"Four Directions"
posted by Mrs. Woods | Monday, December 10, 2007
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.
- "Half and Half"
- "The Voice from the Wall"
- "Rules of the Game"
- "Moon Lady"
- "Red Candle"
- "Scar"
- "The Joy Luck Club"
- Directions for BLOGGING!
- Welcome to Woods' 2A blog!
186 Comments:
"Acceptance"
Chapter: Four Directions
1. Ah. I liked this chapter. The conflict between Waverly and her mother was clearly shown with a solution in this chapter, unlike the other chapters which were so abstract. I liked the straight-forwardness of the chapter. I could easily tell what the conflict was.
2. Waverly thinks her mom is always opposing her. In truth, her mother is just being normal, and she's trying to gain her daughter's acceptance. Waverly thinks her mother is full of "side attacks" and "secret weapons," but in reality, her mother was just waiting for her daughter to "invite her in." Waverly was so enveloped in her belief that her mother was in opposition with her that she did not realize that her mother is just trying to be accepted.
3. (How does this chapter relate to the opening allegory for this set of chapters?) In the opening allegory, the mother shows her love for her daughter by putting in the second mirror to ensure that her daughter would not have a bad marriage. The daughter, however, was annoyed with her mother's superstitious behavior. In this chapter, Waverly was annoyed with her mother's behavior. Waverly thinks that her mother is just out to get her. The truth behind it all was that Lindo was just looking out for Waverly and trying to ensure that she has a good marriage. This relates to the opening allegory because they both have the same concept.
Michelle H.
“Tell mom or not?”
1) Reaction:
Again, I give this chapter two thumbs up because it is very relatable. Waverly wants to tell her mother that she is marrying a man who is not Asian, but she also knows that her mother will firmly disapprove. I don’t know exactly what that feels like, but I know how it feels when you need to ask your mother for permission to do something that you know is against her standards, her morals, and her rules. Waverly’s internal struggle is how to tell her mother, somebody whom she holds their opinion in a high perspective that the man she is going to marry, she is sure her mother will dislike.
2) Waverly and her mother’s relationship:
Their relationship is a stereo-typical mother daughter relationship, similar to a tug- a-war, back and forth, both never satisfied with the other. I like how Amy Tan starts the chapter with Waverly inviting her mother to lunch. It’s funny how her mother embarrasses her by criticizing the food at the restaurant by saying, “Not too many good things, this menu.” It is also amusing how since Waverly was so humiliated when her mother showed her off at the age of ten, she told her mother that she would never play chess again, but she didn’t really mean it. Then a few days later, when her mother was giving her the silent treatment, she decided to let her mother win, but her mother just became angrier. But, Waverly won her mother back when she “developed a high fever, and [her mother] sat next to [her] bed (189).” This is like a love and hate relationship, a power struggle, a longing for the other to just go with what you think is right. Why couldn’t the mother or the daughter understand one another?
3) Internal vs. External conflicts:
The conflict in this chapter is mostly internal because you are often in Waverly’s thoughts. How she felt embarrassed and humiliated by her mother at the age of ten. And how after even though she has grown, she still feels that her mother just doesn’t get it. When Waverly was so angry about how her mother had made her see Rich as a pathetic man, she thinks, “I had to tell my mother – that I knew what she was doing, her scheming ways of making me miserable (199).” The struggle resides within Waverly, she doesn’t know how to tell her mother that she is going to marry a man, who is opposite of their culture. She knows that her mother will disapprove and she fears it. But, in the end, she sees that her mother has aged and only wishes also to be accepted by her daughter.
Seeing Black and White
Four Directions: Joy Luck Club
1) Reaction
This chapter amused me because of Waverly and her mother's interactions. It really portrays my own family, where my parents would wash out their chopsticks and rice bowls with hot tea, complain about the tea, the bill, the service, and might hold back on the tip as well. The conflict between Waverly and Lindo is always entertaining, and the culture clash between Chinese and American was fun to read about.
2) Waverly and Lindo
Waverly's resentment was, as we find out at the end, one-sided. She spent so much time thinking and being consumed by the thought that her mother was always antagonizing her and her ways, she didn't see the truth. In reality, Lindo was just waiting to see when Waverly would accept her as her mother. There were no "secret weapons" or "invisible barriers" separating them.
3) Chinese Culture
This vignette has a ton of Chinese culture in it, with the Chinese horoscopes (and, for extra info, the majority of our class of '10 are monkeys xD) and Lindo's portrayal as the strict, somewhat high-strung Chinese mother. She disapproves of the public restrooms, and Waverly's statement "I don't know if it's explicitly stated by law, but you can't ever tell a Chinese mother to shut up." We learn a lot about a typical Chinese dinner, where wine is not frequently shared, and more on Chinese etiquette. You should only take a small serving of each dish until everyone had tried some, and you should eat a lot to show you appreciate the food cooked.
A losing battle
1) I moderately liked this chapter. It was interesting to see what happened after Waverly entered her room after she ran off. I liked the beginning when she took her mother to a Chinese restaurant to eat and all her mother did was complain about everything, the cold food to the stinky bathroom. It was funny when Rich, her fiancé, was invited to dinner at her mother’s house. Her mother was being modest and said that her dish was not good enough when really she wanted praise. He, in turn, took the bottle of soy sauce and poured it down onto the dish. It was even funnier when they both returned home and he said that he thought it went well. As she returns home the next day, her mother calls her MeiMei again and Waverly finds out that her mother had known all along that they were getting married but still found ways to insult him in front of her. She feels as is she is fighting a losing battle.
2) The relationship between Waverly and her mother is a battlefield. Since she was a little girl who found talent in the game of chess, her mother had always bragged about having a prodigy as a daughter and claimed that it was she that taught Waverly how to play chess and it was because of her that Waverly won every single time. They got into an endless fight over that. Waverly did not like her mother claiming that she won all because of her and thought that their relationship was always a fight. They fought about everything. Waverly was afraid to tell her mother of her engagement because she was scared that her mother would find ways to make her see bad where she once saw good. I liked this book because at the end, Waverly gets into another fight, this time with herself, as she learns that everything her mother had said was to help her; it was for her own good.
3) In this chapter I learned that Chinese parents or women like to be praised on their food, and also want their dishes to be better than everyone else’s. Also it is polite to take a small serving of each and every dish, not a lot of one, but always some.
Chapter: Four Directions
"The Horse and the Rabbit"
Reaction: x]
This chapter was really funny. My favorite part was when Rich made a big fool of himself during dinner, although he didn't even know it. That's what happens when two very different cultures come together for simple things like eating. I also liked how Tan continued on where she left off from the previous chapter. She made references to the "invisible strength" again: the strength that both Waverly and her mother keep using on each other.
Waverly and Lindo Jong
Although their relationship is far from picture perfect, Waverly and Lindo manage to patch things up after the past chess incident. I believe that by the end of this chapter mother and daughter are finally able to clearly understand each other and each other's intentions. They eventually break down the barrier that was built between them long ago. Now that they no longer are separated by this wall, Waverly and Lindo are beginning to fully understand each other in a way different to what they initially thought they could. Their relationship is closer and less competitive. Waverly finally sees that her mother's intentions are not there to hurt her, but are there to protect her, love her, and support her.
Symbolism
Amy Tan uses the game of chess as a symbol of the relationship between Waverly and her mother. Waverly and Lindo's relationship was competitive, full of secret attacks and hidden emotions, just like chess. The acts that Waverly makes to attack her mother and defend herself are allusion to chess "moves" to defeat an opponent. Tan also writes of an invisible strength that Lindo taught her daughter. As much as Waverly wants to master this skill as well as she does in chess, she remains inferior to her mother in the skill. This invisible strength is yet another reference to chess that Tan makes.
"When Should I Tell Mother?"
Chapter: Four Directions
1: I liked this chapter and I give it a thumbs up because it was really funny in some parts, especially the part where Rich goes to eat dinner with Waverly's family and makes a fool of himself. He doesn't even know what he is doing wrong and its hilarious when Waverly and Rich return to their apartment and he thinks everything went "A-o-kay" while on the other hand, Waverly knows that the dinner was a disaster. Rich is a really likeable character because of his innocence. I also liked how Tan connects both of Waverly's vignettes together. I like how she left off Waverly's first vignette by letting the reader wonder what happened after she returned home late after running away. But in this vignette, she completes the story about what happens after that incident of where Waverly tells her mom to bug off and not show off anymore. It was also interesting to see how Waverly was going to tell her mom about her marriage to Rich especially since Lindo always changes the subject whenever Rich's name is involved in the conversation.
2: Waverly and Lindo's relationship is pretty typical, Waverly thinks her mom is always trying to ruin her life, but in reality her mother is just being herself. All her life, Waverly has put an invisible barrier around herself, thinking that on the other side of this barrier, her mother had side attacks and secret weapons to get to Waverly's weak spots. But when Waverly actually peers over this barrier, she just finds "an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in" (204). Here is where Waverly finds out that her mother has never been trying to tuin her life, she was just trying to be accepted into it.
3: This chapter relates perfectly to the oepning allegory. In the opening allegory, the daughter is annoyed that the mother always sees bad omens in everything. However, the mother is just showing her love and protection for her daughter by putting that second mirror in there to deflect the first mirror. In this chapter, Waverly is irrated that her mother always has negative things to say, thinking that her mother is saying this things only to ruin her life. But in reality, Lindo is just trying to make sure that Waverly will have a good marriage. She wants to make sure that that is what Waverly really wants.
"Understanding"
1)This chapter was pretty good, not the best so far but definitely not the worst either. I like how Waverly came back and told us about her mishaps with chess and how she wanted to pursue it once again after her mother had stopped bragging about her, but she learned it wasn't easy to pick up and excel at it once more. It was entertaining to see Waverly's American culture collide with her mother's more old-fashioned Asian culture.
2)The conflict between Waverly and Lindo is that they do not communicate enough, Waverly just assumes things about her mother, but then is surprised that her mother isn't totally generic and holds her own surprises. Their relationship lacks communication because each just wants their own way and they can't meet in the middle and compromise.
3)I can relate to Waverly Jong because as a child growing up with an Asian-American mother influence, i can see similarities between the elder ladies in my environment and Lindo Jong. I can understand and totally see my mother disliking any boy I bring home and picking out all his flaws.. haha. Also in this chapter, after Waverly deliberately disappointed her mother by giving up chess, she soon misses the attention, that I can also relate to.
Words unsaid
1. I think Waverly has changed since her younger years. When she was young, she was strong while playing chess. Now she is weak against her mom’s criticism and she can’t stand up to her own mom. Maybe the fight with her mom really changed her views. She also managed to run off and get married and had her own child. I think Waverly keeps trying to live up to her mother’s expectations after their fight years ago. Waverly made her mother so proud, but let her down when she yelled hurtful things. I think because of that her mom tries to not butt in as much now that Waverly’s older. I would give this chapter a thumb in the middle. It was and okay chapter but also a little boring.
2. Waverly and Rich sound like they have a good relationship. Rich is accepting of Waverly having a daughter and he likes her. During lunch with her mother Waverly told her mom about“‘what a great time Shoshana had with Rich at the Exploratorium.’” The couple are about to get married and it seems as if they could have a lasting marriage despite the racial differences. Rich doesn’t mind Waverly being Chinese and he likes her parents. I think Waverly and Rich are going to be fine together.
3. The tension in this chapter comes from Waverly not being able to tell her mom about her and Rich getting married. Waverly knows that she loves Rich and wants to marry him. However, she is afraid to tell her mom. Waverly knows that her mom is very critical and will probably be opposed to Rich. I think the conflict is internal. I know this because Waverly is afraid of her mom. On page 186 it says, “My mother knows how to hit a nerve.” When Waverly was younger she got into a fight with her mom and she thought it was all a game when her mom started to ignore her. Waverly couldn’t play chess very well anymore. Waverly felt like she loss to her mom’s little game. Now Waverly feels like she can’t live up to her mom’s expectations.
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Capture the King
Chapter: Four Directions
1. I couldn’t believe that Wavelry Jong’s mother always looked at the bad side of things instead of the good side. For example, when she looked at the jacket that Rich gave Waverly, she was pointing out that the hairs on the jacket were too short. Why did Waverly’s mother disapproved of her playing chess? Was it because her mother was tired of her playing, then stopping, then playing again? It was smart of Waverly to tell her mother that Rich’s freckles gave him luck. I can’t believe that Waverly’s mother wants to go on Waverly and Rich’s honeymoon because a honeymoon is meant for the two people who just got married. I wonder how the honeymoon would turn out. I hope that Waverly’s mother won’t try to separate Rich from Waverly because they both seem to love one another a lot. I really enjoyed this chapter because there is a big connection through Waverly and her mother.
2. The quote, “So many spots on his face,” (P. 196) was most certainly said by Waverly’s mother because she always criticizes things and not looking at the good side. The quote, “And then he helped himself to big portions of the shrimp and snow peas, not realizing he should have taken only a polite spoonful…” (P. 197) was defiantly describing Rich because he didn’t know how to eat politely with a Chinese family, since he’s not Chinese.
3. Tan uses symbolism to relate a chess game to the conflicts Waverly has with her mother. Waverly plays her own secret chess game with her mother. Her mother always criticizes Waverly and Rich and whenever she does that, Waverly loses a game of chess. Waverly tries her best to protect Rich, as if he were the king because in chess, a person wins by capturing the opponent’s king.
Mi Amor, Me Armor
American Translation: Four Directions
I don't have anything really special to say about this chapter, but it was good. This chapter probably had the most love in it out of all the others. It was kind of like a family film, with the divorced person, their kid, the new spouse, family complications, and of course the happy ending where you think everything will turn out good in the future and the characters will always solve their problems because the worst is over with.
Waverly and Rich are in the part of the relationship past intoxicating, flirtatious romance where they are comfortable with each other and know the ins and outs of each other's personalities. The romance is still there though, it's just not the foundation of their relationship. Rich seems like a little kid though, with his "FYI" notes and naiveness in how the dinner went. Waverly adores him for these quirks. She is also protective of him and wants to preserve the way she sees him.
Waverly's first marriage's failure was most likely because they didn't know each other well enough, but felt excited being with each other. Teenagers are living in the moment and don't think of spending the rest of their life with their current boyfriend or girlfriend because they're so young. By getting married at such early ages, they didn't even know themselves yet and so when they developed all their character traits maybe found things in each other that they didn't like so much. After awhile, the things the excitement they found in each other wears off and what's left isn't love.
Stop Cursing my Husbands!- “Four Directions”
1) This chapter was one of the slower ones for me because it didn’t have much excitement but I thought it was still ok to read without getting too restless. I thought Waverly and her mother’s relationship was very interesting to read about as it developed from the last vignette we had read about them. Of course they were both quite a bit older, but it seemed like they had the same problems that they had when Waverly was young. She was still having trouble standing up to her mother and I thought it was good when she finally did confront her mom and find out that she hadn’t been trying to make anything bad happen at all. It was interesting to see Waverly’s view of her mother and how it was different from everyone else’s. I guess she never really understood why her mom acted like she did until she realized that she was just trying to interact with and protect her daughter, just like any mom would.
2) I think Waverly and her mother’s relationship is very important in this chapter because in the beginning all Waverly wants to tell her mother is that she is going to get married. She is so set on believing her mom will shoot down her marriage and scare away her nice views of her husband that she has trouble finding the courage to just tell her. When she finally spits it out she learns that her mom had already known and did not hate her or her husband for it. The understanding that Waverly gets from confronting her mom is very heartwarming and seems to be true in most situations. Many people come to unnecessary assumptions and it results in feuds and arguments. When they finally get around to talking it out, they find out that what they had though before had not happened at all and everything gets resolved, just as Waverly and her mother’s argument is.
3) This chapter can be connected to the allegory because Waverly’s mother points out all of the bad habits of Waverly’s ex-husband and she then divorces him. This relates to the mother showing the daughter the mirror and insisting she see things for herself. Waverly’s mother merely points out all of the bad qualities and it was up to Waverly to make the final decision in the divorce.
Four Directions
“Relax!”
1) This, by far, is my favorite chapter. I loved everything about it: Amy Tan’s seamless incorporation of chess elements, the addition of another generation (Shoshana, Waverly’s daughter), and the dry humor that was apparent in all of the pages. I also appreciated the fact that Rich was not Waverly’s first husband; otherwise, the whole “I’ve never known a love that was so pure” would not have been very believable. This was also one of the few stories that ended on a happy note, with Waverly, Rich, and Lindo “stepping on the plane together, sitting side by side, lifting off, moving West to reach the East.” Strangely, when I began reading this chapter, I was dismayed when Waverly began incorporating chess terms into her story, but soon realized how essential they were to the plot.
2) The story revolved around the notion that Waverly was an over thinker; she greatly overestimated her mother’s ability to pervade her life. In other words, Waverly was paranoid. Her mother, though extremely superstitious, does not care whether or not she marries Rich.. It was all in Waverly’s mind, which shows that Waverly, despite her anger towards Lindo, wants desperately to please her mother.
3) Chess metaphors are brilliantly sprinkled throughout the chapter. They form the reason why Waverly is so paranoid about her mother invading her opinions. Waverly thinks like a chess player; she’s always looking for advantages, escape routes, ways to fool her opponent, and that she thinks that she’s “lost” the game. Her mother, conversely, is completely oblivious to her daughter’s frantic thinking. The addition of chess metaphors is a great way to intertwine this chapter with its predecessor, “The Rules of the Game..”
"Freckles for Good Luck"
Continuing with the last few chapters, this chapter was equally amusing to read about due to the clarity of the conflict as well as the actions of the characters. Rich was an easily likeable character and his humorous actions seemed to be a resting point for the book, seeming to be foreshadowing future, darker events in the book. This chapter actually ended up slightly more joyful, a somewhat different and interesting approach to the usual confusing and gloomy resolutions of previous chapters.
As Waverly herself mentions after the dinner between Rich and her family, she'd wish that "[her] mother would somehow see Rich's kindness, his sense of humor and boyish charm." She is very fond of Rich. Similarly, Rich too likes Waverly very much and even comes to like Waverly's daughter. He even gave Waverly a mink coat for Christmas, a very expensive gift. And that was before they even got married. However, after being affected by her mom, Waverly started seeing less "love" in Rich, seeing that his gift was "an imitation of romance." Her feelings for Rich "were vulnerable to being felled by [her] mother's suspicions," meaning that even though she loved Rich, she still had doubts in him and her mother could empower that doubt and control Waverly's emotions. Her mother made her "see black where [she] once saw white," turning love into hate. However, Waverly decides to fight this thought and confronts her mother, which resulted in a greater understanding between her and her mother and eventually ended up being able to marry Rich as well as being okay with her mom.
This chapter can be related to many young adult and their marriage lives today. Even now, children do not always full understand the meaning behind their parents' actions, whether to hurt or help. Occasionally, there will be parents who disapproves of their child's marriage decisions, especially Chinese parents. During the 21st century however, more and more people are learning to be acceptance of marriages between different nationalities, as well as be more acceptable in their children's marriages, allowing them to have more freedom to choose whomever they decide to marry.
‘’Did You Say More Soy Sauce? O.O ‘’
1. I liked how this chapter was different between the other chapters in that Waverly and Lindo actually came to some sort of resolve in their relationship. It’s easy to understand how Waverly felt about trying to admit her engagement with Rich. Like my mother, Lindo is very picky and can spot all of the negative aspects of anyone who she sees, none the less a Caucasian male about to marry her daughter. This chapter was entertaining to read, and I give it a thumbs up.
2. Waverly and Lindo’s relationship is reassuring in that they do not totally shun each other from their lives. Though there are some rough spots that need to be patched up, it’s clear to say that they are coming to an understanding with each other. It’s found most evident when Lindo says that ‘’ half of everything inside of [ Waverly ] is from [her] ‘’ (p.202) that Waverly is finally finding some resolve with her and her mother.
3. A symbol that Tan uses in this chapter is the game of chess. According to Waverly, she ‘’ could see things on the chessboard that other people could not. ‘’ (p.187) However, what she saw in chess was like Lindo being able to see things Waverly felt, such as knowing the engagement with her and Rich. When Waverly loses in the last tournament she played in, she explains how she analyzed every move in the game. Like the relationship between her and Lindo, Waverly analyzes all the ways that she can make her happy or how to make her jealous. After Lindo’s speech at the end of the chapter, Waverly now understands that a part of her mother is in her too.
Invite Me In Already
1) Reaction
Once again, I felt drawn into this chapter even without the major conflicts or dramas in some of the other chapters. I really liked this chapter simply for the fact that it is common and relatable to nearly all life in the world. The conflict stood straight out in the chapter, and it was also really easy to read and understand.
2) Waverly and Her mother
I think that the relationship between Waverly and her mother is a misunderstood one. Waverly thinks that her mother is always being negative about her life, while all she's doing is waiting for Waverly to accept and invite her into her life. It seems to Waverly that everything that her mother says to her is criticizing. It doesn't help that when Rich has dinner with her family, he screws up really badly in Chinese etiquettes.
3) Culture
I think that in this chapter Amy Tan teaches a lot about Chinese culture, especially during the dinner scene where Rich meets Waverly's family for the first time. Rich manages to defy nearly all of Chinese proper etiquettes in one sitting, from refusing to eat seconds, calling them the wrong names, unknowingly criticizing the dinner, to failing to use the chopsticks correctly.
"Primary Colors"
(Four Directions)
1. I didn't really get into this chapter. I'm vaguely reminded of Charlie Brown's teacher, "Mwa mwa mwaaa." Sure, there was so romance, some conflict, a bit of action... but I couldn't really connect to Waverly in this chapter. Her way of thinking is a little weird, but I think maybe it was supposed to be symbolic. For example, after the flashback of her being a chess genius and her fight with her mother she thought she could outwit Lindo and make her cave into her. Instead, Waverly begs her mother to let her play chess again and by the time she enters her next tournament, she loses a match. She said this was like she "had lost her magic armor. (p. 190)"
2. Relationships: (Waverly & Lindo)
Waverly has avoided telling her mother about her thoughts concerning her engagement to Rich which in turn, has made Waverly tense. She doesn't want to see the reality her mother sees; a strictly ruled world with black and white colors. She thinks that if she told her mom she would pick apart the white parts and stain them gray. Waverly wants to see the bright, romantic part of her relationship with Rich. Waverly is blowing her mother's concerns out of porportion and doesn't realize that her mother just wants to be her mother and to share her joys and sorrows as they come.
3. The writing techniques Tan uses to enhance this chapter include metephors, simles, and personification. The best of these, I think, is the metephores. My favorite is, "And hinding in this place, behind my invisible barriers, I knew what lay on the other side: Her side attacks. Her secret weapons. Her uncanny ability to find my weakest spots. But in the brief instant I peered over the barriers I could finally see what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in. (p. 204)" I love how this relates to the name of the restaurant where they eat lunch and the title of the chapter. Her mother comes from four directions armed with resources from her heritage to show Waverly how much she loves her.
Oh Mother.
1. I thought this was a good chapter. I was just waiting for the moment when Waverly would tell her mom, and she would totally flip. But then, she said she knew all along, so it was kind of a downer. I liked how she brought us back to her chess years, and how this all connected to this chapter. But I can imagine how Waverly felt. She brings her mom to a restaurant in hopes of finally telling her the news. But her mother is just too much to handle, she complains about practically everything. I thought it was funny how Rich did pretty much the exact opposite to what he was supposed to be doing when they went over to Waverly's parent's house for dinner. I also thought it was brave for Waverly to finally go over to her parent's home and tell her, it must've taken a lot of nerve. And then the last line, " moving West to reach the East," gave me a "oh!" moment. Because in the beginning of the book, it says that the East is where everything starts. So possibly a new beginning for her relationship with her mom as a married person? Maybe.
2. Waverly always thinks her mom is against everything she does and she will never accept her as who she is. Waverly needs to relax a little, and stop thinking of her mom as such a bad person. I think that their relationship wasn't as strong in the beginning of the chapter, but towards the end you start to see what kind of person her mom really is and you can tell that their relationship will blossom.
3. Tan uses foreshadowing in this chapter to help the reader better understand the situation. After showing her mother her apartment, Waverly gets so frustrated because her mother doesn't know or comment on what she's only trying to make more obvious. She then takes us back to when she was ten years old and she was tired of how her mother would show her off. She ran away because she was so angry. Waverly has had some events in her life that seem almost repetitive because of her mother.
"Richy Rich Rich"
Four Directions
1. I really liked this chapter because it was more light-hearted than the others were. There were a few parts that were humorous unlike any of the other chapters. I liked the whole part about what happened at dinner at Lindo's home. Rich pretty much ended up making a fool of himself which was fun to read about. I thought it was funny how he seemed to think everything went so well. I could understand why it was hard for Waverly to tell Lindo about her and Rich getting married because it would have been hard for me as well if i were in her position. Although the fact that he was of a different race would have been enough to alarm my parents.
2.Waverly and Lindo have an interesting relationship where Waverly always thinks her mother is brainwashing her slowly but surely. It is just like she says, she has an " ability to make me see black where there was once white, white where there was once black"(186). In reality her mother ends up showing her, her real intentions and breaking that barrier between them.
3.I think that the main conflict in this chapter is one that is Human vs. Human. Waverly and Lindo have this constant conflict where Waverly thinks that her mother is always slowly tricking her into making her think something opposite of what she had initially thought. She thinks her mother is scheming . However, in reality she really isn't scheming at all.
A Quiet Battle
Four Directions
1)This chapter was good because it shows how Asian mothers think about their daughter’s boyfriend or fiancé. They always have something to say about them, even the littlest part like drinking expensive wine, or having freckles. It also shows how mothers are pretending to not like their cooking on one specific food and let others complement her after eating it. This chapter s like a typical situation that would happen when the daughter’s trying to tell them she’s about to marry.
2)Waverly and her mother have a strange relationship. When Waverly was young and playing chess, she purposely quit to make her mother angry so she would learn her lesson of not showing off anymore. But Waverly’s mother was also doing the same thing. They both think alike and they try to anger each other by doing outrageous things.
3)When everyone is together and eating dinner, you are supposed to go for seconds because the cook takes t as a complement. If you don’t go for seconds, t tells the cook a message of not liking his or her way of cooking. It is also polite to complement the cook, when they think their food doesn’t taste that great.
Mother Sees, Hears, and Speaks Evil
Four Directions
1) Reaction
I particularly liked this chapter because I can relate to what Waverly Jong feels about her mother, Lindo Jong. Lindo's critical ways remind me of my grandma. Like Waverly, I begin to see faults in things that my grandma has critiqued. I found it hilarious when Rich did the total opposite of what Waverly actually wanted him to do.
2)Waverly and Lindo Jong
Waverly places the blame on her mother, that she made her last marriage fail. Waverly feels her mother is attempting to do it again, but it's really Waverly that's beginning to see faults in everything else. Some of Lindo's perceptions rubbed off onto Waverly
3)The opening allegory relates to this vignette. The mother that see's all the bad omens is exactly like Lindo. Waverly's marriage ended, but got a second chance at love with Rich. In the allegory, the position of the mirror told that the happiness of the marriage would go the other way, but the mother comes and fixes it for a better chance.
Born Poor? Marry Rich!
Chapter Four Directions
1. I liked this chapter. It was easy to follow unlike most of Tan’s other chapters, and the conflict was easily found throughout the vignette. it’s the old battle between Asian’s and accepting other ethnicities into their family; in this case, Rich is the other ethnicity, Caucasian. I like how Waverly’s mom acts like she doesn’t approve of Rich when really, she is allowing her daughter to make her own decision.
2. I liked the relationship between Waverly and her mother. I liked how Waverly’s mother always led her to see black where there was once white, and while I was reading the chapter, I kept an eye out for things Waverly’s mother did to make her see black where there was white. The funny thing is, I didn’t realize that her mom was showing her the black until they finally said so in the book. I just thought this was neat. Besides that, the relationship between Waverly and her mother is a normal fussy mother and a want-to-be-independent daughter.
3. I like how this chapter portrays Rich’s thoughts of politeness to those of Asian culture especially during the scene with the family dinner. Everyone at the table knew how to act acceptable except for him. I felt kind of sorry for him because he was so clueless about how to behave and what to do at the right time. I know he tried his best to be polite, but it was just a bit sad to see him miss the point of most things.
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“One-sided chess game”
Four directions
1/ I liked this chapter because it was pretty funny at times like when Waverly brings her mother to a Chinese restaurant. Her mother is so rude at the restaurant that Waverly has to slip the waiter a five dollar tip for the all the criticisms aimed at him. That is a large tip for an Asian restaurant since the most my parents tip at those restaurants is whatever loose change we don’t want to carry around. I also liked the part where Rich goes to the Jong’s house in order to eat dinner. The part where Rich pours soy sauce over Lindo’s food causing Lindo to freak out was pretty fun. Overall, this chapter was an interesting read would rank it as one of the better chapters in the novel so far.
2/ In this chapter, Waverly has tunnel-vision and always sees her mother as someone who was against her and critical of her. Throughout the chapter, she is worried that her mother will point out the flaws of Rich to Waverly and make Waverly not love Rich anymore. This worry makes her not have the courage to tell her mother straight-up about marrying Rich. In order to help Rich win her mother over, she devises up a plan to get Rich to eat dinner with the family, but it fails miserably. This causes Waverly to just confront her mother the next day and unleash all her anger at mother. What ends up happening instead though is that Lindo reveals to Waverly that she has always known about the engagement and was surprised that Waverly thought Lindo hated Rich. Waverly ends up realizing that she was wrong to think that her mother was against her and even plans to go with Lindo for a trip to China so she could make peace with her mother.
3/ I have learned many things about Chinese culture in this chapter. Firstly, I learned that if you told your mother to shut up, it would be the death of you. Secondly, I learned about the Chinese Zodiac and that a Horse and a Rabbit is a bad combination. Thirdly, I learned a lot about a typical Chinese dinner and about the foods they ate. Also, I realized that in a Chinese family, it is rude to refuse seconds and to take a large portion of a food before everyone else had it.
Family Dinner.
1) I liked this chapter a lot. I especially liked how Waverly planned out a way for the family to meet Rich. This chapter related to me because my parents act like her mother. When there is something not done right in the restaurant, they usually complain or refuse to pay for the tip while the other wants to pay for it still. I think that the families are funny in how they get a lot of pride when one member of their friends family decides to eat with them instead of their own. I thought it was funny how Rich ruined the whole evening after she had planned it all out and told him exactly what to say.
2) I think that the relationship between Waverly and her mother is bad. They both have different beliefs and morals, such as paying the waiter a tip. Waverly is scared of her mother, causing there to be a gap between them. "You can tell the IRS to piss up a rope, but you can't stand up to your own mother" (page 191) one of her friends told her through the phone. I think that it separates them due to sheer fear .
3) Theme.
I think that the theme of this chapter is that nothing is perfect. For example, at their second dinner, Waverly's plans did not going accordingly. Her husband made many mistakes that ruined her image of a perfect night. I think that this is a strong message because it is something that you can not change because it is based on the actions of many people and not only yourself.
-Aaron Ly
Should I Tell Mother?
Chapter: Four Directions
1. Reaction
I thought this chapter was very good and funny at times. The beginning scene of Waverly and Lindo in the restaurant was very amusing because Lindo had complained about everything. I felt bad for Waverly who is debating whether to tell her mother about Rich. A daughter should not hesitate to tell her mother something important. I think a mother is there to support her daughter and give constructive advice. The endless quarrels with Waverly and Lindo were quite amusing sometimes, but it was annoying how Lindo always looked at the worst part of things and tried to change the subject whenever Waverly was trying to tell her something about Rich. I also enjoyed how Waverly continued her story from her previous vignette because I was curious about what happened after she came back from running away. I also found the part where Rich had dinner with everyone really funny because Rich had done so many things out of Chinese custom without realizing it. Rich had even thought that the dinner went well, but Waverly knew that the dinner turned out to be a disaster! Overall, I liked this chapter a lot.
2. Waverly Jong & Lindo Jong
The relationship between Waverly and Lindo is a like a constant battle going back and forth. However, Waverly was the only one who thought this way. Ever since she got into the argument with her mother about playing chess and using her to show off, Waverly thinks that her mother is always trying to find her weakest spots. All Waverly and her mother did was fight and try to beat each other like a chess game. Waverly did not want to tell her mother about Rich because she was afraid that her mother would try to make her “see black where [she] once saw white” (199). This also happened with her passion for chess when she was young. Waverly over thought things about her mother and always tried to find a way to beat her mother, but all her mother wanted was to be a part of her life. After Waverly confronted her mother, Lindo stated, “So you think your mother is bad. You think I have a secret meaning. But it is you who has this meaning” (201). There weren’t any “side attacks” or “secret weapons.” Waverly finally realized that all her mother wanted was “for her daughter to invite her in” (204).
3. This chapter can perfectly relate to the opening allegory. In the allegory, we read about a mother who hung a second mirror in her daughter’s bedroom to ensure that her daughter will have a lucky marriage. Lindo, similarly, wants to make sure that she knows her daughter made the right choice to marry Rich and would do anything she can for Waverly to ensure that she will have a good marriage. However, both daughters take their mother’s care the wrong way. The daughter in the allegory gets fed up and annoyed with her mother’s silly superstitions and doesn’t want her to interfere. Waverly also does not appreciate her mother’s behavior. Instead, she thinks that her mother is trying to sabotage her marriage by finding her weakest spots and making her think that something she thought was good was actually bad. Both daughters do not realize their mother’s good intentions. This is how the chapter relates to the opening allegory.
"Mom, Stop Complaining!":
1) Reactions to "Four Directions":
This chapter was very interesting overall. The fact that Waverly's mom complained about everything kind of remind me of the stereotypical Chinese woman, who yells in complaint at something they don't like. I thought it was funny however because it was like she was trying to teach the restaurant a lesson, when it wasn't of any real consequence in the long run. Also funny was the scene where the family sat together at the table to eat. Rich kept doing everything wrong, like bring French wine to a Chinese dinner table, or dropping food in his lap with the chopsticks, or worst of all when he said, "'You know, all it needs is a little soy sauce'...he proceeded to pour a riverful...right before my mother�s horrified eyes.(Tan 197)� This scene was hilarious because it was like Lindo was looking at a monstrosity, and I honestly thought that she was going to burst right then and there.
2)Relationships in "Rice Husband":
The most controversial relationship in this chapter was that of Waverly and Lindo Jong. When Waverly had finally convinced Lindo to butt out of her chess affairs in "Rules of the Game," I think she now tried to make Lindo try to accept her again since Lindo decided that she would not have concern for her anymore. She tried to bother the other family members to make her say something and had decided to quit chess to get Lindo concerned. However, all of her intentions of acceptance didn't work. Lindo, on the other hand, also complained about everything to Waverly to get on her nerves, like the bathrooms at the Four Directions, or how Rich had too many freckles, or even how the mink sweater was, "not so good...it is just leftover strips. And the fur is too short, no long hairs.(Tan 186)" However, I think these were her counter attempts to get accepted back into Waverly's life, because all these complaints bothered Waverly by making this false presumption, and allow Lindo back into her heart when she invited her to join her on their honeymoon.
3) Essential Questions in "Rice Husband":
One important fact about Chinese culture is how if a chef criticizes their cooking, you are not supposed to agree with them by offering suggestions on how to improve the meal. You are just supposed to serve the food anyway, and then proclaim that it was the best meal you ever had; this boosts their self-image and ego.
“To Tell or Not to Tell”
Chapter: Four Directions
1. This chapter made me feel bad for Waverly. I think that mothers are best for going to for comfort when we are hurt. But Waverly could not even tell her mother that she was getting married. Not being able to go to your family is something that is hard to face. Lindo is always able to find something negative that Waverly is proud of. She influences Waverly so much that it causes Waverly to think like she does.
2. The relationship between Waverly and Lindo is a take and give relationship. Waverly gives something to her mother, wishing and hoping for approval. But her mother just takes it and points out a flaw, never complementing anything. After the chess incident, her mother seemed to be cold and distant from Waverly. And Waverly tries so hard to please her mother, but then is put down every time. After a while, she becomes very protective and is scared to go to her own mother.
3. This story relates to the allegory because in both stories, the mothers pick out all the flaws of what she is presented by her daughter. But they do this because they want to be helpful, but the daughters only see their mothers picking on them. In the allegory, when the daughter looks in the mirror and sees her child, it is like how Lindo sees Waverly in herself, and only criticizes to keep her from getting hurt the way she did in her earlier years.
"Good people don't eat with dirty chopsticks"
Chapter: Four Directions
1) This was one of those rare chapters that actually made me appreciate the characters for who they are. I absolutely loved how there was a resolution at the end of the story, and by far having Waverly's mother accept her marriage is very satisfying. I also loved how Tan played the mother as a mean character at first and then totally made a total turn and formed her into a character who just wanted her daughter's acceptance.
