...dealing with a mother and daughter who have two different ideas of what succes is. The short story is about a young Chinese immigrant girl called Jing-Mei who lives with her mother and father in the United States of America. The mother set voyage for America in the 1950’s after she had lost her family, her home and her first husband and children in China. She has hopes and dreams for herself and her daughter that the American dream surely will happen to them at some point. She wants her daughter to be a child prodigy while the daughter is trying to live up to her mother’s expectations. As I wrote earlier, the story takes place in the United States of America. Unlike her mother, Jing-Mei has lived her whole life in the U.S.A. Her mother did not have the same opportunities as Jing-Mei back in China, so she is frustrated that her daughter is not even trying to seize any of the many opportunities that she has got in her life, and that she is ignoring the fact that she can become anything, even a genius. She is sacrificing a lot for her daughter by cleaning for Mr. Wong and in return he will teach her daughter to play the piano. The only piano teacher she can afford is Mr. Chong who is deaf and retired, which shows that perhaps the money is a bit scarce and that she must have worked hard to get it. The daughter is at first just as exited as her mother about accomplishing the American dream but that changes after she realises that she constantly disappoints her mother. ‘’And after...
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...Jamaica Kincaid about a mother who speaks to her daughter about the responsibilities she need to uphold as she grows into a woman. These are not just duties that she need to uphold as a woman, but in order for her to be respected in society. For example, the mother tells the daughter to soak her clothes right after she takes them off because clothes play a factor when it comes to first impressions. When you wear proper clothing it shows that you have self-respect and a high level of maturity. In other words, someone who is poorly dressed displays a sign of poverty. Even if they are not poorly dressed men can see them as sluts because women dress with low maturity and no respect and that is what the mother is...
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...human beings, we have a constant need to hold on to what we define as safe, but in order to chase happiness some people must let go of their fundamental basics. Travelling to another country can be very hard especially the lack of friends, family and the fact that you need to learn an entirely new culture. The short story “Where the Gods fly”, written by a Chinese American writer, Jean Kwok. Jean Kwok tells the story about a family that emigrates from China to America, and how the Chinese mother struggles to give her daughter, Pearl the life she affords. She is bound to her old culture and protects her daughter through her religion and hers decisions. A first person narrator tells the story, from a mother’s perspective. Her, her husband and her daughter migrated from China when her daughter Pearl was a child. While reading the story we notice, that the narrator shifts in the grammatical tense, which is what structures the plot of the story. In the present narrative tense, we find the mother in some sort of religious state of mind, where she prays to specific gods and spirits, for example “Ah, Amitabha, Buddha of great compassion, I whisper…”(p 2 l. 24). While she finds herself in this state, she is reminded of her family’s, life since they moved from China to America, obviously these parts of the story is told in the past tense. The story begins in the present tense, as a sort of description, where she is reflecting about her daughter, how she wants her to quit dancing...
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...“girl” the conversation between the mother and her daughter gives plenty of insight on the perspectives of the girl child in that particular society. From the conversation we can come to a conclusion that the girl in the story was of great value to the family and had lots of responsibilities. The setting of the story must be some years back in the Caribbean (Kincaid, 2010). The story gives us an insight onto the culture and the perceptions of the community at that time. In the story the parents are depicted as strict and overly demanding of their daughters. The entire story shows how a mother results in using an overwhelming tone of voice to make sure her daughter does things the right way. From this story we can see how she tries to empower the daughter to become a proper woman. The story’s title “girl” also feminist as it gives emphasis on the girl in the story. It represents the fact that she is not yet a woman and has a lot to learn. In this dialogue between mother and daughter, the mother gives instruction on a range of subjects ranging from cooking and household chores to social skill and matters dealing with love and relationships. The article very accurately portrays the mother daughter relationships and the expected roles of women. In the story the author defines the role of women as expected by the society. Being a woman herself, she uses her two characters to show the relationship between the a mother and daughter. This could be drawn from her own experience...
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...“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the narrator who happens to be the mother of the girl is giving her daughter advice on duties a woman must do. As the mother is telling her child what she must do and act she is also advising her to not become a slut. The story may come off as if the mother is demanding but it is a lecture she is getting across to the child as she becomes a young lady. The way the mother comes across is harsh and demanding but she is only preparing her daughter to become a well-mannered young woman. In the Kelly Falla essay it also mentions the “frustration within the mothers tone and demeanor.” As the lecture begins the mother is rambling on about how a woman needs to up keep, cook, clean, do certain number of things, and behave around others. The young girl appears to not speak through-out the story, it may be because of how the mother is coming on to her or she is retaining the information that is being given to her. When the mother mentions the father in the story she is referring to all men in...
