First+Draft+(Sun+Hong)

Sun Hong English 12 Block B

In what ways is a daughter the “American Translation” of her mother? Choose mother/daughter pair and discuss.

The mother has come to America in hopes of having a daughter just like her. The mother has insisted that she will make her daughter “speak only perfect English” (Tan 3) and her daughter “will always be too full to swallow any sorrow” (3). Eventually, mother’s dreams have come true. Daughter has become the “American Translation” of her mother. __The Joy Luck Club__, by Amy Tan, shows how the daughters gradually change into clones of their mothers. Although Lindo and Waverly were grown up in different places and time periods, they resembled each other in a way they were raised and pressured by the name of family.

As a child, Lindo was engaged to Tyan-yu from the Huang family. Since the contract was made, Lindo’s family started to treat her as if she “belonged to somebody else” (45). Whenever she does something, her mother referred to Lindo as “Huang taitai’s daughter.” Moreover, Lindo was told not to disgrace her family—Both Huangs and her own. She was pressured and distressed, but she still obeyed her parents as she called herself “an obedient child” (45). The only way she could satisfy her parents was to marry Tyan-yu and become part of Huang family. Therefore, she sacrificed herself to keep the promise. It was an arranged marriage that she did not want, but Lindo did her best to maintain her marriage. But soon, she faced difficulties. The Huangtaitai was not friendly to her nor was Tyan-yu. Despite those hardships, she could not easily break the marriage, because she knew that she would bring shame to her family. Eventually, she figured out a way to escape from the marriage. She lied that the servant girl is pregnant with Tyan-yu’s child. Then, Lindo was allowed to leave and took off the burden—a promise made to her parents.

Similarly, Waverly was also concerned with satisfying their parents. When she was seven, she was attracted to chess because “the chessboard seemed to hold elaborate secrets waiting to be untangled” (94). As she played, her chess skills improved greatly. A man who watched her play in the park suggested Waverly to play in local chess tournament. However, she worried that “I [Waverly] would bring shame on family” (97) if she loses the local tournament. Lindo even mentioned, “it is shame you fall down” (98). This quote reveals that Lindo treated her daughter Waverly just as her mother treated her when she was young. Also, at the same time, Waverly was irritated because Lindo regarded her as a chess prodigy and Waverly had to accompany her mother to Saturday market days. Lindo would brag about Waverly to everyone as if she had won the chess tournaments. The reaction of Waverly is similar to that of Lindo, because her mother also irritated Lindo whenever she called her “Huangtaitai’s daughter.” Basically "The Red Candle" and "Rules of the Game" are interrelated, because Lindo and Waverly show the same reactions and thoughts. However, there is one difference that differentiate them. Unlike Lindo, Waverly just gave up on chess and had direct conflicts with her parents.

Waverly is a perfect example of American Translation of Lindo. Everything Lindo experienced as a child had an impact on Waverly, and Waverly is slowly changing into Lindo. Lindo was sacrificed her life to keep her parents' promise, and she was told not to bring shame to her family. Waverly also was concerned with bringing shame to family.