2) The main conflict of the story is between Waverly and Lindo. Waverly is paranoid about her mother sneaking into her life and using "secret weapons" to ruin her marriage. However, her delusions are based off of past experiences and it has been definately a while and her mother has changed. Lindo, on the other hand really just wanted her daughter to let her into her home. By this she wanted to be accepted into her daughter's life. Luckily, at the end of the chapter Waverly can realize that her mother does not have any "ulterior" motives to ruin her.
3) I can actually relate to this story because of the fact that Amy Tan gives a vivid explanation of Asian culture. Though not all Asians are stingy or very uptight, Amy sure does paint Lindo that certain way. With the scene in the "Four Seasons" Restaurant, I learned that my family are not the only people to disinfect their chopsticks viciously. I also learned that my family are not the only people who use hot, steaming tea as a way to clean plates and dishes. Honestly, it was really amusing to watch this all take place because I could actually feel what Waverly's feeling. But now I feel proud :)
"Accepting Freckles"
"Four Directions"
1. I really like this chapter because of the humor that Rich made when he ate dinner with Waverly's family. When Lindo complained that her food was no salty enough as a hint for everyone to eat the food, Rich cluelessly replied that she should add soy sauce. I felt bad that Waverly couldn't win anymore chess games. The conflict with her mother from the previous chapter had affected her so much till the point where she has to give up on something so was so good at. I was surprised that Waverly already has a daughter.
2. The relationship between Lindo and Waverly is much hidden because Waverly doesn't see what her mother is really trying to do. When she shows her mother her house full of Rich's clothes and belongings, Waverly expects her mother to say something about Rich but she doesn't. Waverly keeps on thinking that Lindo doesn't want to be involved with her but all she is trying to do is to accept it and Waverly to accept her and forgive her for killing Waverly's love for chess. In the end, Waverly gets what her mother is trying to do and when Lindo said she might go to China the same time Waverly and Rich are going, Waverly didn't oppose to it and she wanted to set everything aside and have a good time together with her mother.
3. This can relate to today's life because now a day, there are a lot of inter-racial marriages. I hear a lot of mothers talking to one another about their children marrying a different race. They always say that it is a bad thing and that they should marry someone who is the same ethnicity. They might have even talked about inter-racial dating with their children and that they shouldn't have that type of relationship. When their children really fall in love with someone of a different race, they have a struggle inside of them that their parents will be upset and angered. This is the exact struggle Waverly had to deal with.
Don't trust outside bathrooms!
"Four Directions"
1) I thought that this chapter can be an awful lot like my life. I sometimes feel too that someone is conspiring against me, that I have to plan ahead to counter him but in the end, he meant no harm at all. I give this chapter thumbs up for the conflict seen throughout the chapter between Waverly and her mother.
2) The relationship between Waverly and her mother isn’t a natural or normal one. It stems from Waverly’s ability to play chess so well. Because Waverly is always so suspicious of an opponent, she starts thinking that her mother is an evil conniving woman, but in the end, Waverly sees that her mother didn’t mean any harm.
3) Question 5: The conflict in this chapter is internally inside Waverly. Waverly is constantly thinking that her mother is trying to ruin her life by saying the worst comments at the right times to split Waverly and her husband apart. But Waverly is only hurting herself by being so paranoid in this conflict.
Title: And Pick, Pick, Pick Go Her Chopsticks
(Focusing on “Four Directions”)
1) I knew this was going to be a hard chapter to stand as well, simply because it was a struggle between Waverly and Lindo, her mother. In the last chapter featuring them, I had really hated Lindo’s attitude towards her daughter. It was so cold and formal, disdainful, even. I was anxious to see what this chapter would be about, if they would pick up the “chess match” where they last left off, and who would win this time. Only in this match, the struggle was more serious, not just about a mere game anymore; it was about Waverly, and her future happiness in love and marriage. I was a bit shocked to find out that Rich was younger than her and shorter to boot, thinking that maybe Lindo would disapprove of this. Amy Tan made Waverly’s way of thinking so solid, so unwinding, that I really did think that Lindo was trying to tear her daughter’s relationship apart, or pick it apart, like with chopsticks. But according to the last few pages of the chapter, Lindo wasn’t trying to do that at all, not even in the past; she was just trying to get along with her daughter and make sure she had a firm, steady future. She was never trying to her; she only wanted to help, and Waverly couldn’t see that until it was almost too late.
2) Waverly and Lindo’s relationship is different than it was in the early chapter. This time, it is more understanding and flows into a deeper set of mind; Waverly is starting to grasp just what it is that her mother is fighting for. She realizes that Lindo loves her very much and only wants to help her, not tear her down like she thinks she wants to.
3) In this chapter, I learned many things about the Chinese culture, particularly the customs and rituals of their dinner-eating. I hadn’t known that Chinese women would declare that their food was too bad to eat and that you had to praise it after eating some, and that making a comment that you think could make it better would only disgrace and make you seem incredibly rude in their eyes. I hadn’t known about the taking-little-bits from each portion, some for seconds, some for thirds, and some for fourths. All of it seems kind of tedious to me, like, ‘why can’t they just eat like normal people instead of having all these stiff rituals?’ But to them, that is normal. It’s just the way things are done, and if I ever have dinner with a Chinese family that’s very into that kind of stuff, I will try to remember that.
“Should I tell my mother?”
Four Directions
1. The opening to this chapter was very catchy. When I read about how the mother criticized the food at the restaurant, it reminded me of my own mother, who does the same thing. I liked this chapter. Waverly has changed throughout the course of this novel. When she was younger and was still playing chess, she was confident and talked back to her mother. Now, she is weak and can’t tell her mother about a big decision in her life – that she id getting married again.
2. Waverly and her mother have a complicated relationship. She is scared of her mother and doesn’t want to displease her. But, she also thinks that her mother doesn’t know what makes her own daughter happy. I think Lindo wants her daughter to lead the best life possible. I just think there are some complications because Lindo is Chinese and Waverly is Chinese-American.
3. This chapter shows a lot of Chinese cultural background information. I learned that Chinese women care a lot about their food. If you cook better than somebody else, you are saying that you are overall better than them. I also learned that the women criticize their own food even though they knows its good because they want others to tell them that its great. I found it hilarious when Rich didn’t know this and said that Lindo’s food just needed some more flavor.
Never Eat Soggy Waffles
Four Directions
1. I thought this chapter was interesting and funny at times. It was funny when Waverly took her mother to eat and all she did was complain. When Lindo says not to leave any tip it kind of like my parents because they leave a small tip it the restaurant does something wrong. Another amusing part was when Rich didn’t understand that Lindo was making remarks about her cooking on purpose and poured soy sauce on top. This chapter was easier to understand than some of Tan’s other chapters.
2. Waverly and her mom have a regular mother-daughter relationship. They constantly get into fights with each other but they really just want the best for each other. Waverly thinks that if she tells her mother about her marriage she will not allow it but when they finally talk Lindo already knows and is fine with her decision. At the end of the chapter she sees that her mother just wanted to help her all this time
3. This chapter relates to the opening allegory the mother gives her daughter a mirror to have a good marriage. The daughter in the allegory is annoyed with her mothers superstitions in the allegory but really the mother was looking out for her daughter. In the chapter Waverly thinks her mother is trying to ruin her life but really just wants to support her.
“Soy Sauce Fixes Everything!”
“Four Directions”
1.Reaction- I thought this chapter was really cool. At first, the whole restaurant scene was kind of confusing because I didn't know what was going on, but as I kept reading, it was actually interesting. Waverly trying to tell her mother that she was getting married but never finding the right time is something that happens a lot with Chinese mothers and daughters, at least for me. The scene where Waverly and Lindo are arguing in the flashback put me into this intense surrounding. I felt really bad for Waverly when Lindo told her she couldn't play chess because Waverly really loved chess. In the end though, it was sweet how Lindo showed Waverly that she really cared about her own daughter. The part of the chapter where Rich is at Lindo's house for dinner was absolutely hilarious. I can't blame Rich for completely embarrassing himself without even knowing it, but I would have been mortified if it happened to me. Most of all, I thought it was amazing how Lindo already knew that Waverly and Rich were getting married before Waverly even got a chance to tell her. After all, moms know pretty much everything.
2.The relationship that Waverly and her mother, Lindo have can be seen as a typical mother-daughter relationship. The two are constantly getting into arguments, but by the end of the day, they will make up and be best friends. I really admire Waverly's relationship with her mother because to me, it seems so strong and full of love for each other through thick and thin.
3.This chapter relates to the opening allegory because in the allegory, the mother gives a mirror to the daughter because of her superstitious beliefs in marriage. In the chapter, Waverly believes that her mother is just out to get her, attacking her in ways that she cannot see, but in reality, Lindo just wants the best for Waverly and wants to see her happy. As Waverly is going to get married to Rich, Lindo supports her and does not make any complaints against Rich.
"North. South, East. West"
Four Directions
I really enjoyed reading this chapter because it was more light-hearted than the other chapters. There also wasn't any crazy woman.My favorite part was the dinner scene. I loved how Rich was so clueless to Chinese ways.
The main conflict in this chapter is between Waverly Jong and her mother. Waverly is having trouble telling her mother that she is planning on getting married to Rich, the love of her life. Everytime she talked about Rich, "[her] mother found a way to change the subject."
I loved the way Amy Tan incorporated many subtle Chinese ways of doing things in this chapter. For example, when Waverly's mother complained about her "dish not salty enough, no flavor," Rich, trying to be a gentleman, poured soy sauce all over her dish.
Mom, I’m Getting Married!
(Four Directions)
1. I love how Waverly and her mom always seem to be playing a chess game. First, throughout the entire chapter her mom knows that Waverly and Rich are getting married, but she keeps this extra knowledge to herself. Waverly keeps on making moves in hope that she would learn it for herself, but her mom keeps on dodging all of her attacks until Waverly confronted the queen herself. Second, Waverly, when she comes back from running away as a child, keeps trying different methods to get her mom to come running to her side to support her. However, her mom is using different moves of her own, until she has to help her when she gets the chicken pox. My favorite part of this chapter is when Waverly and her mom come to an understanding and Waverly and Rich postpone their marriage until the weather is just right in China. The thought of all three of them going on a plane to head east, the place where everything begins, is heart warming.
2. Waverly’s mom and Rich have an interesting relationship. Rich thinks her mom really likes him, where in reality, she thinks he is rude and not accustomed to Chinese culture. Rich seems to like Waverly’s mom where her mom is annoyed to be around him because of his ignorance. Rich is also like a little kid, doing things that he doesn’t know any better not to do.
3. I have learned more about Chinese culture. I have learned that it is polite to say that a person’s cooking is good, even if the cook says there is something wrong with it. I also learned that there is a city in China called Taiyuan. The best time to visit China is in October.
"To tell or not to tell, that is the question"
("Four Directions")
1) I liked the chapter it was pretty good! it was great that Waverly adn Lindo seemed to patch things up! I loved Rich! He's funny, and seems to be a great guy that loves Waverly alot. There wasn't alot of secret meaning in this chapter it was pretty easy for other reads to relate to.I do think it was sad that Waverly lost her love for chess. :(
2) Waverly and Lindo. I think that there relationship has escaladed to so much more than it was before! now they are more understanding with eachother and they can love each other to a new different extent.But i don't understand why Waverly is so frightened to tell her mother about Rich, he is such a great guy and also it never mentions that her mother doesn't want her to marry him. I think she was making something out of nothing.
3) In a sense this reminded me of something in real life. Resently my uncle went on a trip to China for work. While there he was taken to many homes of people that worked with him. At one of the peoples houses he pour soy sause all over him rice because he thought it was plan. Later he found out that his co-workers wife had cried after dinner, she thought her cookin was terrible! And he never burped at the table (which his co-worker told him was a sign or respect for the cook). After the man told him this is felt terrible, he never meant to make anyone cry, he didn't burp because he was taught it was rude to burp at the table. The next week he returned to the co-workers house and he brought flowers to the man's wife. She was delighted and begged him to stay for one more dinner. Differnt cultures have different customs and traditions.
-Andrea Ulloa
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If only there was a rewind button in life...
Chapter: Four Directions
1) This chapter is strongly focused on a typical daughter and her all-knowing mother. Like treasures and secrets hidden in pyramids, Waverly finally discovers the secret to her and her mother's relationship. Unfortunately, her realization comes in too late since her mother is shocked from the day Waverly yells at her for bragging.
2) Lindo has always been there to support her daughter even if that included bragging. However, Waverly, who constantly won chess tournaments, didn't come to realize it was because of her mother's support that she was able to defeat opponents. As Waverly scolds at her mother, Lindo felt crushed by her daughter's insensitivity. Lindo only hoped the best for her daughter. Therefore, in this chapter as Waverly expects a joyful reaction from her mother when telling the news that she will rejoin chess, she is really hurt inside since her mother is emotionless. Waverly made a mistake by yelling at her mother and suffered from it. But, she learned from it and is now, resembles her mother for her own daughter Shashona.
3) The conflict is an internal conflict between Waverly and herself. When Waverly tries to hurt her mother by skipping a chess tournament, she only ends up suffering. Towards the end, as Waverly begins to realize her mother’s care and support, she tries to placate her mother by announcing she will rejoin chess. Unfortunately, her mother’s emotionless face crushes Waverly’s hopes as her mother was crushed the day she was yelled for bragging. It seems like one mistake led to such an uprising event. As Waverly announced she will rejoin chess, her mother replies, “it is not so easy.” It may occur that her mother is referring to playing chess but she really means it is not easy to reconstruct their broken relationship. This suggests that Waverly wanted to rejoin chess since she longs for her once stern yet caring mother.
“Moving West to Reach the East”
1) I liked this chapter because it was really easy to understand. Waverly thinks that her mother has all these bad thoughts, but I think it is Waverly who thinks them. She always thinks that her mother disapproves of Rich, which she does, sort of. But Waverly thinks that her mother will make her see all the bad things in Rich and start to dislike him for all his bad qualities. Waverly listening to what her mother says about Rich and Marvin shows that she respects her mother’s opinions and believes them.
2) Waverly and Lindo Jong:
Waverly always thinks that Lindo is criticizing her and the people in her life, but she really isn’t. Lindo was only trying to help Waverly. Lindo didn’t have any “secret weapons.” I didn’t really like Lindo at first, when she was showing off. But know I realize that she is like any other mother, just looking after her daughter.
3) Tan’s message is that sometimes we can misconstrue someone’s actions and words. Waverly always thinks that her mother has some secret motive and makes Waverly change her thought about everyone. She thinks that her mother makes her see the people the way Lindo sees them. Waverly is to preoccupied with this and she is twisting everything. Lindo doesn’t have any secret weapons and she isn’t really trying to shape Waverly’s mind.
Mother Not Like Daughter
Chapter: Four Directions
1. I actually liked this chapter because it clearly shows the relationship between Waverly and her mother. I really admire Waverly's persistence in trying to tell her mother about her engagement. She gives so many hints, speaks his name multiple times but the mother is still in denial. If I were in Waverly's position, I would get so sick and tired of my mother ignorance about the subject that I would just give up. But Waverly didn’t, and that’s pretty admirable. Also, the way Waverly deals with her mothers complaining is awesome. In the restaurant, her mother was being a total pain and she stuck it out which is pretty cool.
2. Waverly and her mom have a strange relationship. Waverly believes that her mother is too pushy and is always finding something wrong with her. But in truth, her mother is only trying to help her, give her some guidance, and tries to protect her from the obstacles thrown at her. Unlike the previous chapter with Lindo and Waverly, instead of boosting her up, Lindo brings Waverly down hoping too steer her in a different direction.
3. This chapter really relates to the allegory in the beginning of the chapters. The mother tells the daughter to listen to her and not ride her bike but she doesn’t listen. The mother is only trying to protect her daughter and guide her in the correct direction. Like the allegory, Waverly believes that her mom doesn’t understand her, but in reality she does and wants to help.
Those Who Don’t Know Any Better Call It Bing
This chapter is not so great for me because of the adult themes. Waverly Jong’s description of adult parts her relationships made me uncomfortable. However, I did enjoy her mother, Lindo. Lindo is funny to me because she scares Waverly, even though she doesn’t mean to. She is a good mom, overall, because she tries to help her daughter, especially on finding a good husband. Sadly, Waverly only she’s her mom’s advice as insults and hates her mom. I think Waverly is too narrow minded about stuff, and thinks everything is about her. In this chapter, I have sympathy for Lindo more than Waverly.
The relationship between Lindo and Waverly is a totally misunderstood one. Waverly thinks her mom’s advices are verbal attacks against Waverly. For example, Waverly got really emotional when her mother said her fiancé “had spots on his face.” Waverly thought Lindo was criticizing her fiancé because she didn’t like him. But this was not the case. Lindo told Waverly that she was just telling the truth and was hurt when Waverly thought she had “a secret meaning” behind her words. However, Lindo did not want to hurt Waverly, it is just that Waverly took her mom’s words the wrong way, and created a misunderstanding between them.
The conflict in this chapter is human vs. human, Lindo vs. Waverly, but ultimately, the conflict is Waverly against herself. At first, Waverly thought her mother was picking on her for being critical. She couldn’t get over how critical her mother was, and started to see her as an enemy. It is only when Waverly sees Lindo’s true motive that she realizes she wasn’t battling her mom, but herself. Waverly hid “behind [her] invisible barriers” to protect herself from her mother’s harsh words. However, the invisible barrier makes Waverly blind to seeing what Lindo really means and o all this time Waverly was fighting a misunderstanding in her.
“Marry RICH!”- “Four Directions”
1. This chapter wasn’t that exciting but it was really relatable. I can understand why Waverly is afraid to tell her mother that she and Rich are getting married. She’s afraid that by telling her this wonderful news, her mother is going to change her total outlook of Rich and the marriage because she’ll expose all of his sore spots to Waverly, just like the way she did for Marvin. Lindo also seemed like she didn’t even want to hear about Waverly’s news because she would change the subject once her daughter tried to tell her. It’s a shame that Waverly’s gift of playing chess vanished because it’s not every day that a passion like that comes around. I was a bit frustrated to know that Lindo kind of caused Waverly’s passion of chess to disappear but I was really glad they had that heartfelt talk at the end of the chapter so that they finally understand each other.
2. Waverly and Lindo misunderstand each other but it is common amongst mothers and daughters. After finding a man that truly admires and loves her, Waverly is too afraid to tell her mother the fantastic news. She fears that if she reveals her future marriage to her mother, her mother is going to tear it apart and focus on all the bad that Rich has to offer instead of all of the good that Waverly sees. When she eventually spills out her feelings to her mother, Waverly finds out that it is all a misunderstanding and that Lindo doesn’t hate Rich and doesn’t try to say things to hurt her.
3. I think that the theme that Amy Tan is trying to give off from this chapter is that it’s always best to be honest and share your feelings with others. I know this because when Lindo says, “so you think your mother is this bad. You think I have a secret meaning. But it is you who has this meaning,” she is saying that Waverly has misunderstood her. Waverly believed that everything her mother said and did was purposely said to hurt her but that’s the opposite of what Lindo was trying to do. Lindo didn’t mean to sadden her daughter at all, but if Waverly didn’t come to her mother’s house that day and tell her mother how she felt, she would’ve never known the truth, and would have misunderstood everything her mother said. That’s why honesty is always the best policy!
“Rich's Dinner”
(Chapter: Four Directions)
1. Reaction
I thought that it was nice to read about a relationship in this book that was not falling apart. After reading about so many divorcing couples, this chapter seemed new and refreshing. Rich is a very interesting character to read about and I enjoyed seeing his attempts to win over Waverly’s parents and marry Waverly.
2. Relationship
Waverly and Rich seem like a very happy couple. Rich seems to truly love Waverly because he still stayed with her after learning and seeing her dark and mean side. Also, Rich gets along with Waverly’s daughter from her previous marriage. Waverly understands Rich and he understands her. They seem to have a very good relationship with each other.
3. Chinese Culture
During the dinner, I could see how different Rich’s eating habits were compared to the families’. Rich loved French Wine while everyone else at the table didn’t. Rich didn’t know how to use a chopstick. He helped himself to big chunks of food while everyone else followed the Chinese culture took small pieces bit by bit. I learned the differences between American eating habits and Chinese eating manners.
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What’s my next move? Four directions
1) I thought this was a neat chapter. Waverly has herself trapped trying to hide away from her mother and in the end they become good friends. Waverly has a daughter and that surprised me I thought she was going to become a great succesful chess player. Waverly was divorced and she has a daughter. I felt happy when she found a guy that she actually likes and who likes her back. The other guy was no good for her. The only thing is that the guy seems to have no manners. He seemed pretty rude when he went to dinner with Waverly’s parents but I guess to each their own. The good thing is that he is nice to her daughter. Overall the tension between the daughter and mother gives this chapter a thumbs up.
2) The mother and daughter have a pretty close bond after the wall is down. There relationship was like the chess game. The daughter had to face her mother and the mother always won. She was the wind that blew from every direction confusing Waverly. She saw her mother as spoiling everything and always criticizing. The mother was just being herself and waiting for her daughter to appreciate that. After her mother explains from whom they came from she adds a part on how people call San Francisco, Cisco. That’s not true and that’s when Waverly discovered the truth. She was not fighting her mother but herself. Her mother was just in the sidelines watching. Waverly was trying to make herself stronger by shielding herself and blaming her mother and her criticism. After Waverly discovered this there relationship seemed to grow. Waverly saw her mother in a new light.
3) From this chapter I discovered the way a traditional chinease family eats. The mother is alloweed to critisize the food but the others have to show how good it is. They don’t drink much wine and the father always leads. You must eat as much as the father and are not allowed to serve yourself large portions. There were so many rules i got confused. Rich couldn’t have possibly known what he was doing. The rules seem very important to them and you are judjed by how many you break.
"The Polite Spoonful, Never Go Wrong With it"
Four Directions
1. I like this chapter because for once it’s a happy ending where everyone gets along. This deserves a two thumbs up because it talks about the problems of introducing fiancées to the parents and other common encounters in life. The best part was that nothing was very hard to understand. The chapter is called four directions because her parents were from north and south China and Rich is from the West and she is from the East.
2. Waverly is afraid that her mother won’t accept her engagement to Rich, so she postpones telling her. When everything goes wrong at the dinner party with her family that she took Rich to, Waverly becomes more frightened. Lindo and Waverly’s relationship is tense and they misunderstand each other. When she tells Lindo about her engagement she asks about all the things she’s been wondering about. Waverly finds out that her mom didn’t hate Rich and intended nothing bad to come out of what she said. Although Waverly still finds her mother irritating at times she understands now that her mother’s seemingly criticizing are unintentional. Their relationship is now at peace.
3. I learned that in Chinese culture, that you should only take “a polite spoonful, until everybody [has] had a morsel”. Also, that you shouldn’t decline a dish because it might seem like you disapprove of what they cooked. Most importantly, NEVER criticize a dish, cooking a Chinese mother’s passion! You’ll break her heart and seem rude. To me these are all table manners you should have out of common sense.
"Accepted"
1. I thought this chapter was pretty cool. It, again, seemed like it would be a part of a movie, and would be played out pretty well. Waverly is astonished by the fact that her mother was not phased when she announced her marriage to her fiancé Rich, Just as she had been all of young Waverly's life.
2. The relationship between Waverly and her mother is a typical mother-daughterly bond. Waverly has been controlled by her mother all of her life, and feels that if she ventured out in the real world independently, she would survive fine without her mothers guidance. Waverly knows that she must tell her mother even though they have had difficulties in the past, she has to somehow tell her mother, this life changing bond.
3. In the Chinese cultures, you are supposed to be modest and how food valued and whenever you want to season, or add extra flavor to your meal, you have to be considerate to your guests rather than yourself. Rich shows his ignorance of the Chinese culture by pouring soy sauce all over the mother's main dish. A big =O on my face after reading that.
"Thinking too much is bad"
(Four Directions)
1) Coincidentally, I was reading this chapter while at a Chinese restaurant. This chapter was a big "meh." Plot seemed a little straight forward since it was a typical misunderstanding between a mother and daughter. That's what happens when you're a born genius. You'll tend to over think things which will eventually lead you to a downfall.
2) The relationship between Lindo and Waverly is still kind of like a Chess game. One scene that shows this is when Waverly decides to miss out on a tournament in order to upset her mother but unexpectedly, she didn't really care. Her plan was backfired and it hurt Waverly since the one who wont the chess tournament was the boy she beat in a previous tournament. Then, she starts to over think things like her mother trying to avoid and ruin her marriage but near the end of the chapter, Waverly was only misunderstanding her mother the whole time.
3) The main conflict was Waverly vs Lindo...again. Returning to play chess again, Waverly realizes that she has lost all of her skills, but it really wasn't the skills she had lost, it was her mother's love and support for her. Carefully planning out her next move, she skips the coming chess tournament but only ends up hurting herself. It is like Lindo is involuntary hurting her each time she made a move, countering each planned step. In the end, her mother's criticism of Waverly's husband was only to help Waverly, not to hurt her.
"Find the Error"
1)I liked this chapter because it was really funny. Waverly's character is different from others that I've read so far and she's really Americanized. She's also a snob but I thought it was funny when Rich came over for dinner. Usually in my family, when someone says their food is bad, they're kind of fishing for compliments. Also, when someone offers you something you want, you have to say no to it to be polite. I felt like I could relate to Waverly in this chapter, because sometimes my parents would point out the bad in something I've never seen.
2)Waverly and her mom seem like they're in a constant battle of wills. Waverly thinks her mom tries to contaminate everything she loves like in the flashback where she gave up chess. Spending all her energy thinking her mom is out to get her, Waverly doesn't realize that that isn't what her mom is trying to do. She finally realizes this at the end of the chapter that her mother's intentions were different from what she thought. Lindo only wanted Waverly to have a happy marriage that she didn't have in China. Lindo didn't hate Rich at all but was looking out for her daugther. They pick up from the chess incident and come to an understanding.
3)The chess game is the symbol of Waverly and Lindo Jong, who are always opposing each other. Waverly has learned "invisible strength" from her mother where she can hide her thoughts and strategize in chess games. However, she also uses this against her mother when she gives her the silent treatment, refusing to give her mom the satisfaction.
Secret Weapons and Invisible Barriers –“Four Directions”
1. The relationship between Waverly and her mother Lindo is always interesting to read. In this chapter, Waverly wants to marry Rich Shields, a white man. Unfortunately, Lindo doesn’t know how to tell her mom about Rich and knows that she will not approve of him. I thought when Rich was eating dinner with Waverly and her mother, it was funny that he would add soy sauce when Lindo complained it wasn’t salty enough, though it was just a show of modesty.
2. The relationship between the present Waverly and her mother, Lindo, is one filled with resentment on Waverly’s part. Waverly is always afraid of her mother and afraid of the disapproval she has to face from her mom. She is afraid to bring up her remarriage to Rich and is completely surprised when her mom seems to accept Rich. Waverly was always stuck in the past, letting her chess memories haunt her that she could not see the goodness of her mother. Although it seemed as if Lindo was being mean to Waverly, she was only stating the obvious. Lindo angrily replied to Waverly, “So you think your mother is this bad. You think I have a secret meaning.”
3. This chapter was overflowing with Chinese culture. First, there was a little info on the zodiac. A Horse was stubborn and very open. A rabbit is sensitive and cowers from criticism. Then, there was the scene at the restaurant. Lindo told the waiter the chopsticks were too greasy and used the hot tea to clean the rice bowl. Lindo decided not to give the waiter a tip for their poor service and complained that the restroom smelled horrible.
“Soy Sauce Anyone?
Chapter “Four Directions”
1) My Reaction
I though this chapter was quite a turnaround. I was afraid that Lindo would be ashamed of Waverly for marrying to a Caucasian man. Instead, she was actually fine with him. During the dinner scene, I couldn’t stop laughing when “Rich criticized [Lindo’s] cooking, and he didn’t even know what he had done” (197). He just poured a bunch of soy cause onto the “steamed pork and preserved vegetable dish.” I could just picture that scene and laugh hard as I could. I gave this chapter a thumbs up because it was a hilarious chapter full of funny situations.
2) Lindo and Waverly
The relationship between Lindo and Waverly in this chapter was quite different from the one in the previous chapter. Lindo and Waverly only shared a special bond while Waverly was participating in the chess tournaments and practices. However, Waverly was often embarrassed by her mother while Lindo was angry at Waverly for being ashamed of her. After Waverly quit playing chess, their relationship didn’t really change much because Waverly still couldn’t understand her mother’s attitude and actions. After this chapter, there was another side to Lindo that Waverly never saw before. When Waverly was afraid that her mother would hate Rick, Lindo replied, “Hate? Why do you think I hate your future husband? (201).” Waverly was shocked that her mother for once was not against her wishes.
3) Relation to the Opening Allegory
This chapter relates to the opening allegory because this chapter is about the balance of marriage happiness. Lindo is just like the mother in the opening allegory who wants to fix her daughter’s marriage. In the opening allegory, the mother uses mirrors to balance the feng shui of the room. She wants her daughter’s marriage to be blissful. Lindo approves of Waverly’s marriage, making the room filled with pleasure. Both mothers want their daughters to be pleased.
A Bottle of Champagne – “Four Directions”
I was amazed at how quickly she was able to move on from her first husband. It shocked me when Waverly says she thought her mother ruined her first marriage with Marvin. I thought it was interesting how her Chinese zodiac animal was opposite of her mothers. Marvin seemed like a good husband at first but then Waverly believes that after Marvin met her mom, it forever changed their relationship. Despite being a pestering mother, Lindo treated her daughter with true love in this chapter. Rich seemed like a really nice guy and I hope Waverly will be happy with him in the future and everything works out for the best!
This chapter really opened up Waverly’s eyes to her mom’s heritage and background from China. In the previous chapter, “Rules of the Game”, it was a constant battle between Waverly and her mom and it still was in this chapter until the end of it. Her mother complained about every single little problem which made Waverly uncomfortable and she was scared to tell her mother about her engagement to Rich. The “fear” of her mother has been with her throughout her lifetime and started when she was a chess champion as a child. She really thought her mother was like poison. Their relationship wasn’t healthy and it was starting to affect Waverly’s personal life.
I learned a lot about Chinese traditions in this chapter. Before the dinner, Suyuan cooked with the ingredients red eggplant and shredded pork. In Chinese culture, you are suppose to take small portions instead one large portion at a time. Rich brought a bottle of French wine and unfortunately he did not know that the family did not appreciate it as much. It is also Chinese custom for the cook to make bad remarks about their own cooking and other people would praise them but Rich criticized Lindo’s cooking instead.
My life, My rules
1. Once again, a great chapter. The chapter was the easiest to understand because most of the details were dialogue or what people had actually said. It was messed up that Waverly's mom was so rude to Rich, he was just no prepared for the culture shock.
2. Waverly's mom is opposing everything Waverly has been doing in her life for a while, or so she thinks. It is really hard to understand the things that Lindo does because she tells Waverly in the end that she actually likes rich. Also it is relatable because many parents sometimes do not approve of what their children do even though it makes the child happy and does not hurt any one.
3. The tension in this chapter is intense. From the beginning of the chapter Waverly is dating Rich and can not tell her family for fear of their reactions. The first meeting between her family and Rch does not go so well because Rich was not knowledgable of the Chinese culture so Waverly's family was insulted.
1.) i really enjoyed this chapter. The conflict was easily seen, and i loved how Waverly hesitated to tell her mother about her engagement. i really enjoyed the problems Waverly faced in this chapter. It made the chapter interesting.
2.)Just like any daughter would think, Waverly believes her mother dislikes her, or in other words does not like or approve of her becuase of what had happened long ago. She thinks to much of WHAT her mother thinks, and less time trying to hang out with her. i believe what Lindo is trying to do is gain a place in Waverly's life, without being annoying. She is trying to be accepted.
3.)#6
Every where in the world everyone wants to be accepted in their mothers life, or daughters life. mothers and daughters find themselves trying to be accepted into eachothers worlds, but really what it does is bring them apart.
North, South, East, West – “Four Directions”
1. I really enjoyed this chapter because many people can relate to it. Many daughters are afraid to introduce their fiancés to their parents because of the sheer fear that their parents might not like them. No matter how much one claims that they do not care what their parents think, they are always lying.
2. Waverly and her mother only do not get along well because they do not really understand each other and where they are coming from. Waverly seems as though she is deliberately searching for the evilness in the little things that her mother says. However, Waverly’s mother only wants Waverly to actually accept her as a loving mother and not as an evil witch that is trying to ruin her life. Waverly probably sees these things because she might still have a grudge on her mother for taking a part of Waverly quitting her true passion, chess. Even though Waverly thinks that what her mother is saying is only evil, her mother is only telling the real truth and what she sees, nothing more. An example of this is when Waverly’s mother meets Waverly’s fiancé, Rich. Rich makes a horrible first impression on Waverly’s mother, giving Waverly’s mother the opportunity to speak badly about Rich. Waverly thinks that the only reason why her mother is speaking badly about Rich is because her mother wants to ruin her life.
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a number of writing techniques to improve the chapter. A writing technique that Tan uses frequently in this chapter is symbolism. One metaphor in the chapter is when Waverly says “But in the brief instant I peered over the barriers I could finally see what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in.” This is a great example of a symbol because the barriers represent the emotional walls that prevent Waverly and her mother from bonding together.
This Food Blows!
“Four Directions”
Right away, it’s easy to see that Waverly and her mom don’t get along so well, and it’s all explained when she says her mom’s a horse who’s very blunt and she’s a sensitive rabbit. When they go to Waverly’s place, you can see their relationship from this perspective, as someone who’s very direct and another who’s very sensitive. Just a few comments from her mom makes Waverly all sad, which is kind of pathetic considering that it’s been years and she still hasn’t gotten used to it or anything. The flashback to her chess-playing days just serves to remind the reader how easy Waverly is thrown off by her mother, losing her skill just after a few days. At the dinner that Waverly brings Rich to, things are a disaster. He doesn’t eat in the right style, tries fixing one of the dishes, and doesn’t even get Waverly’s parents’ names right. Finally, when Waverly decides to confront her mom, she ends up getting confused and talking things through with her mother, and things end up okay. She’s realized that her mom hasn’t meant any harm for her since the beginning, only wanting the best for her daughter like any other mom. The closing of the story definitely has a positive connotation, as Waverly contemplates spending more time with her mom in the country of her birth.
The relationship between Waverly and her mom doesn’t seem so great, but only because Waverly’s so sensitive. When she’s yelling at her mom about being mean, her mom gets surprised at how she is seen by Waverly, like an evil tyrant. It gets better though, as she sees that her mom doesn’t mean any harm and only points out the obvious.
I think this part of the story is connected to the allegory at the beginning of the chapter in that, in the allegory, the mom sees something bad for the daughter, and fixes it. Just as it is in the story, Waverly’s mom sees her life with Rich and talks to her about it, even accepting it and bringing up the possibility of a trip together. She makes everything better for Waverly, who thought everything would turn out so bad.
“It’s different now”
“Four Directions”
Reaction:
I give this chapter thumbs up. It made me change my views. Before, Waverly and Mrs. Jong aren’t on the same page and in this chapter the tense between them eases. I was indeed surprised. By this time I am starting to wonder why the daughters of the family are with Caucasian people. Usually they should be with their race because of their parents.
Waverly and Mrs. Jong:
The relationship between Waverly and her mom has changed. Waverly is afraid to tell her mom about getting married to Rich but she shouldn’t of ever been worried at all. Instead of being the mean mom that she always knew, Waverly found out that her mom turned out to be understanding when hearing the news. Waverly was in shock and so was I. their relationship grew stronger to where Waverly and her mom talk without having to bicker over what Mrs. Jong expects of Waverly.
3] The conflict in this story is external. Waverly want to her mom Lindo about Rich but is too afraid to see what she thinks. When she tells her, they try to understand each other since their views are completely different.
"West and East meets"
“Four Directions”
1. I only liked a few parts in this chapter and that’s about. It’s amusing to read about how different cultures are when Rich ate with Waverly’s family, he made so many mistakes. If you were Asian and you made the same mistakes. Rich did, you’d probably be dead by now. He was lucky the family didn’t kick his butt. That was the best part of the chapter. Besides that, I didn’t like the love affairs and the problems with it. It just didn’t catch my attention.
2. Waverly and Rich, even though they are of different cultures, love each ot5her and don’t care if anyone knows about it. The only person that might be a little secretive is Waverly, but only to her mom. Her mom acts like as if Rich isn’t worth marrying her, that’s why she’s a bit secretive. Both, however, fall victim to each other’s family’s stereotypes. Waverly is believed by Rich’s mom to be Vietnamese. This is false; she is Chinese. Then, Rich falls victim to Waverly’s mom’s stereotype. He didn’t know it was impolite to take large amounts of food before everyone has had a piece. He was even complained about drinking too much expensive wine. These two culturally different characters merge soon as husband and wife, creating a new blended culture.