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...how do you as a mother manage to enable a good relationship between mother and daughter? Do we manage to satisfy ourselves and the way we are living our family life, or do we all need some kind of an accept in life to manage living a perfect family life? What happens when our family life is torn between? In the present society we are having problems being true to ourselves and our fellow human beings which often causes conflicts. This is exactly some of the main subjects The Dress is dealing with. We are introduced to the feminine third-person narrator named Rachel, who is accusing her sister Flora for having stolen her new dress, bought for the occasion of their mothers’ birthday. You could say that the relationship between Rachel and Flora is very common for sisters at almost the same age. In a way relationships between sisters or siblings will always be influenced by jealousy. The fight about the dress is influenced by the indirectly jealousy between the sisters. As mentioned in the quotation below it becomes some kind of an occupation for Flora having the dress, wearing the dress and feeling the dress. And it also reflects her rising jealousy towards Rachel. “It made her feel taller, braver, cleverer, and Rachel was all those things already” One could say that there is a gap among Rachel and Flora which causes the dress and as the story continues the gap among them are getting bigger and bigger. As they are sitting in the restaurant celebrating the mothers’ fortieth year...
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...On the Acts of Love between Mother and Child in Toni Morrison’s Sula By Professor L.B. Johnson English 102.103 5 December 2011 Alicia D. Davis Professor L.B. Johnson English 102.103 5 December 2011 On the Act of Love between Mother and Child in Toni Morrison’s Sula Thesis: Eva is conflicted with the choice of putting her son, Plum, out of his misery or watching him die slowly; sacrificing herself to save her daughter, Hannah, or watching her burn; Eva is conflicted with the love she feels for grand-daughter, Sula and the contempt she also holds for her. I. Eva is left with the choice of putting her son, Plum out of his misery or watching him die slowly. A. Eva decides to remove stool from her son, Plum’s rectum to put him out of his misery. B. Eva decides to kill her son, Plum, to put him out of his misery. II. Eva is conflicted with the choice of sacrificing herself to save her daughter or watching her burn. A. Hannah’s dress caught fire and her daughter Sula watches. B. Eva jumps from a window to try and smother the fire with her own body. III. Eva is conflicted with the love she feels for Sula and the contempt she also holds for ...
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...story "Girl", shows family togetherness and the love of a mothers like raise her daughter in order to teach her how she could carry out the duties when she will be an adult woman. Still, the story shows a complex relation of mother-daughter in this monologue story. Moreover, the story shows a mother, who always is giving orders to her daughter all the time, since the beginning to the end of the story. However, the mother’s character is of the a smart woman, with high command over her daughter, and very worried about to prepare her daughter very well at all household chores. In the story "Girl", stands the character of a smart mother who devotes much of her time to teach her daughter the main activities that she must learn in order to succeed in household chores, as well as the behavior that she should to take on the street, also how to behave as a woman and not a man: for example, when her mother says: “don’t eat fruits on the street”; “on Sundays try walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming”, also she tells her daughter “don’t squat marbles-you are not a boy, you know”(307). Furthermore, the dominant character of the mother is constantly sees reflected through the whole story because of the large amount of commands that she gives to her daughter as a teaching and illustrations in relation to the household chores. For example, the mother is concerned about teaching her daughter how she should set a table for dinner with an important...
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...comes with a list of rhythm but also giving instructions on what this girl should be doing or even acting. The mother who is giving her daughter advice and commands in order for her not to become a “slut”. The tone is straight forward but also a little rough so her daughter could be afraid of committing inappropriate acts. But also this passage gives advice mostly in a way of a list, things the girl need to accomplish. As a reader you can also sense how between the mother and daughter there is tension. The girl might not be disagreeing with the mother but because she's not saying anything and the conversation is stiff just her mother talking seem there is conflicting feelings....
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...Tan in 1989. The story brings up the themes parenting and relationship between a mother and her daughter. Also about the difficulties for a Chinese mother to raise an Americanised daughter. The main character is a Chinese-American girl called Jing-mei. The mother has great ambitions for her daughter and believes "that you could be anything you want to be in America". The daughter likes the American lifestyle while her mother wants to keep the Chinese way of lifestyle and living. Summary The story takes place in America. Jing-mei's mother has arranged piano lessons for Jing-mei, because she wants her to become a prodigy. However Jing-mei feels like she is trying to make her into someone she is not. Jing-mei lies about practice times and she does only what she has to do during the lessons. At a talent show she plays the piano awful because of her lack of participation in the piano lessons. Still her mother insists on continuing the piano lessons. Jing-mei screams but her mother drags her to the bench to play. On Jing-mei's thirtieth birthday her mother gives her the piano as a present Characters - Jing-mei Jing-mei and her mother are struggling to accept and understand each other. Jing-mei wants be her self and is obsessed with the American idea of being anyone you want. She does not want to follow her mothers’ footstep, but in stead make her own. She won’t change just to make her mother feel proud or happy. She says, “I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t...
