewrongthing.That'show/felt

about

was∞much

to

thinkabout,somuch

todecide.Eachdecision

meantaturninanotherdirection.’’98Urgedbyhermother

forsomeaction.Rosefinallystands

grassgrowswidelyinthe

uptoclaimfortherightshedeserves.Inherdreamthatnight,the

yardinfrontofherhouse一一一-asymbolofthedaughterwhotriestogetlifeandenergyupherself-development

and

start

freely.With

theimpetusfromhermother,Lenafindsthewaysto

solvetheculturalconflictsalwaysbetweenhermotherandherself-?--?-?tocombinetheChinesestrengthwitllher

American

values.

Incorrelationwiththemothers’departurefromChinesecontext,Jing—meireturnedto

China,homeofallthemothers.Themother

joumey

is

long—cherisheddreamheldbyherdead

and

alsothewishoftheothermothers。Oncesteppinguponthelandinhermother’s

stories,JingmeifeltthatshebecamemoreChinesethanever.Hermeetingwiththeothersistersdissolvedtheclashes

and

the

strangenessshe

had

once

feltaboutChinaandherindifferenceto

hermother’spainmixedwiththeconceptofChinesehome.

“ReturningtoChina'’is

toanswerJingmei

questionthroughoutthewholebook,inwhichthestoriescome

Woo’s

doubtaboutthemothersandhersel£whatshewouldsayabouttheir

lifeintheUSA,whatshehadfamilies.Itis

all

understoodabout

ChinesecultureandChinese

American

are

importanttimeforherwhentheChinese

ever.

languageand

Chinesecontext

closerandmoretangiblethan

“ReturningtoChina'’is

just

beginning,whichrequiresfurther

.42.

understandingand

more

Chineseexperienceformoreextensivecommunicationbetweentwocultures..43..

Conclusion

TheJoyLuckClubnarrates,throughthemothers’voiceintheChineselanguage.themysteries

and

secretslongburiedintheirhearts.Endowedwiththeopportunitytohaveliberal

usa

expression。eachwomanrecountsherhappinessandbiaemesstoprovide

contactwithChineseAmericanwomen.

closeanddirect

ThemotherscometotheUSAfirstwiththeirownAmericandream.Differentfromgenerationsofwhitebecome

as

dreamers

as

throughthehistoryoftheUSA,theywishtheirdaughtersto

andabletoacceptthe

American

they

can

meaning

ofthatswanfeather???,????the

cagierofallthegoodintentionoftheChinesemothers.Theconflictsshatterthe

Americanized

anoutsider

in

dreamintobrokenpieces.Thetruthisthatthesocialbackgrounddoesnotbafflethemothersabouttheirculturalidentity.LindoJongcomparesheruprootedexperienceasboththeUSAandChina:“IthinkaboutisAmerican?Which

one

our

two

one

faces.I

is

thinkaboutmyintentions.Which

one

isChinese?Which

better?Ifyoushowone.youmustalways

on

sacrificetheother.’’99Theirvacillationinclenching/looseningtheirholdChineseheritage/

Americandreamfinallyfindsinside

ananswer

ina‘‘Chinesedream”,afterbeginswith

so

muchharshtussle

andoutside

the

family:asthebook

sailingtotheUSAwiththatbeautiful

swan一一thecollectionofallChineseheritage。apairofticketsbacktoChinaclosesthebitter

actintheUSAandopensupanewhorizonwithexcitinghope.

Entangledwithintheconflict‘‘betweentraditionalChinesecultureandthemainstreamAmerican

culture,between

their

aspirationforindividualfreedom

between

their

andtheir

sense

offamilial

andsocialresponsibilityandobligations,andfalse

andtrueidentity'’100.the

over

daughterslosetheirdirectionwhensearchingforbased

on

identity.When

they

turnthepatriarchy

familysystem,theyalsodismissthematernalauthoritywhoseonlyrequestinthe

newcountryistoaskforcertainpreservationofChineseculturalheritage.Asallthedisguised

and

hiddencrisespopupintheirlives,itbecomesmore

and

moreobviousthattheinitial

sisterhoodencouragement.

interferenceoftheirmotherturnsouttobeheritagebackupHowever,solong

as

and

themiscommunicationstillexistsinthemother-daughterrelationship.the

ambivalencefeltbythedaughtersstillneedsmoreactivesolution.