3. The main conflict is the internal conflict and a little external. The external conflict concerns Waverly’s Chinese appearance. It may be a little awkward showing up to Rich’s family reunion since she’d be the only outsider from all the other white people. The internal conflict of Waverly deals with herself and her mom. It seems as though her quiet yet scheming mom is playing a game with Waverly. The mom reveals all the negatives of something and pushes Waverly into a corner, where she contemplates these flaws in Rich, or anyone for that matter. Eventually, when Waverly opens up to her mother, they come upon an understanding. Their mother and daughter relationship has mended.
1. "Over-analytical"
2. "Four Directions"
3. Quite the stereotypical Chinese-American story, this was not my favorite chapter. Although it contained an important type of conflict and the descriptions of thoughts and emotions were in-depth, it just seemed so bland at the same time. I could tell Waverly's situation was unique: a respectful Chinese girl eloping at the mere age of 18 and getting pregnant with a daughter at so young an age, as well. However, it just seemed so unreal to me.
4. Waverly and Rich claim to have this deep, passionate love for each other. Although Waverly claims her mother is making her "see black where there was once white" (199), she, on the contrary, analyzes him at the family dinner more than her mother does! If it is truly love that she feels with this man, nothing will come in the way of their desires of none more that to be together. While Waverly nitpicks at all the wrongdoings Rich displays at the dinner, Rich does not seem to make an effort in connecting with the family.
5. There were definitely flashbacks in this story, signified by the many swirly symbols Amy Tan used. It helped the story because it lets us understand the characters more and the background from which they developed from. This also creates a notion for each character and this helps the readers comprehend.
6. (d. How is this chapter connected to the allegory at the start of the section?)
This chapter relates to the opening allegory because in the beginning, Waverly hated her mother's habits of criticizing everything that is thrown her way. As she finally decides to have a real conversation with her mom, however, things turn around and feelings are poured out. In the end, Waverly is content with her mother and the two can finally be genuine with one another.
I come at you from all directions,
but there is only one true message that I'm trying to send.
“Four Directions”
1. My first reaction to this chapter was that Lindo is super picky. But I was amazed that at the age of sixty-nine, she “has the blood pressure of a sixteen-year-old and the strength of a horse”(183). That was a funny comparison.
Lindo makes it seem like living life is something bad. She told Waverly, “You want to live like mess, what can I say?”(186). I personally think living like a mess is fun. When I go to other people's houses and their rooms are perfectly clean, for some reason I find that really boring and bothersome... It really irks me, it makes me tempted to mess the neatness up.
Waverly's thing with chess reminds me of my thing with singing. “Over the next few weeks and later months and years, I continued to play, but never with that same feeling of supreme confidence... And when I lost, I was filled with growing dread, and then terror that I was no longer a prodigy, that I had lost the gift and had turned into someone quite ordinary”(190). My mother taught me lyrics to songs and got me interested in singing (as a hobby), starting when I was only three. When I was in 4th grade, all my friends who heard me told me that I was amazing at singing. But after my best friend ditched me, I think I stopped singing and when I wanted to start again in 6th grade, I thought I was horrible, so after choir in 7th grade, I never sang at all except on rare occasions (karoke, etc).
I don't think that a guy who “chased golf and tennis balls” is exactly “[running] away from family responsibilities”(192). Sports are fun, and of course it's possible to juggle your life outdoors with family responsibilities.
My own mother resembles Waverly's mother in the way that “cooking was how my mother expressed her love, her pride, her power, her proof that she knew more than Auntie Su”(195).
2. I find Lindo and Waverly's relationship really tense and misunderstanding. For example, Waverly said she'd “never known a love so pure, and I was afraid that it would become sullied by my mother”(194). Waverly even said so herself that after her “latest failure” of informing her mother about her and Rich's marriage plans, she “lay in bed, tense”(199). But sabotaging Waverly's opinions about how wonderful Rich is wasn't Lindo's intentions. “...why do you think these bad things about me? ...So you think your mother is this bad. You think I have a secret meaning. But it is you who has this meaning”(201). Lindo and Waverly really misunderstand each other.
3. I really like Amy Tan's use of similes. She described Waverly's feeling about what Lindo says as “always [coming] as a shock, exactly like an electric jolt...”(186-187). That was a really nice comparison to feelings of surprise. I also liked the way she described Rich holding up chopsticks: “He held them splayed like knock-kneed legs of an ostrich while picking up a large chunk of sauce-coated eggplant”(197). That scene was pretty funny, how Rich was so oblivious to Lindo's disapproval. Similes can really make a story more sparkly.
4. I see the conflict in this chapter as Waverly vs. herself. Her mother was playing with her, and it was up to Waverly to figure it out and shrug off her comments and not allow them to affect her own opinions. Lindo just uses “tricks. You blow from the North, South, East, and West. The other person becomes confused. They don't know which way to run”(187). In the end, I guess you can say that you have to listen to your heart. Waverly says that she “knew [her] feelings for him were vulnerable to being felled by [her] mother's suspicions, passing remarks, and innuendos”(193). It was up to herself to let that happen or not. She can let what her mother say affect her, “pulling her apart. [Her] mind was flying one way, [her] heart another. [She] sat down on the sofa next to [Lindo], the two of [them] stricken by the other” or she can not (201). The passage that really brings out the conflict of Waverly with herself was this one: “I saw what I had been fighting for: It was for me, a scared child, who had run away a long time ago to what I had imagined was a safer place. And hiding in this place, behind my invisible barriers, I knew what lay on the other side: Her side attacks. Her secret weapons. Her uncanny ability to find my weakest spots. But in the brief instant that I had peered over the barriers I could finally see what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in”(204). All Waverly had to do all along was see her mother's true intentions, understand her, and bring her into her life.
Rikki Dionisio, Period 6
1. “A Compass Won’t Help Me Now”
2. American Translation: “For Directions”
3. This chapter was refreshing to read in that there seemed to be a resolution between Lindo and her mother. After years of misunderstanding her mother Waverly finally realizes the person her mother really as. As children, we view out parents as “parents” until we are much, much older. As children and teenagers we see everything narrow mindedly and only form our point of view. Once we mature, and this could take decades, we view our parents as human beings and why they made the choices and decisions they made for us. We don’t take into account the different eras our parents lived in, or the way they were brought up.
4. The relationship between Waverly and her mother is now much closer than it was for much of Waverly’s life. When Waverly finally brings the news to her mother about her engagement Lindo tells her daughter that she had known all along. It took Waverly decades, a child, a marriage, a divorce, a engagement, maturation, and embarrassment to finally see the person her mother really is. She’s finally knocked down the cultural barrier that they had and sees her mother for the person she really is.
5. Tan uses flashbacks in this chapter. Waverly flashes back to the opening of “Rules of the Game”. The use of flashbacks definitely helps tie the chapters together.
6. The theme of this chapter, I believe, is that there are always time for second chances. It takes Waverly many attempts to finally break the news to her mother that she is engaged for the second time. She is finally rebuilding the relationship with her mother for the second time. This chapter is full of second chances and second tries.
“Moving West to reach the East.”
Four Directions
It’s strange. I’m starting to like each chapter more and more. I think it’s because it’s from the perspective of Asian American daughters, like me. That’s probably the reason why I find it more relatable. Although this chapter was different from the last and more enjoyable because it had lots of hilarious parts, all involving Rich. This chapter also ended on a happier, more hopeful note than the last. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t loathe Waverly’s mom, Lindo, as much as I thought I would. I kind of understood why she acted the way she did and I see that the only one who’s responsible for Waverly’s unhappiness is herself. Up until now, Waverly felt like she was fighting an endless battle with her mom, but it’s actually herself: “a scared child who had run away a long time ago to what [she] had imagined was a safer place” (204). I know what it’s like to be scared and not wanting to face something, but as life taught us, once you face your demons, you’ll find that it’s not as scary as you thought it was. I really liked Rich and I’m so happy that Waverly has him in her life. When I read what a great guy he was and that “he expected nothing from [her]; [her] mere existence was enough,” (193) I was thrilled that we finally get a decent husband for the girls! He seems like a swell guy, and I thought it was so funny when he tried to use chopsticks, poured lots of soy sauce onto his food, and ate more than everyone at the dinner table. I think this chapter was a little toned down in terms of its drama than the others. I was pleased that by the end, Waverly and Lindo’s relationship was raised to a new, profound level with more understanding on both parts. I laughed a lot, smiled, and went “aww” at times while reading this chapter and that was a pleasant change.
Waverly’s relationship with her mother, Lindo, has moved to a better place now, I think. It’s like this veil has been lifted from Waverly’s face and now she can see who her mom really is. She’s not some fierce warrior wielding a sword but an old woman wearing a wok and holding a knitting needle who’s waiting “patiently for her daughter to invite her in” (204). Waverly comes to realize that her mom is not the “bad guy” who schemes to maker her life miserable. Just the exact opposite. Towards the end of the chapter, her mom explains to Waverly what is inside of her, which is half of the good, honest, and sometimes bad-tempered people from her dad’s side and the smart, strong, strategic people from her mom’s side. I loved the part when Waverly thought she was thought the place in Taiyuan, China was Taiwan because obviously, Taiwan is a different country than China. And then her mom tells her she can call Taiyuan, “Bing” as a nickname like “Apple” for New York and “Frisco” for San Francisco. Waverly laughed and said, “People who call it that don’t know any better” (203). And her mom said, “Now you understand my meaning” (203). Waverly didn’t understand where her mom was coming from and didn’t know any better so she took everything her mom did the wrong way, and blamed her. I think Waverly now understands her mom a little bit better and herself.
In this chapter, Amy Tan makes use of flashbacks to compare and contrast Waverly’s relationship with her mother in the past and how it is now. It showed us what happened to the game Waverly loved to play, why she doesn’t play it anymore, what happened between her and her mom. I think Amy Tan uses it effectively to further the story at an evenly moving pace.
The main conflict in this chapter may seem to be human vs. human, but it’s actually human vs. self. Waverly faces her own fears of what her mom is going to say or do. Waverly’s friend even remarked, “You can tell the IRS to piss up a rope, but you can’t stand up to your own mother” (191). Waverly doesn’t want to tell her mom that she’s getting married to Rich because she thinks that her mom already despises him and that she disapproves of everything in her life. Ultimately, she confronts her fears when she finally reveals that her upcoming marriage to which her mother already knows and is fine with. I guess mothers always know these kinds of things. I think a message within here is one we’ve all heard before, and it’s that we always fear things we don’t understand or not familiar with. Waverly didn’t fully understand her mother; therefore she was frightened of her.
Focusing on: Four Directions
The Truth
I was entertained and sometimes bewildered by Lindo Jong's strong and sharp remarks. Despite her harshness, I was somehow able to completely understand why she said such things and what she was trying to say. Her words were real, the truth. This was especially emphasized in the scene in which Lindo was complaining out loud in the restaurant. Though some may think she was absolutely crazy, she was actually just stating harsh facts out loud. She was exposing the truth, blurting out statements that totally made sense, even if it was in an unusual and rude way. I believe that this chapter expressed the fact that "the truth hurts." Another major reaction that I had towards this chapter was annoyance. I felt this way not only towards this chapter, but towards every chapter that dealt with the adult lives of the second generation daughters. In contrast to their mothers' strong-bound marriages, their marriages seemed careless, weak, and powered by emotions, money, etc. For example, while Lindo was in a life or death situation when she ran away from her tragic arranged marriage with Tyan-yu, her daughter, Waverly was in the process of doubting her second marriage, because she started seeing flaws in Rich. Divorces seemed to be a normal, reasonable way to settle problems for the daughters, while it was an unimaginable, unheard of solution to the mothers... One scene that really made me laugh was when Waverly describes her mother as being, "an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in." My view of Lindo became slightly deformed after I read this, because it made me imagine her as being defenseless,cute in comparison to hot headed, thin.
One adjective to describe the relationship between Waverly and Shoshana is "invinsible". Even though Waverly was determined to get an abortion, she was unable to when see learned that premature babies had translucent fingers that were "clinging for life, grasping for a chance." Despite her boredom and hates toward her first husband, Marvin, Waverly was able to love and adore Shosana unconditionally because her feelings, "for [Shoshana] were inviolable."
One writing technique that Amy Tan uses in this chapter is hyperbole. An example of this is shown on p.197, when she says, "And he proceeded to pour a riverful of the salty black stuff on the platter..." Her use of hyperbole exagerrated the fact that he poured a lot of soy sauce on his plate. She also used hyperbole to emphasize the importance of this scene, which expressed that telling a proud Chinese woman that her cooking was missing something, was an unseen and horrifying thing to do.
One thing that I learned about the Chinese culture in this chapter is that it is polite to pretend that you are lacking something, and that as the second person, you have to compliment that person and pretend that what that person is saying about themself is wrong. An example of this was shown in the scene in which Rich came over to Lindo's house and said, " 'You know, all it needs is a little soy sauce,' " in response to her Chinese humbleness-filled comments of, " 'Ai! This dish not salty enough, no flavor.' " Rich was the only one who did not know what he had done wrong, suggesting that this kind of process was common only in the Chinese culture.
Brian Tat
Period 7
An Invisible Barrier Peered Through
Four Directions
Compared to the other chapters, I didn’t have much of a reaction or questions about anything in the chapter. I felt like it was really simple compared to the other chapters. In a way, it felt boring and tiring to even read the chapter. Throughout the whole chapter, it seem that Waverly doesn’t approve much of her mother’s actions or words. It’s as if she expects her mother to criticize everything she does. So from that chapter, we discover about Waverly’s chess skills and how she lost them. It’s quite interesting to find out that in an attempt to win her own “game” against her mother, she loses in different games. I think it was great that Waverly met Rich who could accept Waverly for her faults and weaknesses. When I read about how “he didn’t allow me to cover myself up,” it felt like that was true love right there. The ability to accept another person for their faults and weaknesses is hard to maintain in the presence of love. I laughed pretty hard reading that Rich poured a riverful of soy sauce down her mother’s most prized dish. It was pretty amusing to hear that Waverly’s mom never really intended to hurt Waverly or how Waverly thought that her mom liked to hurt her. Instead of a fierce warrior with swords and shields, Waverly is able to look over her invisible barriers, and discover an old woman.
I felt Waverly and Lindo’s relationship is misunderstood on both sides. This whole chapter, it felt like Waverly was going on and on about how she never felt like her mother would accept her or approve of things she did. Waverly didn’t really see how loving her mother really was until later. Since she was a child, her perspective of her mother was pretty bad. However, Lindo never really noticed this. Lindo picked at her like a fish and made Waverly seem as if she was playing a constant chess game with her mother.
Tan uses some repeated symbolism in this chapter that can also relate to “The Rules of the Game.” It makes the story more interesting, while she includes some flashbacks to explain some certain events. For example, the chapter “The Rules of the Game” ended shortly, and leaves the audience wondering, “What ever happened to Waverly?” In this chapter “Four Directions,” it is explained that Waverly is faced against her mother and she decides to quit chess as a tactic. It helps connect the storylines together and explain key events that affect the future.
I think the main conflict is Waverly’s doubts about what her mother’s feelings. She wonders how Lindo would react to the news of Rich. I believe it is internal and human vs. self. I know, because throughout the chapter, Waverly talks frequently about how her mother sees her choices—quitting chess, marrying Marvin, her hairstyle—as failures and mistakes. I think Waverly isn’t sure about her mother’s expectations and her own.
Four Directions “Unsaid Things”
1. This chapter was a bit boring but it also reminded me of some of the problems that Asians have to go through with their family if they were with somebody who isn't Asian or is an Asian. I haven't been in a relationship with anyone but my cousins have and it's funny to see how my relatives act when my cousin brings home a new boyfriend to meet the family. My aunts and uncle always chat about what they like about the guy and what they don't like. They comment on the flaws and always judge on what kind of a person he is.
Considering Waverly's past with her mother and they had a falling out when Waverly became frustrated about her mother boasting about her success at playing chess, Waverly has now abandoned that game and is afraid to argue with her mother. I think that Waverly is too scared to fight with her mother and get into a big argument because she is frightened that her mother will once again destroy and take away the thing that she thought was good before. An example of this happened with Waverly's marriage to her first husband, whom she loved until her mother started telling her little flaws about him and eventually Waverly got bored with him and soon fell out of love with him. I think that Waverly relies on what her mother has to say about her relationships and her as a person because she thinks that her mother will try to make her see the bad things about it too and turn the thing that she once loved into something that she'll hate terribly and that scares her a lot. When Waverly and Rich come to have dinner at Lindo's house I thought it was really funny how Rich was totally oblivious to the fact that the meal was a disaster during the whole time at the dinner table. He does not know Chinese table manners and takes too much food when he's not supposed to. Further more, he doesn't give a compliment to Lindo the way that he's supposed to and everyone knew what was going on except him.
2. Waverly's relationship with her mother, Lindo is pretty much like a battle and that Waverly thinks that her mother is always trying to find a way to find a flaw in things that she loves, including the guys she goes out with and turn it into something bad. However, I think that Waverly misunderstands her mothers intentions and construes Lindo's criticisms as being more aimed at herself. Lindo isn't trying to make her daughter's life miserable. I think that she wants to be assured that her Waverly's soon to be husband, Rich is able to fit in her life and that her daughter can understand and maybe appreciate her Chinese heritage and culture. Waverly and Rich decide to have their honeymoon in China and are thinking of going together with Lindo. I think that this was a big step for Waverly and Rich also of embracing Waverly's heritage side and the differences between Lindo and the couple may eventually vanish. Waverly gets to know more about Lindo's past and where she came from, and Lindo realizes that her daughter is able to make her own decisions. Once they start seeing each other as regular people and start a relationship as friends, Lindo and Waverly are finally able to see one another eye to eye and not as the typical mother and daughter rivalry.
3. I noticed that there were many of the swirly symbols in the chapter and that meant that Amy Tan used a lot of flashbacks. I liked that she used more flashbacks because it helps the reader get a sense of what kind of tension there is between Waverly and Lindo. They let you know where these characters come from and what kind of past they had, which makes the reader understand more why Waverly hates her mother a lot sometimes and get into vicious arguments with her mother.
4. I think the chapter “Four Directions” connected to the allegory because in the beginning of the story, Waverly couldn't find any common ground with her mother, Lindo because she wasn't too interested in her heritage and Chinese culture. They often fight a lot and hurt each other but when they start to see past their differences and try to learn more about each other, then they are able to stop bickering and develop a more loving relationship as friends.
“Soy Sauce Flood”
CH. Four Directions
1. I thought that this chapter was very meaningful and touching. In the beginning, Waverly felt like she was being trapped by her mom, turning her life into a treacherous chess game; however, in the end, she reconciled with her mom and they became friends once again. I am happy that Waverly finally found a guy who likes her just for herself and “didn’t allow [her] to cover [herself] up.” Even though Rich was a really nice guy and treated Waverly very fairly, unlike Harold with Lena, he lacked some Chinese courtesy. When they ate together with Waverly’s parents, he probably lost some brownie points in her mom’s eyes when he poured all that soy sauce onto her famous dish. Then, when tried to be polite and give her advice on her cooking, I could imagine what Lindo was thinking. If it was my mom, she probably would have been pretty mad and disciplined the guest that corrected her. Overall, this chapter is pretty typical and added an interesting tension in the novel.
2. I would say the relationship between Waverly and her mom has definitely gone up a level since the chapter “Rules of the Game.” From unspeakable tension between them, they actually start to understand each other better. The cultural barrier that has kept them from bonding is finally wearing down as they open up more to one another.
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses flashbacks to give us a view on how much the relationship between Waverly and Lindo has changed. It explains what happened to Waverly’s interest in chess and why that child chess prodigy side of her disappeared. Tan’s use to flashbacks in this chapter helps us to not be so confused by all the events by reminding us of what happened, we can understand the stories better.
4. From this chapter, I learned some interesting facts about Chinese culture mealtime habits. I found out that only the cook is allowed to be humble and pretend to criticize their own cooking; however, the guests always have to act courteous and compliment in return. Discriminations and corrections of the person’s cooking is never taken kindly and is considered rude.
Jane Wong
Period 6
1. Only Now You Know What You Didn't Before.
2. Four Directions
3.This chapter was mainly about a daughter not being able to break out of the shells between barriers of life. Waverly grew up with a mother that had always disapproved of her actions. She had always been afraid to come straight through to face her mother with the truths. Waverly seemed to wait every time there was news to tell her mother because she knew that her pessimistic mother would comment on how doings. I'm guessing that teenagers or even adults these days can relate to Waverly's situation because many times, we are not allowed to disobey their parents because it would only seem disrespectful. But little do they know that if they don't speak up for themselves sooner or later, they would never know what they want. Instead, they would be wasting valuable time fulfilling what their parents want them to do forever, which would soon trap themselves inside a cave with no possibilities or whatsoever. On the other hand, I thought Waverly's mother, Lindo, also had some points to herself because there must have been reasons to why she disapproved of so many of Waverly's actions. I thought maybe she had probably gone through a lot, and have gained a lot of experiences, so she just wanted Waverly to have the best. I'm assuming that Lindo has no doubt in preventing bad things from happening to Waverly, but I guess that the way she was expressing her care for Waverly came down too harsh because it didn't let Waverly see what Lindo was doing for her. I thought it was rude of how Lindo just changed the subject everytime Waverly brought up Rich because even if she seemed like she didn't want to talk about himat all, she should have said so, instead of avoiding the subject everytime. There are no questions that came to my mind because the answers were unfolded near the end.
4. The character relationship would no doubt, be between Waverly and her mother Lindo. Their relationship would be described as misunderstood. Throughout Waverly's life, her mother has always told her what to do as in telling him what's wrong and what's not. Apparently Waverly has felt as though it was Lindo living Waverly's life, and not herself. When Waverly thought back about her chess tournaments, she thought about how her mother would always try to take credit for something she did, when it was really Waverly that had won and brought back the victories. It was only then when she knew that her mother had just wanted the best for her and to not make a mistake in doing something wrong. Waverly realized that Marvin, her first husband wasn't the one for her, after her mother said all those negative things. It was clear to the reader that she was just afraid that her mother would make her realize that Rich wasn't the one for her either and that he had much more flaws to him than what Waverly thought when she first met him. However, this relationship between Waverly and Lindo became very unbalanced when Waverly realized that she was always too scared to confront her own mother in what she wanted for herself for once.
5. Amy Tan uses a flashback when she brings Waverly back into the time where she decides to quit Chess. Before, Waverly gets sick of playing chess while her mother continuously brags about Waverly to her neighbors. This whole scene talks about how Waverly thinks that if she quits chess, maybe her mother would stop nagging and bragging about her. But when she does quit, she finds out that her mother tells her that it isn't easy to just quit something and go back when you feel like it, which somewhat brings up their own mother-daughter relationship. "I actually believed that I had made the white squares black and the black squares white, and everything would be all right. And sure enough, I won her back" (189). This shows that she was trying hard to win her mother back when her mother came off strong and cold, saying that it didn't matter if Waverly will play again because nothing was as easy as it seemed.
6. a. The theme of this chapter is that you cannot always hide from the goals you want to chase after. It isn't possible to pursue any kind of dream that you have if you do not decide to make a move to go after it. Even thought here may be difficulties in between what you're looking for, every obstacle has an opportunity in between. You just have to grab ahold of it and not let it slip by. Facing your fears and then confronting what you want is the number one thing in reaching success.
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My Crazy Mother
Four Directions
1)I thought that Lindo was annoying during lunch. She does not want any germs on her at all. I thought it was funny how Amy Tan explains Lindo, a sixty-nine year old, having the blood pressure of a sixteen-year-old and the strength of a horse. It was funny how Waverly quits chess just to get her mother’s attention, yet Lindo ignores her. Then she tries to get her attention by trying to play again, but she fails until she becomes sick then gets her mother’s attention. This was just a funny chapter.
2)Lindo and Waverly’s relationship is unbalanced. There is something wrong with something in their relationship because they do not talk very much and when they do, Lindo always brings up things that are either a complaint or something she doesn’t like. Like how Lindo complains at the restaurant when Waverly was trying to get them both together because it has been awhile. Sometimes she becomes annoying, but Waverly puts up with this some how. Lindo is always talking about things she does not like and is so careful about what she comes exposed to because she hates germs. She brings tissue papers to public bathrooms because she could not trust the toilet papers there.
3)I think this would be Man vs. Man conflict because Waverly has to go against her mother. In chess they would get into arguments and thing like that. So they always have disagreements.
Tiffany Vuong
6th period
1. “A Settled Battle”
2. “Four Directions”
3. Waverly has been fighting a battle with her mom basically all her life. I know she is getting tired of it because every time she tries to get her mom to say something nice about her relationships or her accomplishments in life she is always let down. It makes me heartbroken to know how typical Waverly’s mother is. In the real world daughters of a mom similar to Lindo don’t simply continue battling, they possibly take it to the extent they start physically hurting themselves. The thought of never being enough for your own mother gradually continues to pop in their minds. Waverly thought she was being clever and sneaky when she thought of those little plans to make her mom notice she quit chess for a while, but she never did; continuing the thought of failure.
4. Waverly and her mother’s relationship is finally settling. The fact that Waverly has a part of her that wants Lindo to go on the honeymoon to China with them means finally the battle is over. For Lindo to finally say its fine for the two of them to go on their own, even though Lindo surely wants to join, she refuses Rich’s offer to come. That shows Lindo is really respecting Waverly’s plans and choices.
5. In this chapter Amy Tan uses symbolism. The name of the restaurant “Four Directions” represents the game of chess leading to the relationship between Waverly and her mother. The game Waverly and her mother had been battling almost all Waverly’s life. The strategy Lindo thinks is the best way to play chess is literally how she won the battle between Waverly. “You don’t have to be so smart to win chess. It is just tricks. You blow from the North, South, East, and West. The other person becomes confuse. They don’t know which way to run (187).” She made Waverly so confused on what to do in life to be her prodigy, Waverly doesn’t know what to do anymore.
6. Helplessly, Waverly tries to win her mother’s approval of Rich. I feel sorry for Waverly because her mom doesn’t understand her. And she's been fighting this battle of understanding with her mom since she was around 13 or 14 years old. For her to still be trying to win her mother’s affection shows that she really loves her and respects the opinion of her mother.
1. “Maybe You’re Not That Bad After All..”
2. Four Directions
3. I could really relate to this chapter because from the way Waverly describes her relationship with her mother. Suyuan still follows her old fashioned morals and ways that she grew up with from China. It seems like Suyuan is really greedy though, everything for her always has to be more,more,more! Nothing is ever enough, she always wanted Waverly to win her chess games with MORE pieces, and she criticized Waverly’s gift from her lover as having TOO short fur, even though the mink fur was really rare and considered a special gift. She was never content with what Waverly already had. It reminded me of my parents because they never seem to be happy with I am already either! They always complain that I’m not working hard enough or I’m not spending enough time to study, even if I have good grades. Anyway, Waverly had to break the news to her mother that she was getting married with Rich. Knowing how picky her mother can be, Waverly was really scared to tell her and have her get upset. She tries to let her mom get acquainted with Rich, but the attempt failed. Rich didn’t have the manners Suyuan would’ve liked to see, and wasn’t the perfect man either. After the embarrassing dinner, I think Waverly freaked out a bit too much. It was the one time her mother didn’t overcrticize someone and Waverly over thought it. It was a little confusing when she cried to her mother randomly and her mother all of a sudden changed personalities. I think her mother always had this caring side in her, it just never had a chance to be shown because there were too many things to worry about in life, and there was no time for her to show vulnerability. So I’m guessing at the end, Waverly was able to get married and go off on the honeymoon with Rich! Did Suyuan go too? What a trip that would’ve been! It was a pretty straightforward chapter though, there wasn’t anything that confused me too much.
4. The relationship between Waverly and Rich can be described as a strong admiration. Waverly had just recently gotten a divorce with her first husband, and here is Rich, the new fiancé, ready to take on the responsibilities of living with Waverly for the rest of his life. He was a great man, a sweet generous person. He knew what he was doing, and was sure he was making the right decision. Waverly already had a daughter with her first husband, Shoshana. She was an accident, but Waverly loved her. To Waverly this child was perfect, and with Rich, she trusted that they could be a happy family. Rich never asked Waverly for anything, but her love. In this way, Waverly didn’t need to put too much effort in trying to impress Rich, and Rich didn’t care about anything but Waverly. When he meets Waverly’s parents, he really needed to impress them, but he failed without knowing. He thought it was a success so he continued to keep his happy disposition. He sticks with her through thick and thin, and even though Waverly’s mother is a bit harsh and weird, he doesn’t let that get in the way of the love he shares with Waverly. The two get married later on, and probably live happy lives, disregarding the obstacles that get in the way.
5. Amy Tan uses the technique of flashback in this chapter. After telling about what Waverly’s present day life was like, she switches back to the past to the days of her championship in chess. She shows us the aftermath of what had happened to Waverly after the tantrum she threw at her mother. Apparently we see that she gives up chess for a while, thinking that it would scare her mother. More of the animosity between the two is shown within the history, so that now we are able to get a better understanding of what the two may be going through right now. When Waverly talks about the fear of her mother, we are given a clearer picture of why it’s like this.
6. The conflict in this chapter is man vs. man in the case that Waverly wants to battle with her mother. Her mother is still the strong force that overpowers her into making her think everything “white” into “black” or in other words, everything innocent into something with evils. Waverly is afraid to upset her mother, and keep her discontent so she doesn’t open up to her mother. When Waverly needs to tell her mother that she was marrying Rich, she was scared her mother would ruin her relationship with him. So in turn, she puts it off, and tries to break the news to her mother in a different way. In the end, she runs back to her mother and cries, to let out all the emotions that she’s been hiding all along. The two have mother daughter bonding time, and neither one wins the battle. Both sides of weakness and strength, and instead of defeating each other, they become allies.
From the West to the East, the End to the Beginning
Four Directions
1. When Waverly brought her mother out to eat and her mother had made it horrible for the waiter, I laughed. It was almost like my family. My mom likes to wash out her utensils in tea as well. I laughed even more when Waverly said, “I don’t know if it’s explicitly stated in the law, but you can’t ever tell a Chinese mother to shut up. You could be charged as an accessory to your own murder”(191). This is perfectly true. In my entire life, I had never ever spoken rudely to my mother and gotten away with it before. I had gotten away with it with my dad, but not my mom. I’ve seen what happens when someone speaks rudely to my mother because my brother does it a lot, and what happens is NOT very appealing to me. When Rich was eating at Waverly’s parents house, it was very funny to read. Rich had done everything that is proper in American tradition, which, coincidentally, is everything wrong in Chinese tradition. And, to make things worse for Waverly, he had criticized her mother’s famous steamed pork and vegetable dish and pours soy sauce all over it. When Rich called Waverly’s parents by the wrong name, I really had to laugh. Poor Waverly was probably thinking that her parents would hate Rich for the rest of their lives because he was so impolite as to call them by their names, something that is definitely not tolerable in Chinese tradition.
2. Waverly and her relationship with her mother is very weird. Waverly thinks that her mother is poisoning everything that she ever sees in a good light. Her mother makes her see “black where there was once white” and “white where there was once black.” Waverly feels that whatever her mother says has a hidden meaning, a meaning that will make her feel that whatever she loves it dark, and horrid. However, her mother feels that she is only pointing things out to her, and has no other meaning.
3. Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter. Four Directions symbolizes the chess match that Waverly and her mother have been battling for almost all of Waverly’s life. Waverly’s mother causes her to see white where there was once black and vice versa. Lindo blows from the four directions, confusing Waverly, therefore she has the advantage in their battle.
4. In this chapter, a lot about Chinese culture is revealed. Chinese people are proud, but modest. So if they are proud of something they create, they criticize it, hoping to have other people compliment it. Also, when eating, you are not supposed to take large helpings, but little helpings, but many servings, to show that you are polite. In Chinese culture, you definitely do not call your elders by their names, unless you wish to be thought of as highly disrespectful.
That Isn’t What I Meant…
Four Directions
1. When I read the chapter title, I immediately thought of the words Lindo kept repeating when Waverly was a chess champion; “strongest wind cannot be seen.” I remembered how she was talking about the wind coming from all directions to help you win. There was more of her stereotypical Chinese pickiness; about how nothing was clean enough and everything is wrong. Then there was the comparison of her health to a horse and her blood pressure to a sixteen year old, which was kind of funny. It was nice to see more about Lindo, but a lot of her personality kind of bugged me. She always found something to pick at; Waverly’s house was messy, her fiancé isn’t as attuned to Chinese culture, who cares! It wasn’t like Lindo had to live that life, and if Waverly was happy with her messy home and oblivious man, who was her mom to tell her different. I did like how she explained cooking though, “cooking was how my mother expressed her love, her pride, her power, her proof that she knew more than Auntie Su” (195). It reminds me of most of my family. I think everyone in my family cooks, and we all love it. We can experiment, and if it tastes bad, we don’t even care, we just try again later.
2. Waverly’s relationship with her mom is almost the complete opposite of Lena and Ying-ying’s. Lena and Ying-ying have a somewhat good relationship. They understand each other a lot more than Waverly and Lindo. Waverly thinks everything her mother says is a criticism against her, but really she’s the one who’s putting these negative thoughts into her mother’s words.
3. There’s similes used to describe Lindo and what she does; “always [coming] as a shock, exactly like an electric jolt...” (186-187). There were also helpful flashbacks to explain more about how the Jong women had progressed. The first flashback tells us about how Waverly got back against her mother’s gloating about her chess prodigy. She refused to play chess, and then she thought she lost her abilities, because when she played again, she thought “that [she] was no longer a prodigy, that [she] had lost the gift and had turned into someone quite ordinary”(190). This character development helped me understand how Waverly thought and showed how she reacted to her mother’s actions.
4. I think the main conflict in this chapter is between Waverly and what she thought her mom meant with all her criticism. Waverly noticed that everything her mom said was about something in her life and she assumed the worst, but when she confronted Lindo about it, she found out she had been wrong all along. Lindo only said the criticisms, she hadn’t meant anything negative with them, but because Waverly was insecure and misunderstood her, there was a big problem in their story.
1. “You blow from the North, South, East, and West.”
2. Four directions
3. I thought this chapter was very funny. I was pulled into it from the beginning when Waverly takes her mother to a Chinese restaurant to eat and the mother complains about the things, from the greasy, cold food to the stinky bathroom. However, my favorite part was when Rich made a fool out of himself at the dinner. Waverly’s mother was trying to be modest when she said that her dish was not very good and wanted someone else to praise it. Instead, Rich replies by saying that “all it needs is a little soy sauce” (197) and pours down several servings onto his plate. This scene was very hilarious and I couldn’t help myself from laughing out loud. It was even funnier when they got home and Rich thought that he did a pretty good job. I really enjoyed this chapter and I give it two thumbs up!
4. Amy Tan used flashback in this chapter to reveal the changes that occurred between Waverly and her mother, Lindo. The chapter “Rules of the Game” left the reader with many unanswered questions. However after telling the reader about Waverly’s present life in this vignette, Tan goes back to the past and explains why Waverly lost her interest in chess to disclose the mystery that led to the downfall of the potent child prodigy. Tan used flashback to remind us what had happened and encloses situations that probably left us confused. It helps her audience stay on track and provide an enhanced understanding of the story.
5. The relationship between Waverly and Lindo can be described as misunderstood. Waverly thinks that her mother is trying to spread poison into her life. She believes that her mother always has a “secret meaning” (201) behind everything she does. Her mother makes her “see black where [she] once saw white…[and felt as if she] always became [a] pawn [in her mother’s hand]” (199). When Lindo criticizes her daughter about something, Waverly misunderstands Lindo’s intentions and thinks that she is trying to make her life miserable. However, Lindo feels that she is only trying to point out things and it is Waverly who takes things into other directions. It is not until the end that Waverly finds out how much her mother loves her and realizes the misinterpretation she had against her mother.
6. I learned a lot of interesting facts about Chinese culture from this chapter. I found that it is courteous if you take a small serving of each dish; you show appreciation of the food if you eat a lot of it; guests should always compliment the food in return; and in a typical Chinese dinner, wine is not often shared. Also a correction on a person’s cooking is disrespectful and is often considered offensive.
1. Too Salty
2. Four Directions
3. I found this chapter actually quite funny. I thought it was amusing how Waverly’s mother found something to complain about every time she meets her daughter; sometimes with negative effects. When Waverly proudly showed her mother her new mink coat, her mother complained that the fur was not good enough. Immediately, Waverly started to see the defects in the coat while stating how easy it was for her mother to change her opinions.
