Woods' English 2A

This blog is intended to be used as a discussion forum for Mrs. Woods' 2A students from Piedmont Hills High School. The blog will allow each student to offer responses and reactions to the novels read outside of class. This blog will also allow you to read the reactions of others.

Monday, December 10, 2007

"Best Quality"

174 Comments:

Blogger janet_s said...

“Life’s Importance”

1) Reaction:
I give this chapter two thumbs up because it has a mysterious atmosphere too it. It made me question also why when Jing-Mei’s mother gave her the jade pendant, she said, “This is your life’s importance (235).” And this chapter was one of those more heart-felt ones because her mother allowed Jing-Mei to take the better crab, and she took the worst. After three months following her mother’s death, Jing-Mei comes to wonder what her mother left behind for her to discover about this necklace.

2) Jing-Mei and her mother’s relationship:
In this chapter, you see a sacrificial relationship. Her mother is willing to take the worst crab, the one with the torn-off leg and let Jing-Mei eat the better one, even though Jing-Mei doesn’t even like crab that much. Before her mother offers to take the worst crab, Jing-Mei thought she “was doing the right thing, taking the crab with the missing leg (227).” After, Waverly told Jing-Mei that her brochure had been rejected by her firm. Jing-Mei’s mother then sacrifices her pendant to show Jing-Mei the importance of life. Their relationship consists of what any mother-daughter relationship should have which is to learn to sacrifice for the other, give and not expect anything in return.

3) Chinese Culture:
From this chapter, I learned that in Asian society, eating is very important. Food can represent luck or misfortune. When Jing-Mei goes with her mother to the market to buy the crabs, Jing-Mei accidentally picks a crab without a limb and her mother whispers to her, “A missing leg is a bad sign on a Chinese New Year (225).” They even are picky on how you eat the food. When Rich, Waverly’s finance comes over for dinner, he gets criticized by Wavely’s mother saying, “Why are you not eating the best part (228)?” This shows the importance of food and the way to eat it is a very significant aspect of Chinese Culture.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008 4:54:00 PM  
Blogger margaretie=] said...

Chapter: Best Quality
"Crabby Patties Yum"

Reaction: =D
I enjoyed reading "Best Quality" because the chapter really revealed many beautiful things: the maternal love that Suyuan shows Jing-Mei as she bestows upon her daughter her jade pendant, the altruism of Jing-Mei when she chooses the worse crab for herself and leaves the better crab for her mother, and even the love that Waverly shows her daughter when she picks the best crab out of the bunch for Shoshana. After reading this chapter, my view on Jing-Mei and Suyuan's relationship bettered. I believe that the bitterness left from their past problems from "Two Kinds" were buried and forgotten. This was perhaps Jing-Mei's best memory of her mother.

Jing-Mei and Suyuan Woo
In the previous chapter on the two, "Two Kinds," Jing-Mei and her mother did not get along very well. Their relationship was strained and bitter, and both were disappointed in the other. However, in "Best Quality," their attitude toward each other greatly changed. Instead of rebelling, Jing-Mei tries to listen and bear with her mother's complaints and criticism. In turn, Suyuan becomes more accepting of her daughter than she was in the past; she even praises Jing-Mei for her selflessness and her concern for others before herself. Moreover, mother and daughter seem to be on the same side and page. Suyuan takes the time to listen to Jing-Mei after he dinner feud with Waverly, supporting her daughter and encouraging her to "make [her] legs go the other way." In other words, Suyuan is finally accepting her daughter for who she really is. Their mother-daughter relationship, is finally one of acceptance and selflessness.

Tan's message
In "Best Quality," Amy Tan shows her readers the infrangible and valuable relationship between mother and daughter. This relationship is special, and cannot be felt, nor understood with any other. As Tan writes, "[Jing-Mei's mother is] the only person [Jing-Mei] could have asked, to tell [her] about [the pendant] , to help [her] understand [her] grief. Tan wants her readers to realize how tender, how dear the connection between mother and daughter really is.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008 8:42:00 PM  
Blogger Tina said...

"You can have the better one"
1) This chapter was definitely heart warming to read. It showed the true love the mothers gave their daughters, for instance when Waverly chose the best crab for Shoshana and when Suyuan gives Jing-Mei the better crab. These little acts of kindness show the love the mothers have for their children even though they have their problems, the truth is that the daughters are their mothers lives.

2) In the previous chapter about Jing Mei and Suyuan, the two had a bitter relationship that was reconciled within this chapter. Suyuan is more accepting of who Jing Mei is and shows her love with little acts of kindness by giving her the jade pendant to the better crab. It shows the mother will go to great lengths of sacrifice for her daughter.

3)Message or Theme:
In this chapter Tan shows readers the true love mother's posses for their daughters. Although there are times of bitterness and arguments, deep down the mothers love their daughters more than life itself and are willing to sacrifice anything for their children even if they don't always show it.

Thursday, January 03, 2008 4:37:00 PM  
Blogger michelle chen said...

Disappearing Cat?
1)reaction
I would give this chapter thumbs up because it is humorous how Jing-Mei’s father makes stupid jokes at the family dinner table and how Jing-Mei and Waverly fight with each other constantly, but secretly do care about each other. Waverly did not want to hurt Jing-Mei’s feelings, so she tried to avoid telling her about the free-lance work.
2)
The relationship between Jing-Mei and her mother is loving. Her mother told Jing-Mei to eat the better crab and not the one with a leg missing. She took the bad one for herself. “Take it, already cold. No! No! Big one, you eat if. I cannot finish.” Even though her mother did not want the one with the broken leg and wanted the better one, she let Jing-Mei take it. Then at the end of the Chapter, Jing-Mei feels that she is only as good as she is and is, like Waverly said, she always only has, “Three Benefits, Three Needs, and Three Reasons to Buy.” She thought that her mother was ashamed of her because she did not use the new plates that she had bough for her. Her mother told her that, “everybody else wants best quality. You think different.” Jing-Mei’s mother also said that she didn’t use the plates because she wanted to save it and then forgot.
3)What I learned...
In this chapter, I learned that to Chinese parents, food is crucial. They all know how to eat. They also see a bad sign in everything. Everything they put in their mouths has to be perfect especially on New Years. Also, I learned that they eat the best part of everything. It might seem gross to Americans, but they eat the best.

Thursday, January 03, 2008 9:37:00 PM  
Blogger diana l said...

Only the Best for You

1. The beginning of the chapter with the necklace was interesting. I thought the line, “two Chinese people already like family” was funny. The issue with Jing-Mei’s mother and the neighbor’s cat was funny. It would be a sight to see her trying to scare the cat away while it hisses back at her. The scene with the crabs was pretty boring. At the dinner, Waverly was rude to Jing-Mei which you think she would get over now that they are adults. Maybe there is something more internal to their differences. It was sweet that Jing-Mei’s mother would give her the better crab and take the dead one even though it meant not eating. Only a mother would do that for their children.
2. Jing-Mei and her mother have a nice relationship. It doesn’t seem like the best friends kind of relationship, but it is good. Jing-Mei’s mother gave her a jade pendent on a gold chain. She always wore it after her mother died because it meant a lot to her. At the dinner, Jing-Mei’s mother gave her the better crab and took the dead one. Only a real mother’s love could have done that. That night Jing-Mei learned a lesson from her mother which was that she is important no matter what. The necklace she has is always there to remind her that and that is why her mother gave it to her.
3. Amy Tan uses a variety of writing techniques in this chapter. Flashback is used when Jing-Mei recalls the memory of her little conversation with the bartender. I knew this because the words “last weekend” were used. It enhanced the story by showing that other people are able to relate to the character. The jade pendent symbolized “life’s importance.” This helped to explain why the pendent was significant. When Jing-Mei remembered how the crab screamed I recognized it as personification. This gave a little humor to the story. Jing-Mei’s mom comparing Waverly to the crab was simile being used. This also added a little humor to the story.

Friday, January 04, 2008 12:31:00 PM  
Blogger brandi said...

"Don't be an old crab"
Chapter: Best Quality

1: This chapter was really well written and I give it a thumbs up. At the Chinese New Year dinner scene, I felt like I was at the dinner table, eating with them. I felt so sad for June, the way that Waverly always tries to put her down and make her feel bad. I used to admire Waverly and her talent in playing chess but after reading Junes' vignettes, I think the complete oppposite. I kind of hate Waverly for being such a show off, especially when she makes a complete fool of June about the ads that June made for Waverly's company. Also, when she says, "You aren't a genius like me," at the young age of 10 (228). I also felt bad for June when her mother was siding with Waverly, saying that June was not sophisticated like Waverly. What was the jade pendant about though? I know it symbolizes June's life importances, but what are they?

2: I would describe June and Waverly's relationship as being fren-emies. They are both freinds and enemies at the same time. Even at the age of 10, they were competing against each other, trying to be better than the other. Waverly always seems to be the "winner" of each fight, always throwing insults at June. When June was a pianist and Waverly was a chess player, Waverly said to June, "You aren't a genius like me" (228). Also at the dinner table, Waverly starts to complement June's new hairdo, but then she starts to say negative things about her haircutter, making June feel disgusted. And then, Waverly makes June look bad by saying that June's ads for her firm is unacceptable. June's mother tells June that she shouldn't listen to what Waverly says, saying that Waverly "is like this [dead] crab" (235). Waverly and June have known each other for such a long time, and are childhood friends since their parents were friends, but they always seem to be trying to "outdo" the other.

3: From this chapter, I learned that in the Chinese culture, your food and how you eat your food is pretty important. At the food market, June picks a crab that has a missing leg, and her mom tells her to put it back because it's "bad sign on a Chinese New Year" (225). She tries to put it back, but the man makes them pay for the crab. Also, people always get the best quality of food for themselves and for their families. Lastly, there is a certain part you are supposed to eat the crab, you are supposed to eat the brain.

Friday, January 04, 2008 4:59:00 PM  
Blogger princess_Joanna said...

Don't Move Crooked
Chapter: Best Quality

1. Jing-Mei received a jade necklace from her mother and her mother told her that the necklace would turn greener when she wears it more often. Does jade turn greener in the sunlight? I felt sad for Jing-Mei because when she was younger, she watched her pet crab die in a boiling pot on the stove. To Jing-Mei Woo, a missing leg on a crab means nothing, but it means a lot to her mother. To her mother, the crab was dead and was a bad sign on Chinese New Year. It was kind of her mother to give Jing-Mei the crab without the broken leg. I really enjoyed this chapter because all of the characters came together to eat dinner. Only in this chapter can the reader see how the characters really react around their family. I sensed that Waverly wasn’t very nice because in an earlier chapter, she bragged about her talent in chess. In this chapter, she had an argument with Jing-Mei and Waverly won.

2. In the quote, “Tss! Why you listen to her? Why you want to follow behind her, chasing her words…” (235) was said by Jing-Mei’s mother and she said this because she was telling Jing-Mei that she shouldn’t listen to Waverly. Waverly picks on Jing-Mei a lot and she always wins. Jing-Mei’s mother was warning her daughter because she didn’t want Jing-Mei acting like Waverly, moving crooked. The quote, “…Mr. Rory. He does a fabulous work, although he probably charges more than you’re used to,” (229) was no doubt said by Waverly and she said this to Jing-Mei. Mr. Rory is Waverly’s hair cutter. Waverly was extremely rude when she said this because she acted as if she was better than Jing-Mei because Jing-Mei’s hair cutter was cheaper than Mr. Rory.

3. The opening allegory of the set of chapter is about a mother trying her best to protect her child. In this chapter, Jing-Mei’s mother protected her by giving her the better crab, rather than the crab with the missing leg. She did this so that Jing-Mei wouldn’t follow Waverly because Waverly makes poor decisions and moves crooked.

Saturday, January 05, 2008 5:50:00 PM  
Blogger OhPuhleezeLouise said...

Crab People
American Translation: Best Quality

This chapter was okay. The way June thinks of Waverly seems like the way Waverly thinks of her mother. Waverly is becoming her mother like everyone becomes their own parents. Waverly always seems snotty when she's mentioned in June's chapters. It's funny how June's mother thought Fukien was a place and how at the end of the chapter June knocked at the window just like her mother did. It was creepy how the cat appeared at the window in the dark. I wonder where it was that whole time everyone thought it was dead or disappeared. I thought it was sad how June was told her free-lance work wasn't good and how she became embarrassed and started tearing. It was a sort of sad chapter, kind of like a reminiscing because June's mother is dead.

June and Waverly are competitive and feisty. Unlike the competitive talk between their mothers, theirs is more mean than competitive. When their mothers compare, the purpose seems to be to put themselves above the other. But, between June and Waverly, the purpose is to put the other down. It also looks as if Waverly always wins, which is saddening. Waverly thinks she is better than June in probably every way and states it blankly when she tells June that unlike herself, "You aren't a genius" (228). June thinks Waverly is "sneaky with her insults" and it angers and frustrates her that no one sees the cruelty that June sees (229). In her anger, June wants to "embarrass her, to reveal in front of everybody how petty she" is (230). June wants to put Waverly down so she isn't so proud and Waverly thinks she is a lot better than June and points out her faults subtly.

d Red is considered a color worn by young people because Lindo asks Suyuan why she's wearing it and calls it "too young" (228). Crab is also a food eaten at celebrations. Chinese people wear jade pendants with carved designs and the designs have meanings. It is also respectful to give elders the best pick. And lastly, "Chinese mothers show they love their children, not through hugs and kisses but with stern offerings of steamed dumplings, duck's gizzards, and crab" (227). I'm not sure if it really is just these three foods or if it's food in general, because it could have just mentioned these three foods because that was what they were eating at the Chinese New Year dinner.

Saturday, January 05, 2008 9:31:00 PM  
Blogger melissa said...

Yum, Crabs- “Best Quality”

1) This chapter was pretty good and I thought it was funny how Waverly and Jing-Mei still squabbled about little things even when they are both adults. At first I thought Waverly was just a spoiled and mean person but she actually wasn’t that bad in this chapter. She is pretty mean to Jing-Mei at first and starts the whole argument about money at the dinner table. I wanted Jing-Mei to win at least part of the argument but it turns out that Waverly had purposely not talked about the topic Jing-Mei wants to win with. I was kind of sad to hear that the script Jing-Mei made for Waverly’s company did not work out and she had to leave to the kitchen to cry. I was happy when her mother came in and gave her the jade.

2) The relationship between Jing-Mei and her mom is very heart warming in this chapter because of the support Jing-Mei’s mom gives to her. In the store with the crabs her mom quickly advises her not to get the crab with the broken leg because it would be bad luck. At the dinner when Jing-Mei picks out the broken legged crab, her mother insists on taking instead and is secretly proud of her daughter, as we learn later. After the dinner the mom expresses her love in the form of the jade necklace.

3) The main conflict in this chapter was Jing-Mei’s internal one. She is constantly trying to figure out what kind of person she is and what the necklace her mother gave her really means. We see her selflessness and respect for her elders when she takes the bad crab from the pot and puts it on her plate. Her conflict gets worse when Waverly comes over and boasts about how rich she is. Ever since they were little Waverly had been comparing herself to Jing-Mei and how much better she was. Jing-Mei tries to get even and it only makes it worse and she wonders how much of a failure or how good she is at her job. When she receives the necklace from her mom, she is filled with a new sort of hope to keep her working hard in her attempt to find out what sort of person she is.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008 5:45:00 PM  
Blogger grobanitis_ said...

"The Extra Crab"
Chapter: Best Quality

1. I think this chapter was okay. It had a bit of humor in it, so I liked that. The previous chapters were too serious, so it was nice to have a bit of light-heartedness in this chapter. I liked the scene of the New Year's crab feast. It made me hungry.

2. Jing-mei and her mother love each other very much. They are both humble and want the best for each other. This is shown when Suyuan offers her daughter the crab before she takes one herself, and when Jing-mei chooses the messed up crab to give her mother the better one. Jing-mei says, "I thought I was doing the right thing, taking the craab with the missing leg." She means that she thought she would make her mother pleased if she took the messed up crab because her mother would be able to eat the better crab. However, her mother loves her, so she tells her, "No! No! Big one, you eat it. I cannot finish." Suyuan wants her daughter to give her daughter the best she can.

3. (How does this chapter relate to the opening allegory?) This chapter relates to the opening allegory in one way. In the opening allegory, the mother puts in a second mirror in the daughter's room to "multiply" the daughter's happiness. The mother just wants the best for her daughter and to make sure her daughter ends up happy. In this chapter, Suyuan just wants the best for her daughter, so she tells her daughter to get the better crab instead.

Michelle H.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008 9:03:00 PM  
Blogger L said...

Crab and Gizzards: A Mother's Love
Best Quality - Joy Luck Club

1) Reaction
I enjoyed reading this chapter because of the simplicity (unlike the bizarre, symbolic chapters of Lena, Ying-ying, and sometimes An-mei and Rose). The mention of jade and life's importance brought back memories of my grandmother's own dark jade and the pale green of my mother's. This chapter was really sweet in how June's mother shows she cares about her daughter, unlike in "Two Kinds," where Suyuan seemed to be more of an antagonist to June.

2) June and Waverly
This chapter, like the childhood stories, mention June and Waverly's rivalry. In "Two Kinds," Tan shows Waverly's childhood genius as something June's mother often wants to match. In "Best Quality," we see this childhood rivalry continuing as June and Waverly argue over tax attourney issues. June seems to dislike Waverly and her sly, somewhat arrogant attitude, and Waverly seems to love antagonizing June. Even so, the two resemble bickering sisters, rather than enemies.

3) Writing Techniques
In this vignette, Tan uses sensory details. After going shopping for New Year's, June's mother cooks in the kitchen. We receive a clear picture of the "ginger and scallions," the "soy sauce and sesame oil," and we know the kitchen "smelled of wet newspapers and Chinese fragrances." Tan also describes Rich Schields to us, so we can imagine him easily in our minds: "He had the same coloring as the crab on his plate: reddish hair, pale cream skin, and large dots of orange freckles." Tan also describes Suyuan "[crunching] oranges," where "the sound of it was worse than gnashing teeth."

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 7:58:00 PM  
Blogger ronak=) said...

"Dead Crab"
Best Quality

1. I thought this chapter was good but not great. It didn't interest me too much until the very end. I thought Waverly was was to mean to June. I didn't know she was the type of person to put people down like that. I also was surprised to find out that both her and Rich smoked. I didn't really expect it I guess. I have to wonder what the jade necklace really means. I also found it funny when the man called June's mother a Fukien landlady.

2. Unlike in previous chapters Suyuan and Jing-Mei seem to have a loving relationship. Before they wouldn't really get along too well but in this chapter Suyuan ends up giving her daughter a jade necklace with a lot of meaning embedded in it and giving her the better crab.

3. From this chapter I learned that in it is bad luck to get a dead/broken crab to eat for Chinese new year. I also came to find that jade is extremely important to them because Suyuan gave a jade necklace to her daughter June and said. " This is your life's importance"(235).

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 8:52:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Life Importance=??
Best Quality

1)I didn’t get the meaning of this chapter and I didn’t get the message of this chapter. I also didn’t understand why June’s mother helped Waverly at the dinner table and after dinner, she told June to forget about what Waverly said. But I thought the storyline was great. I liked how Chinese New Year was mentioned and how family and friends got together and ate crab dinner.

2)June and Waverly are very competitive. They try to get each other angry by insulting each other. They have been competitive since they were young and now they are in their 30’s and they still like to insult each other in an indirect way. I thought they would be good friends since they knew each other since childhood and their mothers are good friends.

3)I learned that if a crab leg is missing of broken, it is a bad sign on Chinese New Year. I also learned that jade pendants are important and the carvings mean something because shapes and details mean something to Chinese people.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 9:10:00 PM  
Blogger BowDownToKevin said...

One Leg Away
Chapter Best Quality

1. I liked this chapter. It was interesting as well as revealing a better grasp of Jing-Mei and her mother. I thought it was touching when Jing-Mei’s mother gave her the jade pendant and told Jing-Mei that she knew she was going to try to take the crab with the missing leg because it was part of her character.

2. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her mother is special. They seem to be pretty close unlike the other mom’s and their daughters. Her mother knows how Jing-Mei feels such as when her mother knows that Jing-Mei will pick the worst crab for herself. Their relationship begin close is also demonstrated by Jing-Mei’s mother giving her the jade pendant.

3. I learned a bit more about Chinese culture in this chapter. One important fact about the culture is the art of crab eating. If one has guest over and one is serving crab, always give the best crab to the guest and take the worst one for oneself. I thought this was another interesting fact that Tan incorporated into her story.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 9:15:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Jade is green!

1) I thought this was a great chapter because it allowed most of the characters in various chapters get together and act with one another. Before there were only small scenes of dialogue such as over the phone or meeting somewhere, but now it shows how they got together. I thought it was funny how the best crab went to Shoshana even though she complained throughout the chapter that "...I don't like crab" (page 229)!

2) I think that the relationship between Waverly and June is full of hate and loath. During the dinner, they both try to make the other look/feel humiliated. Throughout the dinner, June was trying to make her get a "flustered, speechless" emotion that was quickly reflected back to June. Then after all of June's trying all that happened was that she found out that Waverly's firm did not like June's work. I think that they want to prove their worth to their families by trying to bring down the other.

3) Techniques:
A technique Amy Tan used in this chapter was personification. She used it while describing the crabs and how they were when they were thrown into the boiling pot. Another technique she used was word choice such as when she was describing the 11th crab that they had to buy, with its "faded orange color" (page 227). She also uses imagery throughout the story, even on the first page, "...almost the size of my little finger, a mottled green and white color, intricately carved" (page 221).

-Aaron Ly

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 11:19:00 PM  
Blogger Mindyn40 said...

Best Quality
Crabs and butter…mmmmmm…

1) This story was incredibly fun to read. I loved the part when June’s mother was explaining how to pick the best crabs from the market, because my mother always teaches me how to choose the best fruits and vegetables whenever I go with her to the grocery store. I was also surprised when I found out how mean Waverly was. I assumed she was a little snotty from her chess chapters, but I had no idea of her rivalry with June. The crab dinner made my stomach rumble because my family always has crab dinners with one another, where everyone just grabs the first whole crab they see and starts ripping the legs off of it. The ending was very sweet. I could tell that June was close with her mother.
2) The heated rivalry between Waverly and June was very surprising. Their quarrel at the dinner table took me by surprise. I can understand how frustrated June feels when thwarted at every attempt she makes to beat Waverly. Waverly easily retaliates every time June makes a comment. Her chess skills, are, once again, shown in this chapter, because she shows her abilities to predict her opponent’s moves before they can, how to avoid traps, and how to cunningly retaliate.
3) The message in this story is, “You’re stuck with what you have, and you must deal with it.” June knows that she has to deal with Waverly for the rest of her life. When June’s mother gives her the jade necklace, she realizes that she should keep and cherish it for as long as possible. At the very end of the vignette, the cat makes an appearance, and when June tries to shoo it away, it merely hisses back at her.

Thursday, January 10, 2008 3:06:00 PM  
Blogger Allison Chan said...

I'm Not From Fukien!
Best Quality

1)Reaction:
I liked this chapter, for the bits of humor that was put in. I was just as confused as Jing-Mei Woo, about the jade pendant she was given. Does jade really turn even greener after a period of time? It was interesting to learn how to pick the best crabs. I can relate to what Jing-Mei went throught when she was little. I used to pretend that the crab was my pet. I felt sorry for the crab when it was put into the boiling pot. But it sure tasted good :). Int his vignette, Waverly seemed so stuck up, trying to bring Jing-Mei down. It was nice to see that Jing-Mei's mother believed in her after all that Waverly said. The one line I liked the most was when the man was yelling at Suyuan and called her the "worst Fukien landlady"(224). I liked how Suyuan misinterpreted what the man actually meant.

2)Jing-Mei and Suyuan Woo
Suyuan want's Jing-Mei to have the best and be the best, like in the previous vignette, "Two Kinds" where she wanted Jing-Mei to be great at something. An example of Suyuan wanting her daighter to have the best would be when she tells Jing-Mei to get the crab with all of its legs. She also believes that Jing-Mei is important, and tells her not to listen to what Waverly said to her.

3)I learned a lot about chinese culture in this vignette. I learned that a dead crab isn't worth eating even with just one leg missing. I also learned that jade is usually given after something unfortunate has happend.

Thursday, January 10, 2008 4:39:00 PM  
Blogger daisy! said...

The Importance of Life

1. The beginning of this chapter was so sad. Her mother dies just six days before her birthday, and it's only now that she starts to wear the pendant. June realizes how important her mother was to her in life, how she needed her for a lot of things, how no one else could speak the words her mother would speak. It was so sad. I actually thought Waverly and June were good friends, until I got to the part where they were making each other look bad. It was like a competition to see which one could make the other one look more horrible. And Waverly is so paranoid! He could have give you AIDS because he is gay and cuts your hair?! That was so, I don't even know the words to explain it. It was such a "aww" moment when Suyuan gave the jade necklace to her daughter. June finally begins to realize the importance of her life in that necklace.

2. Waverly and June's relationship is full of competition it seems. From hair stylists to jobs to money. Just in that one section of this chapter, you can tell that they're not exactly the best of friends. They are always trying to prove which of the two of them are better. I imagine how their relationship as children were. "My toy is better, it's bigger, it's fluffier!"

3. I learned about how Chinese mother show their love to their children in this chapter. Tan was completely right about how they don't show their love through hugs and kisses. They always offer only the best of foods to their children. And it's always, "Take more! Take more!" Constantly around the table until their stomachs are about to explode. They never want their children to go hungry, and with all the food, they probably never will.

Thursday, January 10, 2008 5:11:00 PM  
Blogger Derek Lau said...

Dead Crab

1) I would give this chapter a one thumb up because I sort of but not really understood the meanings and messages in this chapter. However, I liked some of the humor that Amy Tan puts into, for example the part when Jing-Mei was a child and was deciding on a name for her new pet crab and her mother plopped the crab into hot water and killed it. *laugh*. I felt compassion for Jing-Mei especially when she learns that her writings for Waverly wasn't good and sophisticated enough. Jing-Mei was trying to tease/insult back at Waverly and it all backfired onto her.

2) I think that Jing-Mei and Waverly have a rivalry relationship. They seem to be friends, but are extremely competitious. The reader can get s sense of their rivalry during the dinner table. Waverly insults Jing-Mei and teases her, so naturally Jing-Mei teases her back, which ends in a backfire. Also, while they were still young kids, Waverly says to Jing-Mei: "You aren't a genius like me". Burn. :)

3) In this chapter, Amy Tan teaches a lot about Chinese etiquettes and the pickiness of Chinese women, especially old ones. The parents during the dinner are extremely picky about the right way to eat crabs and other foods. Jing-Mei's mom is also picky about her tenants, and how they dress and live their lives.

Thursday, January 10, 2008 5:53:00 PM  
Blogger kerry_lupercio62 said...

Life’s Importance
Chapter: Best Quality

1. Reaction
I absolutely loved the emotions of this chapter. In the beginning of the chapter, I liked reading about the jade pendant that Suyuan gave Jing-Mei and how Jing-Mei now wears it every day. It was amusing to read the conversations between Jing-Mei and Suyuan such as the cat that disappeared and picking crabs for the dinner. I found the Chinese New Year dinner very significant and I enjoyed reading about a traditional Chinese dinner. I also thought that Suyuan was such a caring and loving mother because she had given her daughter the better crab while she took the worst one. By reading about Waverly through Jing-Mei’s perspective, I began to have bad feelings towards Waverly and I did not like her personality at all. She was quite mean and annoying because she had embarrassed Jing-Mei during the dinner and spoke lowly of her. Finally, after the dinner, Jing-Mei and her mother had a very memorable talk together. I loved reading their conversation and it made me feel that all the bitterness that they once had now all faded. They both realized how much they needed and loved each other. I wonder what that jade pendant that Suyuan gave her means.
2. Jing-Mei Woo & Suyuan Woo
Jing-Mei and Suyuan’s relationship changed from a bitter resentment to a loving relationship. In Jing-Mei’s previous chapter, Jing-Mei was a very rebellious girl and there were many misunderstandings between her and her mother. Now in this chapter, Jing-Mei and Suyuan take the time to talk and clear some of those misunderstandings. After the Chinese New Year dinner, Suyuan and Jin-Mei have an honest talk in the kitchen. Instead of fighting, Jing-Mei tells her mother what is bothering her and tries to understand why her mother tells her certain things. Suyuan also begins to become accepting of her daughter for who she really was instead of trying to make her become something she wasn’t. Suyuan even praises Jing-Mei for her good qualities as a person unlike Waverly. In this chapter, we also find out that Suyuan is a very caring mother towards Jing-Mei and will sacrifice important things for her. During the dinner, Suyuan takes the crab with the missing limb and gave Jing-Mei the better crab and after the dinner, Suyuan showed her love by giving her the jade pendant. After this chapter, Jing-Mei’s and Suyuan’s relationship became one of love, understanding, and acceptance.
3. I learned a lot of customs of the Chinese culture from this chapter. I learned that food and the way you eat the food during a meal is very important. I found out that a crab with missing legs is bad for Chinese New Year. When Jing-Mei and Suyuan were out at the market, Jing-Mei accidentally picks a crab with a missing leg. Suyuan tells Jing-Mei, “A missing leg is a bad sign on a Chinese New Year” (225). It is also a custom to respect elders by giving them the first pick at the food on the table. I also found out that a person should eat the brain of the crab because it is the best part. During the dinner, Lindo asks Rich, “Why you are not eating the best part?” (228). She informs him, “The brain is most tastiest, you try” (228). I also learned that the color red is very significant and is worn by young people. Another important custom of Chinese culture is wearing jade jewelry, which can have special carvings and designs that all have different meanings behind them.

Thursday, January 10, 2008 6:59:00 PM  
Blogger Benji said...

“Mmm, fresh Dungeness Crab”
Best Quality

1/ I liked this chapter because there was some humor put into it. I particular chuckled a bit when June’s “pet crab” was boiled and eaten and when June and Waverly were fighting with each other. Even though Waverley is a bit mean in this chapter by showing to everyone that she makes more money than June she still thinks of June as a friend. Waverly shows this by stating that she is trying to get June a second chance at the ad for her company or to get June at least some compensation for her work. Despite June not being as smart, successful, and witty as Waverly is, at least she is more generous than Waverly is. While everyone is trying to get the best crab for themselves, June chooses the bad crab just so her mother can enjoy a high quality one.

2/ June and Waverly have a great rivalry with one another. They try to humiliate one another throughout the crab dinner by discussing each other’s financial situations and hairstylists. However, it seems that Waverly always has the upper hand. She is able to take June’s comment that Waverly’s company hasn’t paid her it and throw it right back her by saying that the company has chosen to not use June’s ad because it is “unsophisticated.” Though like most other rivals, they do show a level a friendship with one another. Waverly tries to help June when the company does not want to use the ad.

3/ I learned a lot about Chinese culture in this chapter. One thing that was brought to my intention was the way to choose and eat crab. In Chinese eyes, a dead crab is one that not even a beggar will eat. The Chinese also think that the brain is the best part of the crab. I also learned the jade is a really important stone to the Chinese. Even the littlest details in Jade would have important meanings behind it.

Thursday, January 10, 2008 9:40:00 PM  
Blogger David said...

‘’ Mmm mmm mmm. Crabs. ‘’

1. This chapter entertained me in a lot of ways. I liked the tension between Jing - Mei and Waverly and how they argued just like when they were kids. It was funny to see how deep they would get into this fight. I felt reassured how Suyuan comforted Jing - Mei and showed her love, not just by offering the best crab, but by passing down the jade pendant. I think that the jade pendant represents all of the happy times that Suyuan and Jing - Mei share, this pendant being the ‘’ best quality ‘’ of a memory for Jing - Mei of her mother. I liked this chapter, so two thumbs up.

2. Jing - Mei and Suyuan’s relationship in this chapter is much more civil and loving than ‘’ Two Kinds. ‘’ I think as the daughters and the mothers become older, their maturity and wisdom is what brought the relationships much closer together. I enjoyed how, though not as successful and charming as Waverly, Suyuan was able to comfort Jing - Mei, surprising that she was so disgraced in the last Woo chapter.

3. The crab that Jing - Mei eats is a symbol of how Jing - Mei feels about herself. It is as if she is the crab. Jing - Mei says the crab ‘’ doesn’t have enough brains. ‘’ ( p. 226 ) Like the crab, Jing - Mei has always been told mean and hurtful things by her mother, degrading her severely. The crab that she saw put in the boiling pot looked as if it were trying to escape desperately and giving chivalrous cries. Jing - Mei, towards the end of the dinner, describes herself ‘’ running away to escape someone chase me. ‘’ (p. 233) That is similar to how the crab feels when being cooked. Both the crab and Jing - Mei are trying to escape from these ‘’ boiling pots. ‘’

Thursday, January 10, 2008 10:02:00 PM  
Blogger CAKEZ said...

"Cherish what you have"
Chapter: "Best Quality"

1) I really liked this chapter, it was very heartfelt and had a great resolution. I really enjoyed how the story was sort of mystical in a sense with all the friends coming to house for dinner and then the whole section with the crabs and June's experience with her pet crab. I also really enjoyed reading about the section on the jade necklaces and how they turn "darker green" with time. That I can totally relate to, because both my Grandma and Mom gave one to me.

2) The main conflict I see in this story is between June and her Mom. Their relationship is more of a mother giving all she has to her daughter who does not seem to realize it because she is caught up in her own world. This is proven when June wants to take the eleventh crab but her mother insists that she does not. Her mother instead takes it and gives her a fairly good crab. However, this cute scene is ruined by June's argument with Waverly and that proves how June does not realize these little things until later on. By the end of the Chapter, I am glad to see June evolve as a person and accept her mother even after death. (Makes me teary :'[)

3) This is a chapter that put a great emphasis on the table manners of the Chinese culture. I learned that in the Chinese culture, offering your guests the best pieces first is very respectful. In turn, the guests must also choose favorable pieces for their families and friends. It is also explained here how "mothers offer food" to their children as a sign on love. This shows the culture difference from American and Chinese. :P

Friday, January 11, 2008 1:40:00 AM  
Blogger kristiee said...

“He could have AIDS!”- “Best Quality”

1. I’m sure this chapter was very meaningful, but I give it a thumbs to the side because I still don’t understand what the jade pendent means. Is Jing- Mei’s mother trying to show her that she isn’t worthless? I still don’t understand the meaning of “life’s importance.” When Waverly and her family took the favorable looking crabs first, I though it was so greedy of them since they were a guest in Suyuan’s house. It was mean how Waverly seemed to bring June down by talking about her hair and how her hairdresser might have AIDS due to his sexual orientation but it was a touching scene when June’s mother gave her the necklace and tells her not to listen to what Waverly says, and how it isn’t important

2. Waverly and June are childhood friends but they don’t have a close and loving bond. June thinks that Waverly’s always putting her down and humiliating her, such as when she brought up June’s hair. Waverly makes it seem as if she is so much more sophisticated and successful compared to June when she says things like, “ I really don’t like to talk about important tax matters except in my office,” as if she can only give her advice if June pays her, like her other clients. She also makes fun of the free-lance work that June did for her company, saying how it wasn’t “sophisticated” enough, and laughs at her, making June look like a joke in front of her family.

