"Rice Husband"
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!
184 Comments:
Finish your Rice Bowl!
Rice Husband: Joy Luck Club
1) Reaction
Uh...wow. So far, Lena's and Ying-ying's stories have all been very bizarre, surreal, and nightmare-ish, and "Rice Husband" certainly meets that criteria. However, I perfectly understood this vignette on the first read and enjoyed reading it more than the rest of them. Lena vomiting ice cream was not something I expected, but it certainly added a gothic touch to the vignette (did Tan ever do that?). I loved the ending, where Ying-ying points out "if you knew it would happen, why didn't you fix it?"
2) Lena and Harold
Lena and Harold are married, but their relationship is different from a typical married couple. They split costs, ranging from house payments to smog checks to ice cream in order to have a "fair" and "equal" marriage. It causes problems within the marriage, where Lena questions why they split everything and is brought to act on it after her conversations with her mother.
3) Theme or Message
I think the theme or message of this vignette is stated at the very beginning: one thing is always the result of another. Like the butterfly effect: a butterfly flapping its wings would cause a tornado thousands of miles away.
This seems to be the main message of the story because it shows the results of a single event: Ying-ying telling her daughter Lena that not finishing your rice bowl will make her marry a mean, bad, pock-mark man. Lena becomes horrified as her thoughts travel to a boy she knew, and she starts finishing her rice bowls and later not eating her rice, thinking she was affecting Arnold. In the end, Arnold dies and Lena believed she was the unintentional cause. Lena gorges herself with ice cream and regurgitates it on her home balcony.
Years later, Lena confronts her husband, Harold, right after crossing "ice cream" off their "equal" list. And, as we know, Lena doesn't eat ice cream because of that event, showing how one event can indirectly influence another.
"Chunwang chihan"
Chapter: Rice Husband
1. I liked this chapter. I like the way Amy Tan used symbols in this chapter, for exmaple, the table Harold made and Harold and Lena's marriage. This chapter was also pretty depressing. Lena and Harold's marriage issues were pretty sad. Lena is still the cynical person that she was in the chapter "The Voice From The Wall" in this chapter. She always expects the worst.
2. It's so ironic how Lena and Harold think their relationship would work by being "equals," and yet instead, it falls apart. Their whole idea of "[eliminating] false dependencies" and "[loving] without obligation" must have been a good idea in the first place, but their relationship really ended up being set upon money and splitting the price of everything.
3. (What writing techniques does Amy Tan use and how do these enhance or improve the story?) Amy Tan uses symbolism and flashbacks in this chapter. The flashback with the kid with the pock-marked face gave a background about how Lena grew up. One of the symbols in this chapter was the table that Harold built, and how it was wobbly. If anyone put anything on it, it would fall over. Lena knew that it was prone to falling over, but she never asked Harold why he treasures it so much. The table is a symbol of Lena and Harold's marriage. Lena knows there are problems with their relationship, but she didn't consult with Harold sooner to solve the problems. Instead, she let it linger until the whole marriage was destroyed by the problems, just like how she let the table stay in the house until it fell over and broke a vase.
Michelle H.
“Split in Half”
1) Reaction:
I give this chapter two thumbs up because it was interesting to hear how Lena believed in her mother when she said that “your future husband have on pock mark for every rice you not finish (164).” It was also interesting how Lena and Harold split everything’s cost equally in half since they started dating. Even in marriage, they split everything right down the middle, even though Lena made less income. And then this issue about splitting everything in half began to allow Lena to question her marriage.
2) Lena and Harold’s relationship:
Their marriage is very fair. They even have a “list [that] says ‘Lena’ and ‘Harold’ and under each of [their] names are things [they’ve] bought and how much they cost (174).” This started since they dated and they have argued about some things that are at the border of sharing. On the other hand, Lena believed in a relationship, both partners should believe in giving freely, but Harold said, “As long as we keep the money thing separate, we’ll always be sure of our love for each other (171).” So, since Lena was head-over-heels in love with him, she did not object then. But, at the end of the chapter, Lena is annoyed about this fairness and was ticked off by the fact that Harold wrote “ice cream” on the list, which she never eats. She then begins to question the basis of their relationship, their marriage. If the basis is this list, their marriage, their relationship means nothing.