4. Amy Tan uses flashbacks in this chapter. The chapter starts out with Waverly talking about her relationship with her mother. Then it flashes back to tell us about the time she quit chess. Waverly and her mother did not talk to each other for a week until Waverly became sick. Her mother became kind a took care of Waverly until she was well. When Waverly decided to quit chess, no one, not even her mother, protested. This flashback tells us that Waverly and her mother did not always fight. In this one instance, Waverly’s mother actually understood how Waverly felt.
5. Waverly feels that many of her mother’s comments hurt her. As a lawyer, she is able to stand up to many things, but as a daughter, she is not able to stand up to her mother. When Waverly finally decides to tell her mother that she is getting married, they finally become friends. Waverly tries to understand her mother’s past, and Waverly’s mother acknowledges that she can make her own decisions.
6. When Waverly brought along Rich to a Chinese dinner, Rich was not able to understand many of the complex Chinese customs of eating. To the Chinese people, food is a very important part of their culture. Therefore it is crucial to compliment to chef after a good meal. Instead, Rick insults the chef and goes on to alter the dish by pouring soy sauce all over it. This is very disrespectful, not only in Chinese culture, but probably in all cultures around the world.
Kimmy Tran
Period 6
1. An Imaginary Battle between the Queen and the Pawn
2. Four Directions
3. I liked this chapter because I thought that it was more entertaining than Waverly’s last chapter “Rules of the Game.” I thought Lindo’s behavior at the restaurant was hilarious especially the part where Waverly gives the waiter a tip and the exchange empathetic glances. I thought that the dialogue for this chapter was also very witty. Another part that I thought was funny was when Rich came over for dinner with Waverly’s parents and it turned out to be such a disaster but Rich still thought it went great. I was a little annoyed when he criticized Lindo for her accent though.
I thought it was sad how Waverly kept on trying to get her mother’s appreciation and kept thinking that Lindo wouldn’t be satisfied with the outcome of her life. She kept trying to play a battle that only existed in her mind. It was irritating how she constantly thought of her mother as an “opponent” and that she was making her see bad things where she thought good while all along her mother was just being her mom. It was actually her fault that she saw “black where she once saw white” (199).
4. I would describe the relationship between Waverly and her mother as a misunderstanding. Waverly thought that she had been fighting a battle between her mother but she had only been fighting with herself. A scene that demonstrates this is when Waverly thinks to herself about the “battle” between them. She thinks to herself about her mother and how she thought she had “secret weapons” and “the ability to find [her] weakest spots” but now she realizes “what was really there: an old woman” (204). She means that the person who she thought was her mortal enemy and was supposed to always fight with was just her mother and she was only supposed to treat her like a mom.
4. This chapter uses a flashback to demonstrate what happened to Waverly and her chess tournaments. This helps the reader understand the plot more and how Lindo’s encouragement of Waverly’s talent was important to her wins. Throughout the flashback, Waverly’s confidence has fallen and she keeps losing which is the direct outcome from Lindo no longer “having concern” for her. The reader can see from the flashback the irony of the situation and how important a mother’s reassurance can be.
6. (b. What is the main conflict in the chapter?)
The main conflict of this chapter is internal (human vs. self). Although the main character in the chapter keeps thinking that its actually her vs. her mother, it is her vs herself. I could tell because there is not as much text in the chapter that has her mother doing something as her thoughts and worries about her mother and Rich. She is mainly making it more complicated for herself and has too many thoughts in her head. In the end of the chapter though, she realizes that she had only been fighting for herself or rather, against herself.
1) Frisco for San Francisco
2) American Translation “Waverly Jong: Four Directions”
3) This chapter was very interesting for its ironic outcome. I would have thought that Waverly’s mom would never approve of her marrying someone who wasn’t Chinese just like she did. I could imagine someone in my family… my auntie for example, would shake her finger at her child and say, “Aii-ya, you no marry someone that’s no Chinese, no good, no good…” and then she would vigorously wash the dishes, all the while stubbornly mumbling to herself, “no no no no no.” Annoying, yet typical. It wasn’t till near the end of the chapter, that we (the readers) realize that we have mistaken Lindo.
I thought that it was really sad how she purposely stopped playing chess to get back at her mother, and when she finally went back to playing, she could remember anything. I felt sorry for her because although she said some horrible things, they were really only directed at her mother and she really did like playing chess. After all, she tried to teach herself to play and learned tricks from her dedication to go out and play chess with the old(er) gentlemen in the park, as we read on the last chapter concerning Waverly Jong. Waverly claimed that, “[she] examined every move, every piece, every square. And [she]could no longer see the secret weapons of each piece, the magic within the intersection of each square,” (190). She ended up hurting herself and in the end, she forfeited and “stopped playing chess altogether,” (190).
Marlene was a character who really annoyed me. Ai-ya, she knew nothing; her advice to Waverly was so stupid! I was really angry when she told Waverly to tell her mother “to stop ruining [her] life,” and “to shut up,” (191). Marlene was bad influence with the words that came out of her mouth; luckily, Waverly understood that “you can’t ever tell a Chinese mother to shut up,” (191). Still, Chinese mothers aren’t the only exception because every mother should deserve the same respect… Shut up? It’s a pretty harsh thing to say… especially to your mom. As for Marlene, she doesn’t know that Lindo has gone through, and yet, she tells, Lindo’s own daughter to tell her to shut up.
I felt sorry for Rich after his first meeting with Waverly’s parents, but it was kind of funny how he “obviously had had a different opinion on how the evening had gone,” (198) because if it were a test (to eat a perfect dinner with totally Asian parents), he failed with an F - -.
4) There is an interesting relationship between Waverly and her mother. I would describe it as “misunderstanding”. The mother and daughter don’t seem to apprehend each other’s meanings as much as they should. Lindo often brings up complaints and she changes the subject whenever her daughter tries to tell her about Rich. Although she doesn’t mean to do so, it causes conflict. Waverly on the other hand, seems to seize those opportunities to make accusations instead of taking time to talk to her mother about it and ask why she does what she does. Lindo has had ways to cause her daughter to change her mind about things. Like the fact that she when she “had had her say” (192) about Waverly’s first married husband, Waverly began to see truths that she either failed to recognize or just didn’t want to pay any attention to. In other words, the fact that Lindo was able to cause Waverly to doubt and “see black where [she] once saw white,” (199), caused Waverly to be extra cautious about certain things and keep them in her mind ahead of time.
5) The most significant writing technique that Amy Tan used in this chapter was a series of flashbacks. She used a flashback to tell about how she came to quit chess and although it wasn’t really a flashback, she remembered her first marriage with Marvin Chen. What these flashbacks did to improve the story was that they were informative. The fact that she gave up chess explained why she was where she was. The incident with Marvin informed us, the readers, about why she made accusations toward her mother about altering what she thought.
6) (a. What is the theme or life lesson in this chapter and which line or scene reveals this?)
I think that the theme or universal truth that was hinted at in this chapter is that your parents always want whats best for you, but they also want you to be happy. There really isn’t a specific line that reveals this, but the scene could be the whole last one where Waverly went to her parent’s house to finally tell her mother that she and Rich were going to get married (no matter what). Her mother told her that she already knew that they were going to get married even before Waverly said anything and though Waverly thought that her mother would oppose, she was wrong for Lindo knew that Waverly loved Rich. I personally think that Lindo wanted Waverly to be happy, and if getting married to Rich would carry that wish out, she could abide by it. It shows the love of a mother.
1. No direction
2. Four Directions
3. After all of the depressing and horrible stories, Four Directions is the only story that ends on a happy note. And surprisingly, that is the key reason why I don’t like it. Amy Tan is great at writing dark and cruel vignettes that create a bitter reality. Her attempt at happiness made it all too cheesy and cliché. It’s as if all of the devastation she writes is what makes it so good. The moral didn’t hit me as much as the more dramatic chapters. This one was toned down. I didn’t’ quite get the significance of the restaurant they were dining in being “Four Directions”. I understand how her mother’s tactics are to distract and confuse people from the North, South, East, and West but what does this restaurant in particular have to do with that?
4. Waverly and her mother’s relationship can be described as misunderstood and challenging. Waverly misinterprets her mother’s actions and words for torture while her mother only sees it as the truth. They both challenge one another in a silent battle of words. Waverly brings her mother to her place in attempt to gain acceptance from her mother, but she simply changes the subject on every occasion she is faced with the truth of Waverly’s marriage.
5. Amy tan uses comparisons in Four Directions to create a better image or understanding of the text. She describes the denying look of her mother similar to her face when her brother received a shot, and later saying it would not hurt as much. This comparison gives a more vivid understanding of her expression, giving greater detail to the story.
6. In Four Directions, I learned of Chinese Culture from their dining etiquette in the chapter. I felt much sorrow for Rich because I would be in the same position as him had I been in the same situation. Chinese have this reverse psychology when it comes to eating. Don’t attempt to use chopsticks if you clearly don’t know how to. When the cook insults her own cooking, compliment it. When asked for seconds, server yourself more. The usual common courtesies are disregarded in Chinese culture.
Friend of Foe?
Four Directions
1) It’s interesting how each one of these chapters stands by itself, but is tied to many of the chapters before and after it. In fact, this tying together makes all the chapters better. This chapter is more heavily tied to its predecessor, The Rules of the Game then the Rice Husband was. But, all these chapters seem to be tied together. All of the husbands do not seem to understand the women, or their mothers. In this book, Rich didn’t understand the customs or the things he was supposed to do or say. As a result, he believes he did well for a first impression while Waverly thinks her mother will shoot down all her “false” images of him. I also agree with many of the feelings Waverly has about her mom. She blames her mom for stealing her chess ability, and for ruining her first marriage by shooting holes in her perfect image. I can really see why she thinks these things about her mom. Its also interesting that Waverly need to see her mother defenseless and asleep to see who she truly was. All this time, Waverly was thinking that her mother was out to get her and that her mother knew everything. But, when Waverly saw her asleep, she saw that her mother was “an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in.”
2) Waverly and her Mom. Clouded. Just like what we saw at the end of The Rules of the Game, Waverly is locked in a mother vs. daughter relationship. Despite the fact that more then fifteen years have gone by, Waverly still believed that her mother was out to get her and ruin her life. In reality, her mom simply did not understand Waverly and didn’t realize that Waverly was fighting against her. In the end, Waverly realized that her mother wasn’t fighting her, Waverly just didn’t understand her and she didn’t understand Waverly. That’s the thread they are building at the end of this chapter, and that’s why they are all going back to China together.
3) One of the writing techniques Amy Tam uses in this chapter is the flashback, where she looks at previous events from The Rules of the Game and from Waverly’s life afterwards. This helps add character to Waverly and a sense of change. It also lets us see how Waverly has been influenced by her mother and gives the current conflict more presence.
4) The main conflict in this chapter is internal. It is Waverly wrestling with her mom and her feelings for her. I think Waverly does realize that her mom really is not fighting her, but the idea is so against what Waverly has believed that she does not accept it. Only at the end, when her mother tells her, straight out, that she always knew Waverly was getting married. I think this is also telling Waverly that she really did not understand her mom and what her mom knew. So, this spurred Waverly to try to find out more about her mom.
1. “Honeymoon to China”
2. “Four Directions”
3. I love how Waverly Jong relates everything that happens to chess games. “…I always became the pawn. I could only run away. And she was the queen, able to run in all directions, relentless in her pursuit, always able to find all my weak spots” Waverly Jong had despaired when her mother began to make her annoyed at her fiancé (199). I find it slightly irritating how her mother; like most of the other mothers in this book; never find anything good about people and can only criticize. Why can’t they ever find anything good about things?
4. The relationship between Waverly and Rich can be described as intoxicating young love. ‘“FYI – Forever You & I’” Rich posted on legal documents for Waverly (193). Since their company didn’t know about their relationship, it was somewhat dangerous to post such things on legal documents.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan used flashbacks. She began with Waverly Jong taking her mother out to lunch at her favorite restaurant and house, then flashbacked to when she was fourteen and quit playing chess. Then, she went back to the present introducing Rich to her parents.
6. b. The main conflict in this chapter is external. It is human vs. human because Waverly Jong always puts herself against her mother. When Waverly was younger, she was in a fight with her mother; causing her mother to not care about her for awhile. Desperately trying to get her attention, Waverly quit playing chess for awhile, and refused to go to tournaments. Still, her mother paid no attention. Eventually, “…[she] won her back. That night, [she] developed a high fever, and [her mother] sat next to [her] bed, scolding [her] for going to school without [her] sweater” (189). Seeing everything as a chess game, Waverly had always been the white chess player, and her mother had always been the black chess player.
1. I Fold.
2. "Four Directions"
3. I really enjoyed reading this chapter because it gave me a comforting sense of resolution. I was touched when Waverly and her mother made up in the end. This chapter was refreshing because it was a lot simpler than than the other chapters; it was less abstract in the way Tan arranged the stories. I can relate with Waverly and her feelings towards her mom because it reflects my own feelings with my mom. Lindo always found the faults in everything and she seemed to always be in a negative mood. That's my mom, basically. My own mother likes to look at the darker side of things and she constantly looks at the glass as half-empty.
4. Waverly and her mother. Their relationship can be described as a huge misunderstanding (as it was in "Rules of the Game"). Waverly always believed that her mother is trying to get the best of her, or is always trying to oppose her ideas. When Lindo first met Rich, he mad a horrible first impression at the dinner table and that gives Lindo a chance to speak the truth about his actions, Unfortunately, the truth doesn't always have to be nice. Waverly belived that her mother was only criticizing Rich because her mother only wanted to ruin her life. In actuality, Waverly's mother only spoke what was on her mind and she tried to help Waverly.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses flashbacks. She used flashbacks to travel back to Waverly's chess-playing childhood and then to the time when she decided to quit chess. The flashbacks helped me understand Waverly better and it helped me understand why Waverly contained such a grudge against her mother.
6. This chapter relates to the opening allegory because it contains the came concept. In the opening allegory, the mother hung a second mirror in her daughter's bedroom to ensure that the daughter would have a lucky marriage. Just like the mother in the allegory, Lindo wanted Waverly to have a good marriage and she wanted to make sure that Waverly picked the right husband. However, both the daughters (from the allegory and Waverly) do not appreciate their mother's actions. the daughter in the allegory grew angry and irritated because she believed that her mother was trying to restrict her. Waverly, also, believed that Lindo was trying to rule her life and she thought that her mother was trying to sabotage her marriage.
1. What is on the Other Side?
2. Four Directions
3. I thought this chapter was funny. Some of the stereotypes are so true. It was funny when her mom would wash the utensils in tea because most Asian people do that. It made me cringe when Rich and Waverly Jong were having dinner with Waverly’s family. Rich was doing everything that was proper in American tradition but is the opposite in Chinese tradition. It was amusing how he thought that everything he was doing was right but he was actually insulting them. I felt really bad for Waverly because once again, her mother was winning. It was also really funny when he mispronounced her parent’s names. When they arrived home, Waverly tells him that he doesn’t understand his mother and he responds, “…you can say that again. Her English was so bad (198). He thought that the dinner went great but he is completely blind as to how terrible it was for Waverly.
4. The relationship between Waverly and her mother is still an invisible battle that Waverly feels that she could never win. Finally, Waverly musters up enough courage and frustration to go to her mother’s house and tell her what is going on. When she arrives though, she sees her mother collapsed and dead but actually she was just sleeping. She gets scared and sees her mother in another light. Her mother looked so innocent like a child. Her mother reveals that she knew that her daughter was going to get married all along but Waverly is shocked. When they sit down and have a normal conversation without fighting, her mother says, “Now you understand my meaning (204)”. It is then that Waverly realizes that her mother doesn’t mean harm and that the things she says never are intentionally to hurt her. What was over the barrier was just a mother waiting for her daughter to invite her in.
5. Amy Tan uses flashbacks in this chapter. She shows what happened with Waverly and her chess tournaments. Once Waverly lost her mother’s concern and encouragement, she also started to lose her chess tournaments. It shows that she needs her mother and her reassurance.
6. I learned more about Chinese culture in this chapter. One thing is that a Chinese daughter should never do is talk back to her mother. That is extremely disrespectful. Also, Chinese tradition is almost opposite of American tradition. It is actually polite to eat more to show that the food is good. Chinese people take pride in their cooking. Eating a lot of small servings is good. Also, you never greet elders by their first name or you will be seen as highly disrespectful.
1. “The Importance of Table Manners”
2. AMERICAN TRANSLATION: “WAVERLY JONG: Four Directions”
3. I really enjoyed reading this chapter. It is somewhat funny how Lindo is straight to the point and says everything that’s on her mind. She doesn’t hold back and bottle up her emotions, and even though she might hurt other people’s feelings, she tells the truth instead of lying. I laughed at the part where Waverly told Lindo that freckles were good luck and Lindo responded by telling Waverly about the chicken pox she had when she was young. It seems that Lindo always wins in her conversations and arguments with Waverly and that’s why she doesn’t really have a tight bond with Waverly. It was also a very funny moment how Rich’s table manners were rude. Rich drank more, ate big portions instead of little spoonfuls, and pouring soy sauce on Lindo’s cooking was very rude indeed. This was the only time Lindo didn’t speak up. Usually, she would critisize people of not behaving but for some reason, she allowed Rich to act that way, maybe because she knew he was different and Waverly liked him. I felt that Waverly and Rich’s relationship was the complete opposite with Lena and Harold’s marriage. Rich loves and cares for Waverly and they don’t account for everything. Rich is very thoughtful while Harold worries about money. Waverly and Rich have the same job but that did not ruin their relationship. It is clear that Waverly’s relationship is differs completely with Lena’s. It was also funny how Waverly mistook the Taiyuan in China to be the country Taiwan. This chapter was funny compared to the ones before, so I had a wonderful time reading.
4. Lindo and Waverly’s relationship can be described as growing. Lindo is very honest about what she feels and her emotions. When she had lunch with Waverly, she spoke her mind about how the food was too greasy and how the bathroom stunk. Waverly, on the other hand is sensitive and has to take in everything her mother’s criticism. Lindo and Waverly didn’t really get each other back when Waverly was chess champion. Waverly bottled up her feelings and couldn’t really open up to her mother. Now that she is grown up and wants to marry Rich, she stood up and got to know her mother more. After Lindo and Waverly’s conversation, they appreciate each other more.
5. Amy Tan uses flashbacks in this chapter. Waverly reminisces back to her childhood days after we get a sense of what her relationship with her mother is. She talks about how her mother reacted after she said she gave up chess. Waverly felt that her mother changed and she didn’t play the same as before. Lindo said that it wasn’t so easy anymore about playing and then suddenly stopping to play once again. Waverly’s flashbacks shows us how her relationship with her mother didn’t really change and that her mother’s actions wounded her. It helps us understand how Lindo and Waverly’s relationship changed.
6. I learned more about Chinese culture throughout this chapter. A child can never tell their Chinese mother to shut up because it can be considered a crime. Table manners are very important. As a guest, a person should take little helpings so they can have seconds, thirds, and even fourths. A person should also compliment the cook instead of criticizing the food. It is very disrespectful if a person does not follow these simple rules.
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1. Visible Secrets
2. Four Directions
3. I liked this chapter because my favorite character, Waverly Jong, overcame the cultural barrier between the Americans and the Chinese. It kind of annoyed me when Lindo Jong kept on complaining about things that were mean or unimportant, such as the slightly greasy bowls at the restaurant. Waverly made it pretty obvious that Rich was living her in her apartment. I wondered why Lindo never commented on it. It was kind of sad when Waverly’s mom stopped dropping by after Waverly suggested Lindo call before she dropped by. During the flashback, I thought it was funny how stubborn Waverly and her mother were being when Waverly decided she didn’t want to play chess for a while. That scene reminded me of myself because I can be extremely stubborn sometimes, courtesy of my parents. I thought this Tan was pushing Chinese stereotype when she had Waverly tell another character that you can never tell a Chinese mother to shut up. I thought Rich acted pretty rude during his dinner with Waverly and her family. Some of the things he did just wasn’t polite and, in my opinion, against common sense. I was glad that Lindo accepted Waverly and Rich’s marriage in the end of the chapter.
4. I think the relationship between Waverly and her mother is misunderstood. Lindo and Waverly both don’t understand each other, so they end up in a never ending battle with each other. Waverly always believed her mom had the “secret weapons” and an “uncanny ability to find [her] weakest spots” (204).
5. In this chapter, Tan used a flashback to give more depth and personality to Waverly and Lindo Jong. In the flashback, Waverly got angry at Lindo for always showing off Waverly’s chess playing talent. One day, Waverly snapped at her mother in public and stopped playing chess for a while, which spurred a silent battle between the two. It showed the reader that both characters are very stubborn when it comes to their beliefs.
6. In this chapter, I learned a lot about Chinese dining etiquette. When someone puts food on their plate, he should only take a polite spoonful until everyone else gets a chance to take some of that dish. A person should make a big show of taking seconds and also he must try a little bit of every dish. Everyone must also praise the chef for her cooking despite her modesty.
Just a Misunderstanding
Four Directions
1. I liked this chapter because it retells the chess story, but this time Waverly is a grown woman, and not a little girl so the perspective is a little different. This time, Waverly is more mature and older, and it can be seen by the way she tells the story. I thought it was cute how Ricky accidentally insulter Waverly’s mom by adding soy sauce into her famous dish. However, I thought that he should have been able to tell that she was just being falsely modest and was just searching for compliments. I also thought their little bonding moment at the end of the chapter was cute. For a minute there, they were able to bridge the gap between two generations and two cultures.
2. I think the relationship between Waverly and her mother is very delicate. Anything can make it tip. They are able to get along, but only if they are both on their best behavior and very careful of what they say. For instance, at the end of the chapter, they both get along very well until Waverly makes the mistake of saying that her mother came from Taiwan rather than Taiyuan. This little mistake ended their harmonious time together and made them a little tense again.
3. I liked Amy Tan’s use of flashback in this chapter. The story flashed back from when Waverly was getting ready to tell her mom about Ricky to when she was little and playing chess. It showed that throughout her life, Waverly and her mother have always been at each other’s throats.
4. In this chapter I learn that in Chinese culture, where a person is from and who their family is is very important. When Waverly’s mom describes Waverly’s father’s family and her own family, she is very proud of who she is. Also, where a person is from is very important to Chinese people. Waverly’s mother got very offended when Waverly thought that she was from Taiwan even though it was an honest mistake.
-Laurie Jeng
1. “The Horse And The Rabbit”
2. Four Directions
3. I enjoyed reading this chapter because it was more relatable than the last chapter in this section. Waverly wishes to tell her mother, Lindo Jong, that she is planning to marry a man named Rich. However, she is afraid that her mom won’t approve of them because he isn’t Chinese, but Caucasian. Waverly was afraid that her mom wouldn’t approve of their marriage because he might not measure up to her standards, beliefs, or rules. I’m put in a slightly similar situation when I want to ask my mom if I’m allowed to do something. I’m always so hesitant in asking for permission that it’s become a habit. I always picture how I will ask, or what my mom would say because I’m worried about her reaction. It was also amusing to read about Rich and Waverly’s parents’ awkward first meeting at dinner. I think that, because Rich tried too hard to impress Waverly’s parents, he was a complete disaster: spilling vegetables on his pants, not eating seconds of Lindo’s home-cooked food, and unknowingly criticizing her cooking by adding lots of soy sauce.
4. I think that Waverly’s relationship with her mom is pretty typical. Waverly believes that her mom is trying to ruin her life, when in reality, it’s the exact opposite. Lindo is just being herself and wants to be invited into her daughter’s life. Waverly used to put up an invisible wall to shield herself from her mother’s weapons of criticism. But after their confrontation, that wall starts to disappear and Waverly sees her mom in a new light. She came to realization that her mom was just “an old woman [with] a wok for her armor [and] a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in.” Waverly soon learns that all Lindo ever wanted was to be accepted into her life.
5. Amy Tan uses symbolism to connect a chess game with the conflicts Waverly has with her mother. The chess game that Waverly started with her mother in the chapter titled “Rules of The Game” continues even as she grows older. Her mother always criticizes the things around her, from restaurants to Rich, Waverly’s new fiancé, causing Waverly to continuously lose the game against her mother. I think another reason that Waverly was hesitant to tell her mom about Rich was because she was trying to protect him. It was as if Rich was the king in a chess game, which is the most important piece because its capture is the way a person wins.
6. This chapter can relate to the opening allegory because they both revolve around the same concept. In the allegory, the mother shows her love for her daughter by adding a second mirror in her room so that her daughter wouldn’t have a bad marriage. However, her daughter was annoyed at her mom’s superstitious ways. In this chapter, Waverly is annoyed at her mom’s over-analytical behavior. In reality though, her mom only wants to make sure that her daughter would have a good future.
1.Let’s Start Over Again
2.“Four Directions”
3.This chapter gave me a stomach ache all the way until the end. The feeling of impending doom, like the fate that Waverly expected out of her upcoming marriage with Rich, is hard to deal with. I was terrified the whole entire chapter, thinking that Waverly would soon no longer be attracted to Rich, all because of her mother. In the end, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, because the chapter had ended well, unlike the many chapters in this book that end negatively. What did make me feel sad though, was that Waverly gave up chess. It seemed that it was the only thing she had to hold on to, and the fact that she gave it up was disheartening.
4.Waverly and Rich’s relationship seems well-fit. They both care about each other, and there aren’t too many barriers between them. Judging from the way Waverly adores Rich, and how he says and does all the right things, I feel that they are a good pair. The only thing that slightly concerned me was that Rich did not fully understand Lindo’s words or actions, and that he did not know how to act “properly” in front of Waverly’s family. But as demonstrated in the end, the family got along fine with him.
5.I thought that the symbolism in the end added a nice touch to the chapter. As we have already established that the East is where the sun rises, as well as where “things begin,” I feel that the ending line to this chapter shows this. As a part of Waverly thinks about going on a trip with both her mother and her to-be-husband and sees them “moving West to reach the East” (205), I think she means that she wants to see her and her mother, as well as Rich, to start over and resolve things.
6.The main conflict in this chapter is an external conflict between Waverly and Lindo Jong. Waverly believes that Lindo has set out to quietly destruct Waverly’s relationship with Rich. Lindo consistently criticizes things about Rich; him having spots on his face which are just freckles, his drinking, and his eating manners. Whether or not Lindo is purposely trying to ruin what Waverly has with Rich, Waverly has the notion that her mother’s efforts will lead to an inevitable end in her relationship with Rich, just as her relationship with Marvin had ended.
Venom
“Four Directions”
1.I can feel for Waverly. I really do. I know exactly how she feels when her mother puts her down because my mom is the same. She doesn’t put you down obviously or loudly, she throws small comments that keep pecking at you and slowly dig underneath your skin. Like Waverly, I feel like I’m never good enough for my mom; she always has something to say. As I’m getting older, I think I’m realizing, just as Waverly realizes in this chapter, that my mom doesn’t say those little things to hurt; she’s saying those things because she cares.
2.I think Waverly and Rich’s relationship is pure and unadulterated. Rich seems a dope. I really think that Waverly loves Rich for who he is and vice-versa. She had a successful, handsome, and Chinese husband. He had everything that Waverly and, maybe in Waverly’s mind, her mother could want in a husband. But ultimately that wasn’t enough. Knowing full well that Rich would have a hard time adjusting to her family (especially her mother), Waverly still decided to keep him. I think this is a moment where Waverly is following her heart because she is so intimidated by her mother and she believed that Rich would be unfit, in her mother’s eyes, to be her husband.
3.There are a lot of flashbacks in “Four Directions.” It kind of surprised me that Amy Tan went back to the “Rules of the Game” chapter and followed it up. I thought that was an interesting and nice touch. It reminded readers about Waverly and Lindo’s clashing relationship and revealed that Waverly quit chess. The flashback showed the extent of Lindo’s power over Waverly. After she quit chess, she couldn’t play anymore. Lindo sealed Waverly’s fate with chess by mocking her, “One day quit, one day play” (189).
4.I learned a lot about Chinese etiquette. I suppose the rules that Waverly explained are included in the unwritten law of Chinese table manners that you pick up on if you’re apart of Chinese family. I never knew that it’s better for a guest to eat smaller and more portions in a Chinese meal. I always thought that taking a lot of food would be a little greedy and offense. I also didn’t know that the chef of the meal would criticize their prized dish. It was kind of weird and backwards for me. I guess I don’t blame Rich for not understanding Lindo’s criticism but I think it was a bit bold for him to “fix” her dish.
1. I go with you two!
2. Four Directions
3. In this chapter, Waverly wanted to tell her mother, Suyuan, about her getting married to Rich but was scared her mother would disapprove just like how it went with her first husband Melvin. When Waverly goes over to finally announce her marriage plans, she wanted Rich to be polite. Rich tried to be polite except ended up doing the opposite every time which I thought was very funny. This chapter ended up showing Waverly that her mother did not have negative thoughts about Rich like she did with Melvin but rather wanted to be part of her life.
4. The relationship between Waverly and her mother Suyuan is just an ordinary daughter-mother relationship. When Waverly was young, her mother would always tell her to do this and that but it was all for the best. Because of Waverly misunderstanding that her mother hates her, she does not realize until she grows up and tell hers about her second husband. Like a daughter about to get married, Waverly wanted to show her mother all the positive sides of Rich as a first impression when they meet. Waverly thought that her mother was against it so it was hard for her to reveal about the marriage until the next day and finds out her mother always loved her and just wanted to be a part of her life.
5. Amy Tan uses flashback in this chapter to give us a better understand of why Waverly had a belief her mother of having negative thoughts of anything she did. She goes back in time to tell us about how she had conflicts with her mother, Suyuan. Because of how the relationship went in the past, she has the approach of being scared to tell her mother about her marriage plans with Rich.
6. In this chapter, I learned about Chinese etiquette. Chinese etiquette and American etiquette are basically the opposite. For Rich, I thought it was funny how he thought he was polite which he was really being rude but he only had good intentions. A Chinese etiquette would be always eat seconds rather than refuse it.
1. “Freckleface”
2. Four Directions
3. I feel so sorry for Rich! He likes Waverly so much, and when he meets her family he does everything wrong! How could he know? It is sad that he is eventually judged by her family because of it. This chapter relates to a lot of people these days, children who are nervous to introduce a significant other of a different race to their parents because their parents would not approve of them.
4. The relationship between Waverly and her mother is still much like a chess game. Waverly tricks her mother into inviting Rich over for dinner by stopping by her aunts house unexpectedly. When Suyuan tells Lindo about it, Lindo becomes competitive and invites Waverly and “a friend” over for her husband’s belated birthday dinner, falling straight into Waverly’s trap.
5. At the end of the chapter, Waverly and Rich tell Lindo of their plans to go on their honeymoon to China. Lindo says how she was planning to go at the same time, and they invite her to go with them. Waverly says how she can picture a plane taking off with the three of them sitting side by side. This is a metaphor for the three of them putting aside their differences and being a happy family.
6. The conflict in this chapter is human versus human, between Waverly and her mother. They are so much alike in their competitive nature that they had this conflict ever since Waverly was a small child, and I am sure they will continue to have this conflict their whole lives.
1. Seeing the Truth
2. “Four Directions”
3. My first thought was that this chapter was similar to the previous one on the terms that both dealt with poor romantic relationships. “Four Directions”, however, focuses more on Waverly and her mom’s relationship though. While reading this chapter, I found myself really liking this mother and daughter team since they are more memorable compared to the other characters in The Joy Luck Club. Their relationship seemed like it was more realistic than the others and their interactions and conflicts with each other are more dynamic than the other three duos.
4. Waverly and her mom have a standoffish relationship. From a child into her adult years, Waverly continues to see her mother as the enemy when she realizes the effects of her mom’s words as she describes Waverly’s lovers. Also, rather than being supportive, Lindo is very critical of her daughter. Her blunt remarks and criticism creates a distance between her and her daughter.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a flashback to review what had happened in a previous chapter, “Rules of the Game”. It describes the war-like atmosphere between the mother and daughter after the event on Stockton Street as well as gives readers Waverly’s perspective of her mother. For example, in the flashback, Waverly thinks that her mother “devised [a] strategy” that caused her fall from fame (190). The flashback also connects to the main plot of the chapter. Like Waverly’s loss of talent in chess, Lindo was the reason why Waverly’s first marriage failed. The flashback effectively gives insight on Lindo and Waverly’s relationship and weaves in with the events in the present.
6. The main conflict is external and human vs. human. Waverly believed that her mom ruined her first marriage because of blunt remarks she had about her first husband. She fears that her mother would ruin her new relationship with Rich.
Johnny Chu
Period 7
1. Time for a Change
2. Four Directions
3. Waverly’s mother always complains about everything and won’t take a break. She would mutter something when she is with Waverly, always complaining about things. Waverly’s mother is just a typical Asian mother that cares a lot about their children especially her marriage. I’m surprised to see that Waverly is so scared to tell her mother that she is getting remarried. But in the end it turned out that Waverly’s mother already new her next move. Waverly used to predict other people’s next move, but now her mother predicted her next move.
4. Waverly and Rich are very close, but after dinner at Waverly’s mother’s house she got mad at him. This was because Rich failed to impress her mother. Waverly and her mother are close as well, but they had a fight a few years back. It was because she kept on showing off and Waverly ended up running off. Waverly was actually afraid to tell her mother that she was remarrying.
5. Amy Tan used good imagery for the dinner scene.
6c. In Chinese culture most parents are very picky, nosy, and very superstitious.
1. Let Me In
2. “Four Directions”
3. Waverly kind of reminds me of myself in this chapter. I think this is because Waverly tries to tell her mother something important and just like her, I hesitate to let out the news, in fear of what my mother’s reaction would be. I think Marlene is out of her mind to tell Waverly to tell her mom to “shut up!” she also seems a bit “free-spirited,” telling her friend to elope. Waverly’s mother made me think of my own when she realized her mother made her see black where she once saw white. It is like they know how to make us rethink our decisions. I think it was interesting how Waverly eloped with her first husband, Marvin, when he ended up being completely different than she thought he was. It gets even better that she began to see the other side of Marvin after her mother had had her word in about him. Marvin went from graduating third in his class, earning himself a full scholarship to Stanford, to (in my opinion) a perfect example of a jerk, running away from family responsibilities, failing to come home, being selfish and most of all, putting in more time into his car than his wife. Rich, on the other hand, seems to be the complete opposite. I think the part of the chapter where Waverly, Shoshana and Rich ate dinner at her parents’ house was funny! It was as if Rich had done all the wrong things someone should never do at their to-be in-law’s house, especially when he criticized Lindo’s cooking, and calling Waverly’s parents by their first names.
4. I would describe Lindo and Waverly’s relationship as misunderstanding. Waverly believes her mother is not satisfied with anything she does, or choices she makes. She hesitates to tell her mother about marrying Rich because she is frightened of what her opinion may be. But, towards the end of the chapter, Waverly finally gains the courage to tell her when apparently, her mother knew all along, yet she never said anything. All along, Waverly thought her mother hated Rich when she never really did. She always thought her mother had “secret weapons,” and the “ability to find [her] weakest spots;” (204) when all along she just wanted to be close to her daughter.
5. A technique Amy Tan uses in this chapter is a flashback. She uses this technique to compare Waverly and Lindo’s relationship in the past to how it is now. It tells us what happened to Waverly’s love for chess, and why she doesn’t play anymore. The flashbacks are helpful because they remind the reader(s) of what happened in the past.
6. The main conflict in this chapter, “Four Directions,” is human vs. self. The conflict is within Waverly. She doesn’t know how or if she should tell her mother that she is going to marry Rich because she thinks her mother already hates him even though she has never met him. She also thinks her mother despises every decision she makes, thinking nothing is ever good for her. Eventually, she tells her mother and turns out that her mother was okay with the news.
“Unexploited”
2. WAVERLY JONG: “Four Directions”
3. Reading this chapter, I was shocked and appalled at the thought of Waverly Jong eloping with a guy at the young age of eighteen. I guess it was because I assumed she was a “geek” because of her chess skills. I was further shocked when I found out that Jong quit chess after her tantrum with her mother on Stockton Street. It was sad that her mother was capable of shaking her up so much, to the point that she could no longer play chess. In addition to feeling incapable of playing chess, Jong also lost faith in all aspects of her life, feeling as though her mother saw flaws in everything, when it really was just herself, imagining her mother attacking the flaws in her life.
I was glad when Jong realized this, seeing that her mother really had no bad intentions, and that her mother would accept her in any way, any condition. She would allow Jong to marry Rich, which I thought was cute. I adore the way Jong talks about Rich, and I think it’s hilarious how Rich keeps on making mistakes in the eyes of Jong and her mother. I was also happy for Jong and Shoshana, because now they have someone new in their life that will make them all happy, after Jong’s first husband split with her. In the end of the chapter, I became really cheerful, because of how happy the family was together – Jong, her mother, Rich, Shoshana, and all.