3. In the Chinese Culture, we learn that jade is very popular from this chapter. June’s mother gives her a jade pendent, which is strung with a gold necklace, and tells June that it is her “life’s importance.” She is unclear of what her mother means but as she begins to wear the necklace around her neck, she starts noticing other Chinese people who have one similar to her own. Jade in the Chinese culture is like the diamond in the Western culture. A very valuable and unique rock that is made into all types of jewelry with many designs and carvings. There are also different types of jade because Suyuan tells June that the one she gave her isn’t the best type because it is young jade, which is very light in color but if it is worn every day, the green pigment will darken.

Friday, January 11, 2008 5:01:00 PM  
Blogger Toad said...

"Glued"

This chapter was kind of okay because the interesting mystery of the jade pendant but there wasn’t much overall action throughout the chapter. Things didn’t get much intense anywhere throughout the chapter. I did like the part where Jing-mei forced Waverly to tell what happened to her tax paper, and Jing-mei got embarrassed afterwards because it was not accepted. I also liked the end of this chapter, where Jing-mei learns her life’s importance.

Jing-mei and Waverly are long time childhood rivals ever since they were born. Even when they were ten, Waverly announced “[Jing-mei isn’t] a genius like [her].” 25 years later during the New Year crab party, they still argued with each other. Waverly teases Jing-mei every chance she gets, complementing even the barber that does Jing-mei’s hair. Likewise, whenever Jing-mei gets a chance, she will push that chance to the fullest extent in hope of greatly embarrassing Waverly. However, Waverly is more considerate due to the fact that she is better off and tries not to embarrass Jing-mei too much. Even when Jing-mei insisted on discussing about a tax brochure she had done for Waverly’s company and have not been paid, Waverly tries to withhold the pressure and refuses to respond. What she was really doing was saving Jing-mei from embarrassment however, that her work was deemed “unacceptable.” Jing-mei on the other hand, continues to force an answer out of Waverly in front of all the Joy-Luck club members and eventually gets embarrassed by Waverly’s answer. In summary, Jing-mei and Waverly are long time rivals and sometimes embarrass themselves trying to embarrass one another.

Throughout this chapter, there is one message that Tan tries to convey: “Even you don’t want them, you stuck.” This message can be applied in many aspects of life, if a neighbor of yours is doing something of annoyance to you; you have to deal with it. Even if you have an unfavorable trait or is unable to do something, you have to deal with it. This message is symbolized three times throughout the chapter: The annoying tenant of the Woo’s, the one-eared, gray-striped tom, and the crab with a missing leg. This is the message that Suyuan is trying to get to Jing-wei, and more importantly, Tan is trying to get to her readers.

Friday, January 11, 2008 5:37:00 PM  
Blogger Xochitl_didn't_eat_the_pie! said...

Title: Boiled Crabs and Cats That Need To Be Neutered
(Focusing on “Best Quality”)

1) The poor crabs! They got boiled…alive…I never really liked crab, the taste is too strange. I guess it was really good for Jing-Mei’s family, though, because they acted like it was a big deal. Waverly seemed really different in this chapter; Jing-Mei really knew how to make her seem like the bad guy. It makes all her achievements just go…poof. She’s like the antagonist, though it’s really just Jing-Mei’s point of view. I didn’t like the cat. IT NEEDS TO BE NEUTERED SO IT DOESN’T HAVE ANY NASTY LITTLE MONSTER CATS.
2) Alright, Jing-Mei and Suyuan’s relationship. Earlier on, in the pianos chapter, it just seemed like they didn’t like each other too much. But they seem to have come to an understanding; they get along pretty well, and it seems that even the way that Jing-Mei speaks of her is in reverence and adoration. Suyuan gave Jing-Mei her necklace as a symbol of love, I’m sure, and she told her when Jing-Mei expressed her concerns and angers over Waverly, “Why you listen to her? She is like this crab. Always walking sideways, moving crooked. You can make your legs go the other way.” :D! That made me so happy! It was like Suyuan was comforting Jing-Mei…by comparing Waverly to a crab? Oh well…
3) I learned a little about the Chinese culture in this chapter as well. I learned that when the mothers think they are ready, they will give their children their jade-pendant necklaces. It is a sign of trust and love, and to me, one of the best family cultures I’ve ever heard of.

Friday, January 11, 2008 5:44:00 PM  
Blogger ChrisNg324 said...

Screaming Crab!
"Best Quality"

1) This chapter made me awfully hungry after talking about crabs the entire time. I found it messed up how June Woo’s mother just cooked June’s new pet crab instantly after June decided to keep it. Also, at the time I was so into the book that I could practically see the crab trying to escape the pot with its claws scraping the pot walls. It was a picture I don’t want to see again.

2) The relationship between June and Waverly is that of a rival. These two have always rivaled each other since it was being young to rivaling in talents. These two rivals aren’t like that of normal rivals anyway, because in my opinion, despite rivalry, the two people should care of each other. Waverly, however, cares not for June and the same goes back with June.

3) Question 4: I saw a lot of Chinese culture from this chapter because of the crab choosing and the crab dinner. I knew that An-Mei thought that cooking live crabs is better because of a tradition even thought I found it cruel. I also learned that a lot of Asian storekeepers try to squirm into getting more money in any way even if it means cheating a customer.

Friday, January 11, 2008 5:52:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

“Crabs for Dinner”
Best Quality

1. I thought it was selfish when everybody at the dinner who went first choose the best crabs for themselves and their loved ones. I thought it was nice when Jing-mei went with her mother to get crabs for the Chinese New Year’s dinner party. Waverly and Jing-mei act like kids during the dinner. I think they need to grow up. I thought it was nice when Jing-mei’s mother gave her the jade. I like theit relationship.

2. Waverly and Jing-mei’s relationship is really competitive. At the New Year’s dinner, the pair get mad at each other and get in an argument in front of everybody. I think this is common. Normally, when two people grow up together, they become competitive. It reminds me of the chapter before when Jing-mei’s piano recital went wrong and Waverly replied smugly that she was not as talented as she is.

3. This chapter related to the allegory. In the allegory, the mother is trying to give her daughter the best life possible and believes in her. Jing-mei’s mother believes in her in this chapter. Also, at the dinner party, Jing-mei’s mother gives her the crab instead of taking it for herself. This was nice for her to do, just how the mother in the allegory was.

Friday, January 11, 2008 6:37:00 PM  
Blogger Where_You_At_Grambow? said...

Nice Hairdo!
(Best Quality)

1. I liked how Waverly and Jing- Mei are still fighting each other even at New Year’s Eve. I think it brings humor to the chapter because it one is trying to get the last word in, in order to look better than the other one. I thought that Jing-Mei was being nice when she left the nice crab for her mom. I was shocked when she scolded her for not choosing the best one out of the two crabs.
2. Jing-Mei and her mom don’t see eye to eye until the end of the chapter. At dinner, Jing- Mei did not take the “best quality” because she thinks differently than everyone else. Everyone else seems to get along with her mom, so maybe that is why Jing-Mei doesn’t see eye to eye with her mom, they are of two different types. At the end of the night, Jing-Mei received her life’s importance, but she does not know what it means. This signifies that Jing-Mei may come to an understanding with her mother, but she will never fully understand her.
3. The chapter refers to the allegory because the mother gives her daughter a gift. The gift seems to help Jing-Mei feel more comfortable when her mom dies. The pendant is something that she may pass down to her children. When she looks at it she can see everything that her mom meant to her, all of her superstitions, and all of her qualities.

Friday, January 11, 2008 8:00:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

"Crab Meat"
Best Quality

I really enjoyed reading this chapter because I thought it was fun reading about a scene when all four families got together. I also thought the hidden insults between Waverly and Jing-Mei were a good laugh.

JIng Mei and her mother's relationship is more like a traditional chinese mother-daughter relationship. The mother is always willing to sacrifice the best things for her daughter. In this case, she thought that she "was doing the right thing" by "taking the crab with the missing leg," but her mother refused and told Jing-Mei to take the better one. This act shows how much her mother cared for JIng-Mei.

The main conflict in this chapter is probably between Jing-mei and herself. In the beginning, she regrets not asking her mother the meaning of the jade necklace that her mother had given her. Jing-Mei is troubled about how she felt threatened by Waverly's perfections. At the end Jing-Mei finally realizes that she "felt tired and foolish, as if [she] had been running to escape someone chasing [her], only to look behind and discover there was no one there."

Friday, January 11, 2008 8:23:00 PM  
Blogger The Meditations of a Warped Mind said...

I Feel Crabby
I liked this chapter because it is includes crabs! I love seafood. I don’t understand why Tan included so much detail about crabs though, what do they represent? What with the dead crab? I’m going to guess that it means that Jing-Mei Woo is not as selfish as everyone else is, so she picked the dead unappetizing crab so other people would not eat it because Jing-Mei has a good heart. This makes sense to me because her mother then says something about saving something good, and later forgetting she had it saved. I think this is when her mother realized that Jing-Mei is something good she forgot about so she gave Jing-Mei her jade necklace. Wow, I can’t believe I figured all this out. I love eating crabs.

There’s a real catfight between Jing-Mei and Waverly. Those two don’t like each other, and that’s obvious when they try to go at each other at the dinner table. Waverly first insults Jing-Mei in a sneaky way by first saying “nice haircut” and then saying that she should go to someone else more expensive. The bottom line, Waverly was saying Jing-Mei was cheap. This is a very nice thing to say to someone you like, so one can see that Waverly doesn’t like Jing-Mei very much. So Jing-Mei, to counter her, tries to show “how petty” Waverly really was. So Jing-Mei slyly asked her about why Waverly’s workplace wouldn’t pay Jing-Mei for some work she had done. This counterattack Jing-Mei did was absolutely unnecessary but Jing-Mei was just so mad at Waverly that she needed to lash back. With such bad intentions behind their words, it is obvious that Jing-Mei and Waverly don’t like each other.

I think the lesson of this chapter is that everyone has some worth. Waverly, for example, is very “sophisticated” because she wants the best and she can afford the best. Jing-Mei, on the other hand, cannot afford the best and she looks down on herself as less then Waverly. This is why Jing-Mei took the bad crab while “everyone else want(s) best quality” crab. Jing-Mei’s mother told her that she “thinking different” from other people, and her mother gave her a jade pendant. This jade pendant represented Jing-Mei’s “life’s importance,” which means that Jing-Mei has some worth too because, unlike Waverly, she had a good heart. Conclusively, this chapter teaches readers that everyone has something good about them.

Friday, January 11, 2008 8:24:00 PM  
Blogger kristalikesyou said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Friday, January 11, 2008 8:30:00 PM  
Blogger kristalikesyou said...

"What's wrong with it?"
(Best Quality)
> reference to the bottom of page 233

1. Reaction: I liked this chapter for Jing-Mei's restless musings and for the way she tried to think things out. This left the chapter with an internal conflict that was easy to follow and understand. I thought the story with the crabs was a little funny; Rich and Waverly's reactions along with several other people at the table found crab brains to be a topic not suited for dinner time. I thought it was sweet how Jing-Mei's mom told her to take the better crab for herself, but I was kind of surprised Waverly would give her daughter the best crab of the twelve... It's not something that would happen in my family. We give the kids food we know they'll eat and if in a similar situation, would have saved the good crabs for people would would have enjoyed and savored the treat.

2. Relationships: Jing-Mei and her mother have an honest, "close-friends" kind of relationship. Her mother wants what's best for June but is not irrational. She didn't put June through any form of verbal or emotional abuse (during this chapter..). When it came for her and June to take crabs out of the pot, Jing-Mei thought she was doing the right thing by taking the spoiled one; her mother insisted that she take the better crab for herself. Her mother's selfless behavior demonstrates how she has good intentions for her daughter. After Jing-Mei's conversation with Waverly, Jing-Mei feels disheartened and confronts her mom, (I think) to seek comfort. Her mother reassured her and gave a pendant to remind her of her "life's imprtance."

3. Theme/Message: I think the overall mood of the vingette is sad. Jing-Mei misses her mom very much and from this conjured memory Jing-Mei is trying to decipher what her mom wanted her to know about her life's importance. This leads to the message being that since only June's mother could have told her what the pendant was to show, only a mother can tell her daughter what she means. Or, a message can only be given directly from a person otherwise it will be told in what won't be it's 'best quality.'

Friday, January 11, 2008 8:34:00 PM  
Blogger ANU said...

A Crab Competition
Chapter: "Best Quality"

1) I love this chapter because Amy Tan reveals Jing-Mei's intentions and thoughts from a crab! Jing-Mei sacrifices her part of the dinner on Chinese New Year by taking the handicapped crab so her mother can have the one with the "best quality". This moves her mother since she soon realizes her daughter's intentions and therefore gives her the pendant. This chapter isn’t like any other chapter because most of the other chapters are full of conflicts between daughters and mothers unlike this one.

2) Jing-Mei and her mother's relationship is like a barrel of love. Jing-Mei may have been against her mother's superstition beliefs and hated her constant criticism, but her feelings toward her mother show much respect and love. At the table, all the guests are grasping onto the 'best crabs' avoiding the crab without a leg. Finally, as two are left, Jing-Mei takes the neglected crab so her mother can have the better one. In return, her mother understands her daughter's intentions and feels great pride of her daughter. Although Waverly might have a successful career and talents, Jing-Mei's mother puts her daughter before anyone else, recognizing her daughter for her uniqueness. Therefore, she gently hands her daughter the precious pendant.

3) The message in this vignette is that people are good in different ways. For example, Waverly brags about herself and puts Jing-Mei down which causes Jing-Mei to cry her eyes out in disappointment. However, as Jing-Mei is given the pendant, she thinks it to be out of pity. However, it’s actually a gift of pride since her mother is proud to have this unique daughter. Jing-Mei is obviously, very different than Waverly, but depending on a person’s perspective, she can be just as good in her own way, like anyone else. Amy Tan is mainly trying to communicate that there isn’t an ideal person who can be considered good or perfect since everyone is different and can be good.

Friday, January 11, 2008 8:50:00 PM  
Blogger Elaine said...

"A Crabby Day"
"Best Quality"

1. I really enjoyed reading this chapter because it showed a different side of Suyuan. Even though she told June that it is bad luck to get the crab with a broken leg, Suyuan didn't allow June to get it. This showed a different side of Suyuan and that she really cares about June. I like this chapter because there weren’t really any mother-daughter arguments or disagreements earning this chapter thumbs up!

2. The relationship between June and her mother have totally changed. Instead of being the mother that forced her children to become something they are not, Suyuan changes her ways and tries to show her kind and loving side of her. She took the broken crab from June so she would have the better one. Even though Suyuan knew that it was bad for someone to take the broken crab, she didn't want her daughter taking it so she took it herself scarifying herself for any bad luck that may happen to her. This shows that she really cares about June and she is trying to let June be herself and accept that not everyone has to be famous. Their mother-daughter relationship has changed and now they are more loving.

3. The moral of the story is that you don't always appreciate what you have until it is gone. June never got a chance to really appreciate her mother and have a nice conversation with her. Suyuan had given her a jade pendant which June thought was hideous and wrong. It wasn't until her mother died that she realized her mother had given her the jade for a reason. It was too late for June to ask her mother about the jade and how it is her life's importance.

Friday, January 11, 2008 9:15:00 PM  
Blogger CurlyXPrincess8 said...

"Gimpy"
("Best Quality")

1) By this time in the novel I had totally forgotten that her mother died. I thought it was strange that they would eat crab at this time. Especially since it isn't a usual chinese. There is so many meals to choose from but Amy Tan used the crab as a symbol. I liked this chapter. I thought it was great that she recieved the jade necklace from her mother.

2) Their relationship shows love and care, dispite, Jing-Mei is against her mothers superstitions. You can tell this when Jing-Mei takes the defeted crab so her mother would have a good luck crab. But instead her mother refuses and lets her have it. In teh end we find out that she never ate the crab because is was bad. The necklace also has alot of importance about what her mother gives her. I think Jing-Mei is very honored the have it. I would.

3) I learned about some more chinese superstitions from this chapter, also about the jade necklace and how the lightness or darkness shows the age. It was very intersesting.


-Andrea Ulloa

Friday, January 11, 2008 9:18:00 PM  
Blogger hyxue said...

"Not Like the Others"
(Chapter: Best Quality)

1. Reaction
I love this chapter. I was smiling when Jing- Mei's mother smiled at her and told her that she was not like the others. Up to this chapter, there had not been one heart-warming mother daughter scene so I was really surprised with Jing-Mei wanted to give her mother the better piece of crab. Finally there's a scene where the mother and daughter are at peace with one another.

2. Relationship

Jing-Mei and her mother's relationship is actually better good in this chapter. They got along with one another despite their past. The mother is willing to let her daughter take the better piece of crab even though the mother does not want to eat the bad crab at all. The fact that Jing-Mei's mother smiles when she says that her daughter is different shows that she accepts her daughter for who she is and is pride of the woman she has become.

3.Chinese Culture
This crab dinner shows that the Chinese really value the condition and freshness of their food. We see this when the crabs are brought out and everyone goes for the bigger and healthier looking crabs. I also learned that it is considered unlucky to eat a crab that is dead before being cooked or has a missing part. The fact that Jing- Mei's mother did not eat the expensive crab also shows that perhaps in Chinese culture people value luck more than they value and money?

Friday, January 11, 2008 9:27:00 PM  
Blogger piink&green_lvr14 said...

1. This chapter was a cool chapter. I thoght it was really caring for Jing-Mei to take the broken crab even thogh her mother offered to take it. I believe this chapter was sewwt because all the familys and friends came togther to eat. I also liked how the mother wanted the best crabs i the market. Good thing she bought the extra crab because of the extra guest. It was funny when Waverly told Jing-Mei that he stylist has AIDs and that she should which.THat was a little weird.
2. Jing-Mei and Suyuan
In the chapter, you can see that the reltionship between the mother and daughter is very close. The mother offers Jing-Mei the better crab but Jing-Mei doesnt accept it. This shows that they are concerderate of each other and love each other very much. When Suyuan gives jing-Mei the pendant, she gives her her love and the "best quality" of life.

3. Suyuan believed that the crabs related to a womans life. She believed the crab represented Waverly beause Waverly is always is being mean to others like Jing-Mei, she picked at her until she was really irrtaed, like a crab. Also in the Chinnese culture, superstions are often believed in. Suyuan thought that since there was one broken crab, that Chinese New Year was, in a way, cursed. She believed it was bad luck for the crab to be missing a leg, maybe umbalanceing the New Years they were to enjoy.

Friday, January 11, 2008 9:49:00 PM  
Blogger christopher_tam said...

Crabby evolves into Kingler
Best Quality

1. I thought this chapter was very interesting because we get a better understanding of An-Mei and Jing-Mei. I thought it was sweet when An-Mei gives the better crab to her daughter and takes the crab with the broken leg. It was also nice of An-Mei to give her jade necklace to Jing-Mei. A part that was disgusting when Lindo eats the crab brain. This chapter shows that An-Mei really cares for her daughter.
2. The relationship between June and her mother has really changed in this chapter. Instead of her mother trying to change her daughter she is now kind to June. She takes the crab with the broken leg and gives her daughter the better crab. She also gives June her jade pendent. After the dinner her mother took her side and told her not to worry about Waverly. Her love and support for her daughter can be seen throughout this chapter.
3. From this chapter I have learned many things about Chinese culture. When June and her mother go to the market they pick only the best crabs and when June picks the crab missing a leg that is bad luck. I also learned the best part of a crab according to Lindo is the brain.

Friday, January 11, 2008 9:59:00 PM  
Blogger Dee said...

"Smelly Cat"

1) I liked reading this chapter. Like June I want to know why her mother gave her the jade and what is her "life's importance." This chapter made me not like Waverly very much. She is sneaky. Overall, the chapter was very interesting and showed a lot of mother-daughter interactions.

2)June and Suyuan:
This chapter showed how much Suyuan cared for her June. She gave June the necklace and then she took the "dead crab" so June wouldn't have taken it. At the dinner table June felt that her mother went against her, but she didn't. Suyuan tells June not to listen to Waverly's words.

3)In this chapter I learned that the Chinese are very picky about their food. It has to be eaten the correct way and cooked the right way, too. Suyuan, threw the crab with the missing leg away because it was dead and not any good. This shows that the Chinese are very particular about their food.

Friday, January 11, 2008 10:07:00 PM  
Blogger isabel said...

Jade
Best quality
1)This chapter was about Jade and her life. It talked about how she and her mother compared and how different her mother saw things from other people.
2) This relation is with June and her mother. They both learn something from each other. June learns her own importance and what she is worth. The crad symbolizes the bad things that the mother took away.
3) I think the crab is a symbbol. The crab is bad luck and the mom would not let June get it. The crab was bad that not even a beggar would not eat it.

Friday, January 11, 2008 10:15:00 PM  
Blogger Sushi said...

"Even Peasants Don't Eat Dead Crabs"
Best Quality

1) I give this chapter a two thumbs up because it was also heartwarming. I wonder why she didn't wonder what the pendant represented before and if she would ever understand its meaning. Why did her mother buy the extra crab with the missing leg if she knew someone would have to eat it anyways and that its bad luck? That's all I want to know.

2) Jing-Mei and Waverly's relationship is just as competitive and strained as ever. Waverly has always shown everyone that she was better. Not until Jing - Mei's mother said that Waverly is always "moving crooked" did she feel better. Waverly seemed a little better in this chapter, less like a show off and more considerate that she didn't want to hurt Jing-Mei's feelings. Only when Waverly was provoked to defend herself did she have to embarrass June. Their relationship ended on even terms, they are finally balanced.

3)I learned the Chinese culture that if a crab is dead no one would want to eat it because it is not fresh. And a crab with a missing leg is also bad luck to eat.

Friday, January 11, 2008 10:46:00 PM  
Blogger Erick with a CK said...

"Yay, dinner cat fight!"
(Best Quality)

1) Jade seems to be a very important factor for Chinese women; even my mom inherited her mom's heart-shaped, jade pendant. It's almost like jade pendant giving is a Chinese fad. I like the dinner scene a lot, basically because there's so much respect involved among the family members (with the exception of Waverly and Jing-Mei).

2) Words that could describe the relationship between Jing-Mei and her mother would be "love," and "respect." The scene where her mother offers the last two crabs, Jing-Mei chooses the one with the missing leg because "[she] thought [she] was doing the right thing." Even when she didn't like crab, her mother still insisted to take the crab with bad luck. It's actually really similar to how my parents act, always giving me the "best quality" things.

3) The Chinese Culture for food is a very important form of respect and luck. I, myself, didn't know that on Chinese New Year, a crab with a missing leg meant bad luck, probably cause my parents are bit more Americanized these days. Another thing I noticed is how parents tend to give their children something that's of better quality than theirs. It's a really respectful way and I hope to be like my parents some day.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:08:00 PM  
Blogger Jana said...

“Broken Leg”
“Best Quality”

1.Reaction- I liked this chapter a lot because of its low-key plot, it was very simple, but had its uprising moments at the same time. The whole scene of June's mother arguing with the man from the store completely put the image of a Chinatown market in my mind. The Chinese New Year dinner itself was pretty intense between Waverly and June. Throughout dinner, I felt like Waverly was being very rude to June, especially trying to be slyly insulting. I mean, Waverly was invited to June's family's house for dinner, and she completely insults June more than once in front of everyone. After dinner, I loved how June's mother assured June that she was one her own daughter's side, and not Waverly's, and then gave June her jade pendant. I thought that was a very precious mother-daughter moment that would never be forgotten if in real life. Suyuan's connection the the crab was really cool because it showed that she really cared and wanted to explain to June that she shouldn't listen to what others have to insult her about.

2.I think that June and her mother, Suyuan's, relationship is really special. In this chapter, they didn't really fight or argue with each other, more of being on each other's side and coping with the other in the end. This chapter really showed me that mothers care a lot about their daughters with all that they have. Suyuan gave June her jade pendant, and reminded her not to think anything less of herself just because others think less of her. It's a very special mother-daughter connection in this chapter because unlike previous chapters with the other mothers and daughters, June and Suyuan don't really fight, they just are mellow and calm around each other.

3.This chapter showed a lot of Chinese culture through the jade pendant. In Chinese culture, jade is a very appreciated form of jewelry, just like diamonds or pearls in American culture. When Suyuan gave June the jade pendant with a gold chain, it was meant as “life's importance.” Even though June didn't understand one bit what that meant, she wore it everyday after her mother died. June may not have known what the jade pendant meant, but she knew that it was important, or else her mother would not have given it to her. She cherished and treasured it, just like it should be.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:16:00 PM  
Blogger Jeeennifer said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:27:00 PM  
Blogger Jeeennifer said...

"Crabby"
Best Quality

1) I give this chapter two thumbs up because it was very endearing. The love of Suyuan for her daughter was very touching. She gives her a pendant that has much meaning and also takes the worse crab. Suyuan shows that Jing-Mei isn't a failure and saying how she shouldn't be worried about Waverly.

2)Suyuan and Jing-mei had a bitter relationship because of the growing resentment JIng-Mei has for her mom. She thinks her mom has no affection for her because of the criticism but it's really the faith Suyuan has for her daughter's potential. They finally get past this misunderstanding when Suyuan shows some motherly affection by giving Jing-Mei the jade necklace.

3)The conflict is external conflict with Waverly. Even though they might argue with snide comments, everybody knows they dislike each other. This stems from competitiveness and the competition between mothers. The mothers brag to each other and now the daughters have developed competition.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:30:00 PM  
Blogger zeNace said...

"Wheres my Cat?"

1. Reaction:
This chapter was pretty good, until it got to there end. I didn't really understand where at the end she started talking about her mother poisoning her cat, which I thought made no relevance. I like how her mother gives her a heirloom which she does not know about and meets another person who has the same heirloom and he doesn't know what the importance of it either.

2. Jing-Mei and her mother's relationship is based on the typical Chinese culture as before. In front of guests, her mother offers her guests the best crab, while giving her daughter Jing-Mei the crab with the broken pincer. This shows that the guests of the house are honored and her mother is a good host. Giving Jing-Mei the broken pincer does not attract a lot of attention than giving Waverly the broken pincer so therefore her mother gave Jing-Mei the broken crab.

3. In this chapter, it basically told me more about the Chinese culture, and typical parenting. Jing-Mei's mother encourages Jing-Mei to keep her head high after Waverly insults her, a basic parenting move. For the Chinese culture, the rule, guests for before anything else still applies and is greatly honored.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:30:00 PM  
Blogger Vinky said...

Crabtastic! – “Best Quality”

This chapter was really heartwarming to read. June really knew that her mother meant the best for her throughout her life and June questions the meaning of the jade necklace left behind. She doesn’t understand why her mom gives it to her or what it meant to her mother. June wants to unravel the mystery to the jade pendant. She didn’t necessarily like it, but it was from her mother and it meant a lot after she died. When she asked people what their jade pendants meant, they didn’t really give her a straight answer so she has to find out the answer on her own.

June and Suyuan’s relationship was very compassionate. For the Chinese New Years dinner, mother and daughter walked side by side shopping for crabs. From one standpoint, a mother and daughter are having a bonding time together and getting to know each other. On the other hand, the mother is complaining about a cat while they’re looking for crabs. During the dinner, Suyuan gives the best crabs to everyone else and she takes the last and worst one, the one that June picked that was “bad luck”. She gave the second-to-last crab to June. While everyone else had delicious crab, Suyuan did not eat the rotten crab. She gave up her own crab to June and did not complain. It reflects how Suyuan is sacrificial to her family and June.

In the end of the chapter, the missing cat comes back to window and begins lift up its tail and right before it does, June tries to scare it away before getting hissed at. In the middle of the chapter, her mother talks about the cat and its habits. June, towards the end of the chapter, kind of becomes her mother by doing the same action her mother did. Her mother’s spirit becomes a part of her.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:33:00 PM  
Blogger emily_chong said...

Quality of Jade –“Best Quality”

1. This chapter was a heartwarming chapter to read. When Suyuan took the worse crab and gave the better crab to June, it was just so touching. A true mother-daughter moment. Although in previous chapters, it seems that the mothers do not care about their daughters, these little details prove that the daughters mean something much more to the mothers.

2. The relationship between June and Suyuan has definitely improved from where it last left off. In “Two Kinds,” the relationship was strained and the two didn’t seem to get along. However, in “Best Quality,” after the crab dinner, Suyuan tries to comfort June, saying Waverly is “like this crab. Always walking sideways, moving crooked.” She proceeds to say that June can do so much better and gives her the jade pendant. June listens to her mother, taking the time to learn the Chinese traditions and superstitions and enduring her mother’s criticisms. The relationship between June and Suyuan has reached the pinnacle of understanding and acceptance.

3. I think Tan’s message in this chapter is the bond between mother-daughter is something special that can only be understood between the two. Suyuan and June both understand each other and one is always there for the other. Both were selfless when choosing the crabs and June knows that Suyuan is the “only person [she] could have asked, to tell [her] about life’s importance, to help [her] understand [her] grief.”

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:34:00 PM  
Blogger Minh the Master said...

No One Likes Things That Are Missing A Leg!
“Best Quality”

Their life’s importance, for Jing-Mei and the bartender, don’t seem so important to them. While they know it’s important, they don’t seem to know why. I thought it was kind of cool how Jing-Mei’s mom could easily tell apart the different kinds of Chinese people that she sees, perhaps showing her ability to tell apart not just Chinese people, but all kind of people as she shows later. The crab dinner is the main event of this chapter, with the tension quickly turning up between Waverly and Jing-Mei. It just gets worse as she looks stupid, and it seems that even her own mother sides with Waverly. This gets her to feeling pretty small, and her self-esteem seems pretty smashed by Waverly. Suyuan’s judgement of character comes out again as she talks to Jing-Mei of how different she is, but how it’s not necessarily a bad thing, lifting up Jing-Mei and giving her her life’s importance.

The relationship between Suyuan and Jing-Mei seems good in this chapter. While Jing-Mei doesn’t fully understand her mom, it’s clear that Suyuan knows her daughter’s worth and believes in her, like when she talked about how she was different from Waverly, and better in a way. It’s easily seen that Jing-Mei doesn’t completely understand her mom from how she doesn’t know what’s so important about her life’s importance, to not knowing just what was wrong with the crab.

I think Jing-Mei and Suyuan’s relationship relates to the allegory because the mother sees the worth in her daughter, the happiness that will be brought to her soon. Just like that, Suyuan sees the good in Jing-Mei, and knows that good will come from her daughter.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:44:00 PM  
Blogger xxxlilaznboiandrewxxx said...

“Boss”
“Best Quality”

Reaction:
This was a pretty decent chapter. I’d give it only a thumb up because it was pretty boring. The reason I liked it was because Jing-mei and her mom bought crabs. I also like how they only get the best crabs which are a must because crabs are good. I also like how Lindo comes in to help save the moment; she’s a good friend and relative.

Jing-mei and her mom:
Jing-mei and her mom have a pretty descent relationship. Suyuan, in this chapter, gives a lot to Jing-mei. She gives Jing-mei the best crab and takes the worse one for herself and also gives Jing-mei a jade pendent which is something personal. Even though, Jing-mei is resentful. Suyuan doesn’t back up Jing-mei at the dinner instead her aunt Lindo does.

3] The pendent is a symbol of Jing-mei view of her mom. She thought the pendent was ugly which showed how she disliked her mom but after time, she cherishes the beauty of the pendent showing how much she cares for her mom.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:49:00 PM  
Blogger cassiiieee_ said...

"Being yourself"
1.)I give this chapter two thumbs up, and i believe that everyone would agree. i loved how they all fought for the best crabs, and i loved how when at the dinner table, everyone else would choose the good ones also. I liked how i could tell what the theme or message was. it really entertained me.

2.)Jing-Mei's mother takes the worse crab out of the bunch just so her daughter will have the better one. That shows that their relationship towards eachother is a goodone, and sacraficial, and also loving.

3.)#2
Tan's message in this chapter, is to be who you are, no matter what you look like or what you do, just be your best. The chapter title says it all. "Best Quality," which means the best quality you have comes from within, not by what your job is or what not, its about who you are, and if you love yourself. Another message is daughter and mother love, and how Jing-mei and her mother posesses it.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:55:00 PM  
Blogger evelyntang said...

“You pick first”
Chapter: Best Quality

1. I really enjoyed reading this chapter, because so far, when I was reading the book, I had a bad impression of Suyuan. But in this chapter, she showed more of her loving and caring side. Like when she gave the jade pendant to June. I thought that Suyuan used it like a connection with June. Even after her death, Suyuan was still connected with June, through many things, and one of them is the jade pendant. But the part where Waverly is fighting with June really got me mad. Waverly does not mean to hurt June really badly, but after Suyuan’s death, June must have thought of the things that Waverly said and it must have made her feel bad. How she failed her mother in not being a child prodigy.

2. Suyuan and June’s relationship is complicated. Suyuan would be strict on June and pushes her, sometimes too hard. But she has all good intentions of helping her daughter succeeding. When she allows June to take the better crab, she says that June always take the bad stuff. But June just wanted her mother to have the better crab. Suyuan knew this clearly, but I guess that thanking June directly is something that is really hard for her to do. June may not know her mother that well. But really, a part of her is from her mother. The jade pendant is something that is from her mother too. Even though June does not know what it is for, but she is finding out a little bit more about her mother even after Suyuan dies.

3. Through this chapter, I’ve learned a lot about Chinese traditions and superstitions. Like how broken or damaged food can represent bad luck, either if you chose it or you get it by chance, just like luck. How you eat is also very important.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:57:00 PM  
Blogger Christina Tran said...

“I Want The Shiny Red Crab!”
Chapter “Best Quality”

1) My Reaction
I thought this chapter was very mouthwatering because of how Amy Tan described the scrumptious meal on Chinese New Year. I liked this chapter because of the improvement of June and Suyuan’s relationship. One thing that I didn’t like about this chapter was Waverly. She was so annoying because she always wanted to prove that she was better than June. I was angry when “Waverly was first and she picked the best crab, the brightest, the plumpest, and put it on her daughter’s plate” (227). I didn’t understand why a four-year-old child could have the best crab. She could hardly even bite the crab. I thought Waverly was so selfish. As a result, Suyuan was left with the crab with the leg missing.

2) Waverly and June
Their relationship is like two competitors. Every since they were little, they were always compared to each other. As always, Waverly was the better one, causing her to be arrogant. Waverly used to always say to June, “You aren’t a genius like me,” showing her conceitedness (228). During the dispute between the two girls about the “brochure copy on its tax services,” Waverly successfully conquered in embarrassing June (230). In the end, June had to endure all the criticisms and horrible remarks of her family.

3) Chinese Culture
I learned that in the Chinese culture, women always loved to compare their children to other children from a young age up until they were adults. Even if people ridiculed you, you had to bear it because it would be rude to start a fight. It was always polite to offer the guests with the best foods and leave yourself with the unwanted leftovers.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:58:00 PM  
Blogger emilyy said...

I’d Rather Have Nothing At All Than Settle For Second Best – “Best Quality”

1. I enjoyed this chapter because it relates to many families. No matter how mean a parent might seem when a child is younger, they always have good intentions. This is still evident even as a mother’s child becomes an adult. For example, when Jing-Meit wanted the crab without a leg, her mother would not allow it and would only give what was best for her daughter.

