Mothers in The Joy Luck Club essays

Mothers in The Joy Luck Club essays If there was one occurrence that befell every mother in "The Joy Luck Club," it would be the loss of a child and the after effect it had on their relationships with their living children. This lead to a misunderstanding between mother and daughter, and the climax of their separation before the problems could be resolved. The long, gradual build up of lack of understanding kept the two family members divided and it took self actualization to bring them together. Ying-Ying St.Clair and her daughter Lena St.Clair both grew up passive and quiet. They had distrust in life, did not hear their voices, and had to find themselves before helping each other. Ying-Ying grew up in a family where she had to keep her wishes to herself, after a while, she just stopped wishing, there was no use for it. After she lost one son and resorted to killing the other, she had no strength left to take care of Lena. So, Lena grew up in a quiet home with a depressed mother, and a clueless father, neither could communicate with each other. Like her mother, Lena kept all her desires to herself and could not hear herself. She longed for a good relationship but fell into a poor one anyway. Her "fair" relationship proved to be not so balanced, but she did not know how to take control. Her mother saw her falling apart but had to reflect on her past before trying to save her daughters. The climatic even between these two occurred after Clifford's table broke. Ying-Ying asked why Lena had not prevented it from collapsing, but she did not have an answer for her. It was then Lena realized she had to change, become strong, and break away from her relationship, or she would never be able to escape. It was then that Lena gained a new sort of respect for her mother. Lindo Jong and Waverly Jong relationship were one of intense love and hate. Sadly, Lindo lost her child, Winston, to a car accident when he was only 16. Like the other mothers, she had to bear the loss of a ch...