4. The relationship between Waverly Jong and Rich can be described as innocent – pure and untainted. I think that the messiness of their home represents this, as it shows how they don’t really have their life together, even though they want it to work so bad (which Jong clearly shows, working hard to make sure her mother can’t criticize him, though that plan failed). Also, it is innocent as they are so open to one another – Rich “didn’t allow [Jong] to cover [herself] up” (194). Jong even says herself that she had “never known love so pure”. They accepted each other wholly, no part of one another was tainted nor imperfect. Also, the cute things he does for her (FYI – Forever You & I) shows the innocence and youth of their relationship.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses word choice. This is shown in the part of the vignette where Waverly Jong talks about the innocence and childishness of her relationship with Rich. Using words such as, “embarrassing”, “thrilled” and “pure”, Tan evokes a childish connotation, which lets us see the depth of Jong and Rich’s relationship. This improves the story as it unknowingly lets us feel the same way Jong does about Rich, planting an emotion in us that makes the story much more interesting, detailed and deep.
6. What are you learning about Chinese culture?
From this chapter, I learned a few things about Chinese manners. For example, when a Chinese cook proclaims their dish not tasty, it’s bad to agree with them. Rather, a guest should compliment them and feed their ego. Also, instead of being “polite” and eating just enough, it’s best to keep on eating more and more and more. I also learned that Bing is a nickname for Taiyuan, and that certain clans supposedly have certain traits.
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1. “Invitation”
2. “Four Directions”
3. I thought this chapter was easy to relate to because Waverly was afraid to tell her mother about her marriage, knowing that she will not accept it. It reminds me of when I want to tell my mom something, but think she will not like it. I also found it funny how everything went wrong for Rich when they had their first dinner with her parents. Like in movies, whenever someone tries too hard to impress, it always ends up in a complete disaster, just like what happened to Rich. At the end of the chapter, I thought it was sweet how Lindo and Waverly made a connection with each other. It made me happy to know that a part of Waverly even wanted to travel to China with her mother and her husband.
4. I think Waverly and Lindo’s relationship is very fragile because any little thing that one of them says and does can imbalance their relationship. For example, when they’re talking at the end of the chapter, it seems as though they were finally getting through to each other and having a mother-daughter moment, until Waverly makes the mistake of saying “Taiwan” instead of “Taiyuan”. “The fragile connection [they] were starting to build [instantly disappeared]” (203) which expresses how delicate they are towards each other.
5. Amy Tan uses a flashback to when Waverly was younger, to show how she thinks Lindo hit her nerves and caused her pain. It tells us of when Waverly was ten years old and when she disrespected her mom. She felt that her mom somehow took away her secret weapons, her magic armor. This flashback improved the story because it tells us why Waverly always thought her mom was trying to ruin her life and bring her down.
6. I learned that complimenting someone’s cooked meal is a good thing, even when they insist that it’s not good enough. And when you tell them how they can improve it, it shows disrespect. I also learned that the Chinese are really proud of where they come from. For example, when Lindo is telling Waverly about where she came from, she expresses pride. But when Waverly makes a mistake by saying Taiwan instead of Taiyuan, it obviously offends Lindo.
Eileen Ly from 7th period
Moving West to Reach the East
Four Directions
Waverly Jong, a woman who can “tell the IRS to piss up a rope” (191) is unexpectedly afraid of her own mother. In fact, her mother is probably one of her greatest and worst fears. Everything her mother says is a mime waiting to blow up something important to her in life, whether it be her marriage or her self-esteem. Ugh, I wouldn’t want to have a mom like that. I feel sorry of Waverly since no daughter should have to fear the woman who gave birth to her and took care of her. She believes that her mom is out to get her, to ruin her life, to control her. And to me, Waverly seems to be one of those people who fear being put down or be controlled. She puts up barriers against her mom during her years as a teenager only to peer past her barriers as an adult to recognize her mother for who she really is. It appears to me like that’s just the way how her mom is, just good at grating on her nerves. It seems like Mrs. Jong is just one of those really blunt people whose words just slap. I guess she can’t change who she really is. Waverly realizes this later as an adult and forgives her mom. It must take tremendous courage for her to accept that fact, even if she might not like it. It’s just the way life is, which is definitely not perfect.
The relationship between Waverly and her mom, Lindo could best be described as guarded and lopsided. It’s not exactly the sappy type of love shown between the two, it’s not perfect, it’s not great, but it’s there. Waverly doesn’t hate her mom but fears her critical judgments that bring her down. Hence she retreats behind an emotional barrier that she builds as a teenager. But when she comes to recognize her mom for the “old woman” and her “wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword” (204), Waverly lets her barriers drop for a second to love her mom. In the beginning, there was no need for her to fear her mother. Waverly shows her true emotions, when she thinks “well, it would be a disaster. Yet part of me thinks the whole idea makes perfect sense” (205).
Tan uses a lot of word choice and metaphors such as the pain Waverly feels as a “shock, exactly like an electric jolt, that grounds itself permanently in [her] memory”. It improves the story be adding flavor to the text.
The main conflict shown in this chapter is man vs. man, or daughter vs. mother. Most Asian American parents want their children to strive for the stars and achieve and achieve. Waverly does just that by becoming chess champion but feels like her mother is an enemy. She begins to fear her mother and declares war against her. It’s internal though. Waverly feels it as an individual but her mother doesn’t realize the defenses that her daughter has put up to smite her. I know this by how her mother acts when Waverly comes out to tell her about her true feelings about her thoughts towards her mom’s behavior. She finally sees her mom for who she really is, and not just another adversary.
Moving West to Reach the East
“Four Directions”
1. Suprisingly, by the end of the chapter, Waverly understands her mother. In her other chapter, “The Rules of the Game,” it seemed as if Waverly didn’t try, or even want to try, to understand her mother. In another part of the book, Waverly talks about how she believes that her mother ruined her first marriage, which I thought was unfair of her to say. I believe that her mother saved Waverly from ruining her life. It might have taken Waverly longer to notice her first husband’s bad habits and personality.
2. I think the relationship between Waverly and her mother is a love-hate relationship. Waverly states that she despises how her mother is always criticizing things. However, by the end of the vignette, she wishes that she would move on with her mother, showing compassion.
3. Amy Tan again uses a flashback in this vignette. She continues from the previous chapter of Waverly to show how her mother made her quit chess by the age of 14. In this flashback, Waverly is shown to only see her weaknesses and mistakes, rather than on improving her skills, eventually causing her to lose games and quit. However, it seemed that her mother was trying to guide her into playing better because she knew when Waverly did not have the strength to play yet. She knew that Waverly would lose because Waverly was not ready. Because Waverly did not listen to her mother, she quit and blamed her mom. This also connects to the story of Waverly’s first marriage with Marvin. It shows how Waverly’s mom guided her to the truth of her marriage, but instead of showing gratitude, Waverly shows more hate.
4. I think the main conflict in this story is Human vs. Self. Although Waverly battles with her mom constantly, she is actually struggling with herself. When her mom says something blunt, she believes that her mom has some ulterior motive. She wants her mother’s approval, yet is afraid of what her mom will say. When her mom does say it, Waverly overanalyzes it.
“Moving West to Reach the East”
Four Directions
1. I laughed out loud when I read the scene with Waverly and her mother in the Four Directions Restaurant. My parents often embarrass me in public as well, so I know how Waverly felt. At first I was annoyed that Lind Jong seemed to be “destroying” her daughter life by disapproving of everything, and eventually leading to its downfall. But at the end of the chapter I was surprised to learn that she was really just being a supporting mother who just wanted what was best for her daughter. This seemed to me as kind of an anticlimax. I was all ready for Lindo to be an antagonist, especially after the “Rules of the Game” chapter. I was really expecting another outburst or fight, but instead found the beginnings of a resolution to the conflict in their relationship.
2. I would describe Waverly’s relationship with her mother as built from years for misunderstandings. Waverly sees her mother antagonistically, thinking her mother is out to get her and ruin her life. After some insight at the end of the chapter, Waverly realizes that her mother was just looking out for her for her whole life and just wanted the best for her. Waverly misinterprets this as interference, instead of what it really was, assistance.
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a lot of flashbacks. She uses flashbacks to describe Waverly’s past. The use of flashbacks improves the story because you get to know what happens after Waverly yelled at her mother for showing her chess skills off. You also get to know the past as it if you were there when it actually happened, and not as if she was just telling it to you.
4. I think that the conflict in this chapter is Waverly vs. herself. Although she thinks that she is being pitted against her mother, as shown at the end of the chapter, the one hold her back is really herself. She recognizes that she has been viewing her own concerns as her mother’s. With this recognition, she realizes that she ahs been fighting herself all along, and not her mother as she originally thought.
Dan Truong
Period 06
A Mother’s Place
(on “Four Directions”)
3) I thought that Lindo was a funny character in this chapter; she kept changing the topic whenever Rose mentioned her fiancée-to-be Richard to Lindo. I think Waverly was a stupid girl because she thought her strong mother, Lindo, would actually become upset. Lindo is a smart woman and she knew not to be upset when Waverly tried to provoke her by temporarily quitting chess. I think Waverly never realizes that Lindo was the one who gave her “invisible strength”, the ability that had allowed her to defeat everybody in the chess tournaments.
4) I think the relationship between Waverly and Rich as a real and happy relationship. There is no secrets held from each other, and there are no actual problems that they have. Rich loves her unconditionally, and even loves Soshana, Waverly’s daughter from a past relationship that failed. Although Waverly may not have the same confidence in Rich than he did in her, because she was afraid of Lindo of pointing out Rich’s faults.
5) One of the techniques that I noticed Amy Tan used in this chapter was local color. There was a lot of information that Lindo gave to us about Chinese Culture, by the way she spoke and her actions. For instance, she told the waiter to “make sure the soup was very hot”(183), telling us that they liked their soup extremely hot.
6c) In this chapter, I learned that a Horse is born in 1918, and is “destined to be obstinate and frank to the point of tactlessness.” I also learned that a Rabbit is born in 1951, and is “sensitive, with tendencies toward being thin-skinned and skitter at the first sign of criticism” (183). I also learned that Chinese people only tip the waiters when they deserve it.
1. Sneak attacks
2.Four directions
3. I really liked the sneaky and tricky tactics to attack her daughter. I don’t understand why she’d want to do so because it’s very apparent that the attacks are hurting her daughter badly. I couldn’t believe how powerful Lindo was; she completely changed Waverly’s mind about her first husband by just criticizing him was remarkable. When Waverly described Rich, I felt that her mother could not possibly make this guy sound bad. All the things she said about him were so unbelievably cute and I could not bear the thought of having such a good relationship ruined by simple criticism from Waverly’s mom. All the things that Rich did wrong at the dinner table made me cringe. I couldn’t believe how many times a person could mess up and not even realize it. Although, in his defense, Lindo was very reserve physiology about everything and I probably would have made the same mistakes too. Despite all the ups and downs of this chapter, I really liked how it ended happily. It was kind of a relief from all the other chapters with miserable endings.
4. Waverly and Rich had a relationship based on unconditional love. All the little things that Rich did for Waverly were just so extremely cute. Not only did he do little mushy things that couples do on Valentine’s Day, he understood her and saw things that no one else noticed about her. Even though they were a cheesy and cute couple, I couldn’t imagine them ever having sex. The way that Waverly described Rich made him seem so innocent that it’d be impossible for her to have sex with him. I wish I was able to see more of Waverly’s feelings towards Rich, but unfortunately, she mostly talked about the feelings he had towards her.
5. I saw the use of flashbacks a lot in this chapter and it really brought the chapter to life. Because of the flashbacks, I can understand why Waverly’s feeling the things she is. The flashbacks also give the story interest. If the chapter went in chronological order, then it wouldn’t be as entertaining and the reader would have to refer back to the past few pages to understand why the character was feeling a certain way later in the chapter.
6. There are two main conflicts in this chapter. One in human vs. human and is between Waverly, and her mother Lindo. They fight about a lot of things, from petty little things, such as Waverly saying something that Lindo views as disrespect, or larger things, such as Waverly’s refusal to play chess. There are also internal conflicts; Waverly feels a lot of fear towards her mother and is also conscience of the things she says. She lives her life in fear that her mother will ruin something she finds comforting or joyful; this is why Waverly spent so long trying to tell her mother that she was going to get married to Rich.
1. Honeymoon with my mommy.
2. “Four Directions”
3. This chapter was mainly about Waverly and her mother Lindo. Waverly starts off in the beginning with anxiety as she anxiously waits for the right moment to tell her mother about her marriage with Rich, her fiancé. Waverly doesn’t like her mother, simply because of her negative attitude to everything in the world. Waverly was also scared to tell her mother because she was scared the same thing might happen all over again just like it did with Marvin. Marvin was Waverly’s first love, a masculine and compact man. The two were very much in love until Lindo came into the picture. Lindo made comments and remarks about Marvin that really hit hard on Waverly.
In this chapter, I could connect to Waverly a lot due to the fact that both of our parents are still living in the “olden Asian custom.” My father, like Lindo, always pushes me to achieve and succeed, similar to how Lindo once did with Waverly at chess. My father also criticizes on whatever I do, my choices and such. He complains about my study habits, the music I listen to, my room and how dirty it is! Nothing ever satisfies him, just like how Lindo feels towards her daughter.
In the end of the chapter, I thought it was real eye-opener for both Waverly and me, as the reader. Waverly’s opinions and views about her mother being an armed queen chess piece that is always out to get her, turns into a motherly figure armed with a cooking wok and a knitting needle. Her whole life, Waverly only thinks of ways that her mother sabotages her life; now, her thinking is different. She now realizes that her mother, through all that stubborn attitude and negativity, is a defenseless old lady just waiting for her daughter.
4. The relationship between Waverly and her mother, Lindo, is nothing more than a typical mother-daughter relationship. Though both are constantly at each other’s throat, both still loves and care for one another. The constant nagging from Lindo is because she wants the best for her daughter. Waverly does not acknowledge nor realize this until she has matured. At young ages, kids do not appreciate their parents and their hard work and dedication at all. It takes years of maturity to finally understand it. For Waverly, she was finally able comprehend the fact that her mother was nothing for than a woman that loved her unconditionally.
5. Amy Tan uses flashbacks to give us a further insight into the plot. After the telling of Waverly’s current present life, flashbacks would occur. The flashbacks give us more depth and understanding of what happened and all of its outcomes. It shows us the many different things that happened between Waverly and Lindo. Because of the flashbacks, we then truly understand what is happening in the story.
6. The conflict in this chapter is man vs. man. Waverly is at war with her strongest opponent ever, her mother Lindo. Lindo is deadly and strategic. She has the power to persuade and show out all imperfections. Waverly is afraid to tell her mother about the news with Rich. She is scared all of this flaws and problems that would result from it. The two battle it out, each countering one another until Waverly soon understands that her mother is not her enemy, but her closest ally.
Trung Tran
Stalemate
“Four Directions”
1. This chapter was pretty boring until the end because I thought it was the continuation of the battle between Waverly and her mother. However, this chapter was the end of the chess game Waverly thought she was playing. It turns out her mother was not playing the game, Waverly was just too afraid to see through the barrier she put up. She learns that her mother was not “out to get her” but was just waiting, waiting for Waverly to come back to her. And yet, how come Waverly’s mom did not let her play chess when she finally gave in? Why did she say it is not that easy anymore?
2. The relationship between Waverly and her mother is evolving. They are beginning to understand each other more. All they had to do was drop their barriers and talk to one another. When Waverly and her mother did, the tension between them disappears.
3. Again, Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter. At the end of the story, Waverly said she would love for her mother to go with them to China where they would move “West to reach the East”. The East is where the sun rises and when things begin. It symbolizes the relationship between Waverly and her mother. They can finally start over and begin their relationship again.
4. The conflict in this chapter is obviously man vs. himself. Waverly keeps thinking, ever since little, she is having this imaginary chess match with her mom and how her mom is winning. However, near the end of the story, she learns that this was all inside her head. Her own mom would never try to hurt her purposely. She puts this barrier on herself which blinds her from seeing the truth. Drilled in her mind, she is convinced her mom ruining her life.
1. Don’t Sully My Mind
2. Four Directions
3. I think what Amy Tan wrote here is a bit ridiculous. She makes Waverly’s mother seem like an obnoxious Chinese mother that thinks she is always right. Uhhh…okay, maybe all Chinese moms are like that, stereotypically. I just think Amy Tan exaggerated it a little. Sometimes when we go to a restaurant, my parents would wash out their teacups with hot tea and then uses the water to wet a napkin to wipe the table and her seat. Though my mom may exaggerate her moves a little but she doesn’t randomly talk to some person around her to do the same. That’s just ridiculous. My parents know how the kitchen of a restaurant works because they’ve been there before. The chopsticks thing, come on, that seriously doesn’t really happen. And if it does, wipe it with your napkin.
I did agree with one thing Waverly said about her mom. “You don’t know my mother,” she said. “She never thinks anybody is good enough for anything.” I’m not saying I agree with her that her mom is like that but I just felt like all of us had said that about our parents some time in our life, particularly us Asian kids. I thought this was funny because this is seriously true and what we all think. “Well, I don’t know if it’s explicitly stated in the law, but you can’t ever tell a Chinese mother to shut up. You could be charged as an accessory to your own murder.” No matter how old you are, you can never say shut up to your own mother, or any other elder for that fact.
I thought she was pretty smart to use that way to finally make her mom meet Rich, her fiancé. I thought her mom was a little too predictable though.
I understand why her mom got really mad when Waverly thought she meant Taiwan when she actually said Taiyuan. Well, I would be. And a true Taiwanese wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a Taiyuan person. Proud to be where I’m from.
4. I mean I still don’t really like Waverly. I think her husband is one of the first few men Amy Tan portray nicely disregarding that he was an embarrassment at that meal. He adores Waverly the way she adores her daughter, unequivocal and nothing could change it. I thought that it was really cute what Waverly described what he does with the FYI notes – forever you and I. Waverly is actually decent in this chapter. She has compassion especially for her husband.
5. Waverly’s child, Shoshanna, symbolizes Waverly’s Chinese-American future. Her mother waits for Waverly to let her in, to accept her Chinese heritage so that she can accept that Chinese-American future. It is a very small symbolism in a big event.
6. I think the conflict in this chapter is both internal and external. The external conflict will always have to do with daughter and mother misunderstanding or not knowing how to understand or just are not getting it. And the inner conflict is in Waverly. She actually has a choice to listen or not to listen to her mom. She has a choice whether her mom’s words should bother her or not. But she has to understand usually when she sees her mom’s way she thinks that way too because that way might just make more sense instead of a blindness.
1.What children think of their parents
2.Four Directions
3.This chapter I thought related most too today’s lives. It depicted how a child thinks her mom is up to something or suspecting her parents of doing suspicious. Waverly constantly thought that her mom was planning something, making some move, when in the end she wasn’t doing anything. It shows that Waverly over thinks and worries to much about what her mother thinks. She stresses too much on little details. It was surprising though how she lost her touch for chess. She wasn’t able to play good anymore. She lost her talent, and quit altogether. I think she thought really badly of her mother, for thinking all these things. She was suspecting her of all these things, but realistically a child always thinks that way of their parent. They never see that they actually care about them.
4.I would compare Waverly’s relationship with Lindo as a typical parent and child. She worries about her parents opinions just like the rest of the world. They’re always afraid on what their parent thinks, and not what they really want. Parents only naturally come first, because during childhood you always do what your parent tells you too. So when you get older, one usually always cares about a parent’s approval.
5.Amy Tan also uses flashback and time changes in this chapter. She uses this to take us back to the time Waverly ran away at Stockton Street. Her and her mother stopped talking but in the end her mother still cared about her. This shows how parents always get into fights and disagree with each other, but in the end the parent always care for their child.
6.The main conflict in this chapter was Human vs. Human. Waverly was constantly battling her mom. She kept thinking whether Rich was good enough for her mother or not. She tried to make him acceptable because she wanted her mom’s approval. She kept suspecting and stressing over the fact that her mom hated her future husband. She kept thinking badly of her mother, when in the end, her mom wasn’t actually thinking any of that.
-Brendan
1) Which Way Do I Run?
2) Four Directions
3) I was not surprised at the way Lindo reacted to her daughter’s potential mate. She criticized Rich like he was the reason everything in the world was wrong with him but I know that she was just being a mother, wanting the best for her child. When Waverly laughed at how someone told her to stand up to her mom, I knew just how she felt! I mean I could NEVER say anything like that to my mom, such as a simple “Shut up” or a very hurtful “Get out of my life”. When Rich DROWNED his meal in soy sauce at the family gathering, I laughed so hard and just wanted to yell “Nooooooo! You’re making an idiot of yourself. Stop!” I wish the culture clash wasn’t so bad, that way Rich would stand a slim chance at gaining Lindo’s approval.
4) I would describe the relationship between Waverly and Rich as “waning”. At first, Waverly thought she loved Rich so much but when her mother butted in, things started taking a dip. Suddenly, all these doubts Waverly had were coming up and she didn’t know how to feel about Rich anymore while he was oblivious to this all. Their love kind of faded away.
5) The flashback in this chapter, though short, is so powerful. It just reminds me so much of Jing-mei. I can see how Waverly is always being put down by her mom, even from a young age, Waverly always does something wrong in her mother’s eyes. It lets me know, as a reader, that Lindo probably wouldn’t have approved of anyone as her daughter’s mate, let alone Rich, who is so awkward when it comes to Chinese culture.
6) The conflict in this chapter is Man Vs. Man, Lindo vs. Waverly. They have never gotten along after the fateful day when Waverly declared her true feelings for her mother at the time. She was only ten, but tenstions kept bubbling and boiling and still, after 20 or so years, Lindo still is at odds with Waverly. Though they love each other, Lindo can’t help but criticize Waverly on every aspect of her life.
Horse versus Rabbit
“Four Directions”
1. This was an unexpected chapter. After Waverly had trouble and worried so much about revealing the news about her engagement to Rich to her mother and tried to impress her with him, she finds that Lindo never had a problem with Rich at all and that all her efforts had no effect. The opening scene with Waverly and Lindo at a restaurant having lunch made me feel embarrassed for Waverly. Lindo had so many preferences for how her food must be prepared and opinions about her utensils. It was pretty hilarious when I found out that Lindo didn’t trust public toilet paper and carried around a small package of Kleenex to replace it. Something else I found surprising was how Waverly eloped before and divorced the man and had a daughter with him. I knew Waverly grew rebellious from the previous chapter about her, but I did not think that it would have come to this. I thought it was also quite funny when Rich went over to meet the in-laws and did the most wrong things you could have ever done and in the end thought the evening was “A-o-kay.” I thought it was a total disaster.
2. The relationship between Waverly and Rich can be described as telepathic. Rich always knows what Waverly wants. He always does the right thing and says “exactly the right thing at the right moment” to Waverly(194). He bought her “the most extravagant gift”(186) and does the most romantic gestures like writing “FYI-Forever You & I”(193).
3. Flashback is a wonderful writing technique Amy Tan uses to improve her writing. The flashback Waverly has of her childhood makes the reader realize how much the relationship between Waverly and her mother has changed and grown from then to the present. Before, it was the constant proving of oneself being the strongest and smartest. Now, the two are happy for each other and there are no barriers.
4. A life lesson that is revealed in this chapter is to not always assume the worst. Waverly thought her mom hated Rich since she always changed the subject when the topic of Rich was brought up and when Lindo stated the obvious truth, which was a bit blunt. In the end, Waverly found out that Lindo just thought some subjects were more important to talk about and that she was stating the facts about Rich. Lindo never hated Rich.
Poignant
Four Directions
3) I could feel the same message from the previous story being incorporated back into this chapter. I cannot help but agree to the Mothers when they point out very specific things about the husbands. However, I cannot help but notice the fact that this chapter was very frank and candor. The reader can see all the signs of trouble, but I felt the same hopelessness Waverly did, as she felt her mother begin to tear, and poke, and rip, and grind, and destroy everything that made me happy. For her to show the truth.
4) I think that the relationship between Mother and Daughter are very stereotypical, or something that was expected at the very least. I think this is because of the continuation of the ideas that the mother attacks the happiness of her daughter. Also, the language of chess seems to have translated, as we can see the vocabulary like side-attacks and secret weapons can be found throughout this chapter.
5) Throughout this chapter, I think it was Amy Tan’s goal to keep the mood, so that it can be translated to the next chapters. She often describes Richard horribly, so much that “he looked so pathetic,” (199). She often uses things from chess like how she describes herself as a pawn, her mother the queen, and her mother’s ability to “move in all directions. . . always able to fend [her] weak spots,” (199).
6) I believe that this chapter connects to the allegory very well. For throughout this section of chapters, when can see the recurring theme of how the mother seems to wreck the happiness of their daughters, yet the fact is that they are only looking out for their daughters, nothing more, nothing less.
1. Searching for Common Ground
2. Four Directions
3. Personally, I didn’t think this chapter was that exciting or interesting. At a different perspective, I could see how it can be related to some problems in society, but I don’t find it interesting. I do, however, like the way her mother depicts things. I guess the way Waverly sees it could be mean, but I personally think it’s interesting to see how her mother was able to make Waverly see the faults in what she would normally see as something good, even if it wasn’t her intention to do so in the first place.
4. The relationship between Waverly and her mother is very hostile. Ever since she spoke back to her mother, waves of attacks has been sent by both sides. Actually Waverly believes her mother is attacking her as she is intentionally fighting back.
5. Amy Tan uses flashbacks in this chapter to show Waverly’s position and perspective on the battle with her mother. She says that ever since she spoke back to her mother, she believes her mother has been sending her attacks, trying to bring her down. I believe that the flashback in this section improved the chapter. It gives us, the reader, an in depth view of Waverly’s position.
6. The main conflict in this chapter must be human vs. self. It may seem as if it could be human vs. human, as it is Waverly on the battlefield against her mother, but it is because it is in the perspective of Waverly. Her mother isn’t intentionally bombing Waverly with her attacks, but simply Waverly is mistaking her mother’s way of speech as an assault on her. Waverly is also struggling with herself to find to courage to tell her mother that she is getting married to Rich.
Leaving Our Differences Behind
“Four Directions”
1. The beginning of this chapter was humorous, so much that it made me want to giggle. But, along with the sense of laughter, I also felt the familiarity, how my own mom is like Waverly’s, criticizing and embarrassing others. I felt understanding for Waverly; I know what it’s like to be afraid of telling your mom something important, in fear that she might criticize it or reject it all together. When Rich spends the evening with Waverly and her family for dinner, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. His complete obliviousness to how his American ways were considered heinous and rude in Chinese eyes was just too funny. Bringing wine and drinking two glasses, using chopsticks without knowing how, eating huge portions of food when not everyone had tried it yet, declining food, groaning at the dinner table, and criticizing another’s cooking: these were all the rules my own family taught me never to do at a dinner. I also felt some surprise when Waverly finally tells her mother that she is marrying Rich, but discovers that her mother already knew. I guess it’s like people say, “A mother always knows.”
2. Waverly and Lindo seem to have a normal relationship. Although their relationship is not perfect, their differences seem to be melting away slowly, and their understanding of one another has grown. For example, when Lindo visits Waverly’s apartment, she does not care that the apartment is a complete mess. However, in Chinese customs, a house is always supposed to be kept spotless, especially when a guest is over. Arguments don’t seem to happen as often between them, although there are a couple of disagreements. Waverly also agrees to agree to her mother’s request that their marriage be held in a different month, signaling her understanding of how important her mother’s opinions are to her. Waverly also says that a part of her “thinks the whole idea” of going to China with her mother “makes perfect sense” (184), meaning that she wouldn’t mind spending some time with her mother, understanding the way she thinks a bit more.
3. In “Four Directions,” Amy Tan uses flashbacks to help support her vignette. The first flashback takes us back to when Waverly was ten years old, how she decided to quit playing chess. Perhaps this was when her mother began to not care about what Waverly did anymore, causing Waverly to become afraid of what her mother is really thinking on the inside and how it affected her. Now, Waverly is afraid of telling her mother her marriage to Rich, afraid that she will do nothing but have secret thoughts about him on the inside or criticize him and change the way she thought about him. The second flashback shows us her marriage to Marvin. Once again, this flashback shows us how Lindo’s opinions could easily change Waverly’s own thoughts and mold them into something completely different. Using flashbacks, Amy Tan is able to further enhance our knowledge on Waverly and Lindo’s relationship.
4. Many facts about the Chinese culture can be found in this chapter. From “Four Directions,” I learned that the Chinese enjoy hot substances. I also learned that when they eat at restaurants, they wash their bowls and silverware with hot tea to make sure it is clean. The Chinese also love to argue and dispute in order to save as much money as possible. I also learned that in the Chinese culture, one can criticize immediate family members, but never anyone else. I also learned the Chinese legend about Sun Wei and Genghis Khan that I have never heard before.
1.A Big Misunderstanding
2.Four Directions
3. I discovered that Lindo and my mom’s complaints towards restaurants’ cleanliness and the types of foods that are served are quite similar. Also, the way Lindo doesn’t like to give tips to waiters is similar to my aunt’s idea of not giving tips to people that doesn’t serve her well. When Lindo ignored Waverly’s evidence that Rich lived with her, I was confused about why she wouldn’t comment on it because most normal mothers would. It was great for me to finally discover what happened in the end of the feud between Lindo and Waverly that was left unfinished at the end of the chapter “Rules of the Game”. I guessed that Waverly would’ve talked to her mom first, and now I know that I guessed right. I also agree with Waverly telling Marlene about how telling a Chinese mother to shut up is considered a very bad thing to say, because being disrespectful to your parents isn’t a good way to pay back all they’ve done for you. As I read about Richard and his love for Waverly, it seemed like he was over-obsessed with her. Finally, I discovered that Lindo was actually a very nice mother and didn’t want to purposely hurt Waverly’s marriage after their talk together. I was surprised.
4.The relationship between Waverly and Lindo is a big misunderstanding. Even though Lindo always seems to be criticizing Waverly’s boyfriend(s)/fiancé(s)/husband “just to be mean, to hurt (her), to…”(201). Then we discover that Lindo isn’t trying to do that, she just wants to have her daughter open up to her so they can understand each other better.
5.Amy Tan uses flashback to retell and conclude an earlier chapter. She continued from the end of “Rules of the Game” and extended it into the middle of “Four Directions”. She tied up loose ends from the end of “Rules of the Game” and now made everything clearer, because in the start of “Four Directions”, Lindo and Waverly weren’t at odds anymore, and the little flashback showed me how their feud ended.
6.In this chapter, I learned more about Chinese Culture. I discovered that doing that could be brutal enough “to be charged as an accessory to your own murder” (191). I also discovered that in China people would eat dogs and snakes, kind of nasty. Then, I was astounded to discover how much Taiwanese people can’t let go of China because that’s where they were originally from.
1. Moving West to Reach the East
2. Four Directions
3. Waverly wanted to tell her mother about her marrying Rich. However, she can't bring herslf to because she is afraid of what her mother might say. She has a tendency to let her mother get into her head and make her look at things differently. Waverly is afraid that her mother will somehow cause her not to like Rich anymore. She ends up being able to introduce Rich to her family at a dinner her mother cooked. Although Rich, in her eyes, behaved terribly at the dinner, things turned out okay. She finally talks to her mother the morning after and finds out her mother already knew about the marriage and is okay with it. Waverly was wrong afterall, her mother wasn't always out to ger her; she wasn't such a mean person. In the end, everyone was able to put their differences aside and accept the wedding. Waverly's mother even helped witht the date and the honeymoon planning.
4. Waverly's relationship with her mother was a huge misunderstanding for a long time. Waverly always thought that her mother was out to get her, to make her unhappy. But it turns out that it wasn't like that at all. By the end of the chapter, they finally talk and come to an understanding. They became closer, and developed a better relationship.
5. Near the end of the chapter, there is a lot of good word choice when Waverly shes her mother on the couch. When her mother is sleeping she uses words like vulnerable and innocent, contrasting what Waverly usually feels towards her mother. Words like that make the reader more sympathetic towards Waverly, her mother, and their relationship.
6. The reader is able to learn a lot about Chinese culture from the dinner they had. Some things that are normal to most people are considered very rude to Chinese people. For example, when Rich poured soy sauce on one of Waverly's mother's dishes, it seemed quite appalling to them and it was like a very harsh insult. The Chinese's eating manners seem to have a lot of differences from most Americans'.
1. “The Angry Marriage”
2. Four Directions
3. I thought that this chapter, “Four Directions”, was very difficult to understand compared to all the other chapters in the book. When the mother was trying to tell Waverly about where her family comes from, where Waverly’s father’s family comes from and why they call places like New York the Apple, I did not get the point of it all. Also, people do not refer to New York as the Apple. They refer to it as the Big Apple. Overall, this chapter was unexciting, not relatable to me and the worst of all the chapters, in my opinion of course. Last, at the dinner when Waverly was supposed to tell her mother about her marriage between her and Rich, it was not Rich’s fault that he did things that might have been disrespectful because everyone grows up with and learns from different surrounds which they copy throughout their lives.
4. The character that caught my attention in this chapter the most was Waverly’s mother. She was annoying and mysterious. The reason I call her mysterious is because I did not expect her reactions she gave to Waverly when Waverly and her discussed the dinner that had happened when Waverly was supposed to tell her mother that Rich and her were getting married. Rich did many things wrong, in Waverly’s opinion, and after all the actions Rich had performed at the dinner, Waverly thought her mother would be upset and hate Rich, when in reality, she did not mind what he did and did not hate him.
5. The main conflict in this chapter, I believe, is external and human vs. human. Waverly tries to make her mother understand that Rich is a great man throughout most of the chapter excluding the end even though Rich has actions that Waverly assumes angers her relatives. Waverly has to stand up to her mother and say what is on her mind, but throughout most of the chapter she tries to hint at marriage to her mother in many ways instead of simply saying that she was getting married. Waverly had to learn to be more confident and understand her mother’s point of view.
6. The allegory at the opening of the chapter was that Waverly’s mother loves her, but Waverly gets annoyed that her mother believes in omens and superstitions. The truth is that Lindo, the mother was just looking out for Waverly.
1. “White is the new black and black is the new white”
2. “Four directions”
3. In my opinion, this was once again another smooth and believable chapter. The chapters aren’t filled with confusing sayings anymore. Once the characters grow up, it makes the stories more interesting and we can understand the flashbacks better since we know what they’re talking about because we read the previous chapters. I liked the characters’ personalities the most in the story, especially Rich’s. Rich seemed to be oblivious to Waverly’s family’s traditions and how her mother, Lindo, fishes for compliments about her cooking. I liked how he thought that the dinner went very well, although through Waverly’s and her mom’s eyes, Rich did not make a good first impression. Even though Rich was meeting Waverly’s family for the first time, he seemed calm and tried his best to make a good impression and that made me like his character.
4. A major conflict of the story was Waverly’s relationship with her mother, Lindo. Waverly thinks that her mother likes to slowly attack the people that she loves, which changes the way that Waverly sees the person. Waverly could love someone very much, including all of their flaws but once her mother meets them, she slowly erodes away the image in which Waverly sees them, making Waverly lose the love of the little details about the person, seeing them in a boring way. This makes Waverly and her mother not as close as they could be and Waverly highly resents the things that her mother does. Towards the end of the chapter, Waverly finds her mother asleep in the couch and she realizes that her mother can be vulnerable and tired and sees that her mother cannot be doing those things to hurt Waverly. When Lindo awakes, she talks to Waverly, making Waverly’s eyes open to see her mother as just a kind loving person who wants the best for her daughter and is not sabotaging her relationships with people.
5. Amy Tang uses chess as a symbol in the chapter. Just as in chess, Waverly plays a figurative game with her mother full of hidden truths and precise and carefully thought out movements. Waverly wants to defend herself and Rich against her mother and the false impression of her mother’s attacks.
Freckles = Good Luck
By Fiona Cheung (with freckles!)
“Four Directions”
This chapter was probably the most uninteresting of them all—but not to the point of boring. It was a bit confusing, however. I noticed that the title of the chapter was the same as that of the restaurant but couldn’t find a unique connection between them. I liked how she described her mother as having the strength of a horse, and then adding on that she actually is a horse in the Chinese zodiac. I also recognized things my family and Lindo had in common, but instead of being embarrassed like Waverly seemed to be, I think it’s completely fine. For example, washing chopsticks in hot tea is just to clean it better, exchanging dirty dishes is only sanitary, and soup should be hot in the first place. We wouldn’t distrust the toilet paper though. I felt sorry for Waverly as I read about her childhood “trauma” because of Tan’s selective word choice and dialogue tags, displaying a typical kid’s behavior—whining. I thought the double meaning behind FYI was cheesy yet cute, and thought Rich was rather daring to put that on legal documents. I also noticed that unlike Lena, their relationship was not equal. I liked how Waverly defended Rich’s freckles because I have freckles, too, but she seemed too paranoid an defensive over everything her mother commented on. Lastly, I was touched by the scene of Waverly’s realization of how weak and old her mother actually was, not just an evil witch.