2. Jing-Mei’s relationship with her mother is like how most Chinese mothers relate to their daughters. The mother, no matter how strict, always wants what is best for her daughter, even if it means giving up something special of her own. When Jing-Mei was going to take the defected crab, she was showing respect towards her mother, but her mother would not allow it and made Jing-Mei take the one with all legs attached. This shows how much her mother is willing to give up for her daughter.

3. Much Chinese culture is shown throughout this chapter. For instance, one learns how to make a traditional Chinese crab dinner and how to pick crabs the correct way. One also learns how to hold a New Year’s party. I also learned that eating crab on New Year’s is good, but one with a missing leg is considered bad luck, especially on New Year’s.

Friday, January 11, 2008 11:59:00 PM  
Blogger Ramon M. said...

"Mmm, Melt in your Mouth, Crab and Butter Buffet":
1) Reactions to "Best Quality":
I thought that this chapter was very amusing. Their were a lot of hysterical scenes, like the one were Suyuan found the crab that had broken its leg, and secretively tried to put it back, but got caught and had to pay for it. After all, why would we want to pay for something we didn't want? Another hysterical section was when Uncle Tin at the dinner scene started laughing for no reason about, internally laughing about how his daughter was going to marry Rich. I found this funny because nobody laughed, and it was one of those awkward moments when someone makes an unfunny joke and you find that silence before everyone blurts out laughing. Yet there was one heartfelt moment in this chapter that I liked when Suyuan was going to give June the jade pendant. This pendant was so important to her, and yet she tries to make her daughter fell better about accepting the ring by saying, "Not so good, this jade...This young jade. it is a very light color now, but if you wear it everyday it will become more green.(Tan 235)" I like it because she tried to boost her daughter�s self esteem before she died. it was a little sad, though, how this was Suyuan's final good event before she died, and it had to be filled with so much arguing.
2) Relationships in ��Best Quality�:
In this chapter, you find that both Suyuan and June Woo have a similar relationship in common, of which how they both care for more simple pleasures. You find that Suyuan like simpler pleasures because she settled with picking the cooked crab that was not good and distorted. She also did not use the fine china that June had bought her, and though it really wasn�t true, she settled for the �bad quality� jade. At the same time, Suyuan�s daughter, June, shared a similar characteristic because she preferred to have the man who cut for a cheaper price instead of Waverly�s Mr. Rory, and, according to Suyuan, she, �pick that (bad) crab�everybody else want best quality. You thinking different.(Tan 234)� You find that both of these have a common like-mother, like-daughter relationship because they both settled for lesser quality., and did not need expensive things.
3) Essential Questions in �Best Quality�:
Many Chinese customs flourish in this chapter. One most importantly is the jade, which in Chinese can symbolize �life�s importance�, and fertility, and posterity.

Saturday, January 12, 2008 12:00:00 AM  
Blogger ayellowpirate said...

"i miss you mom."
“Best Quality”
1. I loved this chapter, mainly because it wasn’t the same love, marriage problem like in the last few chapters. It was quite scary though, when there was no fight between the mother and the daughter. June and her mom didn’t even yell at each other. That was surprising since the other chapters were about them quarreling over simple things such as piano lessons. June despised her mom in the other chapter. In this one though, June has come to an understanding about her mom, and tries to patch up areas where she can no longer seek guidance from her mom. When Waverly and June exchanged remarks during the diner table, I was expecting some big dramatic fight scene. There was none, no fight at all.
2. June and Waverly, even though they are childhood friends, are still going at it even when they’ve grown into their thirties. These two have been competing and always wanted to be better than the other, even if it meant humiliating the other. Normally, close friends joke about each other, just for laughs and no harm in it. However, for June and Waverly, it is an ongoing competition to see who’s the better person. They bring personal matters into the conversation to humiliate their counterpart. During the New Year’s celebration in front of their entire families, they threw back and forth disguised insults. This brings up the question, are they really good friends? That’s something a good friend wouldn’t do. Waverly, however, tried to keep the truth from June to not hurt her feelings. That shows that she cares about June. Yet, at the dinner, Waverly was the first to comment on June’s hair.
3. In this chapter, I believe Tan’s message is get to know your ancestors or the ones before you before it’s too late. For June, she never bothered to ask her mom about life, about heirlooms, about anything. When her mom died, she was shocked and regret not knowing her mother before she passed away. So Tan is trying to say get to know your parents, your grandparents, and every who preceded you or else one day you’ll lose the chance to find out about life and it’s mysteries.

Saturday, January 12, 2008 12:00:00 AM  
Blogger Anonymous said...

Key to my Heart

1. When June's mother gave her that pendant, it symbolized the kind of life her mother had always wanted for her. In this chapter we find out that her mother is really proud of her for how big her heart is and not all the silly stuff that she has achieved. She really learns to appreciate the good things about june, for example, when June gives her mother the best crab and serves herself the worst one.
2. June and Suyuan have had a strange relationship throughout the years. June has never felt good enough for her mother but is told by her mother that she is extremely proud of her for her big heart. Another important event in this chapter is when Suyuan gives June the pendant which is supposed to symbolize her life.
3. Food means alot in chinese culture. They can dtermine good or bad luck by if a crab is missing legs and interesting stuff like that. This really interested me becaus why would a crab have anything to do with your own life? haha. Another thing that is pretty cool about the chines culture and food is that the cooks tend to insult their own "prized" dish so that they will get even more compliments.

Saturday, January 12, 2008 12:03:00 AM  
Blogger tjoanna said...

There's so much stress
in trying to become the best.
“Best Quality”

1. When June said that the only person she “could have asked, to tell me about life's importance, to help me understand my grief” was her mother, it reminded me of about two friends I have that always seem to be deeply troubled by life (221).
When June said that her mother “came from many different directions”, it reminded me of the chapter called Four Directions (223).
I personally don't like crabs; I think they're creepy. But the way June described the crab being boiled made me feel some of its pain. “...I remember that crab screaming as he thrust one bright red claw out over the side of the bubbling pot”(226).
When Suyuan told June about the necklace, it reminded me of what I told my friend about one of her shirts that I tried on. “See, I wore this on my skin, so when you put it on your skin, then you know my meaning”(235). I said something like that.

2. Waverly and June's relationship is really competitive. Although they're friends, all they seem to want to do with each other is be better than the other. When Waverly was just ten years old, she told June, “You aren't a genius like me”(228). June said that Waverly “could be so sneaky with her insults” and “every time [she] asked [Waverly] the simplest of tax questions... she could turn the conversation around and make it seem as if [June] was too cheap to pay for her legal advice”(229-239),

3. I really like Amy Tan's use of metaphors. “...I was starting to flail, tossed without warning into deep water, drowning and desperate”(231). Metaphors make a story more interesting because they sound better than just writing the obvious. I also liked Tan's simile comparing Waverly to a crab. “She is like this crab... Always walking sideways, moving crooked. You can make your legs go the other way”(235). Writing techniques add sparks to a story.

4. The main conflict in this chapter is probably June vs. herself. She has to decide how good she is and not let Waverly do it for her. The scene after her humiliation at the Chinese New Year's dinner reveals this. “And I no longer felt angry at Waverly. I felt tired and foolish, as if I had been running to escape someone chasing me, only to look behind and discover there was no one there”(233).
I'm not sure about the theme in this chapter. It could be something like: You're stuck with what you get in life. Suyuan said this about twice in this chapter: “Even you don't want them, you stuck”(236).
The theme also might be that sometimes people save the best for last, but if they save it, they forget they had it. Suyuan said “Sometimes I think something is so good, I want to save it. Then I forget I save it”(234).

Saturday, January 17, 2009 1:12:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Best Quality “Good Enough”
1. This chapter was a little boring to read. However, it was some what interesting and not really depressing as the previous chapters before so I was relieved. I liked it when Suyuan gave her daughter, Jing-mei a jade necklace that Suyuan called her “life's importance.” I know a lot of my friends who wear jade necklace in carvings of Buddha or other religious symbols and they've had it ever since they were born. When I was little I received a jade bracelet and seven other gold bracelets from my grandmother. One thing that I liked from this chapter was that they ate crabs and I personally love crabs. I think that they're really delicious, but you often make a huge mess when eating these sea creatures so you have to place a lot of newspaper around you. Suyuan has a way of hurting her daughter as if she doesn't care about her at all and I think June feels that way most of the time. June's mom tells her about things she already knows that have deep meaning, but June doesn't comprehend what she's trying to say. At the New Year's Eve dinner, when Suyuan gave June her “life's importance,” which is her jade pendant I think that she's trying to be closer to June and create a lasting bond between them after she has passed away. June realizes this because before her mom passed away, she never wore the pendent, but now she is wearing it everyday.
2. June and Waverly's relationship almost seems like a sibling rivalry and one of them is always trying to upstage the other. I identify with them more because their relationship kind of reflects my relationship with my sister most of the time. June is always competitive with Waverly, but it looks like Waverly always comes up top from every challenge. I too find my situation similar to June's because my sister always win or does better then me most of the time. It's really frustrating and all that it makes you want to do is try harder and do your best, even though you don't win.
3. Amy Tan used some imagery and similes in the chapter “Best Quality”. I liked how she described when Suyuan boiled the crab that June name as her pet during her eighth birthday dinner alive. The way she described how June remembered “that crab screaming as he thrust one bright red claw out over the side of the bubbling pot” (226) makes you visualize what the scene looks like and I sort of felt sorry for the crab too. Tan also used similes and she compared Waverly to a crab, which was fun to read.
4. I think that the main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self. June has always compared her to Waverly and doesn't know that she is just as good as anyone else. Once she realizes her own capabilities and what she can accomplish, then she doesn't have to compare herself to Waverly anymore and make no competition between them. The lines that reveals this comes after the dinner was over and Waverly says “And I no longer felt angry at Waverly. I felt tired and foolish, as if I had been running to escape someone chasing me, only to look behind and discover there was on one there” (233). I think this is where June had her epiphany in some way and she realizes that she is just as good as anyone else and doesn't have to think that she's not anymore.

Sunday, January 18, 2009 1:10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Sunday, January 18, 2009 2:40:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Broken Crab Leg…

Best Quality

1)I thought that this chapter was sad the fact that her mother died, but it had some funny parts too. It was funny how Waverly just picks up the best crab and puts it on Shoshana’s plate when Jing-Mei had expected that since Shoshana was too little, maybe she would not have a whole one, but she did. How they argued through comments that sounded bad but put into a better way of saying. Then Jing-Mei’s father tells them to stop arguing because he knows that they were arguing. But they continued to anyways. They both get on each others nerve too much.
2)Amy Tan uses flashbacks and this improves her writing. She begins the story as present thence then she drags us back along with her back to the time her mother was alive and explains more about her. Showing us what happened before she passed away and then Amy Tan adds in a necklace that Jing-Mei receives from her mother before she passes away and show us the crab that had a broken leg that meant bad luck or the a dead crab even before it is boiled. So this enhances her writing dragging us in.
3)I learned that the Chinese culture uses a different technique of talking trash about one another. They say things in a good way, but the real meaning is bad. Jing-Mei and Waverly gave us a good example of it. How they say this that sounds nice, but it really means a bad thing about you.

Sunday, January 18, 2009 2:47:00 PM  
Blogger christinehwang said...

Her Jade

Focusing on: Best Quality

This chapter was filled with funny and meaningful memories that June had of her deceased mother, which made me feel both heartsick and slightly lighthearted. The scene in which June's mother says satisfyingly, " ' I not from Fukien,' " in response to her neighbor calling her the, "worst Fukien landlady," was hilarious yet saddening because though her ignorance was able to make me laugh, I realized that her fiery and confident spirit was gone forever. I was able to sympathize with June's sorrow through scenes that like this. One scene that really made me want to curse was the scene in which Waverly chose the crabs with the "best quality" for Shoshana, Rich, and herself. I felt that she was being extremely selfish, despite the fact that this was something everyone else would have probably done if they had, had the chance. Waverly's irritating actions continued on and on, until I burst into anger. When she said, " 'the firm decided it was unacceptable,' " in response to June's questioning of her late payment, I wanted to punch her egotistical mouth. I believed that Waverly had gone too far, even if she was simply trying to win her word "battle" against June. Another scene that caused me to explode was when June's mother "supported" Waverly's cruel comments by saying, " ' June not sophisticate like you. Must be born this way,' " when she was at the dinner table, and said contrastingly "Why you listen to her? Why you want to follow behind her, chasing her words?" when she and June were alone. When I read this I wondered, "Why couldn't she stand up for her in front of Waverly and say this at the dinner table?" One question that I have about one part in this chapter is, what is the special meaning behind the young jade turning dark green? What is this change supposed to symbolize?

One adjective to describe the relationship between June and her mother is "reflective." I chose this adjective because of the scene in which June realized why her the neighbors and the cat that had continuously been a burden to her mom. She began to see, hear, and understand her mother, and thus became in a sense a "blurry" reflection of her. Also, just like how her mom fought with Waverly's mom, June fights with Waverly often, showing a more distinct resemblance between the two.

One writing technique that Amy Tan used in this chapter was flashback. Her choice to go back and forth from the time June's mom was alive, and when she was dead helped improve the story in that the things that her mother had said in the past, helped explain the events that June went through in the present. For example, there wouldn't have been any meaning, message behind June's anger towards the neighbor's cat if it hadn't been explained that her mother had also hated that cat; Tan smoothly inserted this fact through her use of flashback, which enabled her to add more meaning and understanding to particular events in this chapter.

One thing that I learned about Chinese culture was that most people owned a jade necklace; a jade necklace that had different carvings, shapes, and colors that held varied, sometimes individual meanings. I also learned that these necklaces were passed down from their mothers, and in this case, turned darker as they aged.

Sunday, January 18, 2009 7:27:00 PM  
Blogger Linda Nguyen said...

"Everybody wants best quality. You thinking different."
Best Quality

It's weird. Normally I like Waverly, but not here. I found her to be very mean and stuck up when she was embarassing June at the dinner table. In this chapter, I can really identify with what June is feeling. She's always in competition with Waverly and Waverly's always the better one. But what I realized is that we all have our own talents or our own way of doing things. Some people do things fast, and some people do things slow. There's no right or wrong. In my family, there's also lots of jade jewelry. I used to have a bracelet made out of green jade, but now it doesn't fit my wrist anymore. I think I still have it somewhere though. We also eat lots of crab everytime we go out to eat at Asian seafood restaurants. My dad likes to eat the body shell, but everyone eats the limbs. When June's mom let her choose which crab to eat and told her to eat the bigger one instead of the one missing it's leg, it reminded me of my mom. She always gave me the bigger piece and said that she couldn't finish it so I should eat it. I know that she just wants me to get the most because she loves me. I think June's mom is finally accepting that her daughter, June, can't be as "sophisticated" as Waverly when she gave her her jade necklace. She said it was June's life importance, but I also think she wants June to know that she loves her.

June and Waverly's relationship is fierce competitiveness. They kind of remind me of my sister and I when we used to play tetherball in elementary school. We always play our hardest to win, but most of the time I do. I know my sister tries her best, but we're just different. We fight over the silliest things just like June and Waverly used to as kids and now they're still competing with each other now that they're adults. Even though they're older now, they still act like silly, immature children when they're together.

In most of the chapter, Amy Tan uses flashbacks to include June's mom and the time she was alive. By using this, I think it adds more meaning to the jade necklace. We also further understand when and
why her mom decides to give it to her. When June wanted to give the necklace back because she thought her mom only gave it because of what Waverly said, her mom told her, "Tss! Why you listen to her? Why you want to follow behind her, chasing her words? She is like this crab. Always walking
sideways, moving crooked. You can make your legs go the other way" (235). Her mom is finally embracing all the best qualities June possess, and not the worst.

I learned a lot about Chinese culture and what things meant. I learned that pomegranates symbolized fertility and posterity. I guess I can tell my mother this because that was her favorite fruit when she was a little girl. I learned that pears represented purity and honesty. And that ten-thousand-year droplets from a magic mountain would give your life direction, years of fame, and immortality. I also learned that Chinese people refer all Caucasians as waigoren, or foreigners. Lastly, I learned that a missing crab leg meant bad luck on Chinese new year.

Sunday, January 18, 2009 9:45:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Don’t eat that crab!
Best Quality
1. I didn't think this chapter was particularly interesting. June gets a jade necklace from her mom and doesn’t realize its importance, but when her mom dies, she wears it every day. I guess the dinner scene was relatable. I don’t like some people, but I don’t want to be openly rude to them, so I guess whatever I say would have a negative meaning, or be a more polite way to tell them off. June and Waverly do that. They argue and rant and try to outdo one another, but it really gets them nowhere. My favorite part about the chapter was when Suyuan was being yelled at by the other tenants. “And that man, he raise his hand like this, show me his ugly fist and call me worst Fukien landlady. I not from Fukien. Hunh! He know nothing!” That’s hilarious because she doesn’t know what she means, and she’s mad for the wrong reason.
2. The relationship between June and Waverly is very relatable. Everyone has someone they don’t get along with, and unless you’re just a rude person, you try to be polite anyway. I could relate because when I don’t like someone but I have to go somewhere that they’ll be, I try to be as polite as I can, but sometimes I guess I’m not really polite, I’m just not completely rude. Most of the time it doesn’t sound like we’re arguing, just like June and Waverly, but we say things that mean something to us, kind of like inside jokes.
3. Flashbacks are common throughout most of the book, and they help a lot in understanding the characters feelings or events that happen. June’s flashbacks help us understand about her “life’s importance” and how she hates the neighbor’s cat. The flashbacks also showed more about Chinese culture and how certain things, like a crab with a broken leg means bad luck.
4. I found out that Chinese people are really superstitious and food is important. Suyuan refused to eat a crab because it died before she cooked it. She was really superstitious about how a dead crab was bad luck to eat; “even a beggar won’t eat a dead one” (225). She also didn’t want to buy any crabs with broken legs or claws; “Put it back,” Suyuan tells June, “A missing leg is a bad sign on Chinese New Year” (225).

Sunday, January 18, 2009 10:03:00 PM  
Blogger RHEEAK. said...

1. Rikki Dionisio, Period 6
2. “No Matter What, Your Mom is Always Your Mom”
3. American Translation: Best Quality
This chapter differed from the previous chapters in “American Translation” in that it showed how much the mother cared for her daughter and not bickering between husband and wife or mother and daughter. It was relieving to read the mother’s true feels toward her daughter. From the beginning of the book we’ve read how the mothers and daughters differed so greatly, but in “American Translation” we have read now the second relationship between mother and daughter that seems to be “seeing the light.”
4. Suyuan and June have, same as all the other mothers and daughters in this book, a complicated relationship. Suyuan expresses her love through criticism, as we’ve seen throughout the book so far. This criticism is really the deep love that she has for her daughter. In this chapter we see their relationship in a new light. Suyuan gives June the jade pendant as her “life’s importance.” This moment differs so greatly than much of the other’s because the mother is showing the love she has for her daughter by not hurting her, but giving her a token that has so much meaning and having a loving, heartwarming talk with her daughter.
5. Tan uses imagery extremely well in this chapter. My favorite part was when Tan says that crab screaming as he thrust one bright red claw out over the side of the bubbling pot” (226). I could picture the bright, stop light red crab clawing vigorously at the sides of a pot in attempts to avoid the scorching and bubbling fate that awaited him just beneath him (getting ready to be my dinner…)
6. I learned plenty about Chinese culture in this chapter. When Suyuan and June go grocery shopping to buy the ingredients for the dinner Suyuan reveals secrets about how the Chinese believe foods inhabit “powers” so to speak and if you fail to choose the right ingredients correctly it could prove detrimental to you.

Sunday, January 18, 2009 10:28:00 PM  
Blogger tatztastic said...

Brian Tat
Period 7

Life’s Importance

Best Quality

From reading about how these Chinese-Americans had received jade jewelry without understanding it, the whole thing made me sad. It was as if they didn’t know their own culture or heritage. It’s too bad that June didn’t seem too just ask her mother about her life’s importance when she was alive. Despite what had happened to June’s mother in Kweilin and how she worked multiple jobs from the information in “The Joy Luck Club” and “Two Kinds,” it was relieving to hear that June’s family managed to have a steady lifestyle and that they own a six-unit building. I never knew, however, that the Chinese wouldn’t eat a dead crab. I, being a Chinese myself, never heard of this or heard that a missing leg was a bad sign on Chinese New Year. I understood that the Chinese offered each other food before eating a meal as a sign of respect and love instead of what Americans do by kissing and hugging. Before reading this chapter, I had already seen a part of the Joy Luck Club movie of “Best Quality.” From the movie part, I had gotten confused with the book for some scenes were left out and it was easier for me to remember the movie’s. For a strange reason, I knew that the crab with the missing leg represented something. However, I couldn’t make the connection between June, for she had wanted the crab. Perhaps it was a way of indirect characterization in which June cannot see the difference of quality of crabs or in a sense, a quality of herself. I might also think that Tan gave a hint that the crab with the missing leg represented Waverly. The crab could’ve represented how June listens and falls to Waverly’s traps because Waverly walks sideways, moving crooked.

From the chapter, it seems that Waverly and June have a bickering relationship. They were arguing about the freelance work June does for Waverly. It seems that Waverly told June that her work was great and exceptional before. However, June realizes at the Chinese New Year party that it didn’t suit the company’s expectations. However, June’s father is described that he viewed them as “children arguing over tricycles and crayon colors” (230).

Tan uses similies to include some humor into the short story. For example, June describes Waverly’s fiancé Rich as a man who had the same coloring “as the crab on his plate” (228). It gives the audience a little humor into imaging a man with reddish hair, pale cream skin, and large dots of orange freckles. She also incorporates some metaphors about June’s feelings about the incident with Waverly. Tan describes June’s feelings like a fish, in which they started to fail, tossed without warning into deep water, drowning and desperate” (231). It gives the readers to understand how the character is experiencing and how her body feels at the same time.

I learned some new aspects of Chinese culture that I had not already known. For example, I really didn’t know that the Chinese wouldn’t eat a dead crab, not even the poorest of beggars would. It made me wonder why, and have a curiosity of more about my heritage. I did, however, understand why parents offered their children food, and vice versa. I, as a child, never really understood why such families would do this or why this respect was given. From reading the short story, I understood a bit more about Chinese culture.

Sunday, January 18, 2009 11:54:00 PM  
Blogger Kimmy T said...

Kimmy Tran
Period 6

1. Who knew crab could be such a big deal?
2. Best Quality

3. I think that this chapter is the best chapter out of this section. It’s deep on many levels. It’s also funny and witty at the same time. My favorite character is Jing-Mei because she is a good person and it is demonstrated in this chapter. She is also “different” than other people which is a good quality of hers apparently. People usually try to get the best for themselves, as symbolized in the crabs. She picks the 11-legged crab, wanting to save the better one for her mother. I thought that it was very kind of her to do that and it showed how unselfish she can be.
I could relate to June when she saw the crabs being dropped into the pot of water. I would’ve gotten sad too if my new pet had just got slaughtered in front of me in order to be my next meal.
I didn’t like Waverly in this chapter because she seemed so competitive and petty. She also seemed really selfish because she chose the best crab for her daughter, who probably wouldn’t even finish the big crab. She also chose the next best two for herself and Rich. It wasn’t very nice of her. To make things worse, she starts this competitive bickering between herself and Waverly, which is very childish. I also thought it was very bad of her to imply that since June’s hairstylist was gay, he probably had AIDS, although it might have been thought back in those days.
I liked how Amy Tan showed how similar June and Suyuan were. They both ended up yelling at the cat, showing the reader that they were alike in some ways. This also helps the reader realize that Suyuan also has June’s generosity because she sacrificed so much for her daughter.

4. I think that the relationship between June and her mother is endearing. I was going “aww…” near the end of the chapter. They both appreciate each other and respect each other’s ideas and qualities. June respects her mother’s advice and illogical sayings after she dies and Suyuan realizes her daughter’s real worth after the dinner. A scene that demonstrates it is when June and her mother talk. Suyuan tells June that she “[thinks] something is so good, [she wants] to save it” but she “[forgets she saves] it” (234). While she is talking about the dishes, I think she is referencing to June, saying that sometimes she forgets how honest and endearing June’s qualities are.

5. Amy Tan uses one big flashback in this chapter. This helps the reader see what had happened in the past and also it helps the reader see how June grows as a person from then to now and how she knows more about what her mother is trying to say as her jade pendant gets darker and darker with experience.

6. (c. What are you learning about Chinese culture?)
I think that I learned more about how important crabs are to Chinese culture, even though according to Waverly crabs aren’t even Chinese. Nevertheless, they must be a common dish among China. I also learned that a dead crab wouldn’t even be eaten by a beggar. Another thing I learned about Chinese culture is that jade is valuable and the more you wear it, the darker it gets, which is preferred over a light color. I thought that it was a cool fact. I also know how superstitious Chinese people can be around Chinese New Year.

Monday, January 19, 2009 12:35:00 AM  
Blogger Marjorie said...

1. Ignorance killed the cat
2. Best Quality
3. While reading Best Quality, I won’t lie; it made me hunger for crab throughout the entire story. I kind of resented Jing Mei’s mother for not eating her crab in the end. Bad luck or not, what a waste! I loved reading this story because of the angst-filled exchange of words between Jing-Mei and Waverly. Their relationship makes me laugh and feel bits of sorrow for Jing-Mei’s lack of spite. The whole dinner table conversations were hilarious to me, even the intentionally unfunny parts, such as Waverly’s father’s bad jokes and the way the mothers pride themselves on their clothing. Their whole family seems so dysfunctional.
4. Jing-Mei’s relationship with Waverly is obviously scheming and hateful with a tinge of jealousy. They both boast to one another to destroy one another’s self esteem. It’s so funny. I’m more rooted towards Jing-Mei, so I feel bad when Waverly succeeds in everything. In Best Quality, Jing-Mei insults Waverly’s company for their late payments, but then Waverly comes back with the hard hitting truth that her brochures were deemed unacceptable, and then clinches the hit with a god-awful mockery of her ads. They hate each other, that much.
5. In Best Quality, Amy Tan uses the technique of imagery give a better visual of every scene in the story. When she writes about the dinner, her imagery is so precise, it’s as if I were there. “I remember the hungry sounds everybody else was making – cracking the shells, sucking the crab meat out, scraping out tidbits with ends of chopsticks – and my mother’s quiet plate. I was the only one who noticed her prying open the shell, sniffling the crab’s body and getting up to the kitchen, plate in hand(227).” This paragraph is very descriptive for a mere two sentences, exemplifying the power of descriptive language that gives the story a realistic sense.
6. The theme of this story was a bit hazy for me. From the beginning, Jing-Mei talks about her “life’s importance” pendant, not understanding what her life’s importance is. In the end, her mother gives her the necklace after saying,” Everybody else want best quality. You thinking different.” This line is saying that Jing-Mei, from always being gracious, is different and more one of a kind. Sometimes it’s not always to be the best, but to be your best.

Monday, January 19, 2009 1:07:00 PM  
Blogger Tina Truong said...

1) Her Jade was My Life’s Importance
2) American Translation “Jing-mei Woo: Best Quality”

3) Just within the first two paragraphs, the story already seemed depressing. Since her mother left a necklace bearing what was supposed to be “[Jing-mei’] life’s importance,” (211) and then she died six days before Jing-mei’s birthday, Jing-mei will never find out that important for sure. She may or may not find out over time, but she definitely won’t hear what her mother point of view would be. However, I thought that was supposed to be a good thing because if Suyuan did say what she thought to be Jing-mei’s “life’s importance”, Jing-mei may have spent the rest of her life thinking that she would have to live up to that thought. As a result, she really would never be able to find out for herself. Even when the chapter just started, I thought that the content was really deep.
Although it wasn’t really Waverly’s fault, the way that she was described, being the first and picking the “best crab, the brightest the plumpest, and put it on her daughter’s plate…”, but it made her sound really snobby and rude. I personally believed that Old Mr. Chong should have been the first to pick because he was the oldest. Waverly who was probably in her thirties, should have known that traditional act of respect, growing up with a Chinese mother, but then again, Lindo didn’t do that either.
As a guest, I thought that Waverly was really rude to try to embarrass Jing-mei at the dinner table. So rude…
I thought that it was funny, how as a woman in her thirties, Jing-mei still didn’t know how pick something of quality while her mother seemed to know a lot about it. Waverly was able to inherit the ability of always choosing the best from her mother. Suyuan wasn’t that bad either, after all, she was able to tell that the crab was dead with a few slight sniffs, so why didn’t Jing-mei try to learn?

4) The relationship between Suyuan and her daughter is a loving relationship. It was really cute, and although Jing-mei never showed much of that love, I can tell that she did appreciate her mother in one way or another. At the start of the vignette, she knew that she could have asked “Auntie Lindo, Auntie An-mei, or other Chinese friends, but [she] also [knew] that they would tell [her] a meaning that [was] different from what [her] mother intended,” which showed that she valued what her mother would have wanted to say about her “life’s importance” and that she missed her very much. It was so cute how her mother knew which was the better crab and told Jing-mei that that was the one Jing-mei was to take. I would say that that was a mother’s love, like what we’ve read about much throughout the novel (not including when the intention was to tell how the mother was just living through her daughter’s life and forcing her daughter to do something she was never able to do).

5) A significant writing technique that Amy Tan used in this chapter was symbolism. The jade necklace was supposed to stand for Jing-mei’s life’s importance as stated in the very beginning of the vignette. The crab had a more universal representation. Because they ate it on Chinese New Year’s, it must have symbolized luck, for its red color.

6) (c. What are you learning about Chinese culture?)
There were many Chinese superstitions that were mentioned in this chapter. I learned that pomegranates symbolized “fertility and posterity”, a “branch of pears” represented “purity and honesty” and that “ten-thousand-year droplets from the magic fountain” represented “life’s direction and a thousand years of fame and immortality” (222). I also learned that a crab with a missing leg on a crab was a “bad sign on a Chinese New Year” (225). I knew that jade was supposed to turn greener over time, but I never knew that it was because it was aging. My mother, great-aunts and grandparents have always told me that the “richness” of the green color depended on how well I was doing in school, how healthy I was and how hard I was trying in the things that I did. Another set of Asian superstitions, I guess…

Monday, January 19, 2009 4:50:00 PM  
Blogger Jessica said...

1. Break a Leg~
2. "Best Quality"
3. In this chapter, I really loved the small tidbits of details sprinkled around in the text. In the previous chapters, the main conflicts revolved around the arguments between husband and wife, or mother and daughter and it constantly focused on their bickering. This chapter displayed Jing-Mei's mother's love towards her daughter and it was refreshing to see this relationship without weaving through complex implications and such. I was touched when her mother took the worst crab and gave the better crab to Jing-Mei. Oh that reminds me. Throughout the chapter, I constantly craved CRAB MEAT. It surprised me on how warm parts of this chapter became. I think Jing-Mei's family is very, very hectic.
4. I would describe Jing-Mei and her mother's relationship as being a mirror towards one another. After the scene where June realizes why the neighbors and the cat had been an annoyance towards her mother, she began to see things in her mother's light. She began to understand her mother and she slowly became a mirror reflection of what she was. One example is when June's mother fights with Waverly's mother. June reflects this trait because...she fights with Waverly often, also.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses flashbacks. She constantly went back and forth from when June's mother was alive and when she was deceased. This improved the chapter because it helped clarify details in the story. The things that June's mother said in the past helped me understand June's thoughts in the present.
6. From this chapter, I learned about some Chinese superstitions. I learned that you shouldn't cook a dead crab because it will bring bad luck after you eat it.

Monday, January 19, 2009 6:30:00 PM  
Blogger Sara said...

1. The Jade Necklace
2. Best Quality
3. I thought this chapter was a little boring because it was predictable. I use to like Waverly because I felt sorry for her but now she seems so arrogant and rude. Jing-Mei is much nicer. She is a good person because she tries to be polite when choosing the crabs while everyone grabs the ones with the best quality. Although her mother embarrasses her at the dinner table agreeing with Waverly, she changes after dinner. I felt happy when she assured her daughter that Waverly is not as good as her. She knows her daughter has a good heart. It was also sweet of her mother to say that the dish set was so special that she wanted to save it.
4. The relationship between Jing-Mei and Waverly can be described as hate. They are very competitive and vengeful. Although Waverly is more clever and witty, Jing-Mei isn’t so conceded. Jing-Mei insults Waverly’s company for their late payments, but Waverly comes back with that her brochures were deemed unacceptable. She then mocks her ads, letting Waverly win the argument once again. They are constantly trying to top each other and trying to out do the other.
5. Tan uses imagery in this chapter when she describes the crab, “…thrust[ing] one bright claw out over the sides of the bubbling pot” (226). You can imagine a bright red claw struggling in the pot trying to escape. She also describes Rich as a man who had the same coloring “as the crab on his plate” (228). You can imagine him with reddish hair, a pale face, and big orange freckles.
6. I learned some new things about Chinese culture. I learned that pomegranates represent fertility and prosperity. Pears symbolize purity and honesty. And that ten thousand-year droplets from a magic mountain would give your life direction, years of fame, and immortality. They also don’t eat dead crabs before they are cooked because it brings bad luck.

Monday, January 19, 2009 7:27:00 PM  
Blogger yehray said...

1. Don’t be Crabby
2. Best Quality
3. I thought that this was a very good chapter. It really shows how June felt about her mother. June had always thought she always disappointed her mother. She did not become a piano prodigy, did not get good grades in school, and even dropped out of college. However, during the Chinese New Year dinner, her mother gives June the pendant showing her that she actually loves and understands her.
4.Waverly and June still display the same rivalry they had when they were children. Waverly, like before, used her sneaky ways to attack and defile June. Waverly tells her that she should get her hair at her place though it might be a bit expensive for her. June becomes furious and tells June that she had not paid her for her work. Waverly, in return, tells June that her work was unsatisfactory. She is shamed and goes into the kitchen to wash the dishes. Her mother then tells her that she has a better quality heart than Waverly.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a flashback to tell us about the pendant that June had received from her mother. It really helps us understand more about the way June feels about her mother. She finally knows that her mother actually cares her and only criticizes her because she loves her.
6. The main conflict in this chapter is with June and herself. June is not sure whether her mother loves her or hates her since throughout June’s life, she had disappointed her mother over and over again. June is finally knows the truth about her mother’s feelings when the jade necklace is given to her. She and her mother instantly bond. Even after her mother dies, June continues to wear the jade necklace next to her heart, wanting to have her mother next to her all the time.

Monday, January 19, 2009 7:59:00 PM  
Blogger Kenneth Glassey said...

