What is Amy Tan's purpose behind this introductory piece? What thematic elements, characterization, or plot foreshadowing connect it to the stories that follow, particularly "Rules of the Game" and "The Voice from the Wall"?
In the introductory piece, Amy Tan incorporates a scene in which a seven year old girl is trying to ride her bike beyond the awareness of her Chinese mother by riding the bike around the corner. The mother tells her not to ride the bike around the corner because she will fall and get hurt without her knowing but the daughter doesn't believe anything will go wrong and yells back at her mother and tells her she knows nothing. In a hurry, she jumps on her bike and rides off. Before she can ever get to the corner, she falls down, just as her mother warned would happen.
I think that the thematic elements Amy Tan, the author of The Joy Luck Club, is trying to incorporate here the issues that arise between mother and daughter in America. Once in America, it gets really hard for Chinese parents to teach their Chinese customs in a whole new environment where independence is key. The daughter is symbolizing the independence that arises within her (and rely on her inner strength rather than feed off of others strength such as her mother's). The mother, who has gone through struggles and experience a life long journey of events in her lifetime, symbolizes wisdom. As the daughter goes off on her bike, she falls before ever reaching the corner showing that her mothers wisdom should not be overlooked.
I think that this introductory piece is going to foreshadow in the following stories the plot of the many different struggles that arise between mother and daughter. As the daughter move towards independence, they rely less on the wisdom of their parents and rely on themselves, even though the mother's wisdom can be helpful. In the next story, "Rules of the Game", Lindo teaches her daughter her wisdom of "invisible strength". Her mother's wisdom influences her daughter, Waverly, to become one of the best chess players in the San Francisco community. Lindo brags about her daughter constantly which angers Waverly and causes problems between the two, which is the message that was brought out by the introduction in the beginning of this section.
Do you think that if parents are from a different country than their children it is ALWAYS hard to teach their children?? Are there any advantages for parents who are from a different country than their children??
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