As complex as they may be, Tan's novel pays particular attention to the special bond between mothers and daughters who are extremely valued and powerful. For example, after An-mei's mother attempts to save Popo by adding her own flesh to a Chinese soup, An-mei realizes, “This is how a daughter honors her mother. It is so deep that it is in your bones” (Tan 48). From the relationship shown between An-Mei's mother and grandmother, she realizes that the bond is still strong even though Popo has forbidden her from returning home and An-Mei from talking about her. Tan illustrates how, regardless of the countless differences and problems a daughter and a mother may have, deep down, mothers continue to love and care for their daughters and daughters as mothers. Furthermore, Born of a Stranger, published in 2009, by Gloria Shen, describes the mother-daughter relationship of the novel, through illustration: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although the mothers all have different names and individual stories, they seem interchangeable in that they all have similar personalities: strong, determined, and endowed with mysterious power – and that they all show similar concerns for the well-being of their daughters. As a result, mothers possessively try to hold on to their daughters, and daughters struggle to distance themselves from their mothers. (Shen) Essentially, Tan describes how the mothers' lives, although different, all develop a similar mindset and convey their love through their life stories to help their daughters understand the meaning of their actions. Mothers want to keep their daughters close and teach them the lessons of their Chinese upbringing, but daughters strive to be independent of their mothers. Furthermore, after the mothers discover that Jing-Mei never really knew her mother, she realizes: “They see daughters who get impatient when their mothers speak in Chinese, who think they are stupid when they explain things in broken English … They see daughters who will give birth to grandchildren born without any hope of connection passed down from generation to generation.” The mothers see their daughters reflected in Jing-mei and realize how little she knew about her mother's past and realize that the relationships with their daughters are the same and their stories need to be told. Their individual decision to tell stories, secrets and stories is their latest attempt to bridge the gap between cultures, languages and generations and restore the relationship between mother and daughter. In conclusion, through their life stories of wisdom and sacrifice, Tan demonstrates the deep and precious bond between mother and daughter. An-Mei Hsu reveals more about her complex relationships with her mother and daughter through wisdom passed down from generation to generation. After placing her flesh in the soup, An-Mei's mother advised, "You must peel off your skin, your mother's, and her mother before her." An-mei says her daughter must metaphorically peel back her skin to see her mother's love and influence underneath. All mothers and daughters are related and daughters must honor this. But they also need to discover their individual strengths separately from their mothers. Furthermore, in the article “An-Mei Hsu,” Catherine Romagnolo describes how, even though An-Mei feels she cannot raise her daughter the opposite way she was raised, “Rose comes to better understand herself and her own desires through listening to her mother's wisdom, and ultimately extricates herself from a loveless marriage” (Romagnolo), although An-Mei believes she has failed to raise her daughter, Rose realizes what she hasreally need with his mother's help. In the end, Tan presents An-Mei Hsu with the great sagacity given by the previous generations and her attempt to pass it on to the next ones to continue and build on the mother-daughter relationship. Tan uses jewelry and chess pieces to illustrate a deeper meaning behind the lives and mindsets of mothers and daughters. For example, almost all mothers grew up in poor families without excessive luxuries, so jewelry illustrates a mother's love for her daughter; after a Chinese New Year party, Jing-Mei recalls, “my mother gave me 'the significance of my life,' a jade pendant on a gold chain... the whole effect seemed wrong: too big, too green, too garishly ornate. I put the necklace in my lacquered box and forgot about it." Jing-Mei did not understand the jade necklace in the same way that she did not understand her mother until later in life. After her mother's death, she thinks about how her mother was the only person who could talk to her about the importance and pain of life. The jade was given to Jing-Mei to not only provide a sense of positivity and protection, but also expresses and reveals Suyuan's love for her daughter. Furthermore, as Waverly lies in bed after finally returning home from an argument with her mother that day, she imagines: “Her mother's boogeymen advanced through the plane, slowly threatening each subsequent level as a single unit. My white pieces screamed as they ran and fell off the board one after another.” When it comes to her relationship with her mother, the black and white pieces of the chessboard symbolize Waverly's black and white way of thinking, as she associates her criticism with bitterness, even though Lindo Jong ultimately does not mean this. Overall, through everyday objects, the novel shows a more meaningful understanding of women's thoughts. Of the numerous people who immigrate to America, many end up not achieving their desired goal. Tan reveals the irony through Jing-Mei Woo and her mother, Suyuan Woo. After losing everything in China and coming to America, Suyuan believed that anyone, including her daughter, could be very successful: “You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get a good pension. You could buy a house with almost no money down. You could become rich. You could become instantly famous. Suyuan believes in the hope of being and doing anything imaginable in the new country. Although America is known as a land of new beginnings and fresh starts, his hopes are later dimmed as he later discovers that it is not as easy as he thinks. Suyuan loves her daughter and wants the best for her, such as encouraging her to become a "Chinese Shirley Temple" or a piano prodigy by sending her to a beautician training school and taking piano lessons, but ultimately Jing-Mei describes: " I didn't go straight as. I didn't become class president. I didn't get into Stanford. I dropped out of college." end, despite all the time and effort put into lessons and training, Jing-Mei falls short and believes she is a disappointment and failure to her mother. Even though her daughter didn't succeed in what she planned, she loved her and supported her anyway.To conclude, Suyuan's hopes for her daughter in the new land manifest in a more negative way than she imagined like many other immigrants. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get Custom EssayAlthough separated by cultural and generational differences, Tan shows the, 28(3), 85-102.
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