Crabs and a Piece of Mother
Best Quality
1) This chapter is much more mellow then the other three. Nobody is going through divorce, marriage or heartbreak, just a normal gathering of friends and family. Except for the part where Waverly is slyly insulting June, though it may all be in June’s mind. It is interesting how different people can seem when you step into their shoes. When we were Waverly, the world was against her and she was on the defensive. Maybe her attacking and insulting June is just a reaction to that. We also see how June is more selfless then Waverly, she took the worst crab to show respect to Suyuan and because she really did not like crab in the first place. Suyuan knew June would be the only one to do that, its both a compliment and it also says how well she knows June. I wonder what the crab means. June doesn’t like crab, and she took the worst one. The pendent probably doesn’t mean anything specifically, I think it means something different to who ever holds it. For June, it probably means that she is just as good as everyone else and she is more like her mother then she knows.
2) June and Waverly. Rivals. This relationship hasn’t changed in the twenty or so years. Waverly still jabs at June’s ego, and June still can’t fight it. Waverly acts like she is the greatest thing ever and treats June like she is in a chess game with her. Actually, Waverly treats everyone like she is in a chess game with them. Hum, rivals, sort of one sided since June doesn’t try to insult Waverly unless Waverly gets her first.
3) This chapter is pretty much all flashback, and it basically allows us to see what June’s mother was like and what June’s relationship with her was like. Without this, we wouldn’t be able to feel that Suyuan ever lived or the impact she had on June’s life.
4) In this chapter, we learn about Chinese New Years. We see that luck is important on Chinese New years, that nobody wants a crab that has lost a leg because that’s unlucky. Amy Tam also talked about how the mother’s showed their love by giving their daughters stern offerings of food, not hugs and kisses. Everyone is usually in good spirits, not counting Waverly’s jabs at June. We also learn that jade is special in Chinese culture because we see so many people wearing it.

Monday, January 19, 2009 8:15:00 PM  
Blogger amy wang said...

Life’s Importance
Best Quality
1. I laughed when Jing-Mei’s mother was ranting on and on about the tenant calling her Fukien. She must have thought the tenant was saying she came from somewhere, not a name. It was pretty fortunate her mother didn’t know what the man had really called her. When Waverly took the three best crabs for her family, I thought it was really selfish. I realized though, that most Chinese people act that way. They usually take what is best for themselves and the ones they love. When Uncle Tin made the joke, and had to explain it, I was reminded a lot of my own dad. He usually likes saying jokes, and if there is no response, he always has to point out what is so funny. I felt really sorry when June’s plan to humiliate Waverly had backfired onto her and made her feel worthless. I’m sure June is great at what she wants to do, but she just hasn’t found what is was yet.
2. June’s relationship with her mother is something like guidance. June feels that she is worthless and can never live up to anyone’s hopes for her, but her mother sees something in her that no one else can see. June thinks differently than other people, just like with the crab, June’s mother knew that she would be the only one to pick the dead crab because of the way she thinks. June’s mother gives her the necklace to try to show her that she is important, no matter what anyone thinks.
3. Amy Tan uses flashback in this chapter. She continuously turns the chapter to when June’s mother is still alive, to when she is gone. By doing this, it shows a lot about her mother, and about June, how she was before her mother died, and how she was after. Her mother’s words in the past have helped me to understand better about how June thinks and acts now.
4. From this chapter, I learned that crabs aren’t considered Chinese, but Chinese people still consider it lucky to eat crab during the New Year, for luck. I also learned that jade turns darker as it is worn. I never knew this about jade before.

Monday, January 19, 2009 8:27:00 PM  
Blogger Nila said...

1. "Generosity and Selflessness"
2. "Best Quality"
3. Between Jing-mei and Waverly, I would want Waverly to be picked last for soccer teams. While readers already knew that Waverly was competitive, this chapter really revealed the selfish side to her. Although she picked the best crab for Shoshanna at dinner and the next-best for her boyfriend, her darting comments at Jing-mei's freelance work drove the poor girl to near tears. From this, I can infer that Jing-mei is much less selfish than anyone else at the dinner table, because she chooses the worse of the two last crabs, thinking that she is doing the right thing and offering the better of the two for her mother.
4. Suyuan seems like she has sacrificed a lot for her daughter Jing-mei. At dinner, she gave up the better of the last two crabs for her daughter and ended up not even eating any herself. Then, sharing her "life's importance" with her daughter, she offered her precious jade necklace after Jing-mei was attacked by Waverly.
5. One of the main symbols throughout the entire book is represented in this chapter: the jade pendant. After the brutal New Years dinner, Suyuan finds her daughter fighting back tears in the kitchen. Although Jing-mei believes that she is inheriting this pendant out of pity, she is actually receiving it out of pride. Her mother has worn the jade against her skin, and now she wants her daughter to wear it.
6. (c. What are you learning about Chinese culture?)
This chapter taught me about Chinese cuisine, New Years traditions, and mannerisms. Chinese people enjoy eating seafood the most. On Chinese New Years, eating crab is popular because crabs are red, which is considered a color that brings good luck and fortune for the year. Chinese people are not modest when it comes to picking the "best quality" for yourself and/or your family.

Monday, January 19, 2009 8:37:00 PM  
Blogger Rachhhh said...

1. “Feeling Crabby?”

2. Best Quality

3. This chapter was the best I’ve read so far. It really shows that these Chinese mothers really do have the best intentions at heart for their daughters, and the daughters finally understanding that once they come into adulthood. The rivalry between Waverly and Jing-Mei is incredible, I can’t believe something silly like that would last into their thirties!

4. June’s mother knows her better than anyone else, almost better than June herself. When she tells her that she takes the bad crab, she really means that she is too generous to other people and not generous enough to herself. She has extremely low expectations for herself, and she points out that Waverly does not have this problem, and that is why Waverly and June have never gotten along. This is interesting because, as we have seen, at least some of this low self-esteem comes directly from the pressure June’s mother has put on her.

5. The jade necklace that June receives from her mother is used as a symbol in the chapter. June talks of the ornate carvings on it and how she does not understand them, though her mother would have. This represents all of the questions that June wishes she could have asked her mother before she passed away.

6. In this chapter, we learn a lot about Chinese culture. We learn about how jade is so important to them, and how “shapes and details always mean something to Chinese people.” I think that it is interesting how each person has the ability to interpret these carvings in a different manner.

Monday, January 19, 2009 8:41:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1. “One-Eared Cat”
2. “Best Quality”
3. I find it amazing how in one chapter, Amy Tan can make me stand in Waverly Jong’s shoes; and then the next second she makes me loathe her in Jing Mei-Woo’s point of view. She made me believe that Waverly was a stuck-up, selfish, and immature woman. “Waverly was the first and she picked the best crab, the brightest, the plumpest…” (227). I was amazed at how the people at the dinner table picked the best for themselves; because I am accustomed to politeness at my home in which they pick the worst or mediocre to be modest and not selfish. They would have picked as Jing Mei-Woo had picked—the worst. “I thought I was doing the right thing, taking the crab with the missing leg” (227). Jing Mei-Woo tried to give her mother the better crab, and it was respectable.
4. The relationship between Jing Mei-Woo and Waverly Jong can be described as spiteful rivalry. They always put themselves at odds in whatever they do. “I felt like screaming. She could be so sneaky with her insults” (229). Jing Mei-Woo despised Waverly when she insulted her hair stylist.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan used flashbacks. She began talking about a piece of jewelry that her mother had given to her. Then, she flashed back into how she received it and what the dinner celebration was like.
6. d. This chapter connects to the allegory in the beginning of the chapter in that both daughters were given something precious from their mothers. Jing Mei-Woo was given a precious jade necklace, and the daughter in the allegory was given a mirror that would multiply her peach-blossom luck.

Monday, January 19, 2009 9:39:00 PM  
Blogger Omnipotent Master of All said...

1. Crabby
2. Best Quality
3. I really enjoyed this chapter mostly due to the many references to food! The necklace June received from her mother seemed really pretty and special. I wonder what it would feel like losing something as sentimental as that piece of jewelry. I can’t imagine how my parents must have felt when they lost the ring that was given to them by my grandparents on their wedding night. It was stolen from our home during a burglary that took place this past Christmas break, when no one was home for an hour and a half. Like June, I also hated watching the crab die when it was in the pot. My father also warned me about eating dead crabs. He told me that dead crabs produce a lot of bacteria quickly after they die and people end up dying from a crab that died two hours ago. This chapter really made me hungry for crab meat! It was sweet of June to leave the better crab for her mother when there were only two shabby crabs left on the plate. This chapter was a big relief to all the drama that had been going on in the previous chapters.
4. June Woo and Waverly Jong are very obvious rivals. They have been rivals since they were young, because they are the same age. Since June and Waverly were babies, they were compared by thing from earlobes to hair. The tension had gotten worse when Waverly began playing chess and winning numerous trophies. Even after many years, Waverly and June are still rivals.
5. Tan uses a big flashback in this chapter. This entire chapter is a flashback that shows June’s mother before her death. This really helps flesh out the character of Suyuan Woo, who is presently dead. Maybe the reader can understand Suyuan better if the story reverts back to the time where Suyuan is dead.
6. I learned about Chinese symbolism in this vignette. Pomegranates symbolize fertility and prosperity while pears symbolize purity and honesty. “Ten-thousand year droplets from the magic mountain” (222) gives her life’s direction and a thousand years of fame and immortality. I also didn’t know that jade turned darker in color as it aged.

Monday, January 19, 2009 9:57:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1. The Extra Crab
2. “Best Quality”
3. While reading this chapter, I really felt bad for Jing-mei. It seems to me that she has a low confidence in herself and would give up at the first sign of trouble, like dropping out of college and not trying to write that brochure a second time. Also, by reading this chapter, I realized how much of a jerk Waverly was. I was surprised that Waverly picked the three best crabs for her daughter, boyfriend, and herself. Shouldn’t she have carried some sort of humility and politeness since she’s a guest?
4. Jing-mei and Waverly share an immature rivalry with one another. Although they are 30 years old, they continue to make rude remarks and snarky comments towards each other as if they were still teenagers. They focus on making the other look foolish and incompetent even at the dinner table with family and friends, completely disregarding the feelings of others around them.
5. Other than the beginning and the end, the whole chapter was a flashback. The flashback was effective in retelling an event that included her passed mother and showed much of her mother’s personality and characteristics. The flashback also served to characterize other characters further, like Jing-mei and Waverly.
6. From this chapter, I learned a bit about Chinese culture. I learned about some ingredients and sauces they use in their dishes. I also learned about some of the ways Chinese people act during dinner, like some of them eat nosily. Next, I learned that the Chinese treat their elders with great respect. For example, Jing-mei’s mom gave Mr. Chong what she thought was the best crab instead of selfishly taking it for herself.

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:04:00 PM  
Blogger jane-willy said...

1. The Unselfish One
2. Best Quality
3. In this chapter, it was mainly about how Jing-mei tries to find the importance of the jade her mother gives her. I also found a few humorous scenes throughout this chapter. Though it may seem irrelevant to an optimistic point of view, when Jing-mei said, "But beofre I could even decide what to name my new pet, my mother had dropped it into a pot of cold water and placed it on the tall stove" (227). So I thought it was funny how she wanted to keep the crab as her pet. Also, the scene where they were sharing the crabs during dinner, Jing-mei talks about how mothers express their love through giving their children crabs to eat, and not through hugs and ksses. So that was something different to what Americans do today with their children. Another scene that happened was when everyone was gathered around the table when Uncle Tin mentioned the joke about his daughter marrying someone "rich," meaning how Waverly is actually seeing a guy named Rich. I thought it was redundant to how he kept repeating that, but it was entertaining to actually understand what he meant. I really did start to question about the importance of the jade pendant in the beginning, but afterwards, I think I began to figure it all out as the whole crab scene went on.
4. The character relationship would be between Waverly and Jing-mei. It's not neccessarily tough-love. But their friendship is like being friends and enemies at the same time. I think that the way Waverly was talking to Jing-mei was quite rude because she shouldn't judge where Jing-mei still gets her haircut and why she keeps going there. It's really not her business, but if she were to question, maybe she should have done it in a nicer way. Also, the way Jing-mei responded was also quite unneccessary because I don't think it would have been smart to keep comparing things to make each other feel bad. The way they communicate is just so intense with their arguments to see who's better with this and that.
5. I noticed that Amy Tan uses some brilliant word choices. When she was talking about how her mother was taking care of the crabs, she described in detail of how her mother was able to grab ahold of the crabs to cook them. "Then one by one, she grabbed the crabs by their backs, hoisted them out of the sink and shook them dry and awake. The crabs flexed their legs in midair between sink and stove. She stacked the crabs in a multileveled steamer that sat over two burners on teh stove, put a lip on top, and lit the burners" (225). She used personification when she said, "To this day, I remember that crab screaming as he thrust one bright red claw out over the side of hte bubbling pot" (226). This quote explained how crazy the crabs must have felt just like her own voice yelping out, but having "no vocal cords" (226).
6. Overall, I believe the theme is to just be the unselfish one and you will get through life peacefully. It isn't any good to continue lengthy arguments that aren't worth the time. It's beter to live life the way it is and have the "best quality" in you in order to become the more loveable person that everyone can enjoy being around with. No one wants to be near a selfish and rude person who always thinks "crookedly" like Waverly. People want to be around the person that is more forgiving, humble, and modest to the other side of life.

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:11:00 PM  
Blogger spiderlaurie said...

Life’s true meaning
Best Quality
1. I really liked this chapter. I could really identify with the way Jing-Mei felt really bad for the crabs that her mother cooked. I feel the same way when my mom cooks crabs. I just think that it is so sad when they are cooked alive. I didn’t really like Waverly in this chapter. She seemed really spoiled and smart alec like. I thought that it was very rude of Waverly to pick out the best crabs for her daughter, her boyfriend, and herself. She should have let the oldest people go first because that is just more respectful. And, she was also a guest. I just think that she was way out of line at that dinner. I think the advice that Jing-Mei’s mom gave Jing-Mei was really good. She told Jing-Mei not to worry so much about what others say, but just to do your own thing. I think that is very smart because then you can just focus on doing what you do best.
2. I think the relationship between Jing-Mei and her mom is actually pretty healthy. Although they do not always get a long, Jing-Mei isn’t mean or rude to her mom. Maybe it is because Jing-Mei lost her mom and now is grateful for everything that her mom did, but still, I think that even during the New Year’s dinner Jing-Mei realized the sacrifices that her mom always makes to try to let Jing-Mei have the best, like the crab.
3. I liked the use of word choice in this chapter. Amy Tan uses words like “humiliated,” “outsmarted,” and “betrayed” to show how Jing-Mei felt after confronting Waverly about their business deal. The words Amy Tan chose to use really made me feel what Jing-Mei felt.
4. This chapter showed me that in Chinese culture elders should always be respected. For instance, it was considered very rude of Waverly to not let Mr. Chong pick the crab first because he was almost ninety. Also, I learned that many times, Chinese people pass down their jewelry and necklaces. This is very important because to them, they are passing down their values and beliefs that seem to be hidden in the picture or symbol on the necklace.
-Laurie Jeng

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:11:00 PM  
Blogger johnnyappleseed said...

Johnny Chu
Period 7

1. Always the Best
2. Best Quality
3. June didn’t understand her mother’s meaning about her necklace. June’s mother died and she never got to ask her what the necklace was for. June didn’t really understand her mother because she kept on giving her the good stuff, but however she never wanted it and never got her meaning. June always loses to Waverly in everything. During their dinner she got beat by Waverly in talking about copies from June’s ad agency. This time things got even worse since June’s mother joined in and rubbed it in and made her even more humiliated.
4. June and her mother’s relationship is close, but June never got her mother’s meaning. When ever her mother tried to give her the good stuff she would get the bad one instead. What she didn’t understand is that she is trying to give her all the good stuff.
5. Amy Tan used foreshadowing; it was the crab that showed that June was going to have a bad day. Since June’s mother said that the crab with the broken leg means bad luck, June got bad luck right after in the dinner.
6c. Chinese parents always try to give their children the best things.

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:16:00 PM  
Blogger carmen c. said...

1. “The Pet Crab That Became the Birthday Dinner”
2. AMERICAN TRANSLATION: “JING-MEI WOO: Best Quality”
3. This chapter had humor when Suyuan mistook what her tenents told her that she was a bad landlady. I was laughing when Suyuan said that “I not from Fukien” (224). I felt sad when June remembered the crab that her mother cooked for her birthday. She was having a fun time playing with it but the fact that it died a slow death was terrifying. I didn’t really think it was fair that June’s guests, Waverly and her family, got to pick out and eat the best crab during the New Year celebration, but I guess as guests, they got to choose first. Waverly’s attitide and her mother’s was rude during the dinner. Lindo criticized Suyuan’s clothes and Waverly went straight to the point about June’s hairdresser was gay and that he might have aids. I didn’t like the fact that Waverly always seemed to win while June lost. As friends, I thought that Waverly was harsh towards June about her job.
In the end, I felt touched that June and Suyuan had a mother and daughter moment where Suyuan told June about her importance.
4. The relationship between June and Waverly can be described as competitive. Right from the beginning, June and Waverly didn’t really like each other but were friends since their mothers are friends. During the dinner, Waverly criticized June’s hairdresser and said that hers was better. She also told June that what June did for her firm was not good enough. I feel that it is a neverending battle not just between June and Waverly, but Lindo and Suyuan. Lindo and Suyuan always want to show off their daughters and who is better. In the end, even though Waverly picked the best crab out of the rest, June understood her importance and receiving the best quaility of things doesn’t matter.
5. Amy Tan uses flashbacks in this chapter. June recalled the time when she was eight years old and befriended a crab her mother bought for her birthday. She also used imagery to describe the crab, comparing Rich and the crab that he was eating. The crab was orange, just like Rich’s hair, and skin just like his. The flashbacks and imagery helped me picture the scenes clearly.
6. I learned that it is a bad sign on a Chinese New Year if a person buys a live crab with a missing leg. During the crab dinner, Suyuan got the crab with the missing leg and instead of eating it, she threw it out. Chinese mothers show their love not by hugs and kisses, but by cooking delicious food for them, just how Suyuan showed her love for June.

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:22:00 PM  
Blogger Katie said...

1. Jade pendant

2.Best quality

3. In the beginning of the chapter, I thought it was really sweet of Jing-Mei to wear the pedant her mother gave her even though she thought it was garnish and overly decorated. It was really interesting how Jing-Mei’s mother could tell where each Chinese woman came from by the way they acted or dressed. During the dinner celebration, I couldn’t believe how selfish the guests were when they chose the best crabs for themselves and didn’t even consider leaving a good crab for their hosts. I don’t understand why Waverly picked the biggest crab for her daughter, because she’s only 4 and wouldn’t finish half of it anyway. I also thought it was really snotty how the Lindo pointed out that a color looked “too young” on Jing-Mei’s mother. Maybe it did look out of place on her, but it’s not her job to point it out so rudely. I also thought the way Waverly was making snotty remarks at Jing-Mei were also out of place. Jing-Mei invited her over for dinner, prepared a large crab dinner for her family, and she comes and she points out petty things about Jing-Mei. That’s one of the rudest things I’ve ever heard of. When Waverly said that her company didn’t accept Jing-Mei’s work, I thought that it was horrible of her to say to in front of everyone at the table. She could of at least had the manners to call Jing-Mei aside and say it to just her.

4. The relationship between Waverly and Jing-Mei is one that is considered friend-enemies. They’re friends to some point, with Jing-Mei inviting Waverly over for dinner and Waverly complimenting Jing-Mei’s haircut. Unfortunately, they’re also enemies because Waverly also uses sneaky attacks to embarrass Jing-Mei in front of the entire dinner table.

5. A writing technique that Tan uses is flashbacks. The entire chapter is a flashback to when Jing-Mei’s mother gave her the necklace she wears in the beginning of the chapter. The flashback explains in detail, her relationship with her mother and how she obtained the necklace in the beginning. After the flashback, she thinks of her mother and notices the cat that her mother was accused of killing in the flashback.

6. In this chapter, I learned some Chinese superstitions. One sign on bad luck is a crab with a missing leg on Chinese New Year. A belief is that even a beggar won’t eat a dead crab because a dead crab will taste bad after it’s cooked. Another Chinese belief is that if Jing-Mei wears the jade everyday, it will become greener.

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:29:00 PM  
Blogger MMMMymy_ said...

1. “Crabs? Yuck!”
2. Best Quality
3. I was pretty confused after reading this chapter. The talk about the crabs was really weird, and I didn’t understand what it related to. I knew it was supposed to be a symbol, but was there a real conflict in this chapter? I really liked how this chapter tied in the previous characters and put the story together. It brought up Waverly, Rich, Shosana, Auntie Lindo, Auntie An-mei, and even Mr. Chong! Ironically, in the story the setting is Chinese New Years, and present day Chinese New Years is just around the corner. My mother is already making preparations for the big feast, and making the house look nice for guests and such. Anyway, I sensed a lot of tension in this chapter. In the beginning, Suyuan took June Woo shopping for crabs to cook the dinner for the guests. This definitely reminded of when my mother takes me grocery shopping, but instead of nagging at me like Suyuan does, my mother calmly teaches me what proper foods I needed to buy. It was kind of funny when Suyuan started talking about dead crabs because that’s exactly what my mother tells me! “Don’t pick the ones that are dead, they’re not fresh!” Suyuan chooses to insult the dead crabs in a harsher way, and says even a hobo wouldn’t eat it. During the dinner, when everyone gets their chance to pick the crabs, everyone rushes for the best crabs, and leaves Suyuan and June with the worst ones. Suyuan ends up giving the bigger of the two leftover crabs to June. Apparently, this was a sign of love! How strange, I would much rather have hugs or kisses. After the actual dinner, we are brought to the scene where everyone jokes around and has casual conversations. I was pretty surprised that Waverly and June still had arguments with each other, over who was better or who was smarter. Even though they’re older, they still have the same animosity, but just more mature and discreet. At the end, when Suyuan and June clean up, Suyuan speaks to June in private. She compares Waverly to the unwanted crabs. I’m guessing the whole point of this chapter was to show that June shouldn’t care what others think/say. She makes her own choices on what she wants, and she doesn’t need to consider what someone else might think.
4. The relationship between June and Suyuan can be described as a peaceful bondage. Their mother-daughter relationship isn’t like the relationship of the other mothers and daughters. They don’t fight with each other or have the angry tensions between each other. They talk to each other in a calm matter, even if they disagree. Suyuan shows her love by spending quality time talking with her daughter, teaching her whatever she knows. They go food shopping together, wash dishes together, and have nice conversations. She tries to make June a better person; it showed the brighter sides of the parental relationships.
5. One technique Amy Tan uses is flashback. She starts off talking about the jade pendant, and how it was given to June. She then shows us the Chinese New Years dinner and the story behind the pendant. It was first because June felt down due to Waverly’s continuous mean comments. Then Suyuan wanted to make her feel better, and told her that she didn’t need to listen to anyone else. We learn of the reasons why Suyuan gives her the pendant. And the symbolic meaning of the pendant is clearer to the reader.
6. In this chapter, I learned that jade is pretty valuable in the Chinese culture. It’s something that needs to be taken care of so that after it ages, the darker the color which makes it more beautiful. I also learned it’s intricate designs and carvings are probably what makes it so valuable. Also, the Chinese are very picky about what they eat. Everything has to be fresh, otherwise it’s considered trash. I also learned that “Nala, nala” means “Take it, take it’.

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:29:00 PM  
Blogger ashleen said...

1. Try the orange spongy part… it’s the tastiest!

2. Best Quality

3. This chapter was very well-written and I loved how Amy Tan was able to grab my attention within the first few pages. I loved the way Tan described the jade pendant. It was really interesting! I thought the scene with Jing-Mei’s mother and the neighbor’s cat was funny. I could imagine the mother slamming her hand against the window trying to scare the cat away, while it hissed back at her. Also, the crab scene was disgusting! I felt nauseous when Auntie Lindo said that the orange spongy part, “the brain, was the most tastiest” (228). I was glad that I wasn’t eating anything; otherwise I would’ve thrown up onto the book! I thought it was sweet of Jing-Mei’s mother to take the worst crab for herself. Practically all mothers do that kind of stuff; take the worst part for themselves and leave the best ones for their children. That scene was very touching. However I noticed that in this chapter, Tan describes the crabs with much detail. What do they represent? Is the dead crab supposed to symbolize something?

4. Suyuan and June’s relationship can be described as affectionate. Unlike the other mothers and daughters in the previous chapters, Suyuan and June understand each other’s feelings and ideas. At the dinner, Jing-Mei decides to “take the crab with the missing leg” because she thinks that is “the right thing [to do]” (227). Suyuan, however, knows that her daughter “[thinks] different[ly]”(234) and the only reason why she wanted to take the bad crab was so her mother would have the better one. Therefore, Suyuan refuses and gives June the healthier one, while she takes the defected crab for herself. By performing this action, Suyuan showed that she cared for her daughter. Their growing relationship is also shown when Suyuan gives her jade pendant to June.

5. One of the many writing techniques that Tan uses is imagery. She uses imagery to paint a scene into the reader’s mind so they can imagine what she is trying to show. Tan says that the crab was “screaming as he thrust one bright claw out over the sides of the bubbling pot” (226). As I read this scene, I imagined a bright robustly crab trying to grab a hold of the pot’s rim and escape the boiling, hot fate that lay beneath him.

6. I learned a lot of interesting facts about Chinese culture in this chapter. I found that food can represent luck or misfortune. When Jing-Mei and her mother go to the market to buy crabs, Jing-Mei accidentally picks out a crab with a missing leg and her mother whispers to her that “a missing leg [was] a bad sign on Chinese New Year” (225). Also, I learned that some Chinese people are really fussy about other’s eating habits. At the dinner, Waverly’s fiancé, Rich, gets criticized by Aunt Lindo when she asks him “why [he was] not eating the best part?” (228). This reveals that the significance of food and the way of eating it is a very important part of Chinese culture.

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:41:00 PM  
Blogger Tiffany said...

Tiffany Vuong
6th period
1. "Second the Best"
2. “Best Quality”
3. When everyone went over to Jing-Mei’s house for Chinese New Year and Jing-Mei’s mother was bringing the crab out it got me upset when Lindo and Waverly Jong took the best crabs for their families and themselves. They didn’t even wait for Mr. Chong to pick first, to show some decency and respect for their elders. Unfortunately, that whole scene reminded me of my family. My aunt and cousin would probably if not had already done what Waverly and Lindo Jong had done; took the best for themselves. My mom and oldest sister would probably be left with the leg missing crab because its just their nature to wait for everyone to be served before they begin to eat or serve themselves. When the worst is left, my mom would definitely give the best of the two crabs to my sister. My sister would also try to show respect to my mom and try to do my mom a favor by giving her the best of the crabs, but my mom would give it right back to her. Also, my aunt, similar to Lindo Jong, would criticize the things my mom does and wears; and while Waverly’s mom does that Waverly (my cousin) goes on to Jing-Mei (my sister) how successful she is and how she’s better than her in all ways imaginable.
4. Jing-Mei and Waverly’s relationship could be described as aggressive. Their relationship is basically trying to be better than one another. When they start a conversation its always going to be about the things each of them had accomplished, how their company is going, who has the nicest house, car, faithful husband, things that relationships shouldn’t be based upon. At the dining table covered in scraps of crab during dinner it was back and forth between the two of them about Waverly’s company.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses imagery making it difficult to control my cravings. I love how she uses imagery to set the mood and the setting of the scene. When Waverly and Jing-Mei were fighting it felt like I was there sharing the meal of delicious crab and seeing one comeback after the other after the other, watching Lindo and Waverly hurriedly snatching the best of the best crabs for their families and passing the missing leg ones to Jing-Mei and Suyuan Woo.
6. In Chinese traditions usually mothers would give a type of pendent to their children to show some significance towards them. Serving a crab with a missing leg is bad luck on Chinese New Year. Chinese mothers show they love their children, not through hugs and kisses but with offerings of food. In Chinese nala means take it.

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:43:00 PM  
Blogger Julie said...

Fukien Landlady
“Best Quality”
1. Although the divorce stories were amazing, I was relieved to find that this story was not focused around a marriage. This vignette made me laugh a little with the joke about marrying rich and the “Fukien” thing. This chapter made Jing-mei’s mom seem racist and nag a lot. So when I read that her mom was accused of poisoning the cat, I believed she killed the cat as well. However, I don’t really get the significance of the cat. I think it has meaning to it, but I don’t know what. I also had to read the part about the crabs a few times, and it was still unclear to me.
2. I think the relationship between Jing-mei and Suyuan is also a typical mother-daughter relationship. Suyuan tries to guide Jing-mei to make the right choice because Jing-mei is not looking for the best quality of things. She also gives her a jade necklace, which will probably be passed down from one generation to the next.
3. Amy Tan uses foreshadowing in the beginning of the vignette to show how a jade will show Jing-mei life’s importance. It shows that something will happen on the night of the Chinese New Year resulting in Suyuan giving Jing-mei the jade necklace.
4. I learned many things about Chinese culture. I learned that picking out crabs is not so simple because picking a bad one or a dead one will result in bad luck. I learned that a pomegranate symbolizes fertility and posterity, and that pears symbolize purity and honesty. I also learned that waigoren is a term for foreigners

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:47:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1.The Crab Does Not Have The Best Quality
2.“Best Quality”
3.In the beginning of this chapter, I was happy to see that Jing-mei and Suyuan were no longer mad at each other. During the dinner, I became angered at Suyuan for saying that Jing-mei did not possess the same sophistication as Waverly. Waverly was so different from what her chapter was like; she was arrogant and she was “always walking sideways, moving crooked” (235). At the moment, it was probably very easy use “hate” and “Waverly” in the same sentence. In the end, I was deeply touched with the conversation and exchange between Jing-mei and Suyuan. I felt that it would be impossible for them to have any tension. The funniest part was when Suyuan recalled what one of her tenants had said to her, raising his hand and showing her his ugly fist, and calling her the “worst Fukien landlady” (224). Her satisfying response was also hilarious, with her saying that, “I not from Fukien. Hunh! He know nothing!” (224) Maybe it’s just me, but I think Suyuan had misinterpreted what the man had said, taking a profane term of the English language for “Fukien.”
4.The relationship between Jing-mei and Waverly is definitely a long-lasting, stubborn one. I don’t think it is Jing-mei’s nature to be competitive, but Waverly brings out the bad in Jing-mei. Judging from their heated argument at the crab dinner, it seems that they are destined to hold a disputatious relationship.
5.Again, I liked the use of symbolism in this chapter. I loved that Waverly was a crab, because of her “crooked” ways. Most importantly, the jade pendant that Suyuan gave to Jing-mei represents Suyuan’s love for her daughter, as well as the end of their lifelong argument. It seemed as if the pendant acted like a resolution for the mother and daughter.
6.I think the theme to this chapter is that the “best quality” is not to be like Waverly, moving sideways and being crooked; which means being arrogant and snotty, but rather, being giving and caring. This is revealed as Suyuan speaks of Waverly’s personality, and tells Jing-mei that she “can make [her] legs go the other way” (235).

Monday, January 19, 2009 10:52:00 PM  
Blogger Maria.uHHH. said...

“The Last Crab on the Plate”
CH. Best Quality

1. This chapter was very meaningful and moving. After Suyuan died, Jing-mei finally started to ponder about her life’s importance. Just like the green pendant, Jing-mei took her mom for granted and never really got a chance to understand and appreciate everything she did. However, now she knows that the green pendant is more than what it seems on the outside, like her mother, who gave up things just so Jing-mei and everyone can always get the best. During the crab dinner, I think my impression of Waverly went down a whole level. Giving the best crabs to herself and her family, she never considered that Mr. Chong and the rest of the adults deserved the better ones. When it got to Jing-mei, I was touched when she tried to take the bad crab and give her mother the good one; but, Suyuan made the biggest impact on me when she sacrificed the better crab to her daughter and took the bad one instead. Although Suyuan sounds like she also has an air of Chinese pride in her attitude, she differs a lot from Ying-ying and Lindo who are always boasting and arrogant.

2. I think that the relationship between Jing-mei and Suyuan is very special. Although in the past they got into a lot of arguments because of the prodigy-finding incidents, it seems as if Jing-mei totally forgave her mom. It is probably because now that Suyuan passed away, Jing-mei realizes all the things her mom has done for her and is more thankful.

3. A writing technique that Amy Tan uses well in this chapter is dialogue. When Jing-mei tried to outsmart Waverly, the conversation was hilarious. It was funny how Jing-mei started out all confident that she could finally rub something in Waverly’s face, but in the end, Waverly still got the better of her. The way Tan wrote the dialogues makes the reader feel as if they are really there listening to those two girls bickering back and forth.

4. In this chapter, I learned some more courteous rules for Chinese dining. The elders and children always have to be able to get the best choices, and if you are the one serving, the not so good choices should always be taken by you. Another local color that was shown was the market place on Stockton Street in Chinatown. There are fish stores where you can just go and pick out your own crabs. It reminds me of the fish aisle in 99 Ranch, where there are always a bunch of Chinese people hovered around the crate of crabs just poking and tossing them into their plastic bags.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:00:00 PM  
Blogger CHELSEA<3 said...

1. Chinese New Year!
2. “Best Quality”
3. I thought this chapter was the best. There wasn’t much drama in it like the previous chapters. There was no divorce, marriage, or heartbreak. This chapter was simply a close friends’ Chinese New Year’s gathering. I enjoyed reading “Best Quality” the most. I think Jing-Mei’s mother is hilarious. When she and her mother were walking down the street, on the way to buy crabs, all her mother did was rant about the tenants who lived on the second floor. Jing-Mei’s mother somewhat reminds me of my grandmother, “still [walking] briskly along” with “a colorful flowery plastic bag” (223). At the dinner table, I don’t think Waverly was being selfish by choosing the best three crabs for Rich, Shoshana and herself. I think if I were her, I probably would have done the same for my fiancé and child because they would be my family and loved ones. It was interesting that Jing-Mei’s mother let her have the better one out of the last two crabs. I thought it was right for Jing-Mei to choose the one with the broken leg and let her mother have the faded orange one. I was always taught to give my elders the better one, no matter what it was. I think this chapter showed how Jing-Mei and her mother’s mother-daughter relationship had changed. I think by giving her daughter the jade necklace showed that no matter what, she’ll always and always have loved her and accepts her for who she is.
4. The relationship between Waverly and June is ridiculous! After many years, the two still show the rivalry they shared when they were kids. This clearly shows at the dinner table. Waverly still uses witty remarks to be greater than June. Waverly tells her to get a haircut that she thinks is too expensive for June but, she strikes back; complaining Waverly’s firm doesn’t pay her on time. Clearly, the two still compete against each other to see who has the upper hand.
5. A technique Amy Tan uses in “Best Quality” is flashbacks. The whole chapter is pretty much a flashback of how Jing-Mei received the jade pendant from her mother. It begins with Rose wondering what the pendant means, then telling the story of how she came to accept it from her mother and the story behind it. Because of the flashback, the reader is able to attain the reasons why Suyuan gave her daughter the jade pendant.
6. This chapter had a lot of local color I had not known before. I had no idea that jade needs to be taken care of with care for it to turn darker. I also learned that jade is very valuable because of its intricate designs and ornate carvings. In addition to that, I learned that some foods can be considered as bad luck, pomegranate symbolizes fertility and posterity, and that pears symbolize purity and honesty.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:09:00 PM  
Blogger Steeveen said...