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...of origin, you might find yourself in great trouble, as the culture will have a greater influence on your child than you will, and what will you do about it?. These issues are displayed in the short story “Where the Gods fly” by author Jean Kwok. The short story deals with a family who has emigrated from China to America. The mother struggles as she tries to give her daughter a greater life than she had. The mother and father work at a factory in Chinatown to provide for the family, while their daughter Pearl goes to school. Pearl is given a scholarship to a ballet school, but as time progresses, Pearl becomes disconnected from her parents, as ballet becomes a bigger part of her life, and soon becomes the only thing that she wants to do. This leaves the mother feeling distraught, as it was only her intention to allow Pearl to dance, so that she would not have to be at the factory after school. The mother does not have an understanding of the American culture and therefore refuses to integrate into the society, but Pearl is becoming popular and becomes embedded in the Western culture which is almost completely incomprehensible to the mother. The mother wants to reunite...
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...shared by mother and daughter in those Chinese-American families are not something to be proud of, but rather something that causes embarrassment on one side or the other, and often on both sides” (Xu 13). With various interwoven events happening among these four Chinese immigrant families, the conflicts and misunderstandings between mothers and daughters seem to be the guideline throughout the whole novel. Amy Tan uses stories narrated by the mothers and daughters to display their daily contradictions and their inner thoughts, which are the mothers’ strong desire to control their daughters’ fate; contradicting opinions on interracial relationships and identity crises. All these “battles” could be found both in these four daughters’ childhood, and in their adulthood as well. The Chinese mothers try so hard to pass on their culture and instill Chinese character, but their efforts are resisted strongly by their daughters to different degrees. The daughters try to make their mothers accept ways of life ingrained with American features, which is also insufferable to mothers. The greatly different family backgrounds, different ways of thinking and identity crisis between these two generations contribute a lot to their contradictions, as well as generation and cultural gaps. Although the author provides a vivid description of the conflicts between the two generations, “Amy Tan’s special accomplishment in this novel is not her ability to show us how mothers and daughters hurt each...
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...Family relationships are an important piece in many works of literature. In particular, this plays an important role in the three short stories “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The varying levels of love and care provided by the parents, and the attitude that is projected back by the child in response is what moves the plot forward and provides details for bigger themes in many literary pieces. In the short story “Everyday Use,” Mama doubles as the narrator and the reader sees things through her point of view. She has two daughters; Dee is the oldest and Maggie is the youngest. Dee has moved out of the house and changed her way of life drastically; she has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo...
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...Being a mother is certainly not an easy job. Blending the roles of mother and political wife must have been very difficult. When the photo was taken in 1960, John F. Kennedy was running to become the next president of the United States. (“Life of John F. Kennedy”) Jackie Kennedy once said, “ If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think much else matters very much.” (“Jacqueline Kennedy in the White House”) Most of the signature craziness for which the sixties are remembered came along after the election of 1960. When this photo was taken, the Vietnam War protests, assassinations and drug abusing rock stars were not yet on people’s radar. Nonetheless, change was in the air. The photo of Jackie Kennedy and her daughter Caroline Kennedy stood out to me because it was such a classic image of a mother and daughter relationship. Mrs. Kennedy is reading a bedtime story to her daughter. Mothers are wonderful role models who embody nurturing and love. I believe that mothers provide the love and support a child needs to truly grow into healthy adult. In the 1950s life was centered around family. Marriage and children were components of the national agenda. During this time tension occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union, known as the Cold War. The Cold War shaped domestic...
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...Cooking and Serving” by Margaret Atwood. Lynn Coady illustrates the style of parenting in which the mother is too involved and emotionally overbearing towards the daughter, Murdeena. In contrast, Margaret Atwood demonstrates the style of parenting in which the parent is without warmth and is inconsiderate towards the daughter, who is the narrator. Even though the stories contrast, they both serve to express a common truth, which is that parenting and parents have a great deal of influence on their children, resulting in emotional adversities. In the beginning of the short story “The Art of Cooking and Serving”, it is revealed that the narrator is affected by her mother’s parenting, causing her age to be distorted. The daughter appears to be far more advanced in her years than in actuality. She is envisioned through clear imagery, “knitting … doggedly” (Atwood, 434), which forms a suggestion of an elderly presence. The narrator, in reality is only eleven years old. Yet, it is due to the fact that she has to care for herself - because her mother lacks the energy and emotion to care for her, “my mother was dozing” (Atwood, 437) - that she is now more mature. That lack of sentiment, however, has also made her emotionally detached and resentful. The mother’s absence of parenting and love is contributing to the creation of an emotionally handicapped child. In contrast, the daughter Murdeena, in the short story “Jesus Christ...
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