3) Tan’s symbolism:
I absolutely fell in love with the last section of the chapter because Tan uses the marble end table to symbolize Lena and Harold’s marriage. Tan describes it as “an end table made out of a slab of unevenly cut marble and thin crisscrosses of black lacquer wood for the legs (178).” When Lena’s mother puts her handbag on it, the table starts to wobble, like how when Lena’s mother finally sees how their marriage is being operated, she starts a fuse, that makes Lena question her marriage. After Lena and Harold have a huge argument in which Harold points out that if Lena can’t figure out the basis of their marriage, she better not change anything yet, then marble table collapses. This represented how Lena’s marriage had just fallen apart. As if referring to the table, Lena says, “It doesn’t matter” followed by, “I knew it would happen.” Then her mother says, “Then why you don’t stop it?” This whole conversation on the second level, refers to Lena’s marriage. How she should have known or spoken up earlier about her annoyance to splitting everything directly in half.
Crater-face
1) I enjoyed reading this chapter because of the drama that Lena goes through. First her mother tells her a big stereotypical lie that her husband is going to have all these pimples and craters on his face for all the grains of rice that she did not finish. Then she jumps to the conclusion that her husband is going to be crater-faced Arnold because she did not finish bowls of rice. It is also stereotypical that the guy makes most of the money and in this case, her boss, who is also her “real” husband makes way more than her. They split the bill and all the payments of the things that hey share. They did not act like husband and wife. Overall, I would give this chapter thumbs up. I think it is funny how her husband and the guy who she thought she was going to marry as a child have almost the same name, Harold, and Arnold.
2) The relationship between Lena and her husband is very independent like. They act more like roommates instead of a married couple, splitting bills, keeping score, and not knowing each other very well. They split the payments of all the things they share, food, housing, appliances. They also have a list of each others’ spending amount tapped to the refrigerator. He also does not know her too well. Harold did not even know that Lena does not like ice cream and thought that she was trying to lose weight. Their relationship is not like that of a couple.
3) event today- This chapter reminds me of when I was about five or six. My mom would also tell me the same story if what would happen if I did not finish my rice in my bowl. Instead, I would be the one to get pimples. She said that for each piece of rice I did not finish, I would grow a pimple. She also said that if I did not listen to her then in the future, I would look like an ugly crater-face.
Chapter: Rice Husband
"Vomit-flavored Ice Cream"
Reaction: =P
Lena and Harold's marriage totally weirded me out. Reading this made me swear that I will never do anything as absurd as separately keeping track of me and my future husband's expenses in a marriage. I mean, do couples really do that? I'm not close to getting married, but I already know that it would be extremely detrimental to do that in a marriage, let alone in a relationship. After finishing all the vignettes in American Translation, I choose this chapter as my favorite. It's the most memorable and the most interesting. Poor Mirugai, though. The poor kitty doesn't have anybody to get rid of his fleas for him...
Lena & Harold
In the beginning, Lena and Harold agree to splitting costs. However, as their marriage progresses, money becomes too big of a factor as well as a distraction in their marriage. Lena and Harold's relationship is fragile, ready to break at any second, just like the marble-slab table Harold made long ago. Although they pretend as if everything is fine between them, Lena and Harold are actually exasperated by each other. Lena eventually "breaks" down in front of her husband, just like the unsteady marble table.
Chinese Culture
Reading about Ying-Ying telling Lena to leave no rice in her bowl reminded me of my mother telling me the same thing at the dinner table. Whenever I left a few grains of rice in my rice bowl, she would admonish me, telling me that my future husband would be ugly and pockmarked. Just like Lena, I would be freaked out, licking clean my rice bowl so that it would be spotless. I also learned the Chinese idiom "Chunwang Chihan: if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold." (161). I later asked my father how to say it in Chinese.
"Eat Every Grain of Rice"
Chapter: Rice Husband
1: I really liked this chapter and I give it a thumbs up! It was really interesting to read this chapter, from how Lena and her husband split everything equally to her mother telling her that she will "marry a bad man" since she doesn't finish her rice (164). Also, it was kind of cool and creepy how Lena's mother, Ying-Ying, could fortell what was going to happen. For example, she said that the new baby fell out of her womb because the house sat too steeply on the hill, and it did. Also she forecasted her husband's death when the flowers he gave her whithered and died.
2: Lena and Harold are two main characters in this chapter, and their relationship is not based on a good foundation. They split everything they own equally, something that gets on Lena's nerves, making her question what their relationship is really based on. I think their relationship is based on money and the "list," which is one of the factors of why the relationship is not that strong. They act more like friends living in the same dorm, instead of a married couple, when they split everything equally.