1. Hobos don’t eat dead craps dear.
2. “Best Qualities”
3. Ironically, the setting takes place during Chinese New Years and it just so happens that our Chinese New Years is the upcoming next week! Like Suyuan, my mother is also preparing for out New Year’s festival. Anyway, in this chapter, the Jongs, the Woos, and old Mr. Chong all came together to celebrate the New Years. They gorged on yummy crabs and feasted the night away. However, tensions quickly rose as Waverly and June got into a childish argument. I found it rather shocking that the rivalry between the two had not died over the past years of maturity. Both still compete against each other, striving to be the best, or more, than one another. I think it is very childish and unnecessary.
Aside from the two’s fussing, there was also the passing of the crabs. Waverly picked the three best crabs for her, Rich, and Shosana. Everyone rushes to pick the good crabs, thus leaving June and Suyuan with one good crab and the crippled crab. Thinking of her mother, and her dislike of crabs, June grabbed the crippled crab, hoping to please her mother. However, her mother quickly took the good crab and replaced June’s choice. Everyone enjoyed their crab, sucking and poking at the soft squishy flesh. For Suyuan, it was different. One sniff was all it took for Suyuan to lose her appetite.
While June was washing the dishes later that evening, Suyuan comes in to help. The two have a discussion about the uneaten crippled crab, June’s bad choice in crab, and of course the feud between Waverly and June. In the end, the conversation between the two end with Suyuan giving June her jade necklace.
4. The relationship between June and Waverly is a never-ending feud. The two are constantly at it, trying to see which one is the better of the two. I thought that years of maturity and being adults, the two would set their differences aside and become good friends. To even think that their feud was so bad that it had to occur during a festive occasion was quite disappointing.
5. Amy Tan used flashbacks in this chapter. She started off with June holding the necklace and remembering her mother. The flashback tells us how June obtained the necklace, the story behind it, and the meaning and purpose of the necklace.
6. I’ve learn that jade turns greener day by day. I also learned that it is bad to eat crippled crabs, especially on New Years.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:12:00 PM  
Blogger Trung said...

Trung Trung
Crabby Dinner
“Best Quality”

1. This chapter was quick confusing to me. Even so, I thought it was nice how Amy Tan combined all the characters from the other stories and put them in one dinner table. Stereotypically, I thought the characters at the dinner table acted nothing like a typical Asian would. They were rude and disrespectful. My mom and dad always tells me to be respectful to the host when I’m at other people’s house. Saying that, I can’t believe everyone at the dinner table would take the best crab and leave the worst one for their host. It’s respectful to let the host or the elder take the first helping. I loved how Amy Tan could make the reader love Waverly so much in the last chapter, but hate her just as much in this chapter with Jing-Mei’s perspective. However, the theme of the story was not well explained. Why is there a cat in there? What importance does it have? What was so important about the jade pendant? What did Jing-Mei’s mother mean by importance of life?

2. I find the relationship between Waverly and Jing-Mei to be rather childish. Even after so many years and now they are in adulthood, they still fight like little girls. At the dinner table, they would throw petty remarks at each other. Isn’t it time to grow up? Let bygones be bygones. I understand they use to fight since little and would compete in everything but they did not have to drag it for this long. Waverly was rude and cruel to tell Jing-Mei about her failure at work over the dinner table in front of everyone. Couldn’t she have done that privately? I can tell Jing-Mei has low self esteem because she could never be like Waverly. And yet Waverly still makes her feel worst knowing that.

3. Amy Tang uses a lot of flashback to describe how Suyuan, Jing- Mei’s mother, was like. It gives the reader a deeper understanding of the character and how she affects Jing-Mei before and after her death. Without it, the reader would be clueless why Jing-Mei felt the way she did. It also explains the story behind the pendent given to Jing-Mei.

4. In the chapter, I learned a little more about the Chinese culture. One time was that it was alright to be noisy at the dinner table, and to show that you are full means that you liked the food. Another thing is the Chinese jades. The different designs on each jade mean something else, from prosperity to immortality. I also learned that the jade would become greener the longer it ages.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:19:00 PM  
Blogger Dan Truong said...

Dan Truong
Period 06

Absorbing Love
(on “Best Quality”)

3) This chapter was definitely fun to read. It showed the true love the mothers gave to their daughters, contradicting the previous chapters where the daughters and mothers did not understand one another. For instance when Waverly chose the best crab for Shoshana and when Suyuan gives Jing-Mei the better crab. These little acts of kindness show the love the mothers have for their children even though they have their problems, the truth is that the daughters are their mothers lives.


4) I think the relationship between Suyuan and Jing-mei as sweet and caring, but their relationship only begins to develop once they get over their internal conflicts, and communicate more. They care for each other, and this shows when Suyuan gives the best crab to Jing-mei, after refusing Jing-mei’s offering of the best crab. It shows that they really love each other, and always want the best for each other.

5) In this chapter, Amy Tan used flashback. This writing technique allowed us to see how Suyuan was like when she was alive. She has wise words, and we can reflect on this through Jing-mei’s present actions.

6b) The main conflict in this chapter was internal, and it was Jing-mei's. She was always trying to to figure out what kind of person she is. We see her selflessness and respect for her mother when she takes the bad crab from the pot and puts it on her plate. Her conflict gets worse when Waverly comes over and boasts about how rich she is. Ever since they were little Waverly had been comparing herself to Jing-Mei and how much better she was. Jing-Mei tries to get even and it only makes it worse and she wonders how much of a failure or how good she is at her job. When she receives the necklace from her mom, she is filled with a new sort of hope to keep her working hard in her attempt to find out what sort of person she is.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:20:00 PM  
Blogger Beryllium Baiology said...

7. Life’s Importance

8. Best Quality

9. I hate Waverly. I will never like her. I think the only decent person and family in the whole entire Joyluck Club and their daughters and husbands and son in laws, is Woo Jing Mei’s family. But Amy Tan probably made it that way. I am almost tired of what to say about my reactions. They seem quite repetitive seeing her theme and ideas are also a bit repetitive.

10. This mother wants the best for her family and won’t embarrass anyone that she has no need to. When she buys crabs for the crab dinner she invites Waverly and Lena over too, and of course, along came their fiancés. Waverly is the usual selfish person who gets the biggest and best crab for her little daughter and husband first. Her baby! That little Shoshanna can’t even eat three legs of a crab and she gives her the biggest one! Absurd. And of course her mom gets the next best. Then everyone else gets what they get. But it is factual that you cannot eat a dead river crab because it is poisonous. It produces a kind of poisonous chemical when it dies and it is secreted through its organs and once you boil it, it spreads all over so that’s why. Though it never did say what kind of crab she bought, from the sea or river. Jing Mei understands at the end that her mom doesn’t really care for Waverly. She doesn’t say all those things to make her feel bad, but in Chinese it is called lan, which means lazy. She is too lazy to even bother with what Waverly says.

11. She remembers when her mother got that crab dinner and that was a flashback. Because her mother died she has tell the story for her mom and this chapter was actually for her. She used that to tell the past like all of the other stories so the reader will understand what will say at the end.

12. That jade pendant is her “life’s importance” which I think someone has to find out what it is for herself. Maybe it was because Jing-Mei’s mother foreshadowed her own death, that she gave it to Jing-Mei.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:22:00 PM  
Blogger Raman said...

“Life’s Importance”
Best Quality
1. This chapter was really sweet. I thought it was nice that Jing-Mei’s mother gave her a pendant. I thought that it was funny when Suyuan’s tenant caller her, his “worst Fukien landlady” (224) and she seemed to have no idea what he really meant. When Jing-Mei explained how she could not stand watching the crabs become cooked, I understood. I myself can’t stand watching anything dies. I can’t even kill spiders even though I hate them. I always end up feeling sorry for the poor little creature. I thought Waverly was being unfairly mean when she made fun of Jing-Mei. It was funny because I was totally on her side, until I read this chapter. I felt confused because my allegiance changed so fast. I thought it was sweet how Jing-Mei’s mother finally stopped trying to change Jing-Mei into a prodigy like Waverly, and finally accepted that she “thinking different” (234).
2. Jing-Mei and Waverly’s relationship can be best described as adversaries. They always pick at each other, trying to overcome each other’s defenses. I guess they do this to feel better about themselves, but what they don’t realize is just how hurtful their words are to each other. This is shown in the scene where everyone is sitting at the dinner table and Waverly and Jing-Mei fling insults disguised as innocent comments at each other. Each tries to “win” by utterly defeating the other with their stinging barbs.
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a lot of symbolism. The pendant that Suyuan gives Jing-Mei symbolizes her love and wisdom that she hopes to pass down to Jing-Mei. The use of symbolism in this chapter improves the story because it allows things to be related in a different way.
4. I think that the theme is to be the better person and live above petty and selfish things. This is shown where Suyuan counsels Jing-Mei not to listen to Waverly’s hurtful comments, and also where Suyuan sees that Jing-Mei thinks differently and does not want the “best quality” for herself. She unselfishly gives it up for others.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:23:00 PM  
Blogger Akina said...

1.Good isn’t Good Enough
2.Best Quality

3.I thought this chapter was really pointless and boring. There wasn’t much to it, it sounded like an ordinary family dinner and fight between friends. It was really boring because all she did was argue with Waverly and ate crab. It was strange though how her mother wouldn’t eat the crab missing the leg. She said she could smell it. It was really weird because if it were me I would have just eaten it. If the crabs cooked then it should be good enough to eat. You can’t even tell if it’s dead or not. The most interesting part was the pendant that Jung-Mei’s mother gave her. She never really found out hat it meant, even though it could have had several meanings.
4.I would compare Waverly’s relationship with June as rivalry. They are constantly arguing with each other and attacking each other. Waverly always humiliates her and makes her mad. June always tries to fight back, but in the end, she loses or ends up embarrassing herself. June seems so normal compared to Waverly, who is smart and brilliant.
5.Amy Tan uses the pendant in this chapter for symbolism. It can mean life’s importance, when June’s mother gives her the pendant. She says it will get greener and greener when she wears it. The color “green” usually refers to life and growth. June also wonders about it in the beginning of the chapter how it could be a pomegranate or pear, but in reality it can mean both. They’re all related the importance of life.
6.The chapter teaches more about Chinese culture such as their special dinners. We see them have crab as a food for special occasions and that they have to be fresh and alive. June’s mother picked out the good ones, and they had to be the best quality. This shows that the Chinese ate the freshest for good luck on occasions such as New Year’s
-Brendan

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:25:00 PM  
Blogger jpoon said...

“Number Eleven”
Best Quality
1. This chapter is an excellent chapter. The mentioning of Chinese New Year reminds me of how it is coming soon. How the family and friends in the chapter celebrate it by eating crab reminds me of my dinners for new years with my family and how we always have crab as one of our courses. When June and her mom went grocery shopping in Chinatown for the crabs and “wandered from one fish store to another looking for the liveliest crab,”(225) it made me think of when I go grocery shopping with my dad and how he has to find the freshest ingredients, which brings us to going to three different stores sometimes. I thought it was so Chinese when the platter of crab was passed around and the family and friends tried to pick the best from the platter. It was very motherly of Suyuan to give June the better of the two crabs that were left and it reminded me of how my parents do the same in giving me the best and taking the not as good one. I commend Lindo for standing up for June and asking her daughter to give June another chance at the free-lance work she had done for Waverly. Waverly kept annoying me with her sneaky ways of making June feel bad about herself and I can’t believe she stopped going to a hairstylist just because he is gay. How Waverly kept putting June down made me feel sorry for June who was defenseless.
2. June and Waverly’s relationship can be described as competitive. After Waverly comments on June’s haircut as being “nice,”(229) she says how the hairstylist is gay and how he probably has AIDS and that June should go to her stylist if she could afford it. Once June mentions the work she did for Waverly, Waverly says how she can’t work with June because June is not “sophisticated” enough (232).
3. A writing technique that Amy Tan uses to improve her writing in this chapter is with a flashback. June thinking back to the days when her mother was alive and how she received the jade pendant from her shows the meaning of the jade and reveals the relationship between June and her mom. It improves the chapter by giving the readers a background to the important piece of jewelry and great loss June and her father feel after losing Suyuan.
4. What I have learned in this chapter about Chinese culture is that it is a bad sign to buy a crab with missing legs on a Chinese New Year. It is sure an interesting fact and I wonder what the missing leg means.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:36:00 PM  
Blogger PeterThai said...

1. The Dead Crab
2. Best Quality
3. In this chapter, I thought it was funny but sad when her mother passed away. I thought it was funny when the man said she was a Fukien lady and I had a different idea if you know what I mean. I thought Waverly’s family was very selfish to take the best crabs for themselves and not leave any for June and her mother and father. I also had a small chuckle from Waverly’s father’s joke about marrying rich instead of poor.
4. The relationship between June and her mother seemed very close and loving. They seem to spend a lot of time together and talk a lot with each other. When they were the last two to get the crab, June’s mother offered to take the bad crab which showed she loved June. Even though June’s mother agreed with Waverly’s speech about her and with Waverly’s parent agreeing that, when they left, she talked bad about how Waverly is like the dead crab walking crooked which they probably laughed about it for a while.
5. One of Amy Tan’s writing technique she uses in this chapter is imagery. She uses imagery to give us a vision like we’re actually there to see the crab boil and the crab being picked out. It helps us imagine that we are the ones there and doing the actions which she Tan uses wonderful description to help us visualize.
6. In this chapter I learned about how a jade pendant has its importance in the Chinese cultural. The jade itself can start out a light color and become darker because it is being worn by a person and for some reason when it is on or rubbing against our skin it changes over a long period. The jade pendant can also have importance when they give it someone whether it has a significant importance or to just show love.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:42:00 PM  
Blogger Peter Lai said...

1. The gift of Pride
2. Best Quality
3. This chapter, unlike most other chapters, was more heartfelt or more sincere than the others. This chapter deals with June’s relationship with her mother before she died. When her mother handed June the better crab, and threw away the terrible crab that was left, I thought of the sacrifices parents make for their kids. June’s mother didn’t have a delicious crab that night because she was the last to pick, and she sacrificed the better one so June could have a better dinner. I also felt sorry for June, after the dispute she had with Waverly, being humiliated after her plan backfired. This changed my personal view of Waverly and June, although Waverly wasn’t the one trying to hurt June.
4. The relationship between June and Waverly is a relationship of rivalry. Being always put down because Waverly was the prodigy and June was the budding star that never happened, June always tried to find a way to make her feel stronger, more powerful than Waverly. At the diner table, June tried to push the joke deeper, to make herself feel better and to make Waverly feel worse. Turns out, the only reason why Waverly couldn’t pay June was because they didn’t accept June’s work, which was a horrible backfire, brought up at the wrong time.
5. The jade necklace her mother gives her symbolizes the life’s importance. When she receives this magnificent gift, she wasn’t as accepting at first, but after she learns how her mother has given this necklace to her out of love and pride and how this necklace represents the most important thing in her life.
6. The allegory in the beginning connects to this chapter. Both of the mothers give their daughter a gift of importance. June receives her jade pendant, while the daughter in the allegory receives a mirror. Both items represent what is important to both of the mothers and they are passing it down a generation.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:47:00 PM  
Blogger pizzapimple said...

Eileen Ly from 7th period

Crab Apple Jade

Best Quality

I liked this chapter because of the many familiarities it held for me. I remember my first crab, which sadly met the same fate. To this day, I still don’t like eating crab. Or lobster. Or periwinkles for that matter. Since I can speak Fukienese, that joke had some meaning behind it for me; I find it hard not to pronounce it the other way around. I’m glad that this chapter was light hearted though. No cutting flesh or ghosts or anything like that, just plain jade openheartedness. I didn’t like Waverly and her behavior, even if I did sympathize with her situation in Four Directions. I like Jing-Mei’s mom who to me, is pretty funny and wise at the same time. She cares for her daughter by making herself take up the worst crab and supporting her. I noticed that in the end, Jing-mei slaps her hand three times against the window to scare off the one-eared tomcat. Her slogan for her as company is “Three Benefits, Three Needs, Three Reasons to Buy”. Could there be a relationship between the two?
The relationship between Jing-mei and her mom could best be noted as close. Her mother really loves her and even gives her a jade necklace in hopes that Jing-mei can find her life’s importance. Even as Jing-mei gets depressed and put down about her job and who she is in life, her mother cheers her up with a few words of wisdom. I thought that it was kind of her mom to look out for her daughter.
Amy Tan uses a lot of symbols with the crabs and the jade necklace. It improves the story by strengthening the theme of the story.

“My mother gave me my ‘life’s importance’ a jade pendant on a gold chain. The pendant was not a piece of jewelry I would have chosen for myself. It was almost the size of my little finger, a mottled green and white color, intricately carved” (221).

“My mother looked at me and smiled. ‘Only you pick that crab. Nobody else take it. I already know this. Everybody else want best quality. You thinking different” (234).

With these two scenes, I found the resemblance ; Jing-mei wouldn’t have chosen the best crab for herself if her mother hadn’t taken the crab with the bad leg. On the bright side, it could mean Jing-mei’s rare self-sacrifice for the worst. Her mother sees this and acknowledges this. She loves Jing-mei and wants her to have the best. The necklace or her “life’s importance” is a gift that Jing-mei wouldn’t have chosen for herself, but her mother is the one who gives it to her and makes her realize the best quality in things, to take life’s lemons and make lemonade out of it. The theme would be to live and love every second of life and not to forget her individuality and selflessness at the same time even with the greediness and self centered side of humanity.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:47:00 PM  
Blogger squirrelgirl said...

1. “Life’s Importance”

2. “Best Quality”

3. I thought this chapter was touching, because Jing-Mei wears her mother’s jade necklace everyday. At first she took her mother and the necklace for granted, not knowing what it truly meant until she was gone. But once she passed away, she wanted to find what life’s importance was. At the dinner, I thought Waverly was being a jerk. She didn’t need to single Jing-Mei out like that, and the fact that her mother agreed that she was not as sophisticated as Waverly made me feel bad for her. It was like a slap in the face. I also found it rude that Waverly chose the best crabs for herself and her family first. I thought she should’ve let the elders pick first. When Suyuan gave Jing-Mei the better crab, it really showed me how she cared for others more than herself.

4. The relationship between Jing-Mei and Suyuan is unique. Although they seemed to argue all of the time, once Suyuan passed away, Jing-Mei realized how much her mom has given to her. She always tried to give her the best, for example the better crab, and wanted her to see what’s important in life.

5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses imagery to show the events happening. For example, in the scene where Suyuan is cooking the crab, she says it was “screaming as he thrust one bright red claw out over the side of the bubbling pot” (226). This really got the picture of a little red crab trying to climb its way out of a bubbling hot pot into my mind.

6. I learned many things about Chinese culture in this chapter. For example, a pomegranate stood for fertility and posterity, while pears stood for purity and honesty. I also learned that choosing crabs for dinner is not so easy. Choosing a dead one or one with a missing leg could lead to bad luck on a Chinese New Year. This showed that the Chinese were very superstitious, even with the food they ate.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:51:00 PM  
Blogger HATD said...

“Stuck, Anyway”

2. JING-MEI WOO: “Best Quality”

3. At the beginning of the chapter, I was met with a sudden familiarity – the jade pendant. Even though I’m not Chinese, I thought it was really cool that they talked about the jade pendant, as the Vietnamese value this as well. I was surprised, learning about the meaning the jade pendant may have. My mom never told me about any meaning – she just told me that the Vietnamese valued it very much. In addition to that, I was appalled by the way Waverly Jong was displayed in this vignette. From Waverly’s chapter, I considered her a pretty nice, decent, and mature person. But from the point of view of Jing-Mei Woo, I was surprised to see how whiny, annoying and rude Waverly was. I thought it was brilliant of Amy Tan to show us two different perspectives – how we could see different people from different views, depending on our standpoint, and the usage of words. This chapter caused me to grow a dislike towards Waverly.

In contrast to my feelings towards Waverly, I really liked Woo. I liked how she chose the “worst” crab, while everyone else was selfish, choosing the best for themselves and their loved ones. I admired this trait in Woo, feeling that there should be more polite people like her. The bickering between Waverly and Woo also shocked me. For two grown people, I was surprised to see that they could still be arguing like that. From their conversation, I really just wanted to slap Waverly for being so rude. I felt sorry for Woo as well, always having to feel second to Waverly – insignificant. So every time Woo was triumphant against Waverly, I cheered her on, 100%. Sadly, I was disappointed by her end loss and humiliation. I was kind of confused at the end though, because I wasn’t sure about the meaning of the jade. But to me, I though it meant that Woo’s mother was telling her that instead of always accepting the worst, what she was forced to stick with, she should try to work harder to make the best, to be the best, to get the best. I wasn’t sure though, because I considered accepting even the bad things that are given to you is also a good trait, and it seemed that at times her mother considered this good as well.

4. I would describe the relationship between Jing-Mei Woo and Waverly Jong as full of angst. Their arguments between each other are filled with immature, somewhat teenager-like remarks show their spite between one another. They constantly insult each other, which even I, a teenager, would consider immature. Rather than continuing their argument, it would be better for them to just let the other argue in embarrassment, but rather they continued their childhood rivalry in a rude, spiteful way, still trying to be better than the other.

5. Throughout this entire chapter, I notice Amy Tan using a lot of dialogue. The dialogue takes up pretty much the entire chapter, and it lets us know what happened in a more life-like matter. Instead of just describing what happened, the dialogue improves the chapter, making things happen right before the reader. The dialogue also shows the characteristics of the characters, which improves the way we perceive them. It shows the tone and feelings characters have towards one another, which is much better than having a character think, “Oh, I don’t like her.”

6. What are you learning about Chinese culture?

Through this chapter, I learned a lot about Chinese culture. I learned that the jade necklace is very important, and tends to be given from mother to child. I also learned that different women from different parts of China apparently dressed differently – varying from types such as Hong Kong ladies, Cantonese village people, etc. In addition to the social forms of people, I learned customs in relationships. If one invited friends over for dinner, this would also include their children. Lastly, I learned that the older you are, the more respect you deserved. Respect including allowing them to eat food first, inviting them for meals, and whatnot.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:51:00 PM  
Blogger Annnnnie. said...

What Jade Really Means

“Best Quality”

1. “Best Quality” was definitely a chapter that made me laugh a lot more than the other chapters did. I felt it was humorous that every time June went to Chinatown with her mother, Suyuan would point out other Chinese women based on the way that they dressed. Although it’s wrong, I understood that Chinese people do this a lot, to distinguish different people from provinces. When the foreigner called Suyuan a “Fukien landlady,” I really couldn’t stop laughing at this point. I found it funny that she thought “Fukien” was a place, but at the same time, I felt some pity because she didn’t understand the insult directed towards her. I felt some contempt towards Waverly and her family because as guests, I would have expected them to leave the best crabs for their hosts to be polite. However, they ended up taking the best crabs. When Lindo “demonstrated the proper technique” of eating the best part by “poking her chopstick into the orange spongy part” (203), I gagged. Although I knew that the Chinese had strange tastes in food, I still couldn’t imagine someone poking at the crab’s brain and putting it into their mouth. The rivalry between Waverly and June also made me laugh a bit, reminding me of the sibling rivalry between my sister and I, and how our other family members would come to our rescue, breaking up our arguments. I was shocked that Suyuan would thrown away a crab, even if it was dead before it was cooked. In the Chinese culture, food is too precious to waste.
2. Suyuan seems to care a lot about June, so much that she would give only the best to her. I would describe their relationship as affectionate or caring. During the New Year’s party, when everyone is taking their crab for dinner, only two are left by the time it reaches June, one of which was the one with a missing leg. Originally, June had wanted the one with the missing leg but her mother gave her the better one, taking the unlucky one for herself. This shows that Suyuan cares for June a lot and would sacrifice the best even for her. When June first received her “life’s importance,” the jade pendant from her mother, she really didn’t appreciate it for the deeper meaning it held. She only looked at the appearance on the outside, not understanding the meaning hidden underneath. However, after her mother died, she began to wonder what the real meaning of the jade pendant is. She knows that she could “ask Auntie Lindo, Auntie An-mei, or other Chinese friends, but [she] also knows that they would tell [her] a meaning that is different from what [her] mother intended” (197). This shows that June really cares about her mother, and that her mother’s explanations are the most important to her.
3. Amy Tan uses flashbacks to tell the story of “Best Quality.” Almost the entire chapter is told as a flashback, telling us of how June received her life’s importance and explaining the relationship between June and her mother. The flashbacks also give us some background information on Chinese culture and the celebration of Chinese New Year’s. Near the end, when the flashback scene ends, bringing the readers back to the present, we can see the behaviors that June inherits from her mother: the way they both slapped their hands on the window three times.
4. From “Best Quality,” I’ve learned some details about Chinese culture that even my very own Chinese family didn’t know. I learned that a crab with a missing leg on New Year’s is bad luck. I also learned that the Chinese think the brain of a crab is the best part. That was definitely an interesting fact to know. Although I knew that jade is an important stone worn in different Chinese traditions, I never knew that if you wear jade every day, it will become greener.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:57:00 PM  
Blogger <3 Vivi said...

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Monday, January 19, 2009 11:57:00 PM  
Blogger <3 Vivi said...

1) Tales of Crab and Jade
2) Best Quality
3) I love that there’s crab in this chapter! I love crab! I also love the fact that the story jumps into the jade pendent, how Jing-mei wears it to remember her mother. In the previous chapters, we saw them as not being very close, but this shows how much Jing-mei loves her mother throughout everything they’ve been through, even the toughest fights. I love the line about how “Chinese mothers show they love their children” (277). I know it sounds strange but I think that’s true. It’s food and it’s not just Chinese culture that does this, but many mothers show their love and affection through food. When Waverly talked about David and her stereotypes of gays, I got pretty angry. I hate her and how she forced her thoughts on Jing-mei but then again, it was for the sake of competition.
4) Su-Yuan and Jing-mei have a “strong” relationship, at least much better than the other mothers and daughters in the story. They don’t seem to argue and Su-Yuan seems to let her daughter be who she is, caring for her despite who she becomes. The necklace is proof that she loves Jing-mei very much, wanting only the best for her daughter.
5) Tan is a master at imgery, I can see the bustling Chinese dinner with everyone clinking chopsticks and poking at poor little crabs. I can see the poor things “screaming as [they] thrust one bright claw out over the sides of the bubbling pot” (226) to escape in vain. I can also see why Jing-mei would be disgusted after that. I probably wouldn’t like crab either if I had to see it die so horrifically.
6) In Chinese culture, apparently crabs are very prominent. They’re often served for new years but serving missing legged crabs are bad luck. Also if you wear jade for a long time, it will become greener, which my mom also says serving as proof that the Chinese really do say this.

Monday, January 19, 2009 11:58:00 PM  
Blogger Andy Lam said...

1.Don’t give up on education
2.Best Quality
3. I was interested in how Suyuan described the different women in Chinatown and classified them by where they were from just by the way they were dressed. I’m very interested in Suyuan, more so than other characters in the book, because I get to hear more about a character that no longer exists in the novel. I was amused at how Suyuan thought the “waigoren” called her a “Fukien” landlady instead of *ucking landlady, and that he flicked her off, not just raising his fist. When we reached the part about cooking the crab, I was pleased to discover I wasn’t the only person who can’t bear to watch a crab die. I was amused at the part where June was playing with the crab and discovered it was going to die and watched it die slowly. I then thought that the party was mentioned in the vignette “Four Directions”, then was mistaken because I looked back and saw that it wasn’t. I saw that the crab with the leg torn off was a bad luck omen, and Suyuan took it, which basically meant bad luck was coming her way. Coincidentally, or maybe because of the crab with the missing leg, Suyuan died later that year. I also cringed in disgusted when Lindo said the brain of the crab was the tastiest part of the crab. I also took note of Waverly’s being paranoid about the barber David being gay and might give June aids by somehow transmitting the disease through cutting her hair. I was amused at how Waverly and June could still fight over matters the same way as little children fighting over candy, and in the end June was really hurt because her insult backfired and wounded her very deeply. I felt sorry for June, and Waverly’s attitude and always making fun of June’s not being as wealthy as her went overboard. I really hate Waverly right now and think that what Lindo did to make her suffer was worth it. She had it coming. I also realized that the crab that June chose was bad, and then nobody chose it because they know its bad is her way of saying that June chose the wrong life to lead. She isn’t very happy right now. At the end, I knew that Suyuan wasn’t an evil enough person to kill the cat no matter what it did, and I’m glad because she is still a very good person in my perspective.
4.The relationship between June and Waverly is competitive. They are always trying to insult each other like Waverly saying that her barber, “Mr. Rory, does fabulous work, although he charges more than you’re used to” (229), to poke fun at Waverly’s poverty. Then June tries to make a comeback by referring to Waverly in that “Maybe (she) could afford Mr. Rory’s prices if someone’s firm paid me on time,”(230), trying to poke fun at Waverly’s firm not paying her for her work, and in the end it backfires when she discovers that the firm didn’t accept her work. She was heartbroken, and I seriously think that Waverly’s jokes injure June too deeply in her heart.
5.This chapter involves symbolism, where in the chapter June was told by Suyuan that she chose a dead crab, which symbolized the road that she chose which didn’t give her a good outcome in life. She purposely chose to fight against her mother’s wishes to improve her in the previous chapters, and now she chose the wrong path and has a bad life.
6. I learned that the life lesson is to be well prepared, get a good education, and then continue on well in life. That way you will be successful.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 12:00:00 AM  
Blogger The Showboater said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 12:01:00 AM  
Blogger The Showboater said...

Growth
Best Quality
3) This chapter was very appealing to me, because it had both a mythical and realist sense to it. Especially the jade pendant, that was supposed to grow as Jing-Mei grew, coinciding as one.
4)During this chapter, I could sense all the sacrifice the mother done to teach her daughter. One example of this was how Suyuan gave her the jade necklace. From this she teaches Jing-Mei that being the best is not always in fact, being the best. Sometimes one most be flexible, because if one concentrates on one thing too much, then they no longer have to for anything else. Also, we can see yet again a mother's care for her child we she had chosen to give the good crab to Jing-Mei.
5) From this chapter, we can yet again feel the realism of the situation and the characters from the descriptive wording of Amy Tan.
6) From this chapter, I learn the importance of Jade in Chinese Culture. Although i knew it was important, I realize that I did not understand the extent to which Jade was valued. One thing I can see this from is how Suyuan makes the jade pendant seem so valuable and mystical, especially about how Jade grows greener as it ages, something I did not kow either.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 12:24:00 AM  
Blogger hi,imterri said...

1. “R.I.P. Crab”

2. Best Quality

3. This is, without a doubt, my favorite chapter of the ‘American Translation’ section, mainly because it was livelier than the previous ones. It was amusing when Jing-Mei’s mother was complaining about the tenant that called her “Fukien.” She must have misinterpreted his words and thought the tenant was saying she came from somewhere, not a name. Good thing that Suyuan didn’t know the meaning of what the tenant really called her. During the family’s crab dinner, Uncle Tin made a joke about his daughter Waverly’s marriage: “Why marry poor? Marry rich!” That part was funny because Waverly’s husband was actually named Rich. One of the best parts in the chapter, however, probably had to be that part where June teased Waverly after she insults her. This made Waverly “flustered” and “speechless” (230). I never liked Waverly in the first place because she always made such sneaky insults. Even though her verbal revenge kind of failed, I’m glad that she had some backbone to start a verbal showdown.

4. One could really see the difference between June and her mother’s relationship in this chapter and ‘Two Kinds.’ Previously, in ‘Two Kinds,’ June and her mother didn’t have a strong relationship because they always argued about playing piano and becoming a prodigy. After they shared a more heart-warming conversation near the end of the chapter, they became much closer than before. They began to understand each other a little better and Suyuan even game her daughter a jade necklace that represented her “life’s importance.”

5. Amy Tan uses imagery really well in this chapter. One of my favorite parts was when she writes about the “hungry sounds that everybody was making—cracking the shells, sucking the crab meat out, [and] scraping the tidbits with the ends of the chopsticks” (227). The way that she describes this scene allowed me to hear their clatters. The words “hungry” and “crab meat” literally made me hungry for crab. And that made me remember the taste of crab--juicy, savory, and flavorful. I think I’ll ask my mom to buy some crab for dinner sometime this week.

6. From this chapter, I learned about Chinese etiquette and the pickiness of Chinese women, especially those who were elderly. I learned that a food’s appearance and they way you eat it is also important. Did you know that a crab with a missing leg is bad luck for Chinese New Year? When June and her mother were at the market, June accidently chooses a crab that had its leg torn off by another crab. Suyuan tells her daughter that “a missing leg is a bad sign on a Chinese New Year” (225). It is also important to respct elders by allowing them to have the first pick at the food on the table. As gross as it sounds, I found out that a person should eat the brain of the crab because it’s the best-tasting part. I probably wouldn’t have the guts to taste any animals’ brains.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 12:42:00 AM  
Blogger Idara said...

1. “Life’s importance”

2. “Best quality”

This was an okay chapter. There weren’t any parts that really caught my attention but there also weren’t any parts that bored me. In the chapter, Jing- Mei’s mother gave her something to think about before she died and it also gave the reader something to think about too. Part of the book was in shadow and it was up to the reader to make an understanding for themselves on what Suyuan’s legacy was. I really liked that about the chapter because it gave the reader something to think about and we were able to use our imagination to make smart and interesting guesses on what importance Suyuan left with her daughter.

3. I think that the conflict in the chapter was that Jing- Mei didn’t know what exactly “life’s importance” was and what the pendant necklace was supposed to signify. Jing- Mei had the possibility of asking her aunts who were close to her mother what the pendant meant but she would never be sure if that’s what her mother had in mind when she gave her the necklace. Looking back to the dinner when her mother made the crab, Jing- Mei realized what life’s significance was. It was that she should always get the best quality and what she deserved. She could only be herself but she could be whatever she wanted and be great, and that was something to be proud about.

4. The message of the chapter is that a mother has true love for her children and in this case, Suyuan has great love for Jing- Mei. Suyuan gave her daughter something that was very important to her and she also taught her the importance of life. Suyuan showed Jing- Mei that Jing- Mei was herself, she was someone great, and that she should be proud of herself, only getting the best: what she deserves.

Friday, January 08, 2010 10:35:00 PM  
Blogger Super Alien said...

Handicapped
By Fiona Cheung
Best Quality
The first thing that popped up in my mind as I read the first few lines of the chapter was to appreciate who you have besides you before they’re gone, because Jing-Mei was talking about her mother and the jade pendant. I also felt a sense of familiarity when she talked about the crab dinner and watching the crab die when she was small. I just had hot pot last night and I witnessed my mother killing the crab. I named the crab, too, so it was kind of sad watching it die and being chopped here and there. Anyway, I noticed a lot of their chapters mention Stockton Street. Though I recognized there must be something worth mentioning about the tenants, I could not find any connection. I laughed out loud at Suyuan’s interpretation of “Fukien.” I also tried connecting this dinner to the other dinner mentioned in Four Directions but I just confused myself instead. I also felt embarrassed for Jing-Mei when she was arguing with Waverly, and a part of me wanted to hate Waverly because I could not tell if she was being fake and evil or really being nice. I thought it was nice of Suyuan, though, for comforting her daughter and telling her to not mind what other people say.
Jing-Mei inherited the art of forgetfulness from her mother; like her mother, once she puts something away, she forgets about it. Her mother had saved the plates Jing-Mei gave her but forgot about it, too. From this chapter, I inferred that Jing-Mei thought of others before herself, as she took the crab with the missing leg instead of choosing the best one like other people. Her mother even said that she “thinking different” (208). She also does care about what people say, otherwise she would not get so flustered about Waverly’s comments on this and that.
The conflict in this chapter was internal within Jing-Mei and doing her best, finding the best. She first chose a flawed crab because it was missing a leg, and then we learn that the ad she wrote up for Waverly was not the best quality. Jing-Mei was too used to setting short goals and solving all her small clients’ ads with the big Three’s. Even when eating the crab she chose the handicapped crab instead of the best like everyone else. This conflict was resolved at the end, as she accepted the life’s importance her mother gave her, the life’s importance her mother had been wearing—doing and choosing the best.
The crab in this chapter symbolized Jing-Mei herself. She tried to tell herself that “they don’t have enough brains to know the difference between a hot bath and a slow death” (201) just as how she couldn’t tell between nice comebacks and traps during her argument with Waverly. She also recalled the crab trying to stick a claw out to escape the steaming pot just as how she felt as if she “had been running to escape someone chasing me, only to look behind and discover there was no one there” (207). Lastly, when she smelled the uneaten crab, she couldn’t tell what was wrong with it, just as how she didn’t know what she did wrong and what was wrong with her. Her mother knew however, every single detail about her own daughter—that she’d think differently and not choose the best—just as how her mother could tell that the crab was not fresh enough.