This chapter helped portray Lindo’s character—clever and a bit devious. In the end, of course, she loves her daughter, which explains her protectiveness of who her daughter shall marry. The way she woke up to Waverly’s voice right away was also significant as she did not hesitate to just call “mei mei” and ask if it were her. Although they were such simple words, that moment carved deep into my heart. She also asked if she was ill and gently touched her forehead when Waverly said she wasn’t feeling too good. Behind all those words Waverly used to describe her mother as an evil mastermind, she was only a fragile woman, wanting her daughter to come back every once in a while and love her, and to not make mistakes in her life. She wasn’t such a mastermind who precisely picked at things to make her daughter see; she was just wise and had a huge impact on her daughter (though Waverly does not know it) that made Waverly doubt herself because of what her mother thinks. Lastly, Lindo was very proud of her ancestry and clan.
The main conflict in this story would be an external conflict—man vs. man between Waverly and Lindo—caused by an internal conflict within Waverly. Her fear of her mother’s tricks caused the problem of her not being able to tell Lindo that she was to marry Rich. We, as readers, start worrying for her as well over whether or not Rich would be accepted and approved. This conflict was resolved in the end, as Lindo never disapproved of Rich, and even helped suggest a better time for their honeymoon.
A symbol in this chapter would be the game of chess, symbolizing the relationship between Waverly and Lindo. For example, Waverly said that her mother always made her see white where it was black, and black where it was white—alternating colors of some chessboards. With her mother, she was only a pawn, who “could only run away” but her mother “was the queen, able to move in all directions, relentless in her pursuit, always able to find [her] weakest spots” (180). Throughout the entire chapter, she had described her mother as the evil witch who ruined all her plans, but in the end when she “peered over the barriers,” (183) she learned that her mother was only a woman, only a mother who loved her daughter.
Arun Jandaur
Period 3
Blog #7: Four Directions
1. Never Eat Soggy Waffles (North, East, South, West)
2. “Four Directions”
3. This chapter appealed to me for a few reasons. One reason was that it was interesting to see Waverly’s and Lindo’s mother-daughter relationship. From the start you can tell that Waverly is having a lot of trouble pleasing her mother. As a matter of fact, Waverly treats her mother almost as an enemy. It’s interesting reading about how manipulative Lindo Jong is and how she attacks someone emotionally so that they “see black where there was once white, white where there was once black” (169). She even blames her mother for the divorce of her first marriage. I also liked how Waverly explained what had happened at the end of the chapter “Rules of the Game”. She told the reader how her mother and her had both changed: Her mother stopped showing off and criticizing Waverly and Waverly started losing her touch at chess. Waverly’s talent faded with her mother’s criticism. I think that Waverly stopped winning because her mother showing her off and criticizing her was her motivation to win. She just hadn’t realized it until it was too late. I felt sorry for Waverly that her mother was such a strict and to-the-point critic.
4. The character that interests me the most is Lindo Jong, Waverly’s mother. She is a person who comes straight to the point and critiques someone freely and honestly, regardless of the damage done. She is also extremely stubborn and misunderstands things when you try to tell her to stop doing whatever she is doing. She is a round character in this chapter. We see the harsh, mean side of her and then you also see at the end of the chapter that she is “an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she [waits] patiently for her daughter to invite her in” (184).
5. The conflict in “Four Directions” is clearly Human vs. Human. It is a fight between Waverly and Lindo. Waverly tries to impress her mother time and time again and also tries to tell her that Rich and her are getting married. The problem, however, is that Lindo is a critic and Waverly fears that her mom will not accept the marriage. This creates a subordinate conflict, a Human vs. Self, between Waverly and herself because of the fear she has inside of her that her mother will refuse the marriage and drive away Rich. Both conflicts get resolved, though, because in the end, they both get married and Lindo even suggests a good time to go on a honeymoon. Also, Waverly finally “peered over the barriers” (183) and saw that her mother wasn’t trying to break her relationship and that Lindo was a nice, fragile old woman instead.
6. The way that this chapter is related to the allegory is that both mothers are just trying to look out for their daughters. Unfortunately, both daughters think of their mothers as the enemy until the very end of the allegory or chapter. Both daughters learn that their mothers are looking after them and that they should respect their mothers more.
Scott Lee Period 3
1. “West to East”
2. Waverly Jong – Four Directions
3. I liked how this chapter continued the Waverly Jong chapter from before, with a flashback of the aftermath of Waverly’s disobedience to her mother. I found it interesting how almost all of these chapters display a mother’s power on the outcome of their daughter’s lives. Although Waverly believes she can outmaneuver her mother, it is proven that she couldn’t in the end. She loses her chess prowess after her mother stops criticizing and supporting her. I thought this chapter was all about the acceptance of an outer culture. Both Waverly and her husband seeked the acceptance of Waverly’s mom for their marriage. Waverly’s mother is extremely picky, and for most of the chapter, Waverly worried about her mother’s reaction when she finds out she’s getting married to a white person. However, all is well in the end, and Rich, even after a catastrophic dinner scene, is accepted by her mother. I can also relate to many of Waverly’s mom’s actions, however, such as washing the chopsticks and rice bowls in hot tea. Everytime I visit a restaurant, my mother always performs the same “ritual”, as she is extremely afraid of the germs the public bowls and chopsticks may contain. Although I can relate to some of her actions, I believe that her telling other patrons to do the same goes overboard.
4. Waverly’s mother seems to emanate dissatisfaction and criticism with every action she makes and every word that spews out of her mouth. At the beginning of the vignette, where Waverly takes her mother to the restaurant, her mother automatically starts criticizing Waverly. Then she follows on to talk about how disgusting the restaurant is and how bad their service is. This scene perfectly displays her mother’s inherent critical nature, shown through her never-ending disapproval, even though reality may not be as bad as she makes it seem.
5. I believe the main conflict in this story is the misunderstandings and constant fights between Waverly and her mother. Waverly’s mother criticizes everything Waverly does, including her decisions to have a boyfriend, leading to Waverly’s paranoia of telling her mother about her relationship with Rich. Especially since Rich is an American and doesn’t know the customs of the Chinese, Waverly finds it extremely hard to tell her mother that Rich and she were planning to get married. It also seems as if Waverly and her mother fight every time they talk to each other, beginning from the chess incident. However, this conflict is resolved for the most part by the end of the vignette, as they finally both come to a mutual understanding.
6. I noticed Amy Tan’s usage of a flashback to provide the reader with an insight of what happened before to lead to her current fear of her mother. It also continues one of the earlier vignettes, “Rules of the Game”, and answers many questions I had from before. The flashback shows me why she ended up quitting chess, and who won the fight between her and her mother. It also displays why she her relationship with her mother is so faulty.
1. Steamed pork with soy sauce is Yummy :3 Mmmmmm
2. Four Directions
3. Although I didn't completely understand this chapter, I still found it quite enjoyable. The character's were easier to understand since we were already introduced to them once, and this chapter kind of continued the first chapter about Waverly Jong. I can understand Waverly's fears and uneasiness about her mother, but I really think that Waverly overthinks everything. Her mother completely out to get her. Although Waverly's mom is quite picky and behaves strangely sometimes, I think that Waverly is a bit paranoid. Lindo is just doing what she thinks is best for her daughter, not trying to ruin Waverly's life or anything.
4. Okay, in my opinion, I think that Rich is the typical "white guy". The way Tan describes him makes me picture the stereotypical Caucasian husband. He can't use chopsticks, he's humorous, he likes wine, he has red, curly hair and freckles, and his solution to make Lindo's steamed pork more salty is soy sauce. Over all, I thought his character was cute and naive, but kind of shallow. All the "mistakes" Rich made during the dinner with Waverly and her family show that he is not aware of Chinese culture. Actions considered normal to Rich are considered rude by Lindo. Also, the fact that he didn't say Waverly's parent's names correctly show his ignorance. I actually found the scene when he called Lindo "Linda" and Tin "Tim" kind of funny. Overall, Rich seems like a dorky, flat character; he is a static character.
5. I believe that the conflict is man vs. man; Waverly vs. Lindo. Waverly has become paranoid because of her mother's remarks. Lindo always seems to have something negative to say to Waverly. Because of this, Waverly feels as if her mother is out to ruin her life, and for this reason, she is afraid to tell her mother about her marriage with Rich, who is not Chinese and is ignorant of Chinese customs. When Waverly finally musters enough courage to tell her mother about her marriage, she sees her mother on a couch, and at that point, she sees her mother as "a young girl, frail, guileless, and innocent." The two finally talk it out, and when the conversation is over, Waverly finally understands. By the end of the chapter, I finally feel as if Waverly and Lindo have solved their conflict, and have a mutual understanding.
6. I think that a theme in this chapter could be "setting one's differences aside to better understand someone else." In this chapter, Waverly and Lindo constantly argue and misunderstand each other. Waverly is paranoid, and Lindo is very negative and nit-picky. Waverly, a rabbit, and Lindo, a horse, are not very compatible with each other, but when Waverly finally reaches out to her mother, the conflict is resolved, and the result is a better relationship. When Waverly finally puts her past hatred for her mother, she "finally sees what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in." Lindo is also able to accept Waverly's marriage with Rich, a Caucasian. In the end, Waverly is content, and imagines "The three of [them], leaving [their] differences behind, stepping on the plane together, sitting side by side, lifting off, moving West to reach the East."
Nancy Le, period 3
Have It Your (Mom's) Way
Four Directions
1. Is it just me, or are none of the characters in this chapter particularly likable except for possibly Lindo? Rich has poor manners, Waverly whines, and Shoshana whines almost as much. This chapter was very plain and simple, which was a bit jarring since I'd sat down expecting to read more wildly surreal, fantastic vignettes.
2. In this chapter, it becomes clear that Waverly is every bit as snotty as she was shown in Jingmei's chapter "Two Kinds." Although she seemed much more innocent, and at least tolerable, in her own chapter "Rules of the Game", it seems in the process of growing up she has gotten unbearably snobbish. She complains almost constantly to the reader about first her mother's criticizing Rich, then about Rich's poor manners. Even in her past, she refused to play chess in an effort to spite her mother, which backfired spectacularly.
3. The conflict is, at its core, Lindo vs. Waverly. Waverly wants Lindo to accept her husband, but creates problems for herself in trying to be cunning and clever in her attempt to win Lindo over. Her showing off of her mink jacket, for example, only causes Lindo to point out that it's actually a rather cheap jacket, lowering Rich's status in her eyes. However, Waverly doesn't actually stand up to Lindo at any point, choosing instead to talk behind her back with people like Marlene. Towards the end, after Waverly's last outburst, the pair have a tentative bonding moment, which Waverly accidentally ruins. However, we can assume that the conflict is resolved, because both Waverly and Lindo consider traveling to China together with Rich and Shoshana, as a way to start over.
4. This chapter and the allegory both suggest that mother knows best. For example, Lindo tells Waverly about all of Marvin's little flaws: a wandering eye, vanity, stinginess. In the end, this causes Waverly to leave Marvin, fixing their relationship. In the anecdote, the mother fixes the bad luck the daughter brought upon herself.
1. “She thinks I am this bad ):!”
2. “Four Directions”
3. This chapter was really connected to the previous one about Waverly and her chess playing. It also wraps up the conflict in that chapter between Waverly and her mother Lindo, and showed the reader how that ended. When Lindo no longer stood over her when she practiced and no longer criticized her loses, Waverly began to lose confidence. Waverly also seemed to think that her mother had planned for her defeat. She kept thinking badly of her mother, and thought that Lindo was using secret tactics to hurt her, but instead, it was Waverly creating all these in her mind. I could connect to the scene about Waverly’s mother washing her rice bowl, because whenever my family and I go out to eat, we also wipe the bowls and chopsticks with napkins. I really didn’t understand the part about New York being called Apple and San Francisco being called Frisco.
4. Rich Schields, Waverly’s future husband, seemed ignorant and very rude at the dinner. However, that is probably just because I’m Chinese and I know the dinner etiquette. To Rich, his actions were considered normal and not offending. He said to Waverly that night when they returned home how he thought the dinner was actually okay. This showed how Chinese and American cultures clash. His actions of affection to Waverly and how he spent time with her daughter, Shoshana, were really cute and showed how much he really loved her. I think that Waverly’s mother also knows this but just didn’t want to seem like she accepts him to quickly because of the culture clash that is also evident during the dinner.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. human: Waverly vs. self. It seemed like Waverly was conflicting with her mother, but it was really herself because she created all these problems within her mind. Waverly felt like she’d been manipulated by her mother since she was little. Everything Lindo said, how ever simple, Waverly would interpret them differently and with a more spiteful hidden meaning. She kept thinking that Lindo was using secret tactics to hurt her when it was really just Waverly creating all these in her own mind. This conflict got resolved by the end because after Lindo explained what was inside of Waverly on the sofa, Waverly understood what she’d been fighting for: herself.
6d. Amy Tan used the writing technique of flashbacks in this chapter. She used it to show herself when she was ten years old. The scene wrapped up the conflict that didn’t get resolved in her previous chapter, “Rules of the Game.” The flashback improved the story by showing the reader what had happened, instead of plainly stating it. It showed “the first time [Waverly] felt… an electric jolt” that her mother gave her (170). The flashback also explains some of the character’s background, which can add more characterization.
Alice La, Period 4
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Meanings
Waverly Jong’s Four Directions
I find this vignette from the set of “American Translation” interesting too. The struggling relationship between Waverly and Lindo continues. The incident that happened between Waverly and her mother during her chess playing period continues still to her adult years of two marriages and a child. Waverly still misunderstands her mother’s intentions. I’m am disappointed that Waverly lost her chess talent. I thought that it was interesting though how chess ended for Waverly. I enjoy reading Amy Tan’s book because she does an excellent job with characterization especially with indirect characterization. The characters seem almost real to me. I also liked how Amy Tan continues the struggle between mother and daughter in the book. She also includes allusions to chess.
Reading this vignette, I thought, “Poor Rich Schields!” I imagined him as an awkward guy. He is ignorant about Chinese culture. He did not know Waverly’s parents would not appreciate a bottle of French wine. He made the mistake of drinking more than one full glass while everyone else just sampled the wine. He failed at using chopsticks. He helped himself to big portions of food instead of polite spoonfuls. He declined food and refused seconds. He “criticized” Lindo’s cooking unintentionally. Poor Rich. The reader knows that he had good intentions yet because of Waverly’s Chinese culture, we see his action as embarrassing and “fail.” I thought it was funny how Rich called Lindo “Linda” and Tin “Tim”. At the end of the evening, Rich felt that he hit the night off “a-o-kay.” Rich is indeed ignorant about his fiance’s Chinese culture.
The main conflict in this vignette is an external human vs. human conflict between Waverly and her mother. Waverly is frustrated with her mother as she tries to announce that her boyfriend and her will be getting married. She misunderstands her mother’s intention. This conflict does get resolved. Waverly learns that her mother already knew about that her daughter’s engagement. In addition, another conflict between the mother and daughter may actually be an internal human vs. self conflict. When asking her other why she says mean things to hurt her daughter, her mother retorts, “Why do you think bad things about me? So you think your mother is bad. You think I have a secret meaning. But it is you who has this meaning.” Waverly finally understands her mother. Instead of seeing her mother as someone with tricks up her sleeves she now sees a woman who wants to understand her too.
Amy Tan uses word choice to allow the reader to get a sense of how her character feels about certain things. For example, Amy Tan uses powerful words to show Waverly’s affection for Rich. She uses words like: unequivocal, embarrassing romantic, confession, romantic gestures, ennobling, sexual chemistry, attuned to my every movement, no inhibitions, and love so pure. Readers see that Rich is important to Waverly as he provides the happiness and satisfaction.
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"FYI--Forever You & I"
(a.k.a. Four Directions)
3. Man, this chapter is long... to me, anyway. When the chapter mentioned the argument of Waverly's hair, an image of Kate Gosselin's unique haircut popped into my head. xD If Waverly is Chinese, why does her daughter's name sound Japanese: Shoshana? I can't believe Waverly gave up chess; I can't believe she lost her confidence and ability to conquer whatever laid in her path. I guess she's less of a brat now, but I stopped believing in her character as much. Still, I hate that her mother bragged about contributing to her victories when really, she didn't play THAT big of a role in Waverly's wins... Okay, well, she did, but she sounds like such a show-off, I don't want to admit it. Marlene sounds cool: "...piss up a rope...". I agree that it's practically against the laws to tell a Chinese mother to shut up, seriously. Ew, I can't believe Waverly counted 146 hairs on Marvin's hairy chest when in fact, Marvin is such a jerk and player. Rich sounds like a really devoted and nice guy overall. He's a little bit ignorant, in the cute innocent way, though. The ending was really cute. I liked how they reunited. Waverly over-thinks her mother's actions way too much. Most of the time, her mother does not even intend to hurt Waverly; yet, Waverly inputs the hurt on herself, creating her own troubles and paranoia.
4. At the family dinner, Rich refuses to use a fork and forces himself to use chopsticks. He is considerate of Waverly's culture and family and tries to blend in with the rest of them. He really wants to leave a good impression on Waverly's family and be accepted, showing that he's caring and really does love Waverly for who she is.
5. The main conflict of this chapter should be the between Waverly and Lindo (external: man vs. man). Waverly's inner thoughts and self-protectiveness prevents her from accepting reality and trying to predict every move before it happens. However, things don't always turn out to be as they seem. Waverly constantly translates her mother's actions into negativity and interprets this as all part of her mother's scheme to make Waverly's life horrible. Lindo, on the other hand, just comments as her typical Chinese self and waits for her daughted to open up her feelings for Lindo into her life. I think the conflict was finally resolved when they had their mother-daughter talk at the end of the story.
6. Definitely, the flashback to when Waverly was 10, really enhanced the storyline. First off, it briefed the readers of how their distant relationship began and progressed. It told us the story behind Waverly's change from being a chess champ to a lost cause, the one who gave up on her life because nobody stopped her. The flashback that Tan used really gave the chapter more meaning with the history of the relationship between Waverly and Lindo.
Emily Huynh, Period 4
Alvin Lee 4th period
1. Mistaken
2. “Four Directions”
3. The first question I have that comes to mind is: “How does the title relate to the story?” However, most of the chapter was pretty straightforward pertaining to how Waverly felt towards her mother and how her mother felt towards her. I feel bad for Waverly because she gave up chess because of her mother’s bragging and way of seeing things. She would have been a genius at chess if she continued improving on it. Her mother’s intentions are also misinterpreted by Waverly and treated as mean and hurtful when her mother is just saying the truth in the things she sees. I also like how Amy Tan shows the struggle between Waverly and her mother because I can understand how each of them feels.
4. Waverly, in “Four Directions,” decides to postpone her wedding with Rich in favor of her mother’s wishes. This shows that Waverly finally understands how her mother feels about her as well as her marriage and has respect for her decisions. Also, Waverly considers taking her mother with her on the honeymoon. This shows that Waverly wants the family to bond and to leave their differences aside as they become closer as a family.
5. The main conflict is Waverly’s struggle to understand her mother’s true intentions towards her and her marriage. This situation is resolved because they finally understand each other and Waverly sees that her mother is only stating what she sees in her daughter and not trying to hurt Waverly. The situation is external and man vs. man between Waverly and her mother. I could also say that the conflict is internal and man vs. self because Waverly feels insecure inside because of what she sees in her mother’s intentions.
6. Amy Tan uses a flashback to return to Waverly and Rich’s past to give us a background on what happens between them so we can understand why Waverly has a hard time telling her mom about the marriage. Also, Tan uses word choice to describe the loving relationship between Waverly and Rich such as romantic gestures, and sexual chemistry. This improves the story because it lets us share how Waverly feels towards Rich and vice versa.
四面楚歌
- Four Directions
1) This vignette is when Waverly grows up more and has already been married once. She is now ready to marry Rich, but she is afraid to tell her mother about it. She then goes into a flashback about when she was younger, a chess prodigy to explain why she is reluctant to tell her mother, Lindo. Her mother is a proud woman, blunt and very much a critique. Ever since Waverly started winning chess and bringing back trophies, Lindo acted as if she were the mastermind behind it and bragged about Waverly as if she were an object. Waverly describes her mother as never satisfied with anything, and her complaints let's Waverly see the black spots where she sees white. I think her mother is too critical, but in the end, all that was for Waverly's well-being, and she changed significantly. I also think that Waverly misunderstood her mother, thinking that she always had tricks to manipulate her life up her sleeves, but she was wrong as we find out that Lindo just wanted what's best for her daughter.
2) Lindo and Waverly. Their relationship was kind of separated throughout their lives, Waverly lived in constant fear of her mother's complaints and Lindo wanted to express her love with that. Waverly, as noted before, thinks that her mother is trying to ruin her life, and thus she is afraid to tell her moyer that Rich and her are getting married. After that dinner with Rich at her mother's house, Waverly feels as if she can see all the bad things about Rich, and thinks that her mother is criticizing him even though Lindo never actually said a word. I think Waverly thinks too badly of her mother, but that cannot be blamed because her mother was like that during a part of her childhood. On he other hand, Lindo did change a lot, from her former self of bragging and criticizing, she changed after that day when Waverly got sick. Even though Waverly still thinks that she is up to something, I think Lindo really just wants the best for her daughter. You can see the change when she didn't complain about Rich when Waverly brougt him him over.
3) conflict. I think he conflict in this vignette is sort of waverly vs herself and waverly vs her mother Lindo. She's fighting against herself because she refuses to accept the fact that her mother has changed and is a better, more open parent. She constantly thinks that Lindo is always trying to ruin her life but that's jus her conscious, Lindo didn't actually say anything. It was a conflict between her mum because that they did have large disputes before and Waverly is trying to fight to relieve herself of the grasp her mother has on her life, which isn't there. Her mother never tried to take over her life, nor ruin it, it was all just inside Waverly's head.
4) the symbols in this story that I think represnt the most is the chess board and their honeymoon to china. The chess board's black and white squares symbolized the good and bad things Waverly sees in her life. She had once stared at it so long that she imagined the black had turned white. Waverly feels that her mother is trying to taint the white spots in her life my forever finding bad things to say. Their honeymoon to china symbolized the fact that they will let go of their past dissents and start anew in the east. Usually the west represents new but in this case, I believe that the east signifies a new start for them because all their past problems were in the west, and now their trip to the east will refresh them and let them be reborn again.
1. Motherly Nature
2. Four Directions
3. The vignette starts off simple when Waverly Jong takes her mother out to eat with her. During the restaurant scene I could compare to my grandmother’s public eating habits to Waverly’s mother. The way her mother cleans her chopsticks, complaining about the food, and issues about conflict. This relationship helped me picture the mother figure better along with getting a clear understanding between Waverly and her mother. I am fond by the way Amy Tan expresses Waverly’s feelings when she keeps on trying to hint her marriage with Rich to her mother. The feeling welled up when she blast into her mother’s entryway demanding to know where she is afterwards tears sprang to her eyes as she breaks the news and soon realizes that her mother was not trying to ignore her daughter’s marriage. Another technique I enjoy from Amy Tan’s writing is the way she adds in local color like the difference between American and Chinese etiquette. I say this section was more realistic than the other vignette I could connect the situation to another book.
4. The Flat or Static character would be mother of Waverly Jong. In this vignette the mother does not really change she is always the same throughout the chapter. The mother is the antagonist as well because in the section the reader knows who she is since she has countless number of qualities. We actually could reflect the character depended on the descriptions provided. The mother is a critical woman when it comes to dinning out, but either then that she is a caring mother disguise in cruel behavior. Waverly’s mother did not comment on the gift Rich gave her nor did she reveal affection toward the groom.
5. The external conflict in this vignette is human versus human. This component is an external conflict because it is between mother and daughter. The entire book may result in the same matter, but this is the situation when her mother does not tell Waverly that she knows her mother is getting married or that she does not try to push the subject away when Waverly speaks about her soon to be husband.
6. The allegory in the beginning of the American Translation foreshadows what would be in every vignette of that section. For instance in the Four Directions, the daughter is already an adult and the mother comes to visit. As the mother comes over she would either give motherly advice or blame the daughter of something. In this vignette the mother soothes her daughter’s troubles as she explains to Waverly she is not bad and that she does not ignore the good news of marriage. At the end when her mother tells the couple to postpone the wedding so that the honeymoon to China be in October.
1. Always Disapproving
2. “Four Directions”
3. This chapter, as it should be, seemed like a continuation the first chapter of Waverly. The chess board is also mentioned in this chapter and used almost in the same way-to talk about the moves of controlling one’s life and making decisions. For Waverly, the decisions she had to make mainly involved her mother and the way she had to tell her about her boyfriend, Rich. At the start of the chapter, we get the idea that Lindo is disapproving of everything-food, weather, and everyday conflicts. The result of their continuous conflict is resolved when Waverly eventually tells her mother of her intentions on marrying Rich. Waverly also does not think that Rich always says the right things when he is with her mother. When he thinks he is being polite, or humorous, it does not appear that way to Lindo. Overall, this chapter had a happy ending and it was entertaining to read.
4. The character who I found the most interesting in the chapter was Lindo. She disapproves of many things in her life and it makes Waverly very uncomfortable to be around her. When Rich comes for dinner, Lindo is not very pleasant and when Rich tries to be polite, Lindo does not understand his “ways” and she takes his words more as offensive actions. When Lindo complains it shows that she has very high standards, but she also has a superstitious way to her personality, like all of the other mothers. Later in the story, we find out that really, Lindo does somewhat approve of her daughter and the ways she has acted only reveal her character and the ways that she cares for Waverly.
5. The main conflict is man vs. man, or better yet, Waverly vs. Lindo. There has been an ongoing struggle between these two forces ever since the Waverly was a little girl and a chess prodigy. This struggle makes Waverly feel that she cannot tell her mother of her relationship with Rich. This makes me feel sad for her because every mother and daughter should be able to talk to each other about everything without having a fear of how the mother will react. In the end, the conflict gets resolved when Waverly finally tells her mother of her relations with Rich. This leads to show that Lindo was happy for Waverly and it was not that she did not disapprove of him but rather she only wanted what would be best for her.
6. The theme in the chapter is yes, once again, the chess board. Waverly considers the chess board to be a way for her to make her decisions. She well thinks out her moves strategically and she “knows” every play that is possible for both her and her opponent. Her knowledge of all this leads her to “protect” herself and her pawns. But, when we throw Lindo into the chess board, Waverly feels trapped. Waverly’s mother hinders Waverly from knowing what she will do, or is going to say next and this blocks her from knowing what will go on in her life. So therefore; this chess board symbolizes life and the decisions we must face and how they can always change, no matter how strategic we play the game. There will always be an ongoing struggle in life, regardless of the way we play on the “chessboard”.
Four corners
Four Directions
3. The chapter was quite satisfying. Waverly's tense nature in this chapter was interesting to read about, and it was nice seeing the less crazed side of Waverly's mother, who didn't polish Waverly's trophies anymore or stay around whilst Waverly practiced. I think Waverly learned to appreciate her mother a little more in this chapter and that was nice to read about. In fact I don't know if she could have won all of those tournaments without her mom's company, because she did lose tournament after tournament after her mom stopped clinging around.
4. I think that Waverly is clouded with the belief that her mom is trying to oppose her and that she is not understanding that her mom is being perfectly normal, ad she only wants to be accepted by her daughter, who she is proud of.
5.The conflict of the chapter is definitely internal, and that Waverly keeps thinking that her mother is always trying to be her enemy, but all she's trying to do is be accepted by her daughter. Waverly keeps thinking that her mother has tricks for her in mind and that she is going to continue being the irrational mother Waverly thinks she is, but in truth her mother is only being normal. I think Waverly needs to really try to look at things from her mother's perspective. Now that We've seen her softer side, I can sympathize with her and sort of understand why she would do all of those things such as dusting the trophies and watch Waverly practice.
Black and White
"Four Directions"
This chapter was pretty cute! I loved how Waverly and Lindo's conflicts both get resolved in the end, unlike the previous chapters in the book. Unlike the other vignettes, there was a happy ending to the story: no divorces, no more opposing forces...but a better relationship between a mom and her daughter.
Waverly Jong is really quite a character in this chapter, from the way she is scared to tell her mother that she's getting married, to her thought-out "plans" of defending herself about it. The way I see it, it's okay to be defensive to some things, especially if you have to deal with Asian mothers...or mothers who make a big deal out of anything, for that matter. But, to be scared to tell your parents about an important turning point in your life? Pretty sad. Waverly spends all her time being afraid of her mother's criticism, over-analyzing each action as if her mom was always out to get her. Eventually, in the end of the chapter Waverly learned to "let her gaurd down" and see her mother for who she really was -- a vulnerable old woman but yet a loving mom.
The main conflict in this chapter is between Waverly and her mother, obviously. Waverly is afraid because she thinks that she can never please her mother. But in truth, the conflict is also Waverly vs. herself, as she explains, "I saw what I had been fighting for: It was for me, a scared child, who had run away a long time ago to what I had imagined was a safer place." (183) Once Waverly decided to quit trying in chess, she became scared and vulnerable, no longer the confident champion that she was. When she played in chess competitions after that, she no longer was playing it for her own enjoyment, but more of a desperate attempt for her mother's attention.
The chess board is a symbol used again to represent Waverly and her mother, and the black and white squares represent their different perspectives. Waverly always thinks of her mother as "the queen, able to move in all directions...always able to find my weakest spots," (180) while she was the small pawn. Throughout the chapter, she talks as if she were always fighting a battle against her mother. No matter how many strategies Waverly tries to bring her mother down, Lindo is sincere in her actions and in the end Waverly is finally able to see her mother's good intentions, summarized perfectly as: "an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in." (184)
1.) Now You Understand My Meaning
2.) Four Directions
3.) This was the best vignette that made sense with Waverly’s vignette. What surprised me out of Waverly was that she is afraid to tell her mother that she is engaged to Rich. From the previous vignette about Waverly’s childhood, I saw her as very powerful and strong willed, but in this vignette, I saw her with a new pair of eyes. This time, to me, Waverly seems reluctant of everything she does because of the fear of what her mother will say to her. Also, I think that the name Shoshana is very unique and different. I think that Amy Tan did an exceptional job of describing Rich as a Caucasian male with red hair and freckles. This vignette was very enjoyable to read and it is funny that all along, Waverly thought that her mother was from Taiwan, not Taiyuan. Wow, what a mix up.
4.) I think that Rich, Waverly’s fiancé, is very sweet and it is evident that he truly loves Waverly. At work, he sends little love notes to Waverly, takes care of Shoshana, and buys Waverly a mink coat. In addition to those details, at diner time, Rich insists that he uses chopsticks because he wants to be accepted, plus, he eats large portions instead of little ones and makes the mistake of telling her mother what to do it improve the meal. I see Rich is very humble and just wants to make a good impression but ends up messing it up. But in the end, he does it out of pure love.
5.) The main conflict in this vignette is external. It is man vs. man, or Waverly vs. Lindo, because Waverly believes that her mother is a bad person who just wants to hurt Waverly. All along, Waverly has been afraid to tell her mother of the things that happen in her life because she knows that her mother will have something negative to say. But at the end, when Waverly confronts her mom, they both have finally come to an understanding of each other, and Waverly understands her mother’s meaning. Waverly was finally able to see past all the negative aspects and see her mother for who she truly is.
6d.) In this vignette, Amy Tan utilizes flashback in order to show why Waverly has grown up as the person she is. In the beginning, the reader finds out that Waverly is so scared to tell her mother about her engagement to Rich. Later, Amy Tan uses flashbacks to show when Waverly was a little girl and stopped playing chess for a while but she continued later on. In the flashback, we also learn that ever since she lost twice to the boy that she easily defeated years ago, “[she] could see only [her] mistakes, [her] weaknesses,” (172). As a result, she lost her confidence as well as the confidence to face her mother.
Michelle Méndez
4th period
Give me some har gau and a side order of tough love.
Four Directions
3) This chapter turned out to be the sequel to the chess battle tournament between Waverly and her mother. After many years, Waverly believes that her and her mother are still fighting over an event that occurred many many years ago in a ghetto ghetto place. I like how Lindo acts as if she is blind to all signs of Rich in Waverly's wife. This may have looked bad at first, but this turned out to be fine because she excuses these things. I found many parts of this chapter amusing because when I read it, I found many things I could relate to.
4) In this chapter, we learn a new side of Waverly. We can see that she is determined to not lose due to the fact that she wouldn't think once of losing to her mother.We learn that she is a sore loser because when she lost her 2nd tournament, she gave up chess. She is a lot of like her mother, filled with pride. We also learn that her daughter is her life. She adores her and does whatever she could in order to make sure she doesn't get hurt.
5)The conflict in this chapter is very clear. It is the battle between Waverly and her mother, Lindo. This is man vs man conflict. It also symbolizes the American culture facing off against the Chinese culture.
6) A BIG symbol in this chapter is.... the chessboard. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the reigning champion has come back to regain the title as symbol of the chapter. Waverly constantly talks about chess and the chessboard in this chapter just as she did in "Rules of the Game." When she gave up chess, she also gave up on competing against her mother.
The horse can trample the rabbit and the rabbit can bite the horse
“Four directions”
3. I really liked how the Amy Tan connected this chapter with the previous one about chess. It helped me understand who was talking and what they had already been through. I find it kind of sad how Waverly gave up chess because she lost her confidence. She could have really gotten far with that confidence. I also think Waverly is over analyzing all of her mother’s actions, thinking that she is out to get her and make her life miserable. What mother does that? I sometimes over analyze what people say or do to me, like if someone says they need to go to the bathroom and I can see they’ve taken their phone I think to myself “am I boring them?”, “am I a boring person?” or “ am I so ugly they couldn’t look at me for a second longer?” So I can relate with Waverly on that, but I still think she takes it too far. Even as a child, she thinks her relationship with her mother is one battle after another, a never ending war. Waverly thinks that “[her] mother knew more tricks then [she] had thought,” (171) but in reality Lindo has no tricks. She just wants her daughter to be brought up as an obedient lady.
4. Rich is a caring and compassionate guy and is a little quirky in my mind. He must really love Waverly because he accepts every part of her, even the bad parts. Rich even tries to use chopsticks at dinner with Waverly’s family, showing that he wants to impress the Jong family with his mad chopstick skills (not). I think he is a good match for Waverly.
5. The conflict is actually external for once. It’s between Waverly and Lindo (man vs. man). Waverly always thinks that her mother is “out to get her” and wants to hurt her and make her life awful, but in reality Lindo is only commenting on her daughters life and wants her to be open with her. She honestly means no harm. Waverly needs to break down the invisible walls that she thinks is protection and let her mother into her life. The conflict was resolved when Waverly peeks over that wall and sees her mother for who she really is not and not some horrible monster and they make a connection.
6. I think the theme is that you can’t let other people influence your decisions, which is what Waverly did and it nearly ruined her life because she thought her mother was criticizing her at every turn. Also, don’t form false barriers because they will blur your vision of what is true.
1. What? Really..?
2. Four Direction
3. It was amusing to see Waverly continuously try to break the news to Lindo and fails. Waverly reminds me of myself in a way, because I would secretly get things but need to find a safe way to tell my parents without them disapproving or giving the disappointed expression. I was also surprised to find that Waverly quit chess, the game she had the most skill for. Sounds like a waste of talent. A question that struck me is “Why does Waverly have such a difficult time telling Lindo the news of her engagement?” Does Waverly strongly think that Lindo would disapprove?
4. Lindo does not really change at all throughout the chapter. Lindo just cares for Waverly although it’s not always expressed in the best of ways. Waverly and Lindo’s relationship is kind of shaky because of childhood experiences with chess. Even now Waverly fears her Lindo, but everything was done out of care. Lindo later on actually agrees to the marriage between Waverly and Rich.
5. The conflict is a man vs man internal conflict between Waverly and Lindo. Waverly fears Lindo’s disapproval to her wedding with Rich. Waverly believes that Lindo is trying to take over her life, but all that was done out of care. Because Waverly believes that Lindo is trying to take over her life, she kind of fears to tell her mother about the engagement. Turns out that Lindo didn’t hate Rich and approves to their marriage.
6. Amy Tan uses flashback to show why the relationship between Lindo and her came to be. Her flashback also told me about the reason why she chose to quit chess. Amy’s flashback mainly helped me to establish more understanding about the 2’s relationship.
JamesYu
3rd.
Tough Standards
"Four Directions"
3) I thought this chapter was filled with the need to be the best and to always hold the perfect item. If something or someone wasn't considered "perfect" then Waverly would over think, and end up thinking way too much over something that hardly meant anything. I also thought that in this chapter the mother never once came off as being very loving. Wouldn't having a mom like this make it super difficult to talk to? Let alone tell her that you want to marry a man who is white with orange hair. Overall i thought the chapter should how the way mother's think and their approval of things is taken into great consideration in their daughter's lives.