Throughthecontinuityanddevelopmentinthegenerations,thethemesgetrepeatedrepresentation

toleapover

mother-daughterrelationshipoftwo

and

revelation.Theclashes

and

theurgency

conflicts

them

are

alsobroughtoutandintensifiedbycultural

difference.These

leadtothenecessaryculturaljourney

ofJingmei

Woo

toChina,whichprovidesafeasible

solutionfortheproblemsthatChinese

ave

and

the

otherethnic

Americans(especiallyethnic

foropenness

women)

for

facing一一??-activeparticipation

inculturalstrive

andinvitation

understandingofothercultures..45.

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Notes

AngelesTimes,12Mayl989.

2Huntlev.E.D.AmyTan:ACriticalCompanion【M】.London:GreenwoodPress,1998。P32.1Woo.Los3AmyTanInterview

4San—lingWong.SugarSisterhood:SituatingtheAmy

GreenwoodPress,1998,P65.TanPhenomenon[M】.London:

5Huntley,E.D.AmyTan.ACriticalCompanion【M].London:GreenwoodPress。1998.P20.6ElaineKimAsianAmericanLiterature.AnIntroductiontOtheWritingsand肋cialContext[M】.

7Ling.Amy.BetweenWorlds:WomenWriters

Press.1990.P130.

8PatriciaPofChineseAnces砂【M].NewYork:PergamoninAsianAmericaChu.AssimilatingAsians…一GenderedStrategiesofAuthorship『MIDurhamandLondon:DukeUniversityPress.2000,P142.

9Ganahl,Jane.AmyTangetshervoiceback肋D纠January/Febmary2001issue10Huntley,E.D.AmyTan.ACriticCompanion[M1.London:GreenwoodPress,1998.P74.11AmyTan.TheJoyLuckCIubfMI.NewYork:BallentineBooks,1989,P3.12Ibid..P3.

fMI.NewYork:BallentineBooks,l989,P254.

14VictoriaChen.ChineseAmericanwomen,language.andmovingsubjectivity[J】Women13AmyTan,TheJoyLuckClubandLanguage,1995,Voll8:p3.

15AmyTan.砌PJoyLuckCIub【M】.NewYork:BallentineBooks,1989:P64.16Ibid..P33.34

17Ibid..P37

18VictoriaChen,ChineseAmericanwomen,language,andmovingsubjectivity[J】WomenandLanguage.1995.Voll8:p3.

19Amy"Fan.The

Ibid..P168.JoyLuckClub『M1.NewYork:BallentineBooks,1989:P133.20Ibid..P161.2l

22Ibid.,P168.

23Ibid。P40.

24Ibid..P15.

25Ibid..P306.

26Ibid..P289.

27Ibid.P290.

28Ibid~P306-307.

29Ibid..P274.

30Ibid..34.

3lIbid..203.

32Twitchell,Hall.Edward.UnderstandingCultural

Press.1990:P67.Differences[M].Yarmouth:Intercultural

33AmyTan.砌PJoyLuckClub[M].NewYork:BallentineBooks.1989:P27.34AreviewinPublishers’Weekly

35AmyTan.刀理JoyLuckClub[M].NewYOrk:BallentineBooks.1989:P223.36VictoriaChen,ChineseAmericanwomen.1anguage,andmovingsubjectivi纱【J】WomenandLanguage.1995,Voll8:p3.37MarinaHeung,Daughter-Text/Mother-Text:MatrilineageinAmyTan'sJoyLuckClub[J].

FeministStudies.Fall1993.Vjl.3:P597—616.

38Ibid..P597—616

39Ibid..P597.616

40Chandra

41

42TylerMountain.砀eStruggleofMemoryagainstForgetting”CulturalSurvival1995:P48—49.AmyTan's砌PJoyLuckClub[J】.Paintbrush2,AutumnAmyTan.砌eJoyLuckClubtM].NewYork:BallentineBooks,1989:P3.ofYin。Xiao.Huang.ChineseAmericanLiteratureSince1850s[M】.Urban:universityinIllinoisPress.2000:P233.

43Huntley,E.D.AmyTan:ACriticCompanion【MI.London:GreenwoodPress,1998:P32.44Ibid..P15.16

45lbid..P173

46Ibid..P175

47Ibid..P19l

48O’Reilly,Andrea.AcrosstheDivide."ContemporaryAnglo-AmericanFeministTheoryon

theMother—DaughterRelationship[M].Toronto:SecondStoryPress.1998:P86.49AmyTan.7抛Joy上“以Clu6【M】.NewYork:BallentineBooks,1989:P105.50Ibid—P296

5lIbid..P317

52Ibid..P317

53Ibid..P31S

54Ibid..P323

55Ibid.,P330

56Ibid..P331

57Ibid—P26l

58Huntley,E.D.AmyTan:ACriticCompanion[M】.London:GreenwoodPress,1998:P48.59AmyTan.The

60Ibid.,P320.