Sunday, January 17, 2010 5:33:00 PM  
Blogger Super Alien said...

Handicapped
By Fiona Cheung
Best Quality
The first thing that popped up in my mind as I read the first few lines of the chapter was to appreciate who you have besides you before they’re gone, because Jing-Mei was talking about her mother and the jade pendant. I also felt a sense of familiarity when she talked about the crab dinner and watching the crab die when she was small. I just had hot pot last night and I witnessed my mother killing the crab. I named the crab, too, so it was kind of sad watching it die and being chopped here and there. Anyway, I noticed a lot of their chapters mention Stockton Street. Though I recognized there must be something worth mentioning about the tenants, I could not find any connection. I laughed out loud at Suyuan’s interpretation of “Fukien.” I also tried connecting this dinner to the other dinner mentioned in Four Directions but I just confused myself instead. I also felt embarrassed for Jing-Mei when she was arguing with Waverly, and a part of me wanted to hate Waverly because I could not tell if she was being fake and evil or really being nice. I thought it was nice of Suyuan, though, for comforting her daughter and telling her to not mind what other people say.
Jing-Mei inherited the art of forgetfulness from her mother; like her mother, once she puts something away, she forgets about it. Her mother had saved the plates Jing-Mei gave her but forgot about it, too. From this chapter, I inferred that Jing-Mei thought of others before herself, as she took the crab with the missing leg instead of choosing the best one like other people. Her mother even said that she “thinking different” (208). She also does care about what people say, otherwise she would not get so flustered about Waverly’s comments on this and that.
The conflict in this chapter was internal within Jing-Mei and doing her best, finding the best. She first chose a flawed crab because it was missing a leg, and then we learn that the ad she wrote up for Waverly was not the best quality. Jing-Mei was too used to setting short goals and solving all her small clients’ ads with the big Three’s. Even when eating the crab she chose the handicapped crab instead of the best like everyone else. This conflict was resolved at the end, as she accepted the life’s importance her mother gave her, the life’s importance her mother had been wearing—doing and choosing the best.
The crab in this chapter symbolized Jing-Mei herself. She tried to tell herself that “they don’t have enough brains to know the difference between a hot bath and a slow death” (201) just as how she couldn’t tell between nice comebacks and traps during her argument with Waverly. She also recalled the crab trying to stick a claw out to escape the steaming pot just as how she felt as if she “had been running to escape someone chasing me, only to look behind and discover there was no one there” (207). Lastly, when she smelled the uneaten crab, she couldn’t tell what was wrong with it, just as how she didn’t know what she did wrong and what was wrong with her. Her mother knew however, every single detail about her own daughter—that she’d think differently and not choose the best—just as how her mother could tell that the crab was not fresh enough.

Sunday, January 17, 2010 5:33:00 PM  
Blogger MoJoAnna chicken :] said...

1. Dead crabs are Yummy :3 Mmmmmm

2. Best Quality

3. I liked this chapter because it was kind of funny. I loved the lame joke Uncle Tin made... "Marry Rich"... lol, that made me chuckle a bit. Personally, I don't like crab, so when Jing-Mei's mom said that each person would get one crab, I was like how are they going to finish that. I also loved the arguments between everyone at the dinner table. The remarks Lindo made about Suyuan's sweater, Waverly and Vincent about the marriage, and of course Waverly putting down Jing-Mei. I thought Waverly was a jerk for saying all those unthoughtful remarks. They were quite uncalled for, but their childish rivalry still seems to amuse me. Oh, and is the cat symbolic? I was just wondering, because it appears a few times in this chapter xD.

4. Jing- Mei isn't exactly the most gifted character in this book. Unlike Waverly who was a prodigy at chess and smart, Jing-Mei never really succeeded at anything, and I feel as if she lacks self-confidence sometimes. She is easily flustered by Waverly's crude remarks, partially because they are true (for the most part). Jing-Mei is sensitive and thoughtful. For example, when there are only two crabs left, Waverly offers to take the one with the missing leg (well partially because she doesn't like crab) and wants her mother to take the better looking crab. You can tell that Waverly doesn't think very highly of herself when she says that "[she] was very good at what [she] did, succeeding at something small like that." (207) Waverly is the odd ball of the pack. Even her mother knows this when she remarks to Waverly, "You thinking different." (208)

5. There were a lot of little (external man vs. man) conflicts in this chapter, or rather some light quarrels at the dinner table. There was some external conflict between Suyuan and the Caucasian tenants she wants to evict. There were some rude statements spewed at the dinner table, and the conflict between Jing-Mei and Waverly is still evident. Waverly and Jing-Mei always slip a few insults at each other. Every conversation of theirs turns into a verbal fight. I also think there was some internal conflict (man vs. himself) between Jing- Mei and herself. She is trying to discover the true meaning behind the jade necklace. She wonders if she should ask her Aunties, but just thinks they'll give her an answer unintended by her mother. I'm not quite sure if she discovers the meaning at the end,(because I didn't really catch onto that... heh...)

6. I think that a lesson I learned from this story is that one never realizes the importance of something until it is gone. Jing-Mei only thinks about the jade pendant her mother gave her after her mother's death, but it is too late. Even though she wonders what the meaning behind it is now, her mother has already passed away. Now that her mother is dead, Jing-Mei remembers some of the things her mother had said and done. When Jing-Mei was upset about Waverly, Suyuan comforted and encouraged Jing-Mei by saying that Waverly was like the dead crab, "always walking sideways, moving crooked". At the end of the chapter, Jing-Mei is in her mother's shoes: she is cooking a spicy tofu dish for her father, and shooing the stray cat like her mother used to do. She feels relieved that her mother did tell the truth and didn't kill the cat, and this makes Jing-Mei have more appreciation for Suyuan.

Monday, January 18, 2010 3:55:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

1. “The Dead Crab”
2. Jing-Mei Woo - Best Quality
3. In my opinion, this chapter was actually pretty revealing of the Asian culture, such as the display of taking food. In Chinese culture, parents always pick the best for their children first; however, I thought the Waverly, her husband, and the others lacked humility, since they chose the next best for themselves, not considering the host or the people around them. According to the Chinese custom as I know it, the best goes to the child, then the platter is passed around until the other children have gotten it, and finally the parents pick their own. The host usually takes the last one. It also showed the importance of family heirlooms in Asian culture, such as the jade necklace. I thought Uncle Tin’s joke was extremely corny, to the point of humiliation. I’m surprised he actually practiced his joke and even had a “preamble of snorts and leg slaps” (203) that led to the climax of his joke. Overall, I liked this chapter and thought it was a lot more interesting than many of the other vignettes.
4. This chapter displays the sensitiveness and lack of confidence inherent in the protagonist, Jing-Mei Woo, but it also shows an unselfish side of her. Revealed in the scene where she is offered the better crab but doesn’t take it, both her lack of self-confidence and her unselfishness is displayed. Since she was never a “prodigy”, like Waverly Jong was, she was always overshadowed by her remarkable friend beginning when they were just children. Even now, her work doesn’t encompass the same sophisticated material and writing. Her failed teasing of Waverly easily caused her to fall into pieces, trying her very best not to cry. Her lack of self-confidence is a hugely detrimental impediment to her life in general and is displayed through many of her actions.
5. In my opinion, the main conflict in this chapter was between Jing-Mei Woo and herself, man vs. self. “And just like that, I was starting to flail, tossed without warning into deep water, drowning and desperate” (205). This quote shows the instabilities that manifest Jing-Mei, a person that quivers at the slightest criticism, the slightest attack on her ego. Ever since she was small, she struggled to find out who she truly was, not what her mother wanted her to be. However, she remained talentless, outsmarted by her friend Waverly. Finally, she realized that her whole life rested on one principle. In everything she does, she never tries for the best, and therefore, never attains it. She picks the defective crab, writes for small companies, and we also find out her work isn’t good enough for Waverly’s firm. She spends her lifetime having an internal conflict with herself, trying to find who she really is.
6. In the beginning of this vignette, a theme is strongly suggested. A mother is and always will be the person who cares the most for you in your life, even though you may not realize it before she’s gone. “And she’s the only person I could have asked, to tell me about life’s importance, to help me understand my grief.”(197). Although many don’t realize it until it’s too late, a mother’s love will always be there, no matter what happens.

~scottLeePeriod3

Monday, January 18, 2010 6:10:00 PM  
Blogger Soap on a Rope said...

Arun Jandaur
Period 3
Blog #9: Best Quality

1. Crab Without A Leg

2. “Best Quality”

3. I found this chapter interesting. It had a lot of things I couldn’t fully understand, though. One of those things is the cat. It appears a few times and I think Jing-mei is trying to stress the existence of the cat. What does it symbolize? Another one was the jade pendant. One thing I know for sure about this necklace is that it’s a part of Jing-mei’s heritage and her mother is trying to pass it down. She gave it on Chinese New Years, probably meaning that it was the start of something new. There was one thing in this chapter that drove me crazy, though. It’s Waverly Jong with her sneaky insults and selfish behavior. I think Waverly is rude and obnoxious. Also, at the dinner scene, Waverly was insulting Jing-mei and it made me really upset. It must be very humiliating for her to be told by Waverly and Suyuan, Jing-mei’s mother, that your office work isn’t sophisticated enough. I felt really sorry that Jing-mei has to deal with Waverly and has to put up with what she says. To top it off, Waverly is very selfish. She grabbed the best crabs and gave them to herself, her daughter, and her fiancé. Also, Waverly’s daughter just wasted the crab. She didn’t even like crab.

4. The character that interests me the most is Jing-mei Woo. As a matter of fact, she is one of my characters throughout the entire book. By indirect characterization, you can tell she is a kind and unselfish person. What tells us this is when she grabbed the crab that was missing a leg so that her mother could have the better one. Unlike Waverly, Jing-mei takes others into consideration. Also, Jing-mei is sensitive and doesn’t possess much confidence. She admits it straight up she “realized that [she] was no better than who [she] was. [She] was a copywriter…succeeding at something small like that” (207).

5. There are two conflicts in this chapter. One is Human vs. Human and the other is Human vs. Self. The Human vs. Human conflict is between obnoxious, rude Waverly and kind, unselfish Jing-mei. They have a childhood feud still going on. Jing-mei still remembers the time Waverly said that “you aren’t a genius like me” (203). Even after twenty-five years, they still fight and try to humiliate each other. Waverly always wins, though. The other conflict is Human vs. Self and it is about Jing-mei trying to understand what the pendant means. She knows she can’t ask anyone about it except for her mother, but her mother is dead. Only Jing-mei’s mother could’ve explained how the pendant was Jing-mei’s ‘life’s importance’. Neither conflict is resolved. Jing-mei still doesn’t like Waverly and she still doesn’t know what the pendant means.

6. Amy Tan uses a flashback to write this chapter. It was such a vivid flashback that I even forgot at one point that I was reading an event five months earlier than the beginning of the chapter. The flashback helps you visualize the history of the jade necklace and helps you understand what it means to Jing-mei. The flashback also creates a conflict in the story between Jing-mei and Waverly. As well as flashbacks, word choice is also used nicely. You can feel yourself at the dinner table eating crab and feeling the humiliation that Jing-mei feels. You can also feel upset and angry at Waverly because of how Amy Tan nicely weaves in descriptive language and word choice.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 10:48:00 AM  
Blogger Myles said...

1. “The Better Choice”
2. Best Quality
3. This chapter was interesting to read because of all the family scenes at the dinner table. June’s family and friends talk much more to each other about all types of things compared to how much my family used to talk when we got together to eat. I think June wants to be an equal to Waverly or greater and I can understand that. I believe a lot of people who want to be recognized also want to be told they are really good at something and stick out. June wanted to have Waverly’s firm accept her writing, but it just wasn’t good enough and June kept on trying to get Waverly to understand that she could change her writing even though they both knew it would never work. This chapter shows that June judges herself and always compares herself to Waverly.
4. In this chapter, June explains that Waverly always seems to beat her at everything and that June always compares herself to Waverly. June doesn’t believe she is good enough until she is equal or greater than Waverly, but Waverly constantly beats June at everything they do. June annoys me because she keeps on trying to get Waverly to accept her writing by telling her if they critique it, the firm that Waverly works at will accept it. June goes so far as to say they could go over her writing line by line on the phone until it is perfect. That would seem like it would take forever to do and be horrible to endure. Anyone should be able to tell that June judges herself.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is internal and human vs. human. The conflict is that June thinks of herself as someone that is not worthy of anything and needs to become great like Waverly who, even though she despises on the outside, looks up to on the inside, even if she doesn’t know it. June and Waverly are like siblings. Waverly being the older sister and June being the younger. June always tries to compare herself to Waverly like siblings do and she wants to be just like Waverly, most likely. The conflict sort of gets resolved because June is told by her mother that she is different, but that different isn’t always bad. Sometimes, like in June’s case, different is good and there are some advantages. June’s mother compares Waverly and June to crabs. June always tries to follow Waverly, but she is questioned why she would want to walk sideways like Waverly has to instead of walking forward. June is basically told that she is not less of a person and instead is great in her own ways.
6. The theme in this chapter is that if you are different don’t think that you have to be like others to be better. Being yourself makes you who you are and even though some people might think that you are horrible because of your differences, others will think that you are great because of them. The part in the chapter where this theme is found is the part where June talks to her mother in the kitchen at the end of the chapter and explains in a weird way with crabs that June is just as great as Waverly if not better. Being yourself makes you great even if you don’t think you are.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 12:57:00 PM  
Blogger Arctic said...

Nancy Le, Period 3
Purpose
Best Quality

1. I loved this chapter, as I loved all the Jingmei chapters. Crab is really good, and the food details made me hungry. The jade necklace is a form of inheritance, from mother to daughter, and I wonder what it meant to Suyuan and what she meant it to mean for Jingmei. The dinner scene was cringe-inducing, however, as all of the conversation was so terribly, intentionally awkward. And the Waverly I dislike so much shows up again in that scene. Great. It was rather sweet the way Jingmei bonded with her mother afterwards, however, with the jade necklace and all. It showed how Suyuan didn't really believe her daughter was inferior to Waverly.

2. Jing-mei is a generous person, as pointed out by her mother, who notes that only she would take the bad crab. Jingmei also believes it is the right thing to do. All her life, she has felt inferior to Waverly, who she sees as making little jabs and insults at her throughout. Back in Two Kinds, she also felt bad because she was not a genius.

3. The conflict in this chapter appears to be a minor one, between Waverly and Jingmei. Mostly it consists of Jingmei being subtly put down by Waverly and resenting it, but it ends after Suyuan appears to take Waverly's side, saying Jingmei could never be as sophisticated as Waverly. Jingmei's hurt feelings are smoothed over afterwards as well, when her mother blatantly states that she is better than Waverly.

4. The tomcat and tenants represent the shared thread of Suyuan and Jingmei's lives, as being landlady is a mantle picked up by Jingmei after her mother's death. Her mother and she react to the cat's bad behavior in much the same way, trying to chase it off. She also gains a fuller understanding of Suyuan after she has to take up the landlady's duties and troubles (sharing water with tenants, chasing cats away).

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 1:49:00 PM  
Blogger whatever said...

"The Worst Fukien Landlady"
(a.k.a. Best Quality)

3. What did the cat and the jade pendant symbolize? I couldn't understand the connection between their significance within the story and everything else that happened. When Suyuan said "Even you don't want them, you stuck," I interpreted that she meant heritage, even though she was talking about the neighbors. I loved the scene where Tan portrayed Jing-Mei poking her "pet" crab; her authentic descriptions made me picture myself in Jing-Mei's position, squatting on the kitchen floor, poking a crab who was clawing back at me. Gosh, such Chinese bickering/boasting! They remind me of my family gatherings! ;D Waverly is such a butt; why does she have to go making Jing-Mei feel bad like that? If you want to insult her, just do it! Why the heck does she have to be so sneaky about it too? I hate how Jing-Mei insults Waverly, only to have it backfired, then kiss up to Waverly all over again. OH; was the eleventh crab supposed to represent Jing-Mei: "... I was starting to flail, tossed without warning into deep water, drowning and desperate" (205), that how her best quality is being unique and caring from the others? Since Jing-Mei's family consisted of three people, when Suyuan died, one of the ingredients in the dish that Jing-Mei cooked for her father changed from the sauteed crab's soy sauce to the bean-curd's red chili sauce. Is this supposed to signify something? What was the importance of the number 3? It was mentioned a lot of times, from the number of main ingredients in the dishes to slapping the window to how long ago Suyuan died.

4. Suyuan doesn't eat the eleventh crab, afraid of possessing the bad luck. Even a beggar wouldn't want it, and their family was of a much higher position than a beggar, so why would they want it? This reflects Suyuan's pride in herself and her family that she eventually passes on to Jing-Mei. Know your self-worth and don't underestimate yourself.

5. I guess the main conflict is Jing-Mei against herself (internal: man vs. self). Throughout the whole chapter, she struggles to find her own self-worth, demeaning herself below all others, not knowing that she is of equal worth as them. When Suyuan finally presents the jade pendant to Jing-Mei, the conflict is resolved. She realizes how much she is worth to her mother, and to the world. The pendant shows her that she is the "best quality" there is and nobody else can be like her. She is a one-of-a-kind and she now knows that. Her life's importance is to keep living as herself, her true whole self, and nobody else.

6. The scene where Jing-Mei played with her "pet" crab reflected a frightening mood. Tan's word choice of: poked, jumped, claws, clear, dropped, cold, tall, dread, clatter, tap, hot, screaming, thrust, bright, red, bubbling... It really made me feel sorry for the poor crab and I almost shivered at the thought of dying in a slow, painful death like that.

Emily Huynh, Period 4

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 8:07:00 PM  
Blogger T-DAN said...

Life’s Importance
Jing-Mei Woo’s “Best Quality”

The crabs in this story remind me of my childhood. When my mother took my siblings and I to those Asian markets, we would play with the craps. There were tongs to lift up live blue crabs and we would play tug a war with them. We were always too scared to actually touch them. We liked to torture them. We would use the tongs to pull of their arms or to drop them from a height. We would make them attach to each other as their claws grasped another claw. We tried smashing them on the shells of other crabs. I enjoy the characterization that Amy Tan does. Jing-Mei and Waverly are very believable characters. Their dialogues are realistic. It’s like I can hear how they say it and I feel like I am really reading their minds.

Waverly is an overly confident character. It’s interesting how other characters see her through their perspectives. When I read from the character’s perspective, I always see them as the protagonist, the good guy, the morally right one, etc. However, in this vignette, I don’t like Waverly as much. From Jing-Mei’s perspective, Waverly is arrogant and somewhat selfish. Waverly talks about her success and degrades Jing-Mei’s work. During dinner, her personality made me mad. I guess seeing her from another person’s perspective allowed me to learn more about her.

The main conflict in this vignette is external human vs. human. During the dinner, Waverly and Jing-Mei argue from hair to work. I assume that they have been bickering with each other throughout their childhood. They are rivals. Jing-Mei is upset that her work will not be used with Waverly’s firm. This conflict does end as Jing-Mei is defeated by Waverly. Jing-Mei felt humiliated as she was “outsmarted by Waverly once again, and now betrayed my [her] own mother.”
The jade in this vignette is mentioned a couple times. There is no doubt that it is a symbol. I am not completely sure about its meaning right now but I feel like for sure, it will be important in the later vignettes. Her mother tells her that the pendent is her “life’s importance.” Jing-Mei feels confused as it’s actually meaning and worth. This pendent becomes a symbol of the differences between her mother’s Chinese culture and her own American culture. After her mother’s death, Jing-Mei understands the meaning of the jade pendent is her mother’s love. The pendent was also important to her mother. Jade becomes clearer the more the wear it. Maybe the more Jing-Mei wears it, the more she will understand her mother.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 8:08:00 PM  
Blogger DONlikestoGETDOWNONTHEDANCEFLOOR said...

CRAB!CRAB!CRAB!CRAB!
Best Quality

3) This chapter was alright. It didn't excite me but it didn't bore me either. This chapter gave some pretty good cooking tips, such as "don't buy dead crabs." I could see Suyuan and Jing-Mei getting closer, not only at the scene in the kitchen but at the market as well. It seems like Suyuan has forgiven Jing-Mei for her past wrongdoings. This chapter was very touching for Jing-Mei decided that she did not want to give her mother the bad crab by taking the handicapped one.

4) In this chapter, you could see a new characteristic trait from Jing-Mei. Unlike the past chapter where she is showed as a rebellious child,you can see that she is unselfish in this one for she tried to give her mother the better of the two crabs. You can also see that she has taken in some of the knowledge of her mother when she feels sorry for the crabs that were being boiled even though she knew that they were too dumb to feel anything.

5) It seems not only have Waverly and Jing-Mei received their mothers' traits but their bitter rivalry as well. A conflict that has clearly been stated in this chapter was between Jing-Mei and Waverly as they had a little showdown during dinner. This is a man vs man external conflict.

6) A symbol in this chapter is the jade. Jing-Mei sees it as a gift of pity at first but she grows to understand that it is actually a medal of pride. It represents her mother's culture, as she wears the jade more, she understands her mother more. Another symbol is the crab. When Jing-Mei tries to give her mother the better crab, a feature unravels. Her unselfishness touches Suyuan which then results to Suyuan giving Jing-Mei the best crab which represents Jing-Mei's "best quality", her unselfishness.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 8:51:00 PM  
Blogger m.méndez said...

1.) Number Eleven

2.) Best Quality

3.) This is probably one of my favorite vignettes in this book. I never thought of getting the best ones were so crucial in life. Personally, if there were only those two crabs left for me and another person, I would choose the ugly one just to be polite to the other person. But in this vignette, you have to choose the best quality for yourself. That is very different from how I was raised. I feel sorry for June because she gets humiliated in front of the guests by Waverly. I think that Waverly was very rude to say those comments at June’s own party. What I like about this chapter was the fact that all the main characters rejoined and celebrated New Year’s together. At the celebration, I saw that everyone sort of had the same mindset that they have to get the best one for themselves and for their loved ones.

4.) I think that Suyuan is the nicest mother I’ve read about in this book. I could really tell that she looks out for June and loves her dearly. First of all, Suyuan yells at June for taking the crab with the missing leg and makes her daughter eat the best quality one while she gets the one with the missing leg. In addition to that, she gives June her most treasured possession which is her jade pendant on a gold chain which is a token of her love to June. Furthermore, when June gets depressed after her embarrassing argument with Waverly, June tell her mother indirectly that she is ashamed of her dispute with Waverly but her mother assures her not to worry about it because she is just like the crab who walks sideways. It is clearly shown that Suyuan is supportive of June and adores her.

5.) The main conflict in this vignette is internal. It is man vs. self because June doesn’t feel worthy to wear the jade pendant that her mother has given to her. June struggles to find her life’s importance and finding out the secret of the jade pendant. I don’t think that her conflict was ever resolved because she is still puzzled to all the importance that the pendant holds.

6d.) Amy Tan again does an extraordinary job of using imagery to appeal to your senses. For example, when June and her mother cook for New Year’s dinner, you can even smell all the ingredients that are being cooked. In the kitchen, her mother “chopped the ginger and scallions, and poured soy sauce and sesame oil into a shallow dish. The kitchen smelled of wet newspaper and Chinese fragrances,” (200). I can picture the kitchen full of that. Another part that Amy Tan describes really well is when everyone is eating crabs. She uses words like “cracking the shells”, “sucking the crab meat out” and “scrapping out tidbits with the ends of chopsticks”. You can actually hear it all clashing together.

Michelle Méndez
4th Period

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 9:22:00 PM  
Blogger Kelsea Wong said...

1. Jade Pendant + Gold Chain= “life’s importance”
2. Best Quality
3. In the vignette it was such a surprise to find out that Jing-Mei Woo talks to her mother after her childhood conflict of playing the piano. I would expect that after Jing-Mei mention of the dead babies I would assume that the relationship between mother and daughter was lost forever, never speaking to each other. The story starts off with revealing the strong relationship Jing-Mei has with her mother that the two shop together and prepare dinner or from Jing-Mei’s behalf of leaving work early to help her mother. Unexpectedly the relationship continued to strengthens that towards the end her mother gives her a jade necklaces representing “life’s importance.” I was fond of Amy Tan’s choice of mood portrayed and how it was expressed so that it feels the reader is sitting and eating the crab with Jing-Mei’s family.
4. The protagonist in the vignette is Jing-Mei Woo who shares a strong bond with her mother. As a copywriter Jing-Mei works at a small ad agency. She is the type of person who would leave work early just to help her mother out. Jing-Mei also is the kind of person who tries to get Waverly Jong embarrass after Waverly’s rude attempts of insulting Jing-Mei in front of her family, but every time she tries to get even the insults would backfire out at her. She sometimes feels unwanted by her mother agreeing to whatever Waverly says to her and hurt when she saw that her mother was not using the new plates she bought. Soon, Jing-Mei comes to realize that her mother favors her daughter more than a dead crab like Waverly. The confusion in this section was the parallel structure of the cat appearing in the beginning and end of the story. I clearly did not get what the cat is supposed to symbolize.
5. The conflict displayed is human versus self and human. During the Chinese Lunar New Year dinner, Jing-Mei for a while feels embarrass from the remarks her friend Waverly shot at her. In the beginning Jing-Mei felt lost without knowing the true meaning of the jade pendant that lay against her skin. If whether there is more than the “life’s importance” that there is a hidden meaning to what the pendant represents. The external conflict is that Jing-Mei feels reluctant to have revenge for whatever Waverly said about her hair. When she goes too far with the insults that they end up backfiring at her, leaving her silence of embarrassment.
6. Amy Tan uses several writing techniques displayed in her vignette of Jing-Mei Woo. There are flashbacks that help explain why Jing-Mei always cringes whenever she thinks of crab. Her childhood memory of the once to be crab friend splashed into a vat of boiling water. The vignette has a variety of words that express the mood especially the embarrassment Jing-Mei felt after her friend’s insults. There were descriptive words like “humiliated”, “worse”, “betrayed”, or “strain”. The imagery of the descriptive phrases for every foreigner supported readers to illustrate each person at the Chinese Market in their head creating a personal movie within their minds.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 9:56:00 PM  
Blogger allison. said...

1. Nine Lives
2. “Best Quality”
3. Throughout this chapter, my attention was easily focused in on the creative style of writing. I like how most of the mothers and daughters are all of the same people. They all seem to react the same way to things and have the same kind of personalities or traits similar to one another. The chapter starts out with June, remembering the way her mother was before she died. Her mother constantly always wanted what was best, dragging her around to several markets and stores. The New Year’s dinner did somewhat not go as planned due to the fight between Waverly and June. After the fight, Suyuan tells June of the importance of quality and she gives her her necklace.
4. June is a very fascinating character. She sees the world from several perspectives and questions everything. However she seems to be very competitive with Waverly which started ever since she became a chess prodigy. June overall is a character who does not stay silent and says what she wants. This shows that she is very strong and stands up for what she believes in, she is not intimidated easily and she wants to be the “best”, like the crab.
5. The conflict in the chapter is man vs. man, June vs. Waverly. The struggle between these two opposing characters has been going on ever since they were very young. Waverly was a chess prodigy whereas June failed at becoming a great piano player. Both of these girls tried to please their mothers, but only Waverly accomplished it. Even at the dinner table, June and Waverly still try to pick fights with each other. This shows their competitiveness because they also attacked each other not physical but literal character. This conflict does not get resolved; I think it will always be an opposing force between the two girls.
6. This chapter strongly relates to the allegory in the beginning of the section. In the allegory, the mother knows that it is bad luck to have a mirror in the bedroom but the daughter does not see anything wrong with it. The same incident happened with the crab and his broken leg. June wanted to eat this crab but her mother would not let her, and she makes June take the better crab. Suyuan later goes in the kitchen and does not eat the crab which baffles June and she cannot understand what is wrong with it. In the allegory, the second mirror that the mother puts in the bedroom, she thinks, will correct the problem and nothing bad will happen to her daughter. The same happens in the chapter when Suyuan gives June her necklace. Suyuan thinks that the necklace will signify her life’s importance. If June knows her life importance, she will have no more struggles with Waverly, all that June needs to do and should do is listen to her mother and take the necklace which will help her to remember what that importance is.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:14:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Alvin Lee 4th period
1. Hidden in the Jade
2. “Best Quality”
3. I like how this chapter brings together many characters from the different chapters and how they act around each other when they know each other’s pasts. I also think that June has low self-esteem, thinking that her mother wanted her to take the dead crab. It is said in this chapter that everyone wants the best quality and yet June’s mother likes the new dishes but saves them. Why is it contradictory? Also, what does the passing down of the jade pendant mean? Does it represent a lesson that June’s mother is trying to teach June?
4. Readers can see in this chapter that June has a strong bond with those around her at the dinner table, especially with her mother. June when faced with the remaining two crabs on the dinner platter picks the one without a leg thinking that is what her mother wanted. But, unlike June, her mother says that everyone wants the best quality, but June picks the unwanted crab which shows that she thinks lower of herself then the others at the table as if she had done something wrong.
5. There are two conflicts: one between June and herself trying to figure out the life’s importance within the jade pendant passed down from her mother, and one between June and Waverly as they argue and anger each other at the dinner table. In the first, June struggles to find the hidden meaning within the pendant by searching inside herself and her past. June and Waverly’s argument spreads anger like wildfire as June wants to get revenge on Waverly’s insults towards her. June feels embarrassed by Waverly’s comments on such things like her hair and the firm topic.
6b. Two symbols in “Best Quality” are the jade and the crab. The jade directly represent’s life’s importance according to June’s mother but also the pride that pushes June to move forward. The crab represents the choice of best quality in this chapter as well as June’s selflessness.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:31:00 PM  
Blogger W.o.L. said...

Green Jade
-Best Quality

1) This chapter is really intriguing in many ways that June's mother left her a mysterious green jade pendant to wear. She then goes back into the not so recent past in which their family and friends gather for a huge dinner on Chinese New Year. I thought it was amazing how arrogant and proud Waverly sounded, kind of like her mother Lindo. I felt that June and her mother had more understanding of each other than Waverly and her mother. June always seemed to be more gentle, and humble. However that may be, she was not afraid to confront Waverly and try to get her back for embarrassing her so many times in the past. From June's point of view, it didn't seem like she had a good perception of Waverly, as she described it, Waverly took the biggest and finest crab for herself, her daughter and her husband. It seemed to me that she is a very self-centered person from June's point of view.

2) June. Throughout this vignettes, June describes herself being embarrassed by Waverly in front of everybody again during the Chinese New Year dinner. She feels like she is always overshadowed by Waverly's presence and tries hard at gaining a place equal to that of hers. After the dinner and the confront with Waverly, her mother comes into the kitchen and explains to her that she is like that crab she took. Nobody else chose that crab and only June would choose it, which makes her all the more unique . Her mother also sacrificed and expressed her love for June by letting her eat the better crab without the broken leg. Her mother never ate the crab, because she could smell that it was dead and not fresh. She also give June her pendant, symbolizing yet another sacrifice, or actually, it might be a sign of passing down heritage.

3)The main conflict in this story was between Waverly and June I think. The tension between them at the dinner table was inexplicable and Waverly's personality overpowered that of June's. June feels incompetent that Waverly outsmarts her every time. She feels kind of worthless and put down afterwards. June says:" I felt tired and foolish, as if I had been running to escape someone chasing me, only to look behind and discover there was no one there." It was like she realized her confrontation with Waverly was like a child's play. She doesn't need to be all successful and make lots of money as society expects her to, as long as she is content with herself and her life, it is good enough.

4) I think the symbols in this vignette are the crab and the green jade pendant. The crab that June was originally about to choose, the crab with the broken leg, symbolized her different way of thinking. While stereotypical people would never have chosen that crab because it was dead and also missing a leg, June finds a delight in the crab and it symbolizes her uniqueness from others. The jade pendant that her mother gave to her is also another great symbol. I think the mysterious jade that her mother gave her was not only to pass down heritage, but also used to remind her of herself. In my opinion, when June's mother said it was "her life's importance," it was like she said this jade will remind you of you, and your importance in life.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 11:01:00 PM  
Blogger Nico said...

1. Generosity

2. Best Quality

3. This chapter was really interesting for several reasons. I thought that the forced purchase of the crab with the missing leg was funny because it is similar to how parents have to pay for something that their child has broken. When Jing-Mei's mother gave her a jade pendant, it made me wonder about all the possessions people inherit from their parents and how they are priceless, just like the jade pendant.

4. When Jing-Mei attempts to take the bad crab so her mother can have the better one, it shows her selflessness and generosity towards others. It shows that she has many good values and respects her parents.

5. The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. human. Jing-Mei has arguments with both Waverly and the crab marketer. Jing-Mei's mother resolves this by throwing away the dead crab and by telling Jing-Mei not to worry about what Waverly said because she walks sideways, like a crab.

6. I think that the life lesson in this chapter is that you shouldn't care what others think of you, only of what you think about yourself.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 5:03:00 PM  
Blogger Ben_Tran said...

1. Jade.
2. “Best Quality”
3. I didn’t find this chapter special or interesting at all. June basically received a jade pendant from her mom but she didn’t realize its importance. When her mother dies, she wears it every day. I didn’t like Waverly in this chapter because she was rude to June at the dinner table. I see that June is always competing with Waverly, but Waverly always comes out on top. Although I didn’t like this chapter, I learned something. I learned that people have their own ways of doing things and that everyone is special at something. I could relate to having an item of jade because my dad gave me a keychain with a jade dog on it because I was born in the year of the dog. I could relate to when June’s mom told her to pick the crab that wasn’t missing a leg because my parents always tell me to know how to choose the best things in life. When June’s mom told her to eat the bigger piece of crab, it reminded me of my mom because she’s always trying to give me the biggest piece because she loves me.
4. I think June is a complex character and she’s special because she can see things from different perspectives. June is competitive but I don’t think she’s as competitive as Waverly. June shows that she is not a quiet character but instead says what she wants. June isn’t a person who is easily defeated and she always wants to be the best.
5. The conflict is very obvious and it’s between June and Waverly. I could relate to this because many people have enemies and usually people try to be polite around them and not say anything. I’m not like June or Waverly because I don’t hide it when I don’t like them, but instead tell them why I don’t like them so they understand and stay away from me. June and Waverly have been enemies since their childhood and from the looks of it they will be until they die.
6. The two main symbols in this vignette are the crab and the jade. The crab represents the choice of being the best and the jade represents pride. When June chose the crab with the missing leg, she chose a different way of thinking. I believe the jade was given to her by her mom to remind her of herself.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 5:12:00 PM  
Blogger N`Jess said...

