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

Mothers and daughters have inseparable relationships. Some daughters might share the same physical trait as their mothers and act the same way. It is a natural phenomenon to possess great similarities between mothers and daughters. Even though the two are located in a different area, accustomed to different cultures, it would be hard to conceal their similarities. In Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, one of the mother-daughter pairs shows the inseparable characteristics very well. Both Lena and Ying-ying are passive characters who do not have strong individualities. Although Lena was raised in the America, her behaviors and personality resembles that of her mother’s.

Ying-ying once was a wild and stubborn young girl. However after Amah tells her that “it is wrong to think of your own needs. A girl can never ask, only listen” (Tan, 68), Ying-ying starts to hide her identity in the “shadow” and deliberately chooses to lose her individuality. “I [Ying-ying] became a stranger to myself [herself].” (280) Ever since she got married to her first husband, she devotes her time and effort in order to please him. She considers what her first husband would like instead of what she desires. Ying-ying puts slippers on her feet and “choose[s] a pair that I [Ying-ying] knew would please him.” (280) After she realizes her first husband left her for the opera singer, she loses her strong tiger spirit and her individuality. She “let[s] myself [herself] become a wounded animal. I [Ying-ying] let[s] the hunter come to me [her] and turn me [her] into a tiger ghost.” (285) She, once again, willingly gives up her “chi.” (285)

Likewise, Lena shows similar characteristics. Lena, although raised in a different environment, does not have a strong individuality in the same way as her mother. As she moves into Harold’s apartment, she gives in herself to him and let him govern the house. While Harold emphasizes the equality and splitting expenses in exact in order to “eliminate false dependencies...be equals...love, without obligations...” (176), Lena gives more than she shares. She splits the cost of ice cream although she does not eat it. Lena, however, never attempts to speak up to Harold, but rather let things be the way it is. When the marble table collapsed and the black vase broke in half, Lena simply claims “I [she] knew it would happen” (181) without a shock.

As we can see above, Lena and Ying-ying do not live their lives for themselves and remain passive. Although Lena and Ying-ying grew up in an utterly different environment, both do not possess strong individuality. Lena loses her sense of identity as she surrenders herself to Harold, while Ying-ying completely loses hers as she becomes submissive to her first husband and becomes hapless. We can see that Lena choses her way of life similar to how her mother chose hers.

Regardless of cultural differences, there is a strong similarity between Lena and Ying-ying. Culture may alter the way a person acts due to the environment, but it is hard to change the interior of a person, especially harder to break the special connection between a mother and a daughter. With such clear similarity, we can see that Lena fits perfectly as an “American Translation” of her mother, Ying-ying.