Cycles are in action 24/7. They are sets of events that occur over and over again. There are cycles in our world that have been going on for many long and short centuries. Though they can differ from generation to generation, they always share a few similarities. Some examples of cycles that involve inorganic things include cycles such as the water cycle, carbon cycle and the nitrogen cycle which usually behave the same way each round. But some cycles differ a bit (though for the most part remain the same) in each generation. Some examples of such cycles include the cycle of tradition and culture. In the book The Joy Luck Club narrated by several Chinese women, they all have a cycle in the way they value their culture.
During their young childhood years, the mothers (of the authors) somewhat lacked an appetite to preserve their Chinese family culture but eventually they favored it. in the chapter Scar, An-Mei (one of the mothers) was thought to somewhat lack culture as she floated in her own world. Her culture absence was shown when Popo protested “Too late, too late” (pg 45).But this absence did not last forever. She eventually “came back” and that was proven when An-Mei gave a chop of her flesh for a stew. No one would freely go through such pain unless there was a reason such as value or importance.
This abandoning and returning to culture was not only done by the mothers but also by their daughters. Though the mothers did indeed try to hook their daughters to the Chinese culture, the American environment washed them away. This was proven when Lindo described her daughter as being Americanized “They [Chinese] already know you are an outsider.” (pg 253). The mother saw that she lost her Chinese character. At the start during her daughter’s young days she did not care. But once she heard this, she was disappointed. She regretted that this was the case. But during her visit to china, she realized something about herself. She realized that even though her American character would prevent her from blending into the Chinese environment, she still was Chinese. She still had the blood of a Chinese woman.
Hmm. I know what you're referring to here because I've read the book; but if I hadn't I'd be clueless as to what you're talking about here. And even though I've read, I could stand some more background and explanation for what you're talking about here. "A chop of her flesh for a stew" is really not enough description of what that scene is about for it to fit meaningfully into what you've written here.
ReplyDeleteAnd the last paragraph is full of the pronouns "she," "her," and "herself," but which are not clear as to whom they refer to...so all in all I'm confused...