Susan Kim
Ms. Taylor
9/13/09
English 12
In what way is a daughter the “American Translation” of her mother? Choose a
mother/ daughter pair and discuss. (Ying-Ying and Lena St. Clair)
It is only natural for daughters to share similar characteristics as their mothers.
Whether they may be similarities in appearance or personality, some traits are
intrinsic and inevitable. Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club is a collection of stories of
mothers and daughters who all somehow share similarities. Of those pairs, Ying-Ying
and Lena St. Clair seem to resemble each other the most, despite the fact that they
were both raised in different countries and exposed to different cultures. Through the
stories Ying-Ying and Lena tell, it can be seen that the daughter is an “American
translation” of her mother by examining the ways they are raised, how they react to
life’s outcomes, and how they help each other.
Ying-Ying St. Clair is raised by her nanny Amah with the belief that girls are
not supposed to speak their minds. “A girl can never ask, only listen.” (Tang p 68) At
such a young age, she learned to swallow her thoughts and not let them out. This
made her become such a submissive individual. She continues to grow without a real
personality, no individualism; she is lost and “wish[es] to be found.” (83) After her
first failed marriage, Ying-Ying loses all self-confidence and motivation; she “floated
like a dead leaf on the water.” (282) She remains disconsolate mainly because of her
inability to talk with others. She does not converse about her situation and problems,
she does not ask for help. Later on in America, after she marries St. Clair and lives
with Lena, it is not until long after that her daughter finds out about the failed
marriage and abortion. In this manner, Lena is similar to her mother.
Lena is an American translation of her mother because she shares the same
discreteness, and she too is lost. Lena has trouble identifying herself due to the fact
that she is of mixed decent, half Chinese and half Irish-American. Her parents cannot
communicate without her translating every word. She does not live the normal life a
teenage girl should be living. Instead, she lies in her room wishing to be loved, or to
be found. Her neighbor, an Italian girl named Teresa fights every night; she worries
about them, only to find out that that is their way of showing love for each other. She
wishes to also be loved. Even when she gets older and marries, she still wishes to be
loved, because her husband does not really love her. These two married couples pay
half and half for everything and live as equals, the only problem being that the
husband is seven times richer than Lena. He does not even know much about her past.
The mother is also a strong believer in Chinese superstition and traditions.
Ying-Ying cannot help herself when she moves to her new home in San Francisco
and has to move all of the furniture around. She also has the “mysterious ability to see
things before they happen.” (161) She was able to “see” her first son right after
becoming conceived, and she was also able to “see” Lena’s future husband. She tells
Lena she would have to marry Arnold if she does not finish her rice. When Ying-Ying
goes over to Lena and Harold’s house, she notices a weak table. When it breaks apart,
she asks her why Lena still uses it even if she knows it is weak. To this, it can be seen
that Ying-Ying probably had anticipated Lena’s troubles in her marriage. Ying-Ying,
who was born in the year of the Tiger, expresses her belief in Chinese tradition again
when she discusses the tiger. She wants to give Lena her spirit in order to give her
“chi.” Ying-Ying is able to gather her strength again.
Lena, who is somewhat more pessimistic than her mother, is also a believer in
these superstitions without being completely aware of it. As soon as she is told of her
future husband that will have spots all over his face, she begins to finish her rice.
Later, she stops eating in order to avoid her marriage with Arnold. Lena also gains
confidence when she gets over the ice cream incident and when she finally tells her
husband about it.
Ying-Ying and Lena are constantly showing love for each other throughout
the novel. Especially in Ying-Ying, it can be seen that she really cares for her
daughter. She reminisces about her past and all that has happened to her just so Lena
could become a true tiger herself. She wants to do this - “win and giver her [her] spirit,
because this is the way a mother loves her daughter.” (286) Lena is also no exception
when it comes to helping about her mother. She is always there to translate and
communicate for her. When her mother unexpectedly blurts out about the abortion she
had, Lena worries for her. She wants to make sure her mother “die[s] the death of a
thousand cuts … the only way to save [her].” (120) Lena cannot seem to stand both of
her and her mother’s separate lives, and decides to bring her mother back to the
brighter side of life.
Lena is almost like a replicate of Ying-Ying, the only difference is that they
spend their childhoods in different parts of the world. This does not hinder the fact
that they still share similar characteristics and personalities. Whatever happened to
Ying-Ying and whatever she did seems to be occurring to Lena as well.
(not finished yet)