6lIbid..P31.

62Ibid..P132.

63Ibid..P133.

64Ibid..P49.

65Ibid。P89.

66Ibid..P126.Joy三“c七CIub[M].NewYork:BallentineBooks.1989:P233.

67AmyTan.MotherTongue[Ed].玑eBestAmericanEssays.1991:P196.

68Ibid。P198.

Languageofdiscretion【F2].neStateofllleLanguage.Berkeley:

UniversityofCalifornia:P28.

70SacvanBercovitch.砌PCambridgeHistoryofAmericanLiterature【J】.ProseWriting.1999,69Amy

l,blume7..1940.1990:P579.

71Tan.劢PKaplan,E.Ann.motherhoodandRepresentation[M].London&NewYork:Routledge.

1992:P41.

72Ibid..P41.

73Ibid..P41.

74AmyTan.劢PJoyLuck

75Ibid.。P45.

76Ibid..P48.

77Ibid.,P53.

78Kafka,Philipa.DoingtheClub[M].NewYork:BallentineBooks.1989:P45.MissionaryPosition:GenderAsymmetryinContemporaryAsian

79Writing[M].Westport,Corm.andLondon:GreenwoodPress,1997:PAmyTan.砌PJoyLuckClubIM],NewYork:BallentineBooks。1989:P125.Americanwomenj1980Ibid..D126.

81Ibid..P219.

82Ibid..P176.

83Ibid..P177.

84Foster.M.Marie

砌PJoyLuckBooth.Voice.Mind,Setf"Mother-DaughterRelationshipsinAmyTanlCluband砌PKitchenGod'sWife[J].WomenofColor:Mother-DatlghterRelationshipsinTwentieth-CenturyLiterature,1996:P221.

85AmyTan.砌PJoyLuckClub[M].NewYork:BallentineBooks.1989:P128.86Ibid。P214.

87Ibid..P241.

88Ibid..P213,

89Ibid.。P275.

90Ibid..P282.

91Ibid..P282。285.

92Ibid。P285.

93Huntley.E.D,AmyTan:ACr#ic

94E,ShelleyReid.“OurCompanion[M].London:GreenwoodPress,1998:P52.TwoFaces“:BalancingMothersandDaughtersinTheJoyLuck(。lub95and劢PKitchenGod'sWTfe[J],Painbrush22,Autumn1995:P30.Amy1.an.砌FJoyLuckClub[M].NewYork:BallentineBooks.1989:P195.96Ibid..P153.

97Ibid..P87.

98Ibid..P214.

99Ibid,.P304.

100QunWang.砌eDialogicRichness"矽砌eJoyLuckClub[J].Paintbrush

P76.83.22,Autumnl995:

..50..

l'hePublishedpaper

ThePublishedpaper【11母女情深:中美文化的冲突与融合,吉林,教育科学杂志,2006年,第三期,15页

Acknowledgements

1wouldliketotakethisopportunitytothankall"thosewhohavehelpedmeinthewritingoftllisthesis.

Iamgreatly

strictrequirementindebtedandtomysupervisor,ProfessorWangXinchunforherexpertguidance,warmencourage.Withouthertimeandenergyinvestedindiscussing,

formsofthisthesisfromthereadingandcommentingthevariousformativestagetoitspresent

form,thecompletionofthethesisisimpossible.

Iaingratefultotheprofessorswhohavegivenmeclassesinthisthreeyears,suchasProfessorLiuMenglan,ProfessorZouHaiqi,Professorforth,theirinsightfuland

thesis.IhavebenefitedaZhangjing,ProfessorWangaDanandSOinformativeinstructionsgivemelotofenliIghtmentsinwritingthislotfromtheircoursesandlectures.

1wouldalsoliketothankmyclassmates,withwhomIunforgettablelifeinNortheastForestryUniversity.spenttogetherthreeyearsof

theirdeeploveandFinallyImustsaythankstomyfamily,especiallytomyparents.It’S

encouragementthat

greatinspirationsupportmealltheway.Also。IfeelgratefultOmyfiancdwhogavemeandhelpdunngmywritingthethesis..52.

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