1. “I not from Fukien”
2. Best Quality
3. I couldn’t stop laughing about the Fukien thing. That was so funny. I felt bad for June that she had to eat her “new pet.” I would’ve done the same thing June did. I would’ve picked the ugly crab. I can’t believe Waverly. She’s such a brat. She made June felt really bad in front of her whole family. I thought that was really messed up. Suyuan was right though, “[June] thinking different.” June and Suyuan’s relationship got so much better. They became so much closer and June even left work early just to help her mother.
4. Suyuan was a good mother. She wanted to protect and comfort her daughter. When June took the bad crab, she lied and said that she couldn’t finish it, but when the truth is she knew the crab was bad. When June talked about what had happened with Waverly, her mother said that Waverly was “always walking sideways, moving crooked,” and June was different. Suyuan supports June fully.
5. I think the main conflict was internal. Throughout this vignette, June had a hard time to find herself. She thought that she was lower than everyone else. This conflict was resolved when Suyuan gave June the pendant. June realized that she was worthy to someone and she was unique.
6. Two symbols in this vignette that stood out were the crab with the missing leg and the jade pendant. The crab represented June and the missing leg represented the missing quality of selfishness. June picked the bad crab, while everyone else chose the best quality crab, which showed us that she was not selfish. The jade symbolized how unique June was. Many people own similar pendant, but each one contained different life’s importance and stories.

Jessica Hartono

Thursday, January 21, 2010 5:57:00 PM  
Blogger jen_bug said...

Love Who You Are
"Best Quality"
3)This whole chapter made me feel sad. For one June talks about not knowing the importance of the jade necklace that she received from her mother and now she will never be able to find out since her mother has passed away. The chapter reflects off a sad mood when Amy Tan brings the readers into a flashback of the previous Chinese New Year, when June's mother was still alive. Why does June try to seem better then Waverly? They are grown women now yet they both still act like young kids. I thought this chapter really showed how hurtful words could be to a person and how badly they could bring a person and their confidence down.
4)June seems to never feel good enough for her family. She can never compete with anyone else and her whole family brings her down. June has confidence problems and it's not a wonder why. To try and make herself feel better June decides to get into an argument with Waverly and the argument just ends up making June look dumb in front of the whole family. June shouldn't think that she needs to be better then anyone, she should just be herself and not something she isn't. It might have helped if June had got the chance to ask her mother what the carvings on the jade necklace meant. Maybe it would have given June a bit more guidance in her life.
5)The conflict in this chapter is man vs. man and external. It is the argument that takes place during New Year's dinner between June and Waverly. The conflict isn't really resolved. The argument comes to an end once June decides not to speak to Waverly anymore and heads to the kitchen to clean her plate. June then stays in the kitchen for the remainder of the time instead of adding fuel to fire, starting the argument again.
6)The jade necklace that June receives from her mother is absolutely the symbol of this chapter. Although it is the symbol I'm not quiet sure what the meaning behind it is. If I had to take a guess I would say that it represents the life that June lives in some way. I say this only because June's mother said, "This is you life's importance." (197) Maybe later on this jade necklace will come back into the novel and us readers will learn its true meaning.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 6:11:00 PM  
Blogger Kayla L. said...

“I not from Fukien.”
Best Quality

3. I was actually laughing out loud from reading this chapter. The quote “and the man, he raise his hand like this, show me his ugly fist and call me worst Fukien landlady. I not from Fukien. Hunh! He know nothing!” was hysterical. I think it was the only line in this book that really made me laugh. The way June’s mom had boiled her new crab friend for her birthday reminded of the story about my mom’s childhood pet chicken that her grandmother killed for dinner. That’s why I’m vegetarian. I know the Chinese culture is very different from my own, but I find if kind of sad that mothers don’t hug and kiss their children to show affection, but cook dumplings, ducks and crabs instead. I like hugs so that wouldn’t be fun, but maybe it’s very normal for Chinese people since they grew up this way. They probably think my customs are strange too.
Waverly is still annoying. She embarrasses June by saying that she can’t afford to go to a good hairstylist. She doesn’t say this directly, but this is what she is implying.

4. June is different then all of the other people invited to the New Year dinner. Instead of taking the crab with the best quality she takes the bad luck crab with a missing leg so that her mom can have the good one.
She stills seems to have a grudge with Waverly for being a snob when they were children and they have a fight of hidden insults at the dinner party, but in the end she gets over it and decides to “make [her] legs go the other way” (208) and not follow Waverly words.

5. The conflict is an internal man vs. self. June is trying to determine her self worth and thinks of herself as a lower “quality” then others, not giving herself enough credit. The actual reality is that she is of equal or higher worth compared to any of her family and friends. The conflict is resolved when June’s mother gives her the jade necklace and she finds her life’s importance.

6. This is probably wrong but, I think the theme to know thyself, or something along those lines. What I mean is that you should think yourself as equal to anybody and don’t be shy to give yourself the best quality. Just because someone is prettier, smarter, funnier or nicer doesn’t make them better then you. Also don’t follow or think about what other people say. Follow your own path and you will be a very happy person most likely. Why is it so hard to follow your own advice sometimes?

Thursday, January 21, 2010 7:41:00 PM  
Blogger phunkmasterJobyJo said...

Crab Tastes Good

Excellent Quality

Well the chapter was quite good, but point out to the unlikable person that is Waverly Jong. The cat came up often, which meant it a symbol, I'm just not sure what. When they ate crab, the scene made me hungry, which just shows Amy Tan's writing skill. And the point made about how two Chinese people could bond in a sea of Caucasians was quite enlightening.

My opinion of Waverly Jong is quite low right now, and if I didn't know that my English teacher were going to read this, I would have some very choice words about her. She seems to complain about everything, and while she dotes on her daughter, it goes to the point of spoiling her. (From what I can tell in the story.) And there were those backhanded insults to Jing-Mei, and even trashing her hairdresser, talking about transmissible AIDS... WOW the ignorance, snobbishness, and arrogance just tick me off...

The conflict was internal and external, being Jing-Mei against Waverly (man vs man) and Jing-Mei always settling for second best, never fighting for anything.

Three symbols in the chapter, but only two I could interpret. The cat left me clueless, but the pendant, I think, when her mother said that it was light-green but would turn dark over time, symbolizes Jin-Mei's self-worth and achievement; if she achieved and strived, she would eventually flourish green like the jade. Also the lifeless crab symbolized Jing-Mei, as she settled with anything, not wanting nor caring for the best, letting others have it.
~El Schelonai, AKA Nicholas Lee, Period the 4th

Thursday, January 21, 2010 8:04:00 PM  
Blogger BrynIsBttrThnDonAtGttinDwn said...

1. “Crabs? I’ve had crabs for years.”
2. “Best Quality”
3. I thought that this was a very emotionally diverse chapter. With Jing-Mei narrating the days of when her mother was still alive and her spats with Waverly at the dinner table, it had me feeling heart warmed and annoyed. I think that Tan did an exceptional job in this chapter. There is no real conflict between mother and daughter in this chapter. Just the standard, mother teaches daughter lesson about life. I respected that Suyuan accepted the bad crab (which of course my mom would have also done) and allowed the last good one to Jing-Mei. Waverly always seems like a snooty character outside of her own vignettes.
4. Jing-Mei does not share the same gifts as Waverly. While Waverly is a good strategist and works at a big firm, Jing-Mei is not so fortunate. She lets remarks easily get to her. When she and Waverly have their bout, Waverly’s come-backs were like heavy blows on Jing-Mei. This reveals her sensitivity. The dinner also revealed that she is thoughtful and cares for her mother, unlike her first vignette.
5. I think that the conflict in this chapter is man vs. self. Though there are some other small conflicts in this chapter, I think that it all comes down to Jing-Mei and her lack of confidence and pessimism towards herself. She realizes that even though she is not such a big shot like Waverly, she is still good at what she does.
6. I think that the theme is revealed at the beginning, dinner, and the end; a mother will always be there for you, if not physically then emotionally and that you will always be the one that they look out for.

Bryan Bui

Thursday, January 21, 2010 8:29:00 PM  
Blogger Chen Hong said...

1. Hidden Bonds
2. Best Quality
3. This chapter was pretty good to me. I was open to reading once I read that a whole bunch of previous characters in the other chapters were going to be in this very chapter along with June and her family. I thought it was interesting that even after 20 years June and Waverly would still have their immature fights on who’s better than who, to get “even” with each other. They used to fight when they were little, but seriously, they are older and grown up now, they have fiancés and husbands, why are they still bickering? I found it especially rude since it was done at the dinner table in front of all their relatives. I didn’t really understand the whole talk about which crab was better then which, and why the mother threw away the piece with the broken leg. Was the crab symbolic of something bad or what? And the last lines of the chapter was not really understandable in my eyes, the whole part about the cat hissing at her.
4. The main character in this chapter focused on June. She was always trying to “beat” Waverly in conversations, well in this case, verbal fights, and it shows that they would never let the past go. They fought at the dinner table and June made a comment towards Waverly that silenced her, “I think it’s pretty ironic that a big accounting firm cant even pay its own bills on time. I mean, really, Waverly, what kind of place are you working for?” (204). At the end of the chapter June’s mother then tells her that Waverly is like the bad crab, “Always walking sideways, moving crooked. You can make your legs go the other way” which ended the tension between her and June because she finally realized that her mother was on reasonably on her side.
5. The main conflict in this chapter was man vs. man and it was between June and Waverly. Even after 20 years they would still bicker and fight over little things, just to embarrass the other in front of everyone. They brought their fight upon the dinner table this time. They tried to make themselves sound superior to the other one. At the end of the “fight” it was June who was left in the dust, because Waverly brought up the fact that the way she writes was not sophisticated enough, which left her humiliated. At the end of the chapter June’s mother then tells June not to worry about Waverly, comparing Waverly to a bad crab, “Always walking sideways, moving crooked. You can make your legs go the other way” (204). With this comment June didn’t really care about that Waverly said about her. This kind of settle the tension between the two, however it is not official that they will never fight again.
6. The jade necklace in the chapter was symbolic of the June’s mother letting June move forward into life. She was growing older now and the passing on of the necklace acted as her growing older now and she has to take charge of taking care of it, and wearing it. The jade pendant was still “young” like June, and within passing time, the pedant will slowly become greener, which was like her growing old, moving forward into life.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 8:38:00 PM  
Blogger Julianroy said...

1) Jade Necklace
2) Best Quality
3) I really liked this chapter. For one, the descriptive language describing the crab was really good and it made me hungry. The dinner scene was sort of sad though as it revealed that Waverly still posessed that snobbish personality that ends up damaging Jing Mei. But, it's good to know that Jing Mei ends up bonding with her mother when she recieves her necklace. At first, that necklace was just ugly to Jing mei and it symbolized a cultural barrier between mother and daughter but soon finds out that it is her mother's pride in her.

4) All this time, I thought Jing Mei was an unambitious person who did not believe in hard work in order to achieve her goals. But, I found out in this chapter that Jing Mei shows humility and is very modest. This is shown when Jing Mei picks the bad crab missing a leg over the more tastier crab. This shows that Jing Mei would rather have the shorter end of the stick as long as her mother is happy.

5) The theme of the story could be that humility and modesty are virtues. In this story, Jing Mei's personality actually bonds her closer to her mother. We learn that Jing Mei is not competitive like Waverly because she is unambitious, but because she has a sense of modesty.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:01:00 PM  
Blogger Pixx3ieDust said...

1. Poor Mr. Crab
2. “Best Quality”

3. The first thing that caught my attention in this chapter was the rich local culture that Amy Tan managed to sprinkle throughout this vignette. She accurately portrayed the dominant aspect Chinese stinginess as well as customs which included mothers piling food on their children’s plates as a sign of affection and choosing the best for yourself and your family. I liked this chapter, because Jing-mei’s mom seemed more human in this chapter, more relatable, despite the fact that she continuously complains about her tenants and Jing-mei’s actions. This chapter made me dislike Waverly all over again, though. I felt bad for Jing-mei when she picked a fight with Waverly and then lost the battle terribly as the entire situation backfired on her. However, I was glad that Jing-mei’s mother actually tried to bond with her daughter and to make the situation better by giving her the jade necklace, her “life’s importance”. But the scene where Jing-mei laments upon the fact that she never asked her mother for the meaning behind the necklace made me feel empty inside, as if I too were missing my life’s importance. Like Jing-mei and the bartender, I too wanted to know the secrets and the meanings and the wisdom behind the pendant.

4. Jing-mei has good intentions, but often those intentions backfire on her in ways she would never expect. She attempted to take the lesser-quality crab in order to leave the better one for her mother, what she thought was a sign of respect, but her mother yelled at her to take the large, whole crab instead. Jing-mei was not selfish like Waverly who took the three best crabs for herself and her family. Instead, Jing-mei saves the best crab for her mother and gives her the best quality china dishes as a gift instead of hoarding them for herself. Somehow, however, her mother finds this as a fault since “everybody else wants best quality [but she] think[s] different[ly]” (208). This indicates that while Jing-mei has good intentions, so also has a somewhat low esteem because she never achieves nor expects the best for herself. When Waverly attacks back at Jing-mei during dinner about the poor quality work that she did for Waverly’s firm, Jing-mei completely shuts down and feels “tired and foolish” rather than fighting back (207).

5. The main conflict in this chapter is the internal conflict between Jing-mei and her low self esteem. She never takes the best nor strives for the best, whether it be in picking the best crab, getting the best job, or feeling worthy of wearing her mother’s jade necklace – something that her mother calls her out on. This conflict is not resolved at the end of the chapter because Jing-mei still wanted “to give it back”, because she still didn’t feel as if she deserved to wear her mother’s “life importance” (207).

6. In the allegory at the beginning of the chapter, the mother uses her own knowledge in order to help her daughter by multiplying her “peach-blossom luck” (147). Even though the daughter scoffed at her mother’s unnecessary worries, the mother still did what she could to help her daughter by strategically placing the mirror above the bed to bring her luck instead of harm. Jing-mei’s mother also gives her daughter a gift; her jade pendant, her “life’s importance”. Her mother is always there for her, and wants the best for her daughter despite the fact that she does not express it in the most vocal of ways. Initially, Jing-mei, like the girl in the allegory, did not want to accept her mother’s superstitions. The girl in the allegory did not want to accept the mirror and Jing-mei did not want to wear the necklace. However, after her mother’s death, Jing-mei began to ponder about her life’s importance and what it meant. She finally realized that her mother had good intentions and began to embrace them instead of rejecting her mother’s presence.

- Michelle Chan

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:08:00 PM  
Blogger Linhwaslike said...

1. Appreciate yourself for who you are
2. Jing-Mei Woo: Best Quality
3. I thought this chapter was very easy to read because it was very thorough. I really like how Tan uses the dead crab with a broken leg to relate to “picking the best of the best” because a little detail like that can have a big impact on the reader. When everyone picked the brightest and toughest crabs at Jing’s New Years party, I could really feel what Tan wanted to transmit to her reader. Everyone wanted to pick the best of the batch, everyone except Jing. Jing didn’t care whether she got the crab with the broken leg because something that little isn’t of importance to her. It showed the reader what type of character she is, and I liked the fact that Tan stood her out from the rest.
4. The character I would like to focus on is Jing-Mei Woo. Thus far, I’d have to say Jing is my favorite character. Yes, when she was a child, she spit some nasty words to her mother she may never forgive herself for, but she has grown into a young woman who doesn’t care about things the people that surround her heed over. However, she is affected when Waverly continues to insult her, and when you fight fire with fire, you only get a bigger fire. Jing argues back when Waverly babbles on, speaking as if she is higher than Jing, and I admire Jing for standing up to her. I do wish she could have won the fight that took place over the dinner table though.
5. The conflict in this chapter is definitely man vs. man external, and it is the ongoing clash between Jing and Waverly. During their New Years dinner, Waverly was once again being sneaky with her insults, but Jing didn’t put up with it. She fought back with flying interrogations only to receive a crash landing. The conflict is not resolved in this chapter, but it ends with Jing losing the fight and feeling as if she will never be better than Waverly. And on top of it all, she is forced to listen to her aunt Lindo and her mother to make the matter worse by too, acting as if she will never be higher than Waverly. Maybe Tan will reveal the solution to this conflict later in the novel?
6. I think the jade necklace Jing’s mother gave her is a symbol because it is mentioned both at the beginning and the end of the chapter. What exactly is its symbolic meaning? I would have to say it shows what Jing is worth, so that she will never doubt she is not of “the best quality.” I think this is so because before Jing’s mother gives her the necklace, she tells her “it is [her] life’s importance” (208). I’m not quite sure, but hopefully Tan lets her reader unravel its true meaning later in the novel.

Linh Vuong
3rd Period

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:11:00 PM  
Blogger Dennisaur (Trinh) said...

1) Bad Crab Go Bye Bye

2) Best Quality

3) I felt a small warmth in my chest when I read this chapter. I can relate to the relaxing family dinner on Chinese New Year. Ah yes, there’s nothing a hearty meal of crab to fill you up. I loved how Waverly argued with June at the dinner table because it happens all the time in my family. The corny joke about “Marry Rich” sounds like something my mom would say and there would be this dead silence at the table. I do still believe Waverly is a big jerk for starting conflicts. I wasn’t sure what the Cat symbolized although I took a guess at it that it symbolized June’s late understanding of the necklace.

4) June displays a lot of flaws about herself as this chapter progressed. For example, when Waverly was indirectly insulting June, she knew that Waverly was insulting her, but she only fed more wood that fire causing a bigger conflict. I can see that she does not like being treated like she’s stupid. I can also see that June isn’t selfish and has respect for her mother in this chapter. For example, when her mother offers her the crabs, she goes for the bad crab instead of the one without the leg. I can tell she’s trying to offer her mother the better crab by doing so, but her mother turns her offer down. Waverly likes to take a whack at June’s self-esteem and self confidence. In the argument, June tried her best to hold back the tears due to Waverly’s sharp tongue. Because of this, June’s self-esteem is shown to be very low as well as her self confidence.

5) The obvious conflict would have to be man vs. man due to the fact that June had a quarrel with Waverly; however, because of this conflict it lead to her internal (man vs. self) conflict. The quarrel with Waverly caused June to get outsmarted by Waverly and in the end it only left her with more conflicts. When she was young, she was pushed to her limit by her mother to be what she’s not. She was still searching for what she can be in life. She tries to figure out who she is. Another internal conflict would have to be her trying to figure out why her mother gave her the necklace to start with.

6) A major symbol in this chapter would have to be the necklace. The necklace symbolizes June’s growth. The necklace was said to grow greener and greener as time passed. Like grass, June is developing into a person like her mother over time. Another symbol would be the crab missing a leg. The crab symbolizes a major mistake that throws her off balance in her life. It could be the fight with Waverly that throws her off balance. Anyways, the necklace just means that June is moving forward in life and one missing crab leg can’t stop her.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:14:00 PM  
Blogger James said...

1. Ew crab

2. Best Quality

3. Jing-Mei surprised me by wanting to choose the crap of the worse condition. Most people like Waverly would choose the best ones for themselves and leave the ones that aren’t so great for the others. I thought it was immature for Jing-Mei and Waverly to try to put each other down like that. I find such traits possessed within Waverly a bit unsightly. For some reason I find it weird that Jing-Mei would think that her mom poisoned the cat . o-o

4. From the actions that Jing-Mei displays, it pretty much reveals that she is not a selfish person. Between the 2 crabs, she chose the one of poorer condition and tried to leave the better one for Suyuan. This action shows that rather than only thinking for herself, Jing-Mei is considerate of others as well.

5. I believe that the main conflict is Man vs Self because of how Jing-Mei is trying to understand what the Jade passed down by her mother meant. I conflict is not resolved because her mother is dead. Another minor conflict is Human vs Human, when Jing-Mei and Waverly started to quarrel and tried to step all over each other.

6. I believe the theme of the chapter is “Moms always care for their children” Suyuan cares for Jing-Mei and believes that she should receive what she deserves there for giving Jing-Mei the better crab. Not only displayed within Suyuan, but also within the selfish character of Waverly. Although she took all the best crabs for her family, she gave the best one to her kid.

JamesYU
Period3

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:18:00 PM  
Blogger Gisellllle! said...

1. Sorry this is short
2. “Best Quality”

3. I found this chapter to be really interesting. Although there were some things I couldn’t quite understand, it was overall very enjoyable. It had a lot of Local color when it describes all the food. I can relate to the constant battle of outdoing another person. I think it’s really rude how Waverly acts towards June.

4. I think Waverly was a rude brat in this chapter. She acts like everything is a competition. Her competitiveness comes off to me as ignorance. I find her attitude quite irritable.

5. The conflict was both an internal and external conflict between June and Waverly. They struggle to be the best and they are challenged by each other.

6. I think the theme of the chapter is that family will always be there for you.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:20:00 PM  
Blogger jessicaisabookworm said...

Jessica Lee
Period 4
1. Best Quality, Shmest Squality...
2. Best Quality
3. I thought this chapter was more relatable to my life. I have two sisters and loads cousins, so there's a bit family rivalry. I can relate to Jing-mei's position with not being "the best". Also when Suyuan said that she saves fancy things, then forgets that she saved them reminded me of my grandma cause she does the same thing.
4. I think that Jing-mei is a very competitive person, she still has negative feelings towards Waverly. She knows that she insant perfect and that makes her seem down-to-earth.
5. I think that the conflict was man vs. self, Jing-mei vs. herself. Although Jing-mei admitted she wasn't perfect, she had to realize that she was best at just being herself. And the turning point for Jing-mei would probably be when Suyuan gives her the jade pendant.
6. I think the symbol in this chapter is the jade pendant. The jade represents Jing-mei, even though the jade is "young...[and] very light" (pg.209) it would age to a perfect green. Jing-mei my not be born the best but Suyuan believed that she would grow to be the best.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:20:00 PM  
Blogger Jonas said...

Sea spiderss
Best Quality

1. I enjoyed this chapter because I could relate to a lot of parts. When I was little, I also did not like crabs due to their slow and painful death. I could also picture all of them sucking on crabs and crab shells all over the table. Jing Mei's mom seems to be the nicest out of all the JLC moms. She only wants the best for her daughter, and sacrifices things for herself.

2. This chapter reveals a lot Jing-mei's self esteem and attitude. When she gets into an argument with her archenemy Waverly, she lets small remarks get to her, causing her to seek revenge. This shows how childish she is, and how much she values what others think of her. As a result, she doesn't think of herself as that important which reveals her pessimistic character. Later, Jing-Mei's mother gave her and helped her realize her 'life's importance', something deeper than a necklace that nobody can take away.

3. The main conflict is man vs. self and a little bit of man vs. man too. The constant battle between Jing-Mei and Waverly rises again in this chapter, each trying to put the other down. Jing-Mei is heavily conflicted internally by this, thinking she is lower, or of 'lesser quality' than Waverly. She eventually gives up and lets it go, and also realizes the futility and silliness of their argument.

4. The jade pendant was a symbol in this chapter that represented Jing-Mei's uniqueness and one-of-a-kind traits. It helped her realize she would never be a Waverly, but she was happy doing the things she was good at. The jade pendant was intricately carved, yet it was not the most beautiful, perfect, normal piece of jewelry. However, that is what made it special and it helped her realize that being different isn't always such a bad thing.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:24:00 PM  
Blogger E1ain3 said...

1. Crippled Crab
2. “Best Quality”
3. This chapter was funny and amusing. I liked it! :) Despite all the tension and offensive comments between the Woos and Jongs, I thought this chapter had a lot of witty jokes. Uncle Tin’s pun about Waverly and Rich’s marriage was actually pretty entertaining. “Marry Rich…” HAHA! Anyways, I felt bad for Jing-Mei and Suyuan because they were being disrespected in their own house! Waverly and Lindo acted like rude and obnoxious women who did not appreciate anything.
4. In this chapter, Jing- Mei appears to be a courteous and more matured adult. At the dinner table, Jing-Mei is left with the choice of two crabs. Being respectful, she takes the crab with a broken leg and hands her mother the better one. By doing so, we can see that Jing-Mei thinks of others before herself which shows her hidden values.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is man vs. man; Waverly vs. Jing-Mei. The arguments during the New Years dinner party show that even after 20 years, these grown women still pick fights with each other. Following their mothers’ footsteps, both Jing-Mei and Waverly continue to compete against one another, searching for additional bragging rights. In the end, however, Jing-Mei learns that Waverly is unimportant and useless, just like the crippled crab, “always walking sideways, moving cooked” (208).
6. The jade necklace Jing-Mei received from her mother symbolizes her goals and achievements— her life’s importance. Being given the pendant before her mother’s death, Jing-Mei accepts it and wears it, hoping the light-colored jade will transform into a beautiful green color. The necklace also symbolizes the passing down of one generation to another. The “young” necklace she wears now, will soon flourish into a darker green, allowing Jing-Mei to understand her Chinese mother more clearly.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:27:00 PM  
Blogger Nhat Hoang said...

1. “Bad Food, Bad Luck”

2. “Best Quality”

3. This chapter connected to the previous ones, as well as other characters. More superstitions/beliefs are incorporated: bad quality foods are bad signs. Quality is never a big deal and getting the best for yourself seems a bit rude. It’s pretty intriguing how Jing-Mei still feels as if she has to prove herself to others, especially by trying to insult Waverly. As children, they are competitive, trying to outnumber the other. As adults, they still do the same thing and Jing-Mei is easily embarrassed and revengeful. It’s not the most mature way to handle things. The sweet way Jing-Mei’s mother comforts her is endearing and a great way to end the chapter, especially with the inheritance of the jade necklace.

4. Jing-Mei is a character that still has a “young” sense to her. She is extremely sensitive, allowing things to hit her nerve easily. Easily angered, she doesn’t handle jokes well, resulting in embarrassment and attempts to get vengeance by throwing back insults that hurts herself instead. She should just be satisfied with what she has and who she is.

5. The main internal conflict in the chapter is man vs. self between Jing-Mei and her confidence. Being emotionally sensitive, she allows the slightest remarks or criticism hurt her self-esteem. Also feeling outsmarted, she is humiliated and believes she’s less than others. Those thoughts results in her temper, embarrassment and crave for revenge. She doesn’t strive for the best, such as when she decides to pick the “bad” crab. I’m not sure if the conflict is fully resolved, but Jing-Mei is comforted by her mother’s advice to not let others affect her.

6. I think the theme in this chapter is that your mother, with a connection to her children like no other, will always be there, along with her love, care, comfort and protection.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:31:00 PM  
Blogger EthanJosephLe said...

1. "Crab Dinner"

2. "Best Quality"

3. This chapter wasn't boring, but it didn't stand out to me. As I was reading, I was trying to find something that would amaze me, something that would stand out. The most interesting part of this chapter was the necklace. I really wanted to know what it meant, but I guess it's not stated. I found it interesting how the one bartender's mother also gave it to him, but he didn't really know what it meant either.

4. One character from this chapter is Waverly. Although she is not the main character, she stood out to me. She picked the best crab for her daughter, which showed how caring she was. However, she seemed disgusted by how her mother Lindo ate strange parts of the crab. This made me think that she had become..."white-washed."

5. The conflict was human vs self. I think it was mostly about June trying to understand her mother. She wanted to know the meaning behind the necklace she had received, but she doesn't know who to turn to because her mother isn't alive anymore.

6. One symbol is the cat. I think it symbolizes June's bond with her mother. At first, the cat is chased away, like how the bond between them was broken when her mom made her play piano. Then, the cat went missing, and people thought it was dead. This is similar to how June thought she had lost all connections with her mother after her death, and she was completely lost. However, when the cat returned, she banged on the window, and it hissed at her. This is exactly the same thing that happened to her mother, and it's sort of like how she's just like her mother.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:34:00 PM  
Blogger Alice said...

1. Life’s Importance
2. “Best Quality”
3. I think that at the end of the chapter, where June is cooking dinner for her father, June finally realizes what her mother had been through: the annoying people upstairs and the bothersome one-eared cat. It’s like she took the place of her mother, probably through the jade pendant, because the pendant represents heredity. I wonder why the cat lost an ear and how to “crunch” oranges.
4. Waverly is a longtime childhood friend of June. During dinner, her remarks were directed to hurt June because the two have always been competing against each other since they were little. Her competitiveness comes from the invisible strength that her mother gave her when she was starting to play chess. Even though Waverly seems to be an assertive and competitive person, she has soft spots for her daughter, Shoshana, and future husband, Rich. She gave them the two best crabs from the platter. This contrasted with June; Waverly knew how to choose the best while June would rather leave the best for others.
5. The main conflict in the chapter is the internal conflict within June. At dinner, June picked the crab that was missing a leg. She also had always seemed to be less successful than Waverly; while Waverly worked in a big firm, she worked in a small ad agency. June’s mother said that June would never take the good quality things for herself and instead, let other people like Waverly take it. June seems to lack confidence or thinks that she isn’t worthy for the best things. June’s mother said it like a compliment, which I think is that June is unconsciously selfless and considerate. This selflessness and lack of confidence leads to herself being always behind others. The conflict doesn’t really get resolved in the end but with her mother’s pendant, she might find herself inheriting confidence from her mother.
6b. I think the pendant symbolizes the inheritance of not only culture, but also personality. I think that June’s mother was trying to tell June to become a confident person and follow her own ideas instead of trying to compete with other people.
Alice La, Period 4

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:38:00 PM  
Blogger Chun Chen said...

1) Bad Crab
2) “Best Quality”
3) My reaction to this chapter was that it was pretty interesting. It had a lot of local color and imagery. I think there is a lot of tension between June and Waverly, they are very competitive and always trying to be better than the other, a lot like their mothers. I think Waverly was very rude towards June during the dinner.
4) This chapter showed how competitive June is. During the dinner, she tried to make Waverly look bad. But it backfired and Waverly was able to outsmart June and make her look bad instead. June is easily offended and gets angry at Waverly. Also June is not selfish because she takes the “bad crab” and leaves the better crab for her mother.
5) The main conflict of this chapter is between June and Waverly, which is man vs. man. During the dinner, they constantly tried to make each other look bad and brag about themselves. In the end, June loses the fight against Waverly and gets very angry. It is unresolved because June and Waverly will always be competitive with each other.
6) The symbol in this chapter would be the jade pendant June inherits from her mother. It symbolizes June’s growth and life. The light green colored jade would darken into a nicer shade of green as time passed. Similar to how June would grow and be better. It also showed the passing of heritage from Suyuan to June.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:58:00 PM  
Blogger patrickw said...

1) Jade Pendant
2) Best Quality
3) The description and relationships in this chapter was very enjoyable to read. It showed the true love the mothers gave their daughters, for instance when Waverly chose the best crab for Shoshana and when Suyuan gives Jing-Mei the better crab, yet a bit of rivalry is shown here. These little acts of kindness show the love the mothers have for their children even though they have their problems, in reality the daughter’s lives are their mother’s lives.
4) The Jing-Mei’s mother is very caring and unselfish. Her mother told Jing-Mei to eat the better crab and not the one with a leg missing. She took the bad one for herself. “Take it, already cold. No! No! Big one, you eat if. I cannot finish.” (202) Even though her mother wanted the better crab, she still gave Jing-Mei the crab because she cares for her.
5) The main conflict in this chapter is both internal and external. The conflict to be better than Waverly as well as prove herself to her mother. June struggles with herself because Waverly always outsmarts her and her mother is always disappointed in her. But this conflict gets resolved when June’s mother gives her a jade pendant and tells her she just wanted her life to be great.
6) The jade pendant is a symbol in this chapter. I think it symbolizes the family heritage passed down from mother to daughter, but also to remind her of her when June’s mother said “This is your life’s importance” (208). Her mother wore this on her skin and is letting June wear it on her skin as a way of passing on knowledge and to know the meaningful things that her mother did for her, but with her now understanding it.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:02:00 PM  
Blogger FREAKOFNATURE said...

1. MMMM~ Crab....
2. Best Quality
3. I thought this chapter was quite interesting. I liked the scene when Waverly and Jing-Mei have a verbal fight. This chapter is also very touching because it had a lot of touchy touchy feeling between mother and daughter. When she was going to take the worse crab, her mother takes it and gives the better one to her to eat. Jing-Mei's mother, Suyuan, gives her a jade pendant saying, "This is your life's importance" (page 235) near the end of the chapter. It was very heartwarming.
4. I think Jing-Mei is a very special character in this chapter because she has a different perspective than everyone else. When everyone chose the best crab, she chose to have the one with the missing leg, leaving the better crab for her mother. We can see here that she is thoughtful for her mother. She follows her own way of thinking. Just like in the fight, she states her point very clearly at Waverly unlike Waverly, saying a whole bunch of things to try to embarrass Jing-Mei.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is external of human vs human between Waverly and Jing-Mei. They have a verbal fight at the dinner table while everyone was sitting there, eating yummy crabs. They tried embarrassing the other in front of everyone else. In the end, Waveryly "wins", telling her that she sucked and that she was unsophisticated. Even though she didn't beat Waverly, she was comforted by her mother when she tells her that Waverly is like a crab “always walking sideways, moving crooked” (204). This line cheered her up a little and also calmed her down while her mother gave her the jade pendant.
6. Amy Tan uses the jade pendant as a symbol. A jade turns greener the older it gets. It symbolizes the rest of Jing-Mei's life. While she grows older and matures, the jade gets greener and has a more beautiful and rich color.
~~becca! (period 3)

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:02:00 PM  
Blogger Maobertooo said...

Fresh Crabs Only

Best Quality

1. Like the previous chapters, this chapter seemed fairly easy to read, probably because the narrator, June, is Chinese-American. The shopping for the New Years dinner reminded me of when I go shopping with my mother. Like my mother’s shopping habits, June’s mother only wants the “freshest” crabs at the seafood market. The festivity of the crab dinner also reminded me of the Chinese New Year feasts that I attend every year. It seems customary for seafood such as lobster or crab to be served on the table, and like in this chapter, my family’s celebrations often invite the extended family as well.
2. The main character of this chapter is June Woo, when she is already grown up. By this time, June had already “failed” her mother several times, so June’s mother Suyuan demands little from her daughter. Still, June is respectful enough to accompany her mother shopping and helping to prepare the special dinner. During the dinner, June raised her old vendettas against her childhood rival, Waverly, but only to feel more ashamed about her own identity and value. Waverly makes June feel that June is less sophisticated than Waverly after June writes an clichéd advertisement for Waverly’s firm. At the end of the chapter, June regains her self confidence when her mother bestows a jade necklace upon her, assuring June that she is worth something in her parent’s views.
3. The main conflict of this chapter is actually human vs. self, June and her quest to find her self-worth. While June becomes entangled in a physical argument with her rival Waverly at the New Year’s dinner, she actually struggles to maintain her own confidence. Waverly’s disparagements make June feel that her talents are useless and undeveloped, and that June is inferior to Waverly. Ultimately June realizes, with encouragement from her mother, that because she was raised up around the best quality items, she herself is naturally “of the best quality” also.
4. One of the symbols of this chapter is the eleventh crab that was missing a hind leg. June personally picked that crab but found that it was missing a leg; even so, she chose to buy it anyways. At the dinner feast, June initially picks that crab for herself but it eventually ends up on her mother Suyuan’s plate. June’s choice of the crab of the missing leg reflects her selflessness and different “taste” from other people, who prefer the best quality. Like how June’s mother takes the worthless crab and gives June a better quality one, throughout her life June’s mother has always given the best for her daughter June.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:05:00 PM  
Blogger Tara Lynn. said...