4)I would like to focus on the main character Waverly. She seems like a nice women and a loving one but she listens to her mother's thoughts way too much. Even if Waverly doesn't believe in what her mother is saying, sooner or later she starts to think it's true. She lets her mother control her life and doesn't live her life the way she truely wants to. Waverly is in love with Rich and even though he messes up at the family dinner and doesn't really say the right things Waverly still decides to start looking at him in a bad way. "...making me see black where I once saw white." (179-180) I think Waverly shouldn't over think so much on what her mother thinks, Waverly's life could be a lot less stressful if she did.
5)The conflict is man vs. man and external. It takes place between Waverly and her mother, Lindo. Waverly is always feeling attacked and not good enough for her mother but really Lindo is trying to comment her daughter without coming out and actually saying it. I don't feel that the conflict was completely resolved only because Waverly never truely lets her mother all the way into her life because she feels her mother might ruin it. Waverly needs to learn to take in what her mother is telling her but not take it so seriously.
6)In this chapter the style of writing uses a lot of imagery which really helps picture what is taking place in the chapter. Imagery helps the reader really picture Rich and all the so called "spots" that Lindo is always talking about. Also imagery is used when talking about the feast that Lindo prepared for when Waverly and Rich came over for dinner. The imagery through the whole chapter really brings the context to a whole new level of reading.
1. The Truth is Hidden
2. Four Directions.
3. I thought this chapter was pretty interesting. It starts off with her and her mother in a Chinese restaurant called “Four Directions” which was the title of the book. However, I found the title non-relative to the chapter itself whatsoever. I thought this chapter was good though, because in the ending was understandable and the problem between mother and daughter gets resolved.
4. The main character in this chapter is focused on Waverly Jong. She is afraid of spilling the new to her mother that she is getting married. He struggles throughout the chapter to tell her mother because she is afraid of her mother’s reaction and criticism on her decision. I thought that she should have just told her mother from the start though, straight-up, without having to “plan” a special day to break the news because it was a big part in her life and I though it would have been best if she just told her mother upfront about it. Anyway, in the end Waverly find the courage to finally tell her mother, only to realize that her mother had secretly knew all along. The growing tension between mother and daughter soon comes to an end once the new is brought upon the table.
5.The main conflict in this chapter is man vs. man and it is between Waverly and her mother. Waverly struggles to tell her mother that she is getting married. She is afraid on what her mother will say about her decision and that holds her back from doing so. Throughout her life she was constantly trying to please her mother with everything that she done. She thinks that her decision might not fulfill her mother’s wishes and so she finds it hard to tell her mother what she has to say. In the end she does tell her mother, rather her mother knew all along, and both are content about the decision. The conflict gets resolved in the end.
6. Amy Tan uses the writing technique of flashback in this chapter. She jumped to telling the story on when Waverly was 10 years old, and sort of reminds us of the past conflict between mother and daughter in the chapter, “Rules of the Game.” This leading chapter tied up the problem between the two, which was resolving in the tension between Waverly and her mother.
1. “Now you understand my meaning?”
2. Four Directions
3. I can relate to when Lindo wiped the rice bowl because when my family went to a restaurant, they do it too. I can’t believe that Waverly quit chess. She lost to the guys she beat? She lost her confidence? I was sort of disappointed about that. She eloped? That’s really bad, well people said that marriages that aren’t approved by your parents won’t last. It was weird that Lindo didn’t really create evil tactics. I thought that she was evil, but apparently not. It was all in Waverly’s mind.
4. Rich tried hard to fit in. He used chopsticks instead of forks, but failed at using it. This showed that he wanted them to accept him as part of the family, which showed how much he loved Waverly. He tried to impress Lindo, but I guess it was difficult to impress her. It was really cute how he put “FYI-Forever You & I.” I think he did everything out of pure love.
5. The main conflicts of this vignette are man vs. man and man vs. self. Waverly had a hard time to face her mother. She always listened to the bad things her mother said, which made her see “black where [she] once saw white.” Waverly also made herself felt so insecure that she thought her mother was always after her and she only criticized her. This all was resolved when Waverly finally understood her mother’s true intention.
6. The flashback that Tan put in this vignette made the story better. She used it to show us how the mother and daughter relationship began to collapse and how Waverly lost her confidence. This helped us understand why Waverly had a really hard time to tell her mother about her engagement with Rich.
Jessica Hartono, Period 4
The West Finally Reaches the East
“Four Directions”
3. The scene where Waverly went out to lunch with her mother at a Chinese restaurant made me laugh. Without fail, every single time we go out for a meal, my parents do the exact same thing; they bust out the teapot and start wiping everything down. However, while Waverly speaks disparagingly of the practice, I largely accept it as an Asian way of life. I find the difference quite startling, because I never realized how intertwined my own Chinese and American cultures were until I compared it with the daughters in Joy Luck Club. In “Rules of the Game”, Waverly acted really snotty, but her interactions with Rich – who is extremely endearing in a dorky kind of way – make her seem more human in this chapter. Amy Tan shows us Waverly’s side of the story, and why she acts as arrogant and overconfident as she does. We realize that Waverly is actually quite vulnerable, an aspect of her personality that is only strengthened by her mother’s criticism. Amazingly, I found myself rooting her on, and I was extremely proud when she finally came to terms with her mother at the end of the vignette.
4. Lindo Jong, Waverly’s mother, is quite clever, though her tendency to be overly critical is an equally prominent part of her personality. In the flashback, Lindo was able to beat Waverly at her own mind game and eventually, the deteriorating relationship between the two lead Waverly to quit chess. At the end of the vignette, after Waverly told her that she and Rich were getting married, Lindo stated that “I already know this… even if you didn’t tell me,” which indicates that she is an extremely clever woman (181). She can read her daughter inside and out, and she attacks with the “invisible strength” that she taught Waverly all those years ago. However, throughout the vignette Lindo also proved to be extremely critical. She makes a point of putting down Waverly and her relationship with Rich, the state of their apartment, and when they go to the restaurant, she complains about the quality of food and the service.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is between Waverly and her mother and the over thirty years of misunderstandings that lay between the two. Waverly thinks that her mother is criticizing her because everything Waverly does is cause for disapproval. In actuality, however, Lindo just wants what is best for her daughter – she just has odd ways of displaying her affection. Rather than praise and encouragement, Lindo turns to frank criticism. This external conflict of man vs. man carries on from “Rules of the Game” but in a way, it is resolved by the end of this vignette as Waverly talks about finally “leaving our differences behind…sitting side by side, lifting off, moving West to reach the East” (184). Waverly finally realizes that her mother really means no harm, and with that realization comes acceptance for her mother’s personality as well as forgiveness for her own shortcomings.
6. The use of flashbacks was extremely effective in describing Waverly’s fall from the chess scene. It was heartbreaking to read about how the faltering relationship between Waverly and her mother led to the end of Waverly’s chess career. The flashbacks give light to why the relationship between the two is so strained as well as how deeply the opinions of her mother affects Waverly in all aspects of her life – so much that her decision to quit chess was mainly attributed to her mother.
- Michelle Chan =]
1. Strict Standards.
2. “Four Directions”
3. This vignette is a continuation of Waverly’s story, but she is older and has already been married once. Waverly is ready to marry her boyfriend Rich, but is hesitant about telling her mom. She flashes back to her past and when she was a chess prodigy to show why she is reluctant to tell her mother. Lindo would brag about Waverly and act like she was the reason why Waverly was doing so well. Waverly says that her mother never thinks what she does is enough and her mother’s expectations only get higher and higher. I think Lindo is this way only because she cares for Waverly and wants her to be successful. In the end we find out Waverly is wrong to think her mother had a bunch of tricks to manipulate her because Lindo only wanted the best for her.
4. Lindo Jong is a flat and static character. Lindo expects a lot from Waverly and she makes it so that Waverly is uncomfortable around her. When Rich joins them for dinner, Lindo is not very nice to Rich and takes the way he does things offensively. I think Lindo is very irascible because Rich only has good intentions, but Lindo can’t see them. In the end, Lindo does show a bit of approval to Waverly.
5. The main conflict in this vignette is man vs. man. The conflict is between Lindo Jong and her daughter Waverly. There has always been tension between this mother and daughter pair since Waverly was a chess prodigy. Waverly feels she can’t tell her mother about Rich because of her expectations. I feel bad for Waverly because she should be close to her mother and be able to tell her everything. In the end Waverly reveals her relationship with Rich to her mother and instead of disapproving, her mother is happy because she only wanted the best for Waverly.
6. In this vignette, Amy Tan uses flashback to show how and why Waverly has grown up to be the person she is. Amy Tan says that Waverly is scared to tell her mom about rich, and she shows why by flashing back. Waverly lost twice to the boy she defeated years ago and lost confidence in herself.
1. Misunderstanding
2. Four Directions
3. I really enjoyed reading this chapter, but I didn't understand how Waverly had already married and had a child at such a young age. I liked how Waverly continues to try and hint to her mother about her relationship because it relates to many children today. Waverly eventually quits chess, which was a disappointment for me because that was my favorite part about her character.
4. When Waverly consideres inviting her mother to her honeymoon, it shows that Waverly is kind and considerate. It also shows that she respects her mother, even though they don't get along sometimes.
5. The main conflict is human vs. human. Waverly attempts to show her mother that she is in a relationship several times, but her mother consistently ignores these hints. Eventually, Waverly cries and finds out that her mother knew all along, and the conflict is resolved.
6. I believe that the theme in this chapter is to never assume things because it can cause a lot of pain if you do.
1) Meet the Fockers: A Chinese Interpretation
2) Four Directions
3) Lindo was a pretty entertaining character in this chapter. She gave the former national chess champion a run for her money. This chapter also made me realize the ignorance of some people. I am aware that some a person cannot be accustomed to every culture, but Rich just made me so angry. Like when he makes fun of Lindo for having such choppy English or when he jokes about Lindo reading the menu so that they don’t eat dogs or snakes by mistake in China. If I were on the opposite side of that statement, I would be really offended. Well, I think that this chapter was pretty mild compared to some of the others, but one line really got me. It was when Lindo was explaining to Waverly the difference between Taiwan and China because Waverly thought that Tayuan was Taiwan. She says that Bing is a nickname forthe region where she lived, and that it’s like the Apple for New York and Frisco for San Francisco. Waverly says “People who call it that don’t know any better” (pg 183). This is how Lindo got her point across.
4) I think that Waverly is too paranoid about her mother out to get her and Rich. She thinks that Lindo is going to reveal Rich’s flaws like what she did to Marvin Chen. I think that this has gotten to the point where Waverly thinks every action her mother makes is a step towards Waverly’s demise. She tries to reverse and counter Lindo but ends up hurting herself, like when she took Rich to dinner at her Suyuan’s and then her mother’s. Waverly has seen her mother as some sort of enemy that she cannot see that Lindo truly cares about her.
5) The conflict in the story is Waverly trying to reveal to her mother that she and Rich are getting married, but is too scared to say so based on former events. I think that it is man vs. self because while Waverly thinks that her mother is moving against her, it is actually Waverly being paranoid and is over-analyzing the entire situation.
6) I think the them in this chapter is to not see things in the worst way and that sometimes you need to calm down to really understand what is happening around you. Waverly based things on past observations, blinding her from the truth.
Bryan Bui
Black and White
Four Directions
1. This chapter made me chuckle inside at many parts. In the beginning, the scene with Waverly's mother at the Four Directions restaurant accurately portrayed the stereotype of old asian women. It showed that Waverly's mother had poor manners and as Waverly described her in more detail, I began to dislike her even more. However, at the end of the chapter, I could understand and somewhat relate to their struggles, and I liked how Waverly left their differences behind and realized that her mother wasn't bent on ruining her life.
2. Rich Schields is Waverly's 2nd husband and he is a static, unchanging character. He is shown to be oblivious and naive to Chinese mannerisms. An example of this is when he pours soy sauce all over the food, instead of complementing it. He often makes a fool of himself without knowing it which reveals a lot about his carefree, yet ignorant character.
3. The main conflict is man vs. man between Waverly and her mother. They disagree a lot over the Chinese ways and beliefs, but mostly they argue about Waverly's life choices such as in men. Waverly also has a small fight internally over her decision whether or not to tell her mom about Rich. Both of these conflicts become resolved when Waverly finally confronts her mother at her house instead of changing the subject. Eventually, Waverly climbs over that imaginary barrier that separated her from her mother so they could understand each other.
4. Throughout the book, Amy Tan uses effective word choice to portray emotions of the character during particular scenes. For example, in this chapter, Amy Tan creates a wary and unfriendly mood in the kitchen. She described Waverly's mother using a sharp cleaver to chop eggplant with such ferocity that it could shred her fingertips. Words like 'hot oil' and 'angry hissing sounds' add to the clamorous atmosphere.
1) “Misunderstanding = Mistakes
2) Four Directions
3) I liked reading this chapter because it clearly shows the relationship between Waverly and Lindo Jong. I really admire Waverly’s perseverance and persistence with her mother. Waverly tells her mother so many times about the engagement but her mother is still in denial and she’s able to put up with it. If I were in Waverly’s position, I would get so stressed out about my mother’s ignorance and just marry the man. Waverly didn’t and I respected her. I believe that this chapter can relate to a lot of people since families are always trying to reveal your weakness.
4) The relationship of Waverly and Lindo can be interpreted as misunderstanding. Waverly believes that her mother is too pushy and is always finding something wrong with her. But in reality, her mother is always trying to help her and to guide her into the correct direction. When Lindo met Rich, he made a horrible first impression at the dinner table which allowed Lindo a chance to speak about the bad upbringings his family caused. Waverly believed that her mother was only criticizing Rich because she wanted to ruin her life, but in reality she just wanted the best for her.
5) The main conflict of this chapter is human vs. human as Waverly continues to defend herself against her mother’s words. Waverly feels frustrated because her mother is always ignoring her when she tries to announce that her boyfriend, Rich and her will be getting married. This conflict gets resolved when Waverly learns that Lindo already knew about her daughter’s engagement.
6) Amy Tan once again utilizes flashbacks as a way of letting the reader know of how Waverly grew up to be how she is now. In the beginning, the reader finds out that Waverly is so scared to tell her mother about her engagement to Rich. Amy Tan uses flashbacks to show when Waverly was a little girl and quit playing chess for a while but she continued later on. We also learn at her last tournament she lost twice to the boy whom she had defeated so easily a few years before, “[she] could see only [her] mistakes, [her] weaknesses,” (172). Her gift as a chess prodigy gave her confidence, but then she loses her own confidence as well as the confidence to speak towards her mother.
1. Freckles are bad luck!
2. Four Directions
3. I thought this was one of the best chapters. I thought it was weird how Waverly finally quit chess after being a child prodigy. This chapter reminds me of many times when you're trying to tell someone something and they say something else to change the subject. This chapter is a great example of a Chinese family and how when someone marries a non Chinese, it's hard to tell the family without thinking they're not going to approve.
2. Waverly is the main character in this chapter. She goes through a lot of acceptance problems with her mother. Waverly is a stubborn person and doesn't even want to lose in anything, so she decides not to practice chess and stand up to her mother. When she finally gives in, she realizes she has lost her "magical" powers of chess playing. She also had to deal with Marvin, her high school sweetheart and his selfish acts. I also think that Waverly is too worried about what Lindo will think about Rich that she's too afraid to tell her mother, even though she already knows about the marriage and she was just waiting for Waverly to invite her.
3. The main conflict in this chapter is man vs man. It is between Lindo and Waverly and how Waverly is too scared to tell Lindo about her upcoming marriage with Rich. Waverly is just a typical girl who is obedient towards her mother, and her mother cares about her. I think that Lindo cares about her too much to the extent that she goes to Waverly's apartment whenever she wants. Later on, Lindo realizes that Waverly is growing up and she can make her own decisions. In the end, Lindo already knew about the marriage and just wanted to see if Waverly would "invite" her to celebrate their marriage, just like how she has to invite her mother over to the apartment instead of her just coming unexpectedly. The conflict got resolved at the end when Lindo accepted Rich as Waverly's husband.
4. Amy Tan uses a technique called flashback in this chapter. She brings us back to when Waverly was younger and played chess. When Lindo started to show Waverly off to all her friends, their mother and daughter relationship began to go down the drain. It helped us to understand why Waverly and Lindo's relationship is not as strong as it used to be and why it was so hard for Waverly to tell Lindo her relationship with Rich.
-Eric Tam
Period 3
Jessica Lee
Period 4
1. Fathom- "And really, I did understand..." (pg.183)
2. Four Directions
3. When I read about the part where Waverly goes to China with her mom and Rich, it reminded me of the Amy Tan interview. Amy Tan said that she went on a trip to China with her mom also which makes me wonder if she wrote that into the book. This chapter made me rethink about Rules of the Game. In that chapter I thought that Lindo was fighting against Waverly. But in this chapter, Amy Tan shows Lindo in a different light "... what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword..." (pg.184) In Rules of the Game, Waverly saw Lindo as the opponent she couldn't beat. One question that I do have is why does Tan have Waverly nickname Taiyuan as Bing, is it symbolic? I was confused when I read this cause Bing was Rose's younger brother.
4. I think that we see Waverly change in this chapter. When she played chess she said that she loved all the secrets it held. So, when she saw her mom as her opponent she felt fearful of the secrets Lindo held. The changing point for Waverly is when she tells Lindo about her engagement with Rich. "So you think your mother is this bad. You think I have a secret meaning. But it is you who has this meaning." -Lindo (pg.181)
5. I think that the conflict was human vs. human, Waverly vs. Lindo or that's the way Waverly saw it. Waverly thought that Lindo was the cause of her failed marriage, of her unhappiness.
6. I think the theme in this chapter is that to solve a problem you have to confront it not shy away from it.
Waverly was trying to tell Lindo about her and Rich, but her feeble attempts failed. In the end, Waverly just tackles her problem head on and tells her mother about her engagement.
1. “Necessity is the mother of "taking chances" –Mark Twain
2. Waverly Jong: Four directions
3. I thought this chapter was very typical, and while reading every page, I retained the feeling of having read/seen a similar situation before. The whole chapter is based on Waverly Jong confronting her mother to tell her about her new marriage with Rich. She is scared to tell her mother because she’s afraid of how her mother will react to her new husband. She’s scared to take the risk, and she feared disappointment. However, it wouldn’t have been so difficult if her mother didn’t hold such high standards for everything and everyone, but that just wasn’t the case. During the Four Directions restaurant scene, Waverly’s mother disapproved of the menu. It gave the reader an insight on her personality and foreshadowed what the chapter would be about. Something I liked was how Waverly talked about her former husband, Marvin, because it allowed me to compare him to her soon-to-be husband, Rich. I also liked how Waverly’s mother talked to her about her different sides of the family giving her “four directions.”
4. The character I would like to focus on is Waverly Jong. From the point Waverly ran away from her mother in the market, she has known the only way to defeat her mother was to be the first one to speak. That is exactly what she did in this chapter. She was scared to tell her mother she was marrying Rich although her mother had secretly known all along. Her mother’s standards worried her so much she lost chances to break the news to her, and before she could, Rich made a fool of himself without even realizing it. The reader almost gets the sense that Waverly is ashamed of Rich because she doesn’t have the strength to inform her mother. However, at the very end of the chapter, there is a turning point. Waverly can no longer take the anxiety and tells her mother without sugar coating or working around her mother’s tricks. I think this showed Waverly’s newly gained courage, and by the end of the chapter, she has finally stood up to her mother.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is definitely man vs. man external and it is between Waverly and her mother. Waverly is in a constant battle with her mother who happens to be her biggest weakness. Yet, at the same time, she is in a constant battle with herself (man vs. self internal). She filled her head with her mother’s disapproval, and it only scared her more. This conflict is resolved at the end of the chapter when Waverly finally breaks through her mother’s traps and gains the confidence to tell her. To her surprise, her mother accepts it, and it made me wish she had only gained the self-confidence earlier.
6. I think the theme in this chapter is to take chances. I think this chapter tells us not to fill our heads with negative outcomes before we have even taken the risk because we might believe we have already failed. I think Waverly got lucky because she cracked just in time; she could have lost herself and never gained the confidence to tell her mother. I think people should overcome their fears and take risks in life because one must risk a lot to see how far they can go.
Linh Vuong
3rd Period
Perfection is perfect
"Four Directions"
3. I actually liked this chapter. I think I liked this chapter so much because Amy Tan connected her story to the last story about her chess playing. Since we know about Waverly's past, it helped me understand the chapter better because we know what she has gone and such matters. It was sad how Waverly had given up her chess career just because she lost her confidence. The continuous battles between Waverly and her mother continue in this chapter. I think Waverly overanalyzes situations with her mother. Waverly thought that her mother didn't like Rich because of all the "tricks" she pulls on Waverly. It turns out that her mother doesn't hate Rich at all. I think she just wants Waverly to become a nice and obedient lady and she only wants the best for Waverly.
4. I think overall Rich is a really good guy. He sure has the guts to step into the Jong family, a strict-ruled family. I think he treats Waverly how she needs to be treated. He seems like a nice and caring guy. I like how he accepts Waverly for who she is and that he knows she's not perfect, because really, who is? I think it was funny how Lindo Jong cracked a joke saying that she was going to go to China with them on their honeymoon and how Rich cracked a joke back then Lindo snapped at him saying thats not what she meant. That was funny. I also like how Rich tried very hard to fit in with their family by trying to use chopsticks.
5. The conflict in this vignette is external man vs.man, or in other words, Waverly against her mother, Lindo. Waverly continues to think that her mother is out to get her and just wants to hurt her. That is not the case at all though. All her life, Waverly has been afraid to open up to her mother because she thought her mother would just bite her back. Waverly tells her mother about her marriage and waverly is surprised by her mother's reactions. The conflict is resolved because her and her mother become understanding of each other, something Waverly never thought would come true. Waverly just needed to look beyond all of the negativities of her mother.
6. In this vignette, Amy Tan uses a flashback, a writing technique. She reminds us of the struggling relationship between Waverly and her mother when she was ten years old, still playing chess. She uses this flashback to set us in the situation of Waverly still struggling to open up to her mother. However, the life process was finally resolved.
1. Freckles
2. “Four Directions”
3. In this chapter, the readers are able to view Waverly through another perspective. Instead of basing the whole chapter on chess, Amy Tan twines together Waverly’s past and present. We learn about her previous marriage with Marvin and her daughter, Shoshana. In this chapter, I admire Waverly’s decisions on not aborting Shoshana because abortion is not the answer! :( Besides that, I thought this chapter was interesting! It deals with a lot of real situations mothers and daughters go through, today. Just like Lindo at the restaurant, my mother always cleans out the “dirty” dishware with hot tea! How embarrassing!
4. Rich Schields, Waverly’s fiancé, was really entertaining in this chapter. Although I felt kind of bad for him, his lack of knowledge of Chinese traditions really made him stand out and seem goofy. He appears to be a typical Caucasian man who tries to fit in with a Chinese family. His chopstick usage, red wine drinking, and big-portion eating definitely made him a humorous character.
5. I think the main conflict in this chapter is human vs. human; Waverly vs. Lindo. It can also be seen as a clash between American and Chinese heritage. Throughout the chapter, both mother and daughter struggle to understand each other. Every time Waverly tried to announce her engagement to Rich, Lindo would change the subject and seem not to care. She believed her mother disapproved of Rich and wanted to ruin her life. However, the conflict is solved at the end of the chapter when Waverly and Lindo discuss their problems.
6. In her book, “Joy Luck Club,” Amy Tan utilizes different writing techniques throughout each chapter. In this chapter, the use of flashbacks really allow the readers to fathom her main point. Tan jumps from Waverly’s young childhood as a chess prodigy to a now matured, engaged woman.
The Sides of the Game
Four Directions
Wow, apparently Rich is a 'hell of a guy'; sweet and romantic, he's also a love-machine. WHOA! After reading the four chapters straight through, it's of course clear that Waverly dotes on her daughter, and compared to the others' reactions, Shoshana is quite spoiled. I can understand Waverly and where she's coming from, but the character herself just makes me IRASCIBLE. It was nice though, that in the end mother and daughter could finally understand each other.
Another wow, Waverly forgot her chess prowess! How does that happen...? You're a nine-year old prodigy, seeing these invisible moves laying throughout the checkered battlefield, and then like what, two years later, you don't remember that skill? That is SO lame... What a waste of talent... Anyways the parallelism was drawn between her as a child knowing all the moves, and later as an adult not knowing any moves for her mother; but in the end they reach an understanding, like most stories do.
Conflict was definitely man vs man, Waverly and her mother Lindo being the protagonist and antagonist, respectively. Pretty much internal, because Lindo always felt exasperated by her mother's snide remarks and offhand comments, and how she could never please her, while her mother was just patiently waiting for her daughter to 'let her in'. Yes it gets resolved in the end, with them both coming to understand each other.
The chapter is connected to the allegory because, quite literally, Waverly, the American-raised daughter is trying to understand her Chinese-raised mother and her ways. Also, most of the people in this section just happen to have married Caucasian husbands.
~El Schelonai, AKA Nicholas Lee, Period the 4th
The “Black” Sheep
“Four Directions”
Reaction: This chapter was very relatable because I have been through similar situations, not exactly with the marriage but the awaiting approval. Waverly wants to tell her mother, Lindo Jong, about marrying a non-asian man. She is greatly afraid of her mother’s disapproval and disappointment because he isn’t Chinese, but Caucasian. She knows that her mother firmly disapproves of their marriage because he might not measure up to her standards, morals, and rules. I have asked my mother for approval of things that I know she is strongly against. I hesitate to ask because I don’t want to see her reaction and her thought of why I would ask such a thing.
Character: Waverly’s future, non-asian husband, Rich Schields. Amy Tan’s description of him brings an image of a stereotypical Caucasian man who isn’t very familiar with the Chinese etiquette. To Waverly’s family, he seems ignorant, rude, and disrespectful by not being about to use chopsticks and unintentionally criticizing the food by adding to much soy sauce to his plate. All of the “mistakes” made by Rich shows the clashing between the Chinese and American cultures and what he considers is normal are considered rude by Lindo. He shows affectionate towards Waverly’s daughter, Shoshana, proves how much he loves her. I think that Lindo realizes this but doesn’t put it into consideration since he is Caucasian with no real asian knowledge. Overall, Rich is a flat, static character.
Conflict: The Human vs. Human external conflict is between Waverly and her mother, Lindo. Waverly time and time again tries to impress and satisfy her mother but nothing is good enough for her. Lindo is critical of everything and has very high standards, therefore Waverly fears her mother’s acceptance and approve of her marriage. This brings the conflict to a Human vs. Self internal fight within herself because she lives with the fear of her mother’s disappointment. She has felt from a young age that her mother doesn’t fully understand her or appreciate the things she does. The conflicts gets resolved for they get married and Lindo even suggested the perfect time for their honeymoon. Waverly finally saw the light from her mother and that she only wants what is best for her daughter.
Writing technique: Amy Tan uses flashbacks in this chapter to showcase more insight on the plot and bring the plot of the chapter to life. The flashbacks give us more understanding and depth of why something is the way it is and what caused the current events. It brought us back to many different events and things that happened between Waverly and Lindo. We understand more of why their relationship was the way it was from traveling back to the past.
Brandon Lam
1. I'm out of ideas for a title
2. Four Directions
3. I like that it continued the chapter about chess. It was still pretty much Waverly arguing with her mother, but at the end it was resolved. The chapter was well-rounded and easy to understand.
4. Waverly actually turns out to be a lot like her mother. She is very prideful and thus when she lost a match in chess, she quits playing. Even though they fight, both Waverly and her mother actually really care about each other.
5. This is Man vs. Man. Being Waverly and her mother. Waverly continually fights for her mother's approval, but Lindo turns out to be very hard to please.
6. The symbol in this chapter seems to be the chessboard. Again, it represents the situation of Waverly and her mother.
1) Black and White
2) “Four Directions”
3) Waverly, even though she is full grown now, still acts like how she did when she was ten. I think her character overall is just plain annoying. Rich, on the other hand, seems too perfect and when he ate at that dinner I just broke out in laughter. Waverly believes he was the perfect man for her. I think she’s totally wrong about him. I hate how Waverly always tries to analyze her mother’s next “move” or insult. It made me feel very irritated (irascible) to her character. However, I do enjoy Lindo’s bluntness in this chapter. Her funny remarks about Rich made me crack up. I am happy that they solved their differences at the end of the chapter. One thing that never cleared up for me was how the vignette applied to the title.
4) Waverly, in my opinion, is the creator of all problems in this chapter. She set up a perfect scheme to dwindle down her mother’s onslaught of insults; however, that failed drastically. At the dinner party, she devises a scheme to make Rich seem like gold in her parent’s eyes. I believe Waverly just doesn’t understand her mother, so she tries to use her chessboard to devise her schemes to beat her next move. However, at the end of the chapter, she finally understands what her mother was trying to do for her and as a show of respect Waverly decides to take her mother to China with her on Waverly’s honeymoon.
5) The main conflict in this chapter was man vs. man due to the fact that Waverly had issues with her mother. First of all, it is an internal conflict because Waverly wanted to scheme to beat her mother’s next move or before she insulted Rich and make him go mad like her last husband. Basically, Waverly was insecure with herself. It is an external conflict due to the fact that they quarreled with one another constantly and eventually it is resolved when Waverly understands what her mother is trying to do.
6) In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a distinct writing style to play out Waverly’s thoughts. For example, she used excellent word choice and imagery to describe certain scenes or parts. She uses old scenes in flashback to give a broad view of why Waverly is in conflict with her mother and why she is trying to protect Rich from her mother. She uses a lot of similes in this chapter and obviously uses a few symbols. For example, the chessboard would signify her internal conflicts (black squares) and her resolved conflicts (white squares).
1. "Magic Armor"
2. "Four Directions"
3. This chapter was pretty easy to read. Unlike other chapters, which were kinda weird and confusing, this one was understandable. Maybe because the plot-line doesn't seem so twisted, or maybe there aren't as many flashbacks or time jumps, but something about this chapter makes it simpler, but in a good way.
4. The main character, Waverly, wants to tell her mother that she is getting married. She has a hard time doing this because she thinks her mother is always picking at the bad points in her life. I think that she is pretty weak, considering how her mother sways her train of thought and is easily manipulated.
5. The conflict is human vs human. Waverly thinks that her mom wouldn't like her new fiancee, and she doesn't want her mom to dislike him. She thinks that her mom is somewhat bothersome, especially when she brags about Waverly's chess skills or visits her house without prior warning.
6. I think that the theme in this chapter is to not be afraid to stand up for yourself. Waverly cowers to her mom's harsh criticism, and is afraid to tell her about her marriage. However, when she finally does tell her, her mom accepts the news.
1. “You Know What They Say About Assumptions…”
2. “Four Directions”
3. This chapter is another one of those that are easy to comprehend and highly relatable to. I definitely know how Waverly feels - freaking out before confronting someone because you assume for the worst reactions. Like her, I overreact and worry too much for absolutely nothing. It’s funny how she thinks that Lindo is trying to manipulate her mind when really, her mother’s just extremely frank about her criticism or opinions. The way Rich is so naïve and clueless about the Chinese traditions but so sweet towards Waverly is quite endearing. The ending is an enjoyable one with all the assumptions cleared and the mother-daughter relationship better than ever.
4. Lindo Jong is quite an interesting character. She is extremely straightforward with her observations and opinions, causing Waverly, who’s sensitive, to have misunderstandings. All her criticism means no harm, however, since it’s just her personality. Lindo can also be harsh, such as the time when she barely notices Waverly after her temper tantrum, but she shows her love and care when her only daughter becomes sick. Through the harsh strictness, complaints or analysis, Lindo has her compassion though it can be hard to recognize.
5. The external conflict in the chapter is the man vs. man, mother-daughter relationship between Waverly and Lindo. Since Waverly was a young child, she never has a great relationship with Lindo, who is usually filled with expectations that becomes pressuring. Always blunt and opinionated, Lindo somewhat frightens her daughter, who cannot find the words or ways to break the news of her marriage. Waverly has terrible assumptions of Lindo’s reaction, expecting and fearing the worst. After finally confronting her mother, however, all the misunderstandings are cleared and the two become on good terms, probably better than they have ever been.
6. The writing technique that Amy Tan incorporates into this chapter is flashback. She stars the vignette with Waverly’s narration, who thinks back about her childhood and her rocky relationship with her Lindo. It really improves the story by allowing the reader to know the characters’ past, which helps their comprehension about all the details that relates to the present conflicts, such as the misunderstandings between the mother and daughter.
That way! Er... That way! Ye-! No!
Four Directions - Joy Luck Club
1) I found this chapter to be as exciting as any other, but there were some interesting events that grasped my attention. I like how the disagreement between Waverly and her mother can be related to any kind of relationship, which makes the chapter as plausible as anything. The realism of this chapter is what interests me the most, I'd say.
2)I can see some maturity development in Waverly and in Lindo as this chapter's story goes on. For Waverly, I think she learned an important lesson from Lindo when she stopped caring so much for Waverly's chess talents. For Lindo, she learned something from Waverly, that she is getting near the age where she would make and have to deal with her own decisions. This pertains to Lindo since Waverly is her daughter, Waverly's independent thinking reminds Lindo that Waverly is growing up.
3)Symbolism is one of the first things that I noticed when reading this chapter. One obvious symbol is the chess board, the relationship between Waverly and Lindo can be resembled as a game of chess. Since a chess match is competitive and mind-exhausting, it can be interpreted for Waverly's relationship with her mom.
Alex R.
1) Title
2) Four Directions
3) I enjoyed reading this chapter because it gave me a new side off Waverly's mother. At first, I thought Waverly's mom was just an arrogant show-off who enjoyed bragging about her daughter, but then I also began to realize that she could also be the driving force that allowed Waverly to become victorious at chess because as soon as her mother drops her support, Waverly starts losing all her tournaments and her thunder. It's also nice to see a more positive side of Waverly's mom as she finally approves of Waverly's boyfriend Rich. I'm looking forward to seeing how Waverly and her mother start reconnecting again.
4) Lindo Jong at the beginning of the chapter is a harsh, cold, and extremely critical. She is also very outspoken and doesn't really care if her criticism damages someone. But, as we reach the end of the chapter, we find out that Lindo Jong is a Dynamic Character because she finally changes into someone who approves of her daughters choices and seems to want to bond with her daughter now.
5) I think the theme of this story is too not assume that someone's mind is already made up about something and there's nothing you can do about it because in this chapter, we find Waverly thinking that her mom now hates her boyfriend and will never approve of him when in reality, her mother actually likes Waverly's boyfriend and wishes them the best.
1. You’d be surprised
2. “Four Directions”
3. I like how in this chapter things between Lindo and Waverly are much better. Lindo gives up all the insane bragging and Waverly eases up on playing chess. This is pretty much a continuation from the last chapter about these two women, and it is also a happy chapter unlike all the other ones. I liked how there weren’t any deaths or failing relationships or anything like that.
4. A character I thought was interesting was Lindo Jong. She always disapproved of things and it was like nothing was good enough. When Rich came over to eat dinner, she seemed very unpleased with his behavior even though he was just trying to be polite and humorous. He wasn’t even that bad! She was overreacting and I could tell that she definitely had high expectations and standards for things. She also treated her daughter Waverly as though she wasn’t good enough, but you could tell she thought different deep down inside. She showed signs that she really did approve of and love her daughter. She was just a very confusing, not-so-upfront-about-her-feelings person.
5. The conflict is no doubt external, man. vs. man. It’s between Waverly and her mother Lindo. Waverly is always worried about how her mother will think of her and she is afraid to voice any opinions or speak up to Lindo. She doesn’t even want to tell her mom about her marriage, which is absurd because your parents are usually one of the first people you’d want to tell. She thinks her mother disapproves of her, but in reality Lindo actually really cares about her Waverly. This conflict is resolved when Waverly looks past her mother’s criticism and realizes that there’s actually a loving mother.
6. I think the theme here is to speak up and not be afraid of what people will think or whether they’ll disapprove, especially someone in your family. It’s better than holding it in, and sometimes you’d be surprised how a loved one would act. It could turn out much better than you thought. You should confront your issues instead of cowering away from them.
1. Misunderstanding
2. “Four directions”
3. I thought this chapter was understandable. It was a continuation of Waverly Jongs chapter from before. In this chapter, you can relate to Waverly’s misunderstanding of her mothers intentions. I thought it was quite sad when Waverly loses her confidence and gave up chess. It was unbelievable. I liked how you could imagine the characters with all the details Amy Tan uses in the chapter.
4. The main character, Waverly Jong, is somehow always manipulated by her mother. Like when she decides to postpone her wedding with Rich to please her mother. In the end of the chapter, she ends up seeing her mother for who she really was and wanted to bond.