1. Mr. Krabs is cool

2. Best Quality

3. I liked this chapter! The description of the crabs was pretty amazing and it was cool how a lot of characters throughout the book were in this one chapter. I think it was funny how after about 20 years, June and Waverly were STILL arguing about who is better. It was pretty childish, especially because they were doing it at the table in front of their families. Waverly definitely comes off as a bratty character in all the chapters she appears in, minus her own chapters. I think it was funny how that worked.

4. June was obviously a very appreciative and non-materialistic person. This was apparent when she was willing to take the crab with the broken leg when no one else would take it. It showed that she knew it wasn’t important whether the leg was broken or not. It wouldn’t change the taste. She was able to see past silly little flaws and realize that they weren’t important at all to the true quality of them.

5. The conflict in this chapter was pretty minor, actually. It was human vs. human external, between June and Waverly. June was a generous, appreciative woman while Waverly was pretty immature and boastful. They always fought with each other when they were young over who was better, and apparently they kept that tradition all throughout the years because it was 20 years later and they were still going at it. June’s feelings were a little hurt when Waverly told her she won’t ever be as sophisticated as herself. This conflict is solved when June talks to her mother, who immediately states that June is a much better person than Waverly, plain and clear.

6. I believe the theme here is that you shouldn’t let other peoples’ words get to you. June is obviously an honest, giving person but she is brought down when Waverly talks malignantly about her. If you know that you’re a good person, it shouldn’t be any of your concern what other people say.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:08:00 PM  
Blogger Chibacca said...

Second Best

“Best Quality”

Reaction: The story was heartfelt and revealed many characteristics about these characters. It was so loving of June’s mother to sacrifice her own satisfaction for her daughter by saving the better crab for June and throwing away the bad one. This can be related to how my own mom had sacrifice her own future and life so that I could succeed and have a better future. She gave up on a better education for herself so she could care for me and provide me with everything. That’s why this chapter really touched me and spoke out to me

Character: Jing-Mei lacks a bit of self-confidence but is thoughtful and sensitive. This could be inferred through indirect characterization. With only two crabs left, she took the crab with a missing leg so that her mother could have the better one. She takes others into consideration, unlike Waverly. She even admitted to herself and knew that she didn’t possess a lot of confidence because she never really succeeded in anything and she didn’t meet her mother’s standards of being a prodigy. She takes in Waverly’s crude remarks without defending herself so she doesn’t think very highly of herself.

Conflict: This chapter’s main conflict would be the internal human vs. self one between Jing-mei and herself. She struggled to find herself and fully understand what she’s capable of. She sees herself lower than others and thinks she’s not equal as them. The remarks from Waverly left her feeling embarrassed and lowered her self-esteem even more. At first, she felt lost and unaware of the true meaning of the jade pendant for there was a hidden meaning to the real meaning of the pendant. She finally realized how much she means to her mother and the pendant shows that there is nobody out there would could be a better her. She now knows that she’s one-of-a-kind and she needs to be true to herself.

Writing technique: Imagery was used by Amy Tan to create a scene in the reader’s mind. She used imagery to set the mood of each scenes so it feels like we are right there with the characters and we feel everything they do. She uses very descriptive words to bring everything to life. The detail she had describing the meal of delicious crab made my mouth water and I felt like I was there tasting and seeing the crabs too.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:22:00 PM  
Blogger Copathain said...

Quality + Quantity?
Best Quality - Joy Luck Club

1) First reaction, interesting chapter, kind of slow paced compared to the other three, but it is a decent tie off. The thing I immediately noticed about this chapter was the connection between the title name, "Best Quality" and the choosing of the crabs that were cooked and eaten among the family. Suyuan and Jing-mei went shopping at a marketplace for dinner, which ended up being crabs. Suyuan was dead-set on selecting only the grandest of crabs, ensuring that the ten were of the best quality. Later on, Suyuan is forced to purchase a malformed/deprived/defected crab, which she considers repulsive.

2) There isn't really just ONE character that can be focused on in this chapter, I guess, since its a crowded chapter, with multiple influences and what not. Two that stand out among the rest of the people involved in this chapter are Jing-mei and Suyuan. They spend time together like a daughter and a mother should and I just think that is an important concept in this chapter.

3) I saw a theme more than anything else in this chapter. It had to do with giving your guests the best possible treatment when they are visiting your house, for example. This is seen a lot among households, where the guest(s) is (are)considered the most important person (people), above all else.

Alex R.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:35:00 PM  
Blogger aly_n_4 said...

Acceptance
"Best Quality"
3. I actually liked this chapter. It was much more interesting than "Without Wood." This chapter actually made me laugh. The argument and comebacks between June and Waverly. They were just going at it, like bickering old women. It actually made me break into a few laughs. I thought the mood of this chapter was tense becuase of the constant baffling and such.
4. I think in this chapter, June seems to be more mature and respectful. Instead of choosing the more fresh crab, June gives it to her mother as a sign of respect. However, June is also sensitive letting things get to her easily. When she and Waverly were arguing, June said things that resulted in her being embarassed.
5. The main conflict is external, man vs.man. During the New Years dinner, Waverly and June enter in a head on head argument. They throw comebacks at each other one after another only to result in June losing. The conflict isn't resolved because June walks away from the fight feeling that she'll never beat Waverly.
6. I think the theme of this vignette is that families, mothers in particular, will always be there. She will be there to care, support and most importantly, love her children.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:36:00 PM  
Blogger ooglyboogly said...

1.Unwanted Crab
2.Best Quality
3.I really do not like Waverly. She is a spoiled brat who likes to rub it in people’s faces. I feel sorry for Jing-Mei. She is not aggressive enough and does not strive to be the best she can be. Now, she is stuck in a small job with no family of her own, and with no mother. I think it is pretty funny that Jing-Mei kind of becomes her mother at the end of the story, and takes her place. What is the cat supposed to symbolize?
4.Suyuan is a loving mother. We can tell by her actions. Even though Suyuan could not give June the best, she tried and gave her the better of the choices June had, like with the crabs. Suyuan gives June the better crab and keeps the bad crab for herself. When June is depressed by Waverly’s comment and feels like she is insignificant and is worthless, Suyuan cheers her up by telling her that Waverly is like the dead crab, “always walking sideways, moving crooked” (208) and that June is better than her, that June does not need to get so worked up over Waverly’s sneering words. Suyuan also gives June her jade pendant, letting June know that she is a prized treasure and that she is worth something. Suyuan really loves her daughter.
5.The main conflict is finding the meaning of the jade pendant that Suyuan gives June. It is an internal conflict because June does not ask other people what her jade pendant represents. She is afraid that other people will misinterpret her mother’s meaning. June looks within herself and also goes through time, back to when she first receives the necklace from her mother at the crab dinner. In the end, June discovers that the necklace represents her own value, that she is worth something valuable.
6B. The crippled crab could symbolize goal in life because everyone fights for the best crabs and June is satisfied with a petty life. The jade pendant can represent Suyuan’s unfaltering belief in June.

Jodie Chan
Period 3

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:41:00 PM  
Blogger (゚Д゚ ") said...

1. crabman
2. Bad Quality
3. This chapter's was alright at first, it didn't seem to stick out too much from the other chapters and as soon as I turned the pages that opinion changed. The jade pendant Jing-Mei's mom gave to her showed to be more than just a necklace; it was given as a symbol of life. Accepting the bad crab showed me that Suyuan is alright with the bad things in life, and that's quite optimistic to me; being able to accept good and bad with a neutral satisfaction.
4. Suyuan seems to be a lot softer in this chapter than the previous ones. She moves from being a harsh, tough love mother into a praising more soft mother and one that most would prefer.
5. man vs man definitely, Waverly and Jing-mei brawl it out verbally of course throughout dinner and attempt to demote each other until they're satisfied.
6. The theme was kind of hard to put together, but I think it's to accept what life gives you, because of how accepting the bad crab turned out to be fine and whatnot.

-khanh

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:44:00 PM  
Blogger Raymond said...

Raymond Glassey
Period 3

1. Crab is Good
2. “Best Quality”
3. I actually don’t like crab that much. It tastes funny. Anyway, the chapter seems to focus a lot on both June’s relationship with her mother and her rivalry with Waverly. It’s so childish though how Waverly and June can’t seem to resist making jabs at each other despite the fact they’re both grown adults. Waverly’s position is a lot better than June’s though, and frankly Waverly’s attitude just seems somewhat cruel especially when she revealed how June’s application was rejected even though Waverly approved it. The necklace that Su-Yuan gives June at the end seems similar to the feather in the first allegory too as well.
4. The character June is rather mild-mannered in the story and while she isn’t stuck up like Lindo and Waverly, she certainly possesses a sense of pride, which ends up getting the better of her during the dinner. June attempts to embarrass Waverly, but inadvertently reveals the reason her application was rejected, because it wasn’t good enough. She is compassionate though as demonstrated when she tried to take the foul crab and allow her mother to have the other one (though her mom prevented her anyway) and definitely, June seems more ordinary or levelheaded than characters like Lena or Waverly.
5. The conflict in this chapter is Man vs. Man because of June’s external conflict with Waverly. Waverly and June seem to be rivals and have been since children as shown in “Two Kinds”. The fact their rivalry has continued until now is rather surprising and shows either pigheadedness from both parties or they just plain don’t get along. The conflict isn’t resolved at the end of the chapter because Waverly and June still seem to have this ongoing feud.
6. The symbol in this chapter is the jade necklace given to June by her Mother Su-Yuan towards the end of the chapter. It represents her mother’s heritage and memories of her mother somewhat, but it also signifies maybe June’s wisdom as shown by the quote “This is young jade. It is a very light color now, but if you wear it every day it will become more green.”

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:47:00 PM  
Blogger jessica said...

The Jade Pendant
"Best Quality"

This chapter didn't really stand out to me that much, maybe it's because I feel like I don't really know Jing-Mei as well as I've gotten to know about the rest of the characters...all I know is that she has a dislike for crabs, haha. Her personality isn't really brought out as much in this chapter.

That being said, I know more about Suyuan than I know about Jing-Mei! Suyuan seemed like an active and unique character, as stated when they walked around Chinatown "-she didn't look like anybody else." (199) My perception of Suyuan is someone who is hardheaded, not particularly in a bad way but more like in a prideful way; the way she carries herself we can tell that she's been through a lot and knows a lot about life. Following her death, her husband feels lost without her and Jing-Mei is still trying to adjust.

One conflict in this chapter is man. vs. man. The external conflict takes place between Jing-Mei and Waverly, as they are constantly bickering and fighting with each other. Waverly always attacts Jing-Mei verbally, like the way a bully attacks his victim. In a way, belittling Jing-Mei probably makes her feel more superior of her accomplishments, while deep-down Waverly is probably more insecure than Jing-Mei.

One symbol in this chapter is the jade pendant that Suyuan passes down to Jing-Mei. It represents heritage, and the unbroken bond between mother and daughter. Suyuan states simply, "See, I wore this on my skin, so when you put it on your skin, then you know my meaning." (208) The jade pendant is symbolic of Jing-Mei's Chinese heritage and "life's importance".

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:51:00 PM  
Blogger Maggs said...

1. Crab Crap
2. Best Quality
3. I did not understand what was going on in this chapter whatsoever. I catch something about how Jing-Mei had bad choices or something, but I’m not sure. I didn’t really understand the theme to this chapter or what it was trying to say, I just comprehended about how she chose a bad crab and Waverly made her sound inferior.
4. In this chapter Jing-mei’s mom shows two different characteristics, one that she is very humble and willing to let her daughter have the better crap over herself, although that may be just her values. Also she shows to have a very proud stature, she is unwilling to eat the crab because it was dead and says that even beggars wouldn’t eat it, but I believe that, it isn’t true.
5. I think the main conflict in this chapter is internal between Jing-Mei and herself, which makes it a man vs. self conflict. In this chapter I think that Jing-Mei strives to find herself worth something? She is arguing with Waverly and angered because Waverly makes herself so sophisticated and occupied with an important job, and Jing-Mei is stuck in a small company. By the end of the chapter, Jing-Mei realizes she is who she is and that she will always be herself and is worth something.
6. B. I think in this chapter the symbol is the jade pendant that Suyuan gives to Jing-Mei, this jade pendant symbolizes Jing-Mei’s life and meaning. When she is given this pendant it makes her feel like she is worth something, since her mother who she does believe is someone is passing it on to her. Giving her a part of her skin onto Jing-Mei.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:55:00 PM  
Blogger waddupdawg said...

1:Quality is important
2:Best Quality

3:This chapter is a somewhat interesting. It was funny how the grocer made Suyuan buy a crab because the leg was broken. Everything went find until the part where Waverly critizes Jing-Mei about her choice of stylist and article. Waverly didn't want to hurt Jing-Mei's feelings and lied to her, but when Jing-Mei learned the truth, she cried.

4:Jing-Mei always had a different perspective of the world. Disobeying her mother, unlike other little Chinese girls, and eating "poor" quality crab.

5:The conflict of this chapter is man vs. man. Jing-Mei had always been competing with Waverly since they were little. Waverly was a chess prodigy and Jing-Mei was a piano failure. It was clear that Jing-Mei lost at competing with Waverly.

6:The theme of this chapter is that mothers always wants the best for their children. Waverly gives the good crabs to her daughter then what was left to herself and Rich. Suyuan wanted Jing-Mei to get the good crab and not the one with a missing leg.

Wai Chan
per3

Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:59:00 PM  
Blogger berries n cream said...

CRAB FEST!
Best Quality.
1. This chapter was really good. I loved all the daughter-mother bonding and love they showed. This chapter reminds me of times when I was little and my grandma would take my brother and I to an Asian supermarket and we would love to play with the live blue crabs. I don't like how Waverly humiliated June like that in front of everyone.
2. June is the main character of this chapter. She has a really strong bond with her mother Suyuan. June cares about her mother a lot and does a lot for her. When Waverly humiliates June in front of everyone for writing a bad ad for her big firm, June is angry at first. Later on, June is no longer angry at Waverly. Suyuan then tells June about the dead crab and tells her that everyone wants the best quality. Suyuan then gives June her jade pendant. June feels likes she doesnt deserve it, but puts it on when she realizes her mother as been wanting to give it to her for a long time and that it "is [her] life's importance"(208).
3. I think the conflict in this chapter is a man vs man conflict. It is between June and Waverly. They have been having conflicts since they were little girls. At the dinner, Waverly humiliated June. June, being very angry, tried to get back at her, but failed to. It doesn't get resolved at the end but June isn't angry anymore and learns about her life's importance from her mother, Suyuan.
4. Some symbols in this chapter are the dead crab and the jade pendant. The dead crab resembles June being courteous toward others and not taking the best for herself. Everyone else on the other hand, wanted the best quality. The jade pendant, according to Suyuan, resembles life's importance. It is important to June because her mother has always been wanting to give it to her and "[she] more this on [her] skin, so when [June] puts it on [her] skin, then [June] know [her] meaning"(208).
-Eric Tam
Period 3

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:05:00 PM  
Blogger that'swhatmel said...

1. Don’t be crabby!
2. Jing-Mei Woo: Best Quality
3. This vignette like many others, was an enjoyable one to read and I found it very heartwarming. I really enjoyed reading this chapter because it showed a different side of Suyuan. When I found out how mean Waverly was I was very surprised because I already assumed she was a little snotty from her chess days, but I didn’t know her rivalry with June was that intense. Since it reminded me of how my mom is always teaching me how to choose the best fruits and vegetables whenever I go with her to the grocery store, I also loved the part when June’s mother was explaining how to pick the best quality crabs from the market. Lastly, I think it was interesting that both Jing-Mei and the bartender both had the same necklace, yet neither of them had any idea of what they meant.
4. In this chapter we see a totally different side of Suyuan. In previous chapters, we always see Suyuan get into arguments, but this chapter gave us a taste of how caring and loving she really is. Even though she told June that it is bad luck to get the crab with a broken leg, Suyuan didn't allow June to take it and instead, Suyuan took it giving the better crab to June. It was just so touching, a genuine mother-daughter moment!
5. I belive the conflict in this chapter is expressed as man vs. man, external when June and Waverly throw insults in each other’s faces during the their New Year’s dinner. Waverly, once being the clever chess player found ways to trap June and make her run head first into insult after insult, but Jing surely didn’t just absorb them. No, she came right back at Waverly with question after question, but in the end June loses the battle and feels that Waverly will always be better than her . The conflict remains unresolved by the end of the chapter.
6. Amy Tan uses a flashback in this chapter and also vivid imagery. The flashback is when June recalls the time when she was eight years old and befriended a crab her mother bought for her birthday dinner. She also used imagery to describe the crab, comparing Rich and the crab that he was eating. The crab was orange, just like Rich’s hair. The flashback and imagery assisted me in picturing the scenes clearly in my mind.

Melani Cabanayan; Period 3

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:06:00 PM  
Blogger rhomusic said...

Best Quality

1) Best Crabs
2) Best Quality
3) In this chapter, my favorite part is the crab dinner, because I just happen to like crab. I don’t know why June’s mother had chosen the worse crab, or why she had even let June choose the crabs at all. What I hated about June in this chapter was that she decided to pick a fight with Waverly. If June hadn’t already noticed, Waverly is really good when it comes to arguments because she had learned the way of invisible strength from her mother and chess. I think that it is pretty retarded how much Waverly and June still fight. They should really learn to become best friends.
4) In this chapter, June sort of grows in a mental way. She learns that she doesn’t ever really pick the best of things, and that she is always trailing behind, taking all the bad stuff. It could be part of the reason why June isn’t a prodigy. Even though June doesn’t really seem to amount to much, in the end, she is still told that she is important in some way when her mother gives June the necklace.
5) The conflict of this chapter is human vs. self because June doesn’t know her “life’s importance.” In end, June’s self conflict doesn’t really discover her life’s importance yet, but she does know, however, that she is important.
6) The object that is a symbol in this chapter is the dead crab that June’s mother takes. Since the dead crab is dead and decaying, and since June’s mother took that crab, it could mean that secretly, June’s mother was embracing death; she wanted to die. It could also mean that June’s mother was taking away June’s trait of “walking sideways,” (meaning that June was no longer going to be erratic) so that June could finally start to pick up on her life again. There must have been a symbolic meaning in the crab dinner itself, but I could not think of any.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:18:00 PM  
Blogger Brian said...

1. “Crab With One Leg”

2. “Best Quality”

3. I thought this vignette was amusing. The scene where June and Waverly bickering made it seem as if that they were children again. I also thought that Uncle Tin was a funny character. This chapter also shows a lot about the characters, through their actions. June is shown to be a generous person when she takes the crab that’s missing one leg for herself, which supposedly, brings bad luck during Chinese New Year’s. There were also scenes that were very heartfelt, like the one with Suyuan bestowing her jade pendant upon June when she on her deathbed.

4. Through her actions, we can see that June is a caring and giving person. When everyone chooses every crab aside from the one with the broken leg, June tries to take it so Suyuan could have a better one. June also feels inferior to Waverly. Waverly puts down June by making her feel insecure about her new haircut. June attempts to insult the firm that Waverly looks at, but ends up embarrassing herself when Waverly says the quality of her application wasn’t good enough. To further worsen this, Suyuan laughs alongside with Waverly, making June feel humiliated.

5. In this chapter, the conflict is between June and Waverly (man vs. man). Since childhood, June has been a rival with Waverly and tries to outshine her. The two argue with one another at the dinner table. Waverly continuously makes rude comments and points out June’s flaws, lowering her self-esteem. The conflict never seems to be resolved, since the two have been clashing with each other since they were kids.

6. I would say that a symbol in this story is the jade pendant that Suyuan gives June. Even though their relationship is strained, Suyuan cares deeply about June, although sometimes her actions say otherwise. The pendant is symbolic of heritage, or Suyuan’s legacy. At the end of the chapter, June is cooking for her father. The cat comes by, and June shoos it away, just like Suyuan did. The pendant is used so that June can remember her mother and heritage.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:25:00 PM  
Blogger Platinum said...

Preference

2. Best Quality

3. I felt this chapter was sort of uninteresting. In my opinion, there was not a lot of depth to it, at least not that I could see. Jing-Mei receives this pendant from her late mother. Waverly, at the dinner table, was a total snob. I know that she and Jing-Mei are competing, but she didn't have to sacrifice a professional attitude and bring business issues into this argument to win it either. Also, it was quite moving how Jing-Mei's mother was willing to take the worst crab at the table and give her daughter the better one even though her proclivity towards crab was not high. Even Waverly shows this type of mother-daughter love because she picks the biggest and meatiest crab for her daughter Shoshana. One wouldn't expect this quality to come from someone as competitive and seemingly selfish as Waverly, but she does it anyway. It seems that this type of care is universal, no matter who, what, or where this event is taking place. In addition, this chapter demonstrated a lot of things about Chinese culture to people that wouldn't normally learn or come into contact with this type of heritage.

4. A character of particular interest in this short, little chapter is Waverly. Unlike the chapters before, she is incredibly snobby and hurts Jing-Mei with her selfish attitude. Even though they are competing, she didn't have to involve stuff from the business world and use it as "ammunition" to fire at Jing-Mei. If any one of them had shut up, neither of them would be feeling hurt and distanced from each other. The way that Waverly acted in this chapter was a radical change from the usual kind and caring personality that she has had in previous chapters.

5. The main conflict in this story is human vs. self because Jing-Mei, at first, struggles to understand the true meaning behind the necklace that her mother gave her. At last, she gets it and tears the wall that had existed for so many years between her and her mother because of their different cultural and societal values. She learns the true meaning of what it means to be family, to be willing to make sacrifices for somebody that you love and care about. This is demonstrated by her mother taking the badly damaged crab and giving her beloved daughter the good crab even if she didn't like crab that much.

6. The main theme or message of vignette is to respect your family. One cannot pick their family and, therefore, they are stuck with who they get. One must love their family unconditionally and with no restriction, no holds barred. Really, like Jing-Mei's mother so lovingly demonstrated, one has to love their family. After all, nothing to closer to a person than their family. They will always support you and embrace your ways. When the world has rejected you, your family won't.

-Calvin Ho
Period 4

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:29:00 PM  
Blogger Taylor said...

1. Dead Crab
2. Best Quality
3. This chapter was one of the most interesting chapters I have read so far. June and Waverly have always seem to be competing but this time things really got out of hand. I feel really bad for June because Waverly always has to put her down. Waverly just seems like a jerk that needs to put others down to feel better about herself. June tries to fight back and Waverly just gets her laughed at by everyone. When the crab is passed around everyone takes the best crab and the worst is left for June and her Mom. June tries to take the worse one but her mother doesn’t let her. Her mother seemed disappointed that her daughter took the one with the worst quality instead of the best quality like everyone else.
4. June seems to be very content with herself until Waverly puts her down. When she does, June won’t take it. She is a very determined person. After Waverly embarrasses June further and turns everything June says against her June is really upset. Only for a little while is she upset with Waverly but she gets over it and is no longer mad with her. She sees that what Waverly said is right. June seems to see things pretty clearly without emotions getting in the way.
5. I think the conflict is human vs. human. Waverly and June are fighting over who is better basically. Waverly puts June down and wins the argument and makes her look like a fool in front of everyone. June in the end decides to not be upset with Waverly because June chose to be how she is.
6. I think a symbol in this chapter is the bad crab. While everyone picks the best quality crab June picks the worst one. June is always not giving herself enough credit and takes the worst for herself. Her mother won’t let June do this though so she takes the bad crab for herself.
-Taylor Gralak 4th period

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:40:00 PM  
Blogger WeeeeniFAM said...

"Be thankful"
"Best Quality"

1)Reaction:
I really liked reading this vignette because of how it was so full of interesting asian tid-bits that made the chapter extremely relateable to my daily life. Seeing as how Jing-Mei wanted to take the crab without the leg, it reminds me of how I would purposely take the worse cake in a box of cake assortments in order for my mom to have the better slices, but just as how Suyuan had taken the worse one for herself, I would also find mother taking my
slice and replacing it with the best one in the box. It really touched me since we were able to see a moving bond between the mother and daughter pair, which is actually very different from the rest of the vignettes since we often see the mother and daughters bickering over everything. Unlike the rest of the pairs, Suyuan and Jin-Mei seemed to earnestly care for each other consistently throughout the whole vignette through loving acts of selflessness. Speaking of selflessness, what is up with Waverly? That girl needs a book on humility, since she, as a guest, quickly took the "best quality" crab for her family and herself. This just shows how much more thoughtful Jing-Mei is compared to Waverly.

2)Suyuan was a very touching character in this chapter because of how she really expressed her affection towards her daughter at the dinner table and in the kitchen after Jing-Mei's fight. At first, when she voluntary took the crab without a leg, she knew that her daughter would have to eat the crab, so she deliberately took the crab and discreetly disposed of the defected crab. Wanting to make her trip to the trash can as unnoticable as possible, Suyuan showed her love for Jing-Mei even MORE, since she earnestly did not want her daughter to be burdened with the guilt of knowing that she is having a crab dinner at the expense of her mother's sacrifice.
Suyuan once again stepped up to the plate as a mother as she comforted Jing-Mei after her quarrel with Waverly. She was always there for her daughter.

3)A conflict in this story was between two characters, Waverly and Jing-Mei. It was an external conflict occuring between man vs. man since Waverly started of the fight by looking down upon Jing-Mei. Because of Waverly's sucessful stature, she acts as if she is better than Jing-Mei. So much better, that she does not even want Jing-Mei to be going to the same hairstylist. Jing-Mei immediately fired back as Waverly hinted at how she had less sucess than Waverly herself, for Waverly actually had the nerve to assume that Mr.Rory's rates were a bit too high for Jing-Mei's budget. In addition, Waverly also puts down Jing-Mei's work for Waverly's law firm and claims that her work was not worthy of being used.

4)A very important theme in this vignette is to truly honor your mother because she will always want the best for you. This theme was apparent in how Suyuan did not want her daughter to have the lowest quality crab. She would have rather taken the crab for herself than allow her daughter to have a defected crab. This is seen in the world today as many mothers would rather starve than let their children starve,and in most cases, their children are extremely thankful for their mother's actions. But, there are some cases where the children as extremely ungrateful and do not see the love and affection that their mother pours into them until its too late.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:47:00 PM  
Blogger TerrenceTran said...

The meaning of life
“Best Quality- Joy Luck Club”
1-My Take-
I rather really enjoyed this chapter due to personal relations to said chapter but I’m pretty sure that’s why this novel is so popular in the first place. June herself always felt like a failure to her mother, she could never live up to her expectations, such as being a piano prodigy, nor could she get good grade in school. I can relate to June in such a way as well due to the high expectations upon my shoulders. However, what really gave me hope was the fact that her mother gave June a pendant on Chinese New Year. The pendent symbolizes the love and trust she has in June, no matter how successful she is in life.
2-My view-
June’s mother really stands out to me above all the bickering between June and Waverly. She undoubtedly loves June and always supported her from the shadows as her driving force. She is the prime example of a mother; showing the unrequited love that a mother will flood towards their child and only receiving misunderstood interpretations until the day finally comes when death arrives. Which it does indeed, however even so her love was reveal to June through the pendant and her mission in life was finished.
3.-The conflict-
The rivalry between June and Waverly will never end. Even as kids they were always pitted against each other by their own mothers as competitions for a better daughter. They never grew out of it even 20-30 years later! Waverly attacks Junes emotions and ego and Waverly still can’t fight it back. Waverly treats everyone like they’re in a chess game, her presumably is the queen; arguably the most powerful piece in the game. June never fights back unless Waverly “starts it” in that case June will try to “end it”
4-Foreshadowing-
Amy Tan uses foreshadowing in a combination of two events. One, she shows that June’s mother tells June that seeing a crab with a broken leg is bad luck. Two, June sees a crab with a broken leg (didn’t see that one coming at all did you?) In conclusion, June got bad luck right after dinner :P

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:49:00 PM  
Blogger K said...

Kathy Nguyen
Per 4

1) "The Importance of Life"
2) "Best Quality"

3) I couldn't find the connection with the jade pendant in the beginning of the chapter, and the cat at the end of the chapter. It just confused me more... The scene when June was eight playing with a crab, it reminded me of myself when I was younger and also played with some crabs my mom brought home to cook for a family dinner. I didn't find it hard to believe when Waverly got the best crabs for her, Rich and Shoshana. But why Shoshana too?! She's just a four year old. Does she really need to eat a whole crab? She could just share with her mom or Rich. When everyone began eating the crabs, the way Amy Tan described it how they cracked the shells and sucked the meat out. That reminded me of the time my family and I had crabs for dinner. The sound of sucking the meat out kind of distrubed me especially if it was loud. I thought it was stupid for June to start an arguement with Waverly only to have it backfired towards her badly. She should've thought twice about it.

4) The character I've chosen is Su-yuan. She would be a flat character since she follows her Chinese traditions. She doesn't eat the eleventh crab because it already died before she cooked it, not wanting to get bad luck. Even a beggar wouldn't want to eat it. And she is also a static since she never changes throughout the chapter.

5) The main conflict of the chapter would be an internal conflict, man vs. self, June and herself. June internally fights with herself trying to find out what the jade pendant her mother gave her meant. And through the whole chapter, she tries to find what her worth is. The conflict is resolved at the end when she realizes how much she is worth from her mother. Also realizing, she is the "best quality" there is, for she is herself and is a one-of-a-kind.

6a) I think the theme of this chapter would be, Life's importance is to realize you are worth more than what others think you are worth to them, because you are you and there is no one else who can be like you. I achieved this theme from June's realization of what the jade pendant's life importance meant.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:58:00 PM  
Blogger DaoTheMackDaddy said...

1) "Best Quality Heart"

2) Best Quality

3) I found this chapter to be really touching. I've often enjoyed the stories of June and her mother Suyuan. But this one takes the cake. Though the mother-daughter relationship between the two isn't that strong in the chapter with the piano, the two learn to love each other and really connect. I cared for Waverly in the chapter "Four Directions" but after reading this chapter I hate her because I like June the most out of them all because I feel sorry that she lost her mom.

4) The character I am going to focus on is June. June isn't too successful in her life when it comes to her job but she has a good heart. This can be seen when June wants to pick the bad crab. It shows that she doesn't care much about herself but rather how the other people are feeling about it.

5) The main conflict in this story is man vs. man. It is an external conflict. It is between Waverly and June. Waverly often shows off to June saying that she is more successful then June. She says this at the dinner table and this makes her cry. It is not resolved because Waverly is a mean person.

6) Again, I think that this story relates to the vignette in the beginning. It is about how a mother is lecturing her daughter and giving her advice. Suyuan gives June advice in this chapter and tellers her that she has a good heart because she wanted a bad crab.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 11:59:00 PM  
Blogger Diana said...

1. Where's the leg?
2. Best Quality

3. It was pretty cool reading how Jing-Mei saw Waverly after we read Waverly's side of the story. In Jing-Mei's story, Waverly just looked snobby. It's so weird reading about another main character who you know about in someone's eyes. I liked how the mother described how much she loved the plates so she never used them, and ended up forgetting about it.

4. Jing-Mei in this chapter even after many years, she still acts childish. When Waverly makes fun of her, she decides to fight back by making fun of her firm, but it backfired when she was insulted about her work once again. She cares about her mother as we can see when she takes the crab missing a leg so her mother wouldn't get it.

5. I think the conflict in the story is human vs self because in the beginning of the story, she regrets never asking her mother what the jade necklace means. She continues to ponder on the meaning, and regrets never having to ask her mom.

6. Amy Tan uses a flashback in this chapter. She goes back to the tale on how her mom gave her the green jade necklace that she never wore. It's during New Years and they invite guests to a crab dinner. She goes into detail about her mom like how a cat always came by so her mom would try any means to scare it away, and how during dinner she didn't use the plates that she bought for her mom. When she asks why, her mom tells her that when you treasure something, you wouldn't want to use it. Then back at the present you see Jing-Mei cooking in the kitchen, and the same cat comes by scratching the windows. It was nice seeing that Jing-Mei had become just like her late mother.

-Diana Li Period 3

Friday, January 22, 2010 12:00:00 AM  
Blogger Toothpick said...

1. Crabwalk
2. Best Quality

3. This chapter was pretty enjoyable. I specifically liked the scene where Jing-mei got a necklace from her mother, Suayan, and called it her lifeimportance. I also thought it was funny how her family is so ignorant and scared. They thought that you could get AIDS from June's gay hairstylist, which is just nonsense.

4. This chapter shows to us that Jung Mei is a great kind, loving person who thinks of others before herself. When she didnt have as much food as expected, she served the guests the good crabs and saved the crippled crab for herself.

5. The conflict in this chapter is internal, human vs self: Jung Mei against herself. Jung Mei is constantly doubting herself believing that she isn't worth much and deserves poorer than others. In this chapter she discovers that she is worth a lot more than she gives herself credit for, through the necklace given to her by her mother.

6. The missing-legged crab that Jung-Mei eats symbolizes how she wanted the best for everyone else, but the worst for herself. Also, the Jade necklace given to her by her mother shows the real love and pride she has for her daughter, in contrast to what Jung Mei believes of herself.

Vincent Nguyen Period 3

Friday, January 22, 2010 12:06:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

1. Crab Battle
2. Best Quality
3. Another short chapter, but I liked it much better than the last. It was focused and made a pretty powerful statement in terms of character. It seems to be more standard in its conventions, but I think Tan hits them well enough to make a poignant ending. From reading all the chapters of the daughters, their first-person narratives make it a bit hard to differentiate them , but when another daughter is viewed from a different perspective, it becomes more apparent and, in the case of this chapter, very interesting.
4. Jing-Mei had always seemed to be a bit of a "loser" since the beginning of the book, with her dropping out of college and failing to become a famous performer. But by the end of this chapter, the reader comes to learn more of her character. Specifically, the reader learns of her humility and modesty. It becomes apparent when she wants to take the last, bad crab so her mother can enjoy her meal while the others were busy taking the best; this culminating with Suyuan also realizing her daughter's humility and selflessness and taking pride in it.
5. The conflict is external, man vs man. Here, we have the rivalry between Waverly and Jing-Mei rear its head and though that isn't really resolved, it resolves another in that Suyuan, who had originally been disappointed in her daughter's lack of ambition, comes to realize the true character of daughter; one that is humble and generally generous.
6.C. This chapter connects with the sections allegory in that both have mothers who give their daughters gifts, symbolic of their love and wisdom, which the daughters reject, presumably on a want of independence, but come to appreciate later on.

-Nolan Tran

Monday, January 25, 2010 6:23:00 PM  

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