5. The main conflict is between Waverly and her mother. Waverly wants to please her mother and she is afraid to tell her she’s getting married. She thinks her mother will criticize her and overanalyze the situation.
6. Amy Tan uses a flashback in the chapter. She went back to when Waverly was about 10 years old. It shows how back then it was the same conflict between her and her mother.
1. A Honeymoon With Your MOM!?
2. Four Directions
3. I liked this chapter, amazingly. This chapter was told very clearly unlike some other stories that were just bizarre. I liked it because it showed abond between the mother and daughter that even though Waverly always showed that she hated her mom, in the end, she still showed strong affection and resulted in a happy ending.
4. The character I chose to write about is Waverly. She thinks her mom is always against her and therefore keeps many thoughts to herself. Truthfully, her mother is actually not as bad as she thinks. Waverly always despised her mother all full of herself and kept a distance from her but really her mother was only waiting for her to go to her. She didn't know her mother knew about the relationship between her and Rich until she opened up to her and told her about it. Maybe she should just forgive her mother.
5. I think the main conflict is an external conflict of human vs human between Waverly and Lindo. When she was thinking whether or not to tell her mother about Rich, she was scared that if she told her, her mother would use her "secret weapons" to spoil the relationship. Fortunately, his conflict is resolved in the end, when she goes to her mother, finding out her mother never disapproved their marriage, and then planning a more interesting honeymoon.
6. Amy Tan uses flashbacks to tie the bond between Lindo and Waverly when she goes back 10 years to when Waverly was playing chess. She used this opportunity to bring the two back together with the marriage issue.
~~becca! (period 3)
1. Secret Weapon: Mom
2. Four Directions
3. I think this chapter showed an extremely conflicted and confused side of Waverly. The overall story that was told was touching, but I think that Waverly was reading more into Lindo’s actions and the effects that occurred after it than there really was.
4. In this chapter Waverly Jong’s mom Lindo Jong seems like a tight and strict mother, who likes to criticize and boast, but as the story progresses, Lindo seems as if she is softening up and that she isn’t really trying to sabotage Waverly. When Waverly confronts Lindo, Lindo breaks down and cries “angry tears” and continues to say things like, “Ai yah you think bad of me” which demonstrates that Lindo is a strong headed woman and isn’t softened. Also it shows her character to be one that will react to attacks with anger and retaliation instead of acceptance and sadness.
5. The main conflict in this is internal within Waverly Jong, which makes it man vs self. In her head she has the idea that her mom is trying to sabotage her life and that she isn’t ever good enough and that everything that her mom says to her is part of a game. This creates a second conflict which is the external conflict between her mom and herself. Since Waverly distances herself from her mom because of what she internally fears, their relationship suffers from miscommunication. At the end of the chapter, Waverly overcomes her fear and confronts her mom. Her mom tells her how her thoughts and fears were wrong and that her mom was ok with her marriage.
6. B. I think this chapter’s symbol is the game of chess itself because in a few of the lines and parts of the chapters, Waverly brings up how her mom covers up the white spots with black and mixes them up. The white could symbolize her positivity and the black could symbolize her confusion and fear. Her mom angers her and causes her to stop playing chess, then when she continues she isn’t as strong, and she feels like the white spaces are switching with the black spaces which makes it seem like the positivity is mixing in with the negativity and confusing her.
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1. Eastern Influence Falls on the West
2. Four Directions
3. I thought the chapter was a bit intresting. The chapters involving Lindo Jong and Waverly Jong seem to be the most intresting. I thought it was a bit funny how Rich thinks he knows what is needed in Chinese Cuisine. I felt that Waverly was able to tell her mom about her marriage because of what her mother told her but was shocked to see that she was not able to. She lost her invisible strength. I wondered why Lindo did not critic on Waverly’s first marriage and her decisions.
4. Waverly Jong seems to be a lot more different from the last chapter featuring her. She seems to be weaker and forgets what and who she is. She forgets how to use her invisible strength and is deceived by her mother.
5. The main conflict seems to be Waverly Jong trying to tell her mother about her marriage with Rich. Waverly tries but is not able to. This seems to be a Human vs. Self situation because Waverly cannot find the confidence to tell her mother. This also seems to be internal because Waverly is fighting with herself on how, when, and where to say it. Rich seems to be able to say it easily but Waverly cannot.
6. The theme of the story seems to be that you cannot forget who you are. Waverly forgets what she is capable of and then looses confidence on doing things and handling problems. Before she lost her invisible strength, she was able to tackle any problem. After she lost it, she became weak and was not able to stand up and fight. This is shown when she looses to her mother when she was a lot younger. Her mother beat her daughter at mind games. If you forget who you are and what you are able to do, you will not be able to do anything.
Benjamin Ly
1) West to East
2) “Four Directions”
3) My first reaction to this chapter was that it was understandable that Waverly would be afraid to confront her mother. It showed a motherly bond between Waverly and Lindo. I thought this chapter was pretty normal and more true to life than all the other chapters. It did not have many superstitions and stuff going on. However, it was still interesting and clear.
4) I think Waverly Jong worries too much that everyone is against her. For example, she always thinks that her mom is trying to manipulate her and torture her, but in reality, Lindo is just trying to look out for Waverly. She just does it in a critical way which Waverly takes offensively. However, in the end, Waverly is able to see the kind side of her mother and build a closer bond with her.
5) The main conflict of this story is man vs. man, mother vs. daughter. Lindo is always trying to brag about Waverly and criticizing her when she doesn’t do well. This makes Waverly resent her mother. Waverly feels that Lindo is too harsh and tortures her too much. In the end, Waverly realizes that Lindo was just trying to look out for Waverly even though she does it in a harsh way.
6) I think the theme of this chapter is to stand up for yourself. Waverly was afraid to confront her mother about being harsh, but when she did, Waverly was able to see the compassionate side of her mother.
This comment has been removed by the author.
1:Queen
2:Four Directions
3:This chapter was very boring and somewhat predictable. Waverly fears that her mother will ruin another one of her marriages by critizing her husband. Waverly tries to tell her mother about Rich, but Lindo changes the subject, not wanting to hear.
4:Waverly is always affected by her mother. She skips the chess tournament and temporarily stops playing chess hoping to hurt Lindo, but instead, Waverly was hurt because she could have easily won. She returns to chess hoping her mother would be happy but instead Lindo brushes off Waverly's attempt. She also loses chess games and tournaments when Lindo stops supporting her and quits chess completely.
5:The main conflict in this chapter is man vs. man. Waverly vs. Lindo. Waverly is certain that her mother will always get in her way, and ruin her life. However, this is how a mother normally acts to protect their children. The conflict is resolved at the end when mother and daughter reconciliates.
6:Amy Tan uses flashback to show how Waverly needs her mother to get through life. When her mother isn't constantly nagging at her about chess, she loses repeatedly.
Wai Chan
3rd period
More soy sauce, anyone?
Four Directions
1. I thought this chapter was rather straightforward and, since it’s told from a Chinese-American point of view, was easy to understand. The opening scene with Waverly inviting her mother out to lunch made me laugh, since Waverly’s mother is portrayed as such a fussy, irascible person. The dinner celebrating Waverly’s father’s late birthday was also quite entertaining, especially Rich’s behavior at the dinner table.
2. Waverly Jong is the protagonist of the chapter, and through this chapter we get a more rounded view of Waverly Jong’s personality. Even as an adult, Waverly strains for her mother’s attention and approval, although she knows very well how devious and sly her mother can be. Waverly calls her mothers special ability her way of making Waverly see “black where [Waverly] had once saw white” (179-180). Waverly wants her mother to sanction her marriage to Rich, but Waverly is scared that her mother will find a way to reveal Rich’s shortcomings and make him look like a fool. From this, we can see that while Waverly is in constant conflict with her mother, she ultimately yearns to communicate with her mother.
3. The main conflict of this chapter would be man vs. man, between Waverly and her mother Lindo. Waverly wants to confront her mother yet she is intimidated by her mother’s wit. Lindo, likewise, wants her daughter to accept her, except Waverly has distanced herself from her mother ever since her rebellious teenage chess champion years. Throughout the chapter, Waverly strives to understand her mother’s “tactics”, like in a chess game. Ultimately, Waverly and her mother Lindo come to an mutual understanding; Waverly realizes that her mother really has cared for her the whole time.
4. One of the themes of this chapter would be “things may not appear as they seem.” Waverly believes that her mother is just there to “get her,” to find her innate faults and point them out. In reality, Waverly’s mother deliberately “hurts” Waverly emotionally so that she can better understand her American-raised daughter. Waverly’s mother acts under a pretense of guile and deceit to achieve her goal of connecting with her daughter.
-Albert Li
Two Sides to Every Story
2. Four Directions
3. In general, this chapter was quite well-crafted. It was funny to see how Waverly thought her mother was trying to trick her, but her mother thought the same thing about Waverly. They were both trying to outsmart each other and be sneaky, but, at the same time, neither one of them was trying to fool the other. Just goes to show how sometimes a little communication can go a long way. If they had talked to each other instead of fighting and trying to read the other's mind, they would have tried to understand each other and wouldn't have had a problem. Instead, they tried to know what the other person was thinking without asking them. It's just really ironic that even though both of them were smart, they were both really stupid as well. Also, the scene at the restaurant was extremely stereotypical. I mean, Asians complaining about the food, washing out their bowls and teacups, or even asking for a special type of tea. It might just sound like it can only happen in a book, but in real life, when I went to Hong Kong, one actually has to swab out their bowls and cups with water because they are not properly sanitized sometimes. It's interesting because the exact same thing happened in the book. In addition, it was fitting that Waverly's mother would have a strong heart along with her strong mind. Even though she was older, she was definitely alive and kicking. Things I didn't expect in this chapter was Waverly quitting chess forever and elpoing with her first husband, Martin. It was extremely unexpected that Waverly would just quit chess because she lost all of her skill. I didn't think that Waverly would ever stop playing chess.
4. A character that really "caught my eye" was her mother. At first, like Waverly, I thought that the mother, like most Chinese parents, was just being tricky. She played it off really well and acted like she had something hidden up her sleeve. It's also really funny how many times Waverly tried to tell her mother that she was going to get married to Rich, but kept on failing. It was like something straight out of a sitcom. Waverly's mother was just trying to gain acceptance and understanding from her daughter, but her daughter kept building walls because she thought that her mom was being tricky.
5. In this chapter, the main conflict is undoubtedly human vs. human, but both external and internal. The external part of the conflict is between Waverly and her mother and the fights that they both have. Waverly, like I have mentioned before, is constantly sparring and butting heads with her mother when they didn't even need to. If they has just talked to each other, there wouldn't even have been a conflict. The internal conflict takes place within Waverly and how she is going to tell her mother that she is getting married to Rich. I also feel sorry for Waverly's husband and how he acted during the dinner. In truth, he probably did some of the worst stuff imaginable from the Chinese perspective. Everything he did was wrong. To top it off, he didn't even know how bad he had performed. Waverly didn't tell him.
6. I think that the theme or message of this short story is to communicate. As mentioned above, if Waverly had just sat down and talked with her mom about the whole Rich thing, the whole conflict would have been neutralized and their problems would have ceased to exist. Just like in this story, in real life, communication is a vital utility to have. One would be surprised what types of problems could be resolved just by talking them out.
-Calvin Ho
Period 4
"WHY WONT YOU LOVE ME?"
"Four Directions"
3. This chapter was really awesome to read, since Waverly and her mother were finally able to reconcile and mend find a common ground between both of them. Now, who doesn't like a good reunification story? But prior to their reconciliation, I couldnt begin to fathom how Lindo was acting towards her daughter. She seriously could not have been any more cruel! It just seemed as if she didn't want her daughter to be happy at all, since all I really saw of her was a batty old woman before she let her guard down and finally opened up to her daughter. Lastly, Rich's lack of knowledge in the Chinese culture absolutely made me laugh and cringe at the same time! I found it really funny how he was so un-educated in the chinese customs at the dinner table, but everytime he did something wrong, I couldn't help but feel bad for him.
4)In this chapter, Waverly is an extremely important character since we were clearly able to see her efforts in trying to gain her mother's approval. She tried to do things such as discreetly hint at her relationship with rich and giving inevitable signs around her apartment that prove his existence, all to tell indirectly tell her mother that she loves Rich. This indirect way of hinting at her relationship truly shows how Waverly is really scared of how her mother is going to react to her situation. She direly wants her mother to just accept the relationship and be supportive of her love for Rich.
5.A conflict in this story is between Waverly and Lindo. They are always on each other's backs about the simplest things. Lindo always critisizes Waverly's lifestyle and Wavery in turn alwasy complains about how her mother can never see a single good thing in her life. Fortunately, this conflict was resolved as they were able to find some common ground in the end. It was all a big misunderstanding for Waverly, but now that they are able to see past everything, they were able to resolve the conflict and happily move on with Waverly's upcoming marriage- and even her honeymoon too!
6. A very useful technique in this chapter was "flashback". Amy Tan wanted to continue the story of the past and let readers gain even more insight on why Waverly has so much tension between her and her mom. Because of the flashbacks, we are able to see the events and conflicts of the past that eventually lead to their damage relationship in the present.
1.Never eat slimy worms
2.Four directions
3.I thought this chapter was a big emotional mess, and didn’t captivate my interest so much as help me zone out. Though a lot of the chapter I could see happening to me, as if I was in that situation; such as Rich’s shenanigans at the eloquent dinner. There was a lot of characteristic change from the previous related chapter, as Waverly seems to be a bit more irascible and much more reactive to it than before. This adds to my liking of the story, how everyone progresses and no one is the same for long.
4.Waverly used to be a bit less annoyed by her surroundings and their actions, for instance her mother did a lot that made her mad in Rules of the game, but she was able to ignore it and that kept her from doing crazy things. Now however, she takes anything she sees as annoying and uses it against her mother with or without aggression.
5.Man vs man, Waverly and her mother are having a struggle in communication, and this seems to be the main conflict in the whole story.
6.I noticed the flash back, seeing the comparison between young and teenager Waverly was a bit interesting
-khanh
This comment has been removed by the author.
1. Misinterpretation
2. Four Directions
3. This chapter made me laugh because it reminded me of some of my relative's habits. My grandma would bring her own tissues cause the ones on the outside were dirty. We would always wash our cups, plates, and chopsticks in the tea if it looked dirty. They would always complain if the food wasn't properly cooked and send it back in. I was a bit disappointed that she was no longer a chess prodigy and could no longer win as easily like she use to. =(
4. Ever since she yelled at her mother back then, Waverly has always thought that her mother was up to no good. Waverly became a bit paranoid thinking that her mother always had something planned to attack her with. She knows all her own weaknesses, and she thinks that her mother sees them and is always trying to exploit them.
5. The problem in this chapter is human vs self. Waverly believes that her mother is always up to no good ready to strike at her any chance she gets. However, her mother really wasn't up to anything but accepted Waverly fully, and approved of her soon to be husband.
6. The theme can probably be that your mother will always be your mother even if she criticizes you. This can be found when Waverly yells at her mother, and they stop talking to each other. When Waverly gets sick, her mother takes up the role to care for her getting better like a normal mother would. Even when she's marrying someone so different, her mother still accepts the decisions she makes, and tries to welcome them.
-Diana Li Period 3
1.Misunderstood Mother, Uptight Daughter
2.Four Directions
3.I like the descriptions that Amy Tan uses because they were very descriptive and imaginative, like at the end of the book when she describes the mother as “an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in” (pg. 184). I feel sad for the mother because she was misunderstood ever since Waverly was a girl. The mother would say something harmless and Waverly would find a way to twist it into something sinister or think that the mother has some evil intention. Waverly keeps thinking that her mother is purposely trying to make Waverly miserable. Waverly is so stuck in her way of thinking and does not even try to see things from the other person’s point of view. Waverly gets so worked up over nothing. But even so, I can see why Waverly thinks her mother is intentionally making her miserable. Her mother is so straightforward that she almost seems rude. Waverly is my least favorite character in this book. I am glad that Waverly finally understands her mother and that she found a good husband.
4.Lindo Jong, Waverly’s mother, is a typical Asian mother. She criticizes everything, has high standards, brings her own tissues for the bathroom, and washes her chopsticks with hot tea because it is dirty. She acts just like a Chinese mother too, criticizing her own cooking even though it is excellent.
5.The main conflict is an external conflict, human vs. human, Waverly vs. Lindo. Waverly is intimidated by her own mother and is afraid to tell her that she is getting married to Rich Schields. Throughout this story, Waverly keeps trying to tell her mother by waiting for an opportunity. Waverly tries to tell her when they went out to lunch, when they went to Waverly’s apartment, and at dinner. The conflict gets resolved at the end when Waverly storms over to her mother’s house.
6A. Ignorance leads to misunderstanding. I got this theme when Waverly says, ‘“People who call it that don’t know any better” (pg 183) because if you do not understand something, like a culture or an action, you might misinterpret it into something else. For example, Rich is ignorant to Chinese culture and so when Waverly’s mother criticized her own cooking, Rich agreed and poured soy sauce all over her prized dish. He thinks this is the polite thing to do when he was supposed to compliment the dish, not try to improve it. Rich had good intentions and thought he did the right and polite thing but to Lindo’s eyes, it was an insult.
Jodie Chan
Period 3
1. A horrible mother? Or a loving one?
2. Four Directions
3. This chapter was very interesting. I was very surprised Waverly had given up chest. I had expected her to be a very successful smart woman but she didn’t seem to make the right choices with her first marriage. She blames her mother for running it, she thinks she will ruin things with her new boyfriend also. It’s like she makes her out to be some evil person poisoning all her relationship but I don’t think this is true at all. I feel almost sad that their relationship is this way and Waverly can’t just talk to her mother about everything in her life. I feel disappointed her mother won’t talk about Waverly’s boyfriend when he is so important in her life.
4. Waverly seems to be afraid of her mother, she thinks she is horrible and will ruin everything for her. Waverly is just putting these ideas into her own head. Her mother never really does anything that horrible and Waverly has to look for hidden meanings in all her words. When Waverly goes back to chest and her mother is no longer supporting her she loses her talent. Her mother was the one that gave her the courage and the determination to do so well in chest.
5. I believe the conflict is human vs. self. Waverly is having a problem seeing her mother for who she really is. She thinks she is so horrible and criticizing but her mother isn’t that bad. Finally when she sees her mother sleeping innocently she realize she isn’t some horrible person trying to ruin everything for her.
6. I think chess is a symbol for Waverly’s life. He mother finally stops controlling her so much and now Waverly is making her own mistakes. Without her mother guiding her she feels alone almost now and possibly misses it.
-Taylor Gralak 4th period
Raymond Glassey
Period 3
1. Friendly Fire
2. “Four Directions”
3. I enjoyed this chapter a lot more than the other ones. I’m glad Amy decided to go back and finish explaining what happened to Waverly’s magnificent chess ability in the flashback. I love the interaction between Waverly and Lindo because you hear all of Waverly’s thought process and how she second-guesses herself or views her mother with intense suspicion. She thinks this mother is this horribly cunning, conniving monster who attempts to undermine her enchanted thoughts of Rich and replace them with seeds of discontent. Also, the ridiculously bizarre customs of Waverly’s family dinner were interesting (such as how Lindo made bad comments about her own food to create compliments). Then, at the end, its comforting to know that at least SOME people can get along since no one else in the story seems to be able to.
4. Waverly is FAR too paranoid about how her mother will react to the knowledge that she and Rich will get married. In the other chapters, Waverly depicts a rather confident, intelligent woman, but in this chapter it is shown how she fears her mother. Throughout the vignette, Waverly worries and frets about her mother and how Rich would make such a horrible impression on her that Lindo would act the same way as with her first husband, Marvin. In the whole of the dinner, she observes every mistake Rich makes, and takes a mental blow every time in preparation for her mother’s supposed onslaught after.
5. The conflict is human vs. human externally in that Waverly is constantly at odds with her mother in both attitude and beliefs. However, there could arguably be an internal conflict within Waverly (human vs. self) because a lot of her paranoia is unfounded and her mother isn’t even attempting to wreck Waverly’s affection for Rich. The second conflict is resolved in the final conversation ending the chapter, but the first one seems to be an inherent part of Waverly and Lindo.
6. Amy Tan utilizes the sophisticated writing technique of flashback in this chapter to make the chapter more interesting. In the middle of the chapter, the reader is returned to the past where Waverly used to be a chess champion and the reader learns of how Lindo’s new apathy to Waverly’s chess career led to the eventual withering of her skill.
1) "Lindo Jong the Ninja"
2) Four Directions
3) I too enjoyed this chapter. This chapter was very to the point and was easy to understand. I enjoyed this chapter because I could relate to it. The way how Waverly describes her mom makes me think of how my mom is kind of hard to get approval from and is usually never satisfied with anything.
4) The character I will focus on is Rich. Though he isn't described much in the chapter I want to focus on him because of what he does in the chapter. Towards the end, when Rich mentions the thing about how he wants Lindo to come to prevent them from eating dog tells us several things about him. For one, Rich is a stereotyping jerk. I also think he doesn't respect Waverly's mom as much because of this.
5) The main conflict is Human vs Human. It is an external conflict and is a conflict between Waverly and her mother. Waverly is terrifed of her mother, thinking that her mother can expose each and every one of her weaknesses from all directions. Because of this, Waverly is skeptical when she decides she has to tell her mother that she is marrying Rich. Fortunately, for Waverly, Lindo is not upset at all by her decision and approves it.
6) Amy Tan uses a lot of flashbacks in her book, but this chapter probably has the most. It transitions a lot between her present time and her childhood. First it was about her whole chess thing, then back to present, then back to the younger Waverly again.
1. To tell or not to tell, that is the question.
2. Waverly Jong: Four Directions
3. I thought this was an intriguing chapter. Waverly has herself trapped trying to hide away from her mother and in the end they become good friends. What surprised me was that Waverly had a daughter; I thought she was going to become a great successful chess player who kept to herself all the time. I also thought this chapter was quite a turnaround. I was fearful that Lindo would be ashamed of Waverly for marrying a Caucasian man, but instead, she was actually fine with the idea. During the dinner scene, I could not stop laughing when “Rich criticized [Lindo’s] cooking, and he didn’t even know what he had done” (178). He just poured a bunch of soy cause onto the “steamed pork and preserved vegetable dish.” Lastly, I thought this chapter had some relatable scenes like when Lindo said her pork was “not salty enough, [and had] no flavor (178)” because when my relatives criticize their own dishes, they are usually fishing for compliments just like Lindo.
4. One character I want to focus on is Rich who is very considerate. At the dinner, he refused to use a fork and forced himself to use chopsticks just like the rest of Waverly’s family. He was thoughtful enough to try to adopt the Chinese culture and tried to blend in with the rest of the family to leave a good impression and be accepted. That showed that he's caring and really did love Waverly for who she was although he was ignorant about Chinese etiquette, did not know Waverly’s parents would not appreciate a bottle of wine, made the mistake of drinking more than one glass, helped himself to big portions of food instead of polite spoonfuls, declined food and refused seconds. He also “criticized” Lindo’s cooking accidentally but we all know that he had the very best intentions.
5. The conflict in this chapter is man vs. man, Lindo vs. Waverly, but ultimately, the conflict is Waverly against herself (man vs. self). At first, Waverly thought her mother was picking on her and she couldn’t get over it and started to see her as an enemy. It is only when Waverly sees Lindo’s true motive that she understands she wasn’t battling her mother, but herself. Waverly hid “behind [her] invisible barriers” to protect herself from her mother’s cruel words. However, the invisible barrier made Waverly blind to seeing what Lindo really meant and all this time Waverly was fighting a misunderstanding in herself.
6. I think that the theme that Amy Tan is trying to convey in this vignette is that it’s always best to be honest and share your feelings with others. I think this because when Lindo says, “so you think your mother is this bad. You think I have a secret meaning. But it is you who has this meaning (181),” she is saying that Waverly has misunderstood her and kept her mother in the dark for so long by not telling her how she felt. Waverly thought that everything her mother said and did was purposely said to hurt her, but that is the opposite of what Lindo was trying to do. Lindo did not mean to distress her daughter at all, but if Waverly didn’t come to her mother’s house that day and tell her mother how she felt, she would have never known the truth, and would have misunderstood everything her mother said. That is why honesty is always the best policy!
Melani Cabanayan; Period 3
Kathy Nguyen
Per 4
1) "My mom's a ninja!"
2) "Four Directions"
3) I liked how this chapter shows how Lena tries to get her mother to accept Rich. Reminds me of those who have boyfriends or girlfriends and have their parents accept them. Waverly's daughter sure has a unique name, Shoshana. Sounds... kind of ghetto with a mix of asianess. I can't believe the once so called chess prodigy quit chess once and for all! But then again, "[she] loved to win" (17). The way she quit chess for a while, then suddenly got back to it to get her mother's attention made her look like a brat. It seems her mother didn't really care, but let Waverly have her choice whether to play chess or not. Though it was also her mother's fault for being a show off when Waverly was a chess prodigy, bragging about how she helped her daughter with her victories when she didn't do anything at all! I thought it was gross for Waverly to notice how many hairs Marvin had on his chest, I mean seriously who does that? I think it was good that Waverly's mother had a say about Marvin, or else Waverly would not have noticed how much of a slob, jerk, and player Marvin really was. Her mother basically saved Waverly from the blind love of infatuation. It's funny how Waverly always thought that her mother had something up her sleeve to ruin Waverly's life, when she actually thought about it too much she caused the hurt herself. Waverly's mother sure has powerful "invisible strength" (89)!
4) The character I've chosen is Rich. Rich is kind and considerate, and loves Waverly for who she is. He "adored [her] in the same way [she] adored Shoshana" (175). He does his best to follow Waverly and her family's culture. During the dinner with Waverly and her family, instead of using a fork, he did his best using chopsticks. When Waverly's mother criticized her cooking, what Rich didn't know was that he was supposed to praise her cooking more, but instead criticized it also. Even though he didn't entirely know the ways of their culture, he did his best to show Waverly's family that he loves her and wants to be accepted.
5) The main conflict would be internal, man vs. man, Waverly and Lindo. Waverly takes all her mother's actions as ways to make her life more miserable. She assumes her mother is hiding sneak attacks and when the moment is right, she launches them. As when Lindo's comments about Marvin revealed the useless jerk he really was. Waverly was afraid the same would happen towards Rich, if she introduced him to her. Though Lindo just sees what she sees and speaks her mind towards her daughter, with no means of harm. The conflict is resolved when they have their mother and daughter talk in the end of the chapter.
6d) Amy Tan uses the writing technique of a flashback when Waverly was 10 and how she quitted chess because of her mother. The flashback shows the relationship between Waverly and Lindo and how their conflict came to be. Why Waverly constantly assumes her mother says what she says to ruin Waverly's life, and how it helps lead to the conflict being resolved.
Yin is Yang, and Yang is Yin
“Four directions- Joy Luck Club”
1-My Take-
The chapter itself wasn’t as confusing as the earlier ones which was huge sigh of relief. Back to the point, I think the thing that stood out to me the most was the whole mother daughter thing going on between Waverly and Lindo. All Waverly wants to do is please mommy, but mommy never acknowledges her. It was interesting to see how manipulative Lindo is and how she lunges at someone emotionally so that they “see black where there was once white, white where there was once black” (169). She even blames her mother for the divorce of her first marriage. I felt sorry for Waverly because her mother was such a hard person to deal with
2-My view-
The character that stood out most was definitely Lindo for me mainly because, well, she did just that, stand out. Her most defining trait I believe is to be her boldness in criticizing people to the point of not feeling remorse for the irreversible damage she has caused. She is definetly a round character, very 3D to me. She also doesn’t take kindly to whatever can be perceived as an insult. She misunderstands and misinterprets things that people tell her to the point of whole hearted rebellion against said person.
3.-The conflict-
I’ll have to say this chapter was pretty straight forward with a Man vs man here. There is the constant battle for mom’s acceptance between Waverly and Lindo. Waverly constantly tries to impress her mother but to no avail and she also tries to keep telling her that she and Rich are gunna get married. The problem here is that Waverly fears her mother will be very critical of Rich and will never allow her to marry such a man. However, the conflict is resolved when Rich and Waverly are finally married together and Lindo even offers Waverly a good time to go on a honey moon.
4-Theme-
A theme I really caught from this chapter was that a mother would never try to bring you down. Surely if you think logically a mother would never have a reason to tear down their own child, but this chapter certainly suggests she would in cold blood- that is until the end. In the end of the chapter Lindo is seen in a new light and reveals that she has new once wanted to bring down her own daughter. It seems no matter what a mother does to her child, she does it out of the interests of the child- whether they know it or not.
Four Directions
1) Four Directions Make a Compass.
2) Four Directions.
3) I consider this chapter to be very frustrating (especially with Rich). I think that Rich is ignorant when it comes to Chinese culture and how to act while eating dinner at someone else’s house. For example, you never say that the host/hostess’s cooking needs a little more something or a little less that. You always say that it is good even though it tastes crummy. In fact, this applies to any culture. In this case, Rich should have said that Lindo Jong’s steamed pork with preserved vegetables was the best in the world, even better than Suyuan Woo’s, and Waverly had explicitly stated that Rich should compliment Lindo Jong’s cooking, and yet Rich, being the ignorant of the Chinese cooking customs, decides to say that Lindo Jong’s steamed pork needs more soy sauce. I am also frustrated with the fact that Waverly had decided to introduce Rich to her parents when they were practically already engaged. If Waverly had really wanted to have her parents meet Rich, she should have just dropped by her parents’ place unexpectedly with Rich. By the end of this vignette, I thought it was kind of sad how Lindo Jong never meant to be mean to Waverly in the first place, but it was Waverly who thought Lindo was being mean.
4) The character that I have decided to focus on is Rich Schields. Rich is in truth a really nice person, but pretty ignorant when it comes to Chinese customs. For example, when Rich was offered seconds by Lindo Jong, he rejected it because he wanted probably wanted to show Lindo that he is not a pig. He was trying to be nice (completely understandable), but his method simply did not work. In another scene, Rich gives “advice” to Lindo on how to make her steamed pork better. Again, Rich was trying to be nice in trying to agree with Lindo, not to disagree with her, but in the end, that turned out pretty sour too. For the most part, these two scenes demonstrate how kind, gentle, and nice Rich is; however, he is still ignorant when it comes to Chinese culture.
5) The main conflict of this vignette is between Waverly and her mother, so it is a human vs. human. Waverly wants to show her mother that Rich is a very good man, deserving all of Lindo’s affection. Lindo, however, does the exact opposite. Lindo points out to Waverly all the bad qualities of Rich, how he is too young, not that tall, has lots of freckles, etc. Simply put, the conflict is this: Waverly wants to show Lindo Rich’s good side, but Lindo always point out all of Rich’s bad side, making Waverly see “black where [she] once was white.” By the end of this chapter, the conflict does get resolved, with Waverly realizing that her mother never meant anything bad by pointing out Rich’s flaws. Waverly, Rich, and Lindo decide to go to China for Waverly and Rich’s honeymoon in October.
6) One of the writing techniques that Amy Tan uses in this chapter is foreshadowing. The foreshadowing occurs when Waverly thinks that her mother will destroy Waverly’s image of Rich when Rich visits Lindo. This creates lots of suspense for the rest of the story because then the reader wants to know if Rich fails or passes Lindo’s tests, and if not, then will Waverly leave Rich. In essence, Tan’s use of foreshadowing in this chapter helps add suspense and a mood of anxiety.
1. “Secret Meaning”
2. “Four Directions”
3. This vignette takes place years later, when Waverly’s an adult and is planning to marry Rich. Something I found interesting in this chapter was Waverly’s inability to tell her mother she was going to get married. To me, it seems that Lindo has a strong hold over Waverly. Waverly desperately seeks her mother’s approval but is afraid she won’t like Rich due to his differences. Waverly’s paranoia gets the best out of her; she does everything she can to show Rich’s good qualities and hopes Lindo doesn’t criticize him.
4. Waverly is highly prone Lindo’s criticisms about Rich. She attempts to show Lindo what kind of person Rich is by inviting her and Waverly’s father. However, her plan backfires in the worst possible way. Rich, being the stereotypical American, is unaware of Chinese customs. Unbeknownst to him, Rich makes numerous mistakes such as mispronouncing Lindo’s and Tin’s (Waverly’s father) names and correcting Lindo’s cooking. Waverly thinks that Lindo doesn’t want her and Rich to get married.
5. I thought the conflict was internal, with Waverly struggling against her own thoughts. Waverly is unaware of the fact that her mother’s intentions are good. Waverly takes everything Lindo says negatively and doesn’t understand the secret meaning behind her words. She jumps to conclusions and is reluctant to tell Lindo about her marriage. Only when she talks with Lindo, does Waverly realize her mother just what’s best for her.
6. Amy Tan applies flashbacks to show the aftermath of Waverley being a chess prodigy. Without any support from her mother, Waverly begins to lose her skill and eventually quits. The relationship between mother and daughter is initially weak, but it begins to heal when Waverly opens up to Lindo.
Brian Yang
Period 4
1. Misunderstood
2. Four Directions
3. The way Waverly wanted so badly for her mother to accept Richard was deeply sad. Waverly seems to blame her mother for her last failed marriage and is terrified that it might cause her next one to become a disaster. Also, hearing about Waverly's past childhood reminded me about many typical families with stubborn parents. In attempt to amend problems with her mother, Waverly decides to rejoin chess but it backfires when Lindo no longer supports her, losing Waverly her much needed confidence.
4. Lindo, Waverly's mother, seems to me like the average stereo typical asian mother who criticizes everything she can see. During her visit to Four Directions with Waverly, she disapproves and critiques everything inside, complaining about dirty tables.
5. The conflict in this chapter is external human vs human: Waverly vs her mother, Lindo. All Waverly wants is for her mother to accept how things are and accept her fiancee Richard. At the end of the chapter, it is resolved when Lidno confesses she had known all along of the engagement and does in fact approve.
6. One symbol in this chapter was the game of chess. Waverly says that her mother had given her "the ability to make me see black where there was white, white where there was once black", meaning she had finally understood her mother's full intentions.
Vincent Nguyen Period 3
1. Flavorful Problem?
2. Four Directions
3. I liked this chapter, there was various flavors to it. Rich's failures were kind of funny. This chapter was easier to understand, but held all of the epicness in the other chapters
4. Waverly scared of her mother, as stated in the beginning. Waverly was trying to get her mom's approval and or acceptance. With Rich, and with with chess a few years back.
5. Human vs Human ( Waverly vs Lindo) Both of them are fighting, on vairous things. Communication is the main problem in this chapter
6. D. Flashback helped improve the story making the tension and feelings between them more epic. With the stopped support from Lindo, Waverly started to fail at chess.
?
1. Moms Are People, Too
2. Four Directions
3. I've come to a realization as to why I've been liking these second sets of vignettes better than the first. It's because the "origin" stories often came across as a bit too melodramatic and "fantastical". I might even add that they are too "action packed", but I realize I've broken some kind of unwritten rule that limits the uses of quotation marks in regards to word distance, lest this becomes something off the back of a DVD. Now, I'm all up for things of that nature, the more eventful and exciting sort, but I cannot bring myself to be much interested in them. So, I think it's safe to say that my prior comments on the first set of chapters can be disregarded, or just be read with a grain of salt. But then again I haven't reread them, so I suppose that it's safe to say my last statement should be reread with a grain of salt. Anyways, I digress. I liked this chapter well enough. Nothing really big happens, aside from the wedding dates, I guess, but I'm quite enjoying this slowing down of pace. The shift of focus into the relationships of the characters is a good thing as I really liked the one between Lindo and Waverly. I think Tan could have handled their whole communication debacle a bit better by dropping some more clues as to its true nature, but I found that the ending compensated for any of the low points that I found. The whole bit about Taiyuan and Taiwain was really neat. The happy ending was another thing I liked as it was a nice contrast to the negative endings of the others.
4. Waverly is unknowingly very dependent on her mother's support. When Waverly ran from her mother and quit chess, it really hurt her and as a result, Lindo seemed to stopped caring about Waverly's chess playing. The lack of support from her mother caused Waverly to lose her return match and she soon quit chess altogether because the support was not there. She also constantly wants her mother to be supportive of her relationships, but she constantly finds problems in them and it really affects Waverly, causing her to break up with her first husband.
5. The main conflict is man vs. man between Waverly and Lindo as Waverly tries to "defeat" and make Lindo to approve of her choices. It's sort of solved in the end as it is revealed Lindo is more approving then Waverly had thought and they both better understand each other.
6. A. I think the theme for this chapter is that mothers are there to help and support you. Waverly losing her skills at chess shows how much Lindo's support meant and near the end at Lindo's house where they finally come to understand one another.
-Nolan Tran
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