3: I learned that in the Chinese culture, you are supposed to eat every single grain of rice from your bowl, otherwise you will marry someone who is ugly and pock-marked. This was the second time I herad of this superstition. The first time I heard about this superstition was in my home economics class in 8th grade. We made terriyaki chicken and rice and I didn't eat all of my rice, and my friend told me that if I didn't eat all of my rice, I would marry someone ugly.
"Clean Your Bowl"
1)Well, this was an interesting chapter. Lena and Ying Ying continue to prove themselves as Tan's gothic side of writing. Lena is still a strange person and still takes after Ying Ying as in "The Voice from the Wall". In a way, I can relate to this because my parents have always emphasized for me to finish all the food on my plate, but definitely not for such a strange reason.
2)Lena and Harold
The married couple have an interestingly strange relationship (makes me think everything related to Lena is a bit bizarre..) Although they are a married couple they still split the cost for everything. Yet Lena lives that way and does not question it because she loves Harold until the question is brought upon her by her mother. Their relationship seems to based upon the list which dictates their lives and what costs they split.
3)The pock marked kid, Arnold from Lena's childhood symbolizes her background and her education as she grew up. He represents how Lena acts and thinks and impacted her life greatly although it was nothing but a mere superstition. Another symbol is the table that Harold had built, when Ying Ying put her purse upon it, the table wobbled, proving itself to be very unstable alike Lena's marriage with Harold. Lena lives with Harold but never questions him or openly gets aggravated about why they split the the money for everything and why they dictate their lives in such a way.
Faces in Rice
1. Lena’s mom being able to see things before they happen isn’t really unusual. Some people actually have that ability. From the part with Harold in the car it’s easy to see that he isn’t a nice person. He’s one of those annoying, bad drivers and he cares who pays for the exterminators even though he is married to Lena. I don’t think marriage is supposed to be like that. It makes you wonder why Lena married him. It seemed strange that they always split everything in half even after they got married. They just don’t act like they are married. It looks more like friends living together. When Lena’s mother told her about the rice thing I kind of wondered if it was true. Maybe if it was, kids would finish their rice more. That was sad that Lena would stop eating just to not marry Arnold. I think she was almost anorexic. It’s amazing what words can do to a child. Overall I would give this chapter a thumb up because it was a good plot line.
2. Lena and Harold are adults and married. However, the way that they act, you wouldn’t think they were married. When they dated they split all of their tabs in half. I guess that is normal at first, but they continued on doing the same thing after they were married. Maybe it’s hard to get over old habits. The relationship isn’t going well because they argue like over who should pay for the exterminator because of the cat’s fleas. I think the separation of money symbolizes the separate lives they each have and how they aren’t together. Lena and Harold just shouldn’t be together.
3. From this chapter I learned that there are many superstitions in the Chinese culture. I was surprised to hear about the not finishing the rice superstition. I’ve never heard of it before and I wondered if it was true. I also didn’t know about the expression, “Chunwang chihan.” I liked how it was put in because it was related to Lena’s marriage. She and her husband didn’t share anything, they only had things separate. The result of that are argument and a failed marriage.
The Marble End Table
Chapter: Rice Husband
1. The chapter was a little creepy because Lena St. Clair’s mother looked at things and saw the deeper result of it, like when her plant that her husband gave to her was dying she knew that husband would also die. This chapter was a thumbs up because the real message of the chapter is clearly shown at the end of the chapter. The chapter also had a good suspense at the end when Lena went to go check on her mother to see if she was alright. I thought her mother died or got hurt! I was glad to read that nothing happened to her when the marble end table broke.
2. The quote, “He gave me his adoring smile, the one that said, ‘I love it when you’re so naïve,’” (P. 172) shows that Harold said this because Lena and him are married and he always gave her this smile that gave her a sense of protection. As Lena’s mother peers at Lena and her husband’s chart in their house, her mother “looks at [her] and frowns but doesn’t say anything,” (P. 175). This quote was describing Lena’s mother and it shows that she knows that Lena’s marriage is doomed.
3. The external struggle is the marble table being unbalanced and it collapses at the end of the chapter. The internal struggle is Lena’s marriage being doomed because their balance sheet makes Lena feel embarrassed because she gets paid less than Harold. It also makes her angry when he’s being too fair, like when Lena crossed off the ice cream from his list because she didn’t think he should get credit for it anymore he was alright with it.
A Penny Here, A Penny There
American Translation: Rice Husband
I liked the end of this chapter so much, the lines "'I knew it would happen' 'then why you don't stop it'". I think the marble end table symbolizes Lena and Harold's marriage. This became clear to me when I reread the part of Lena's mother saying of it "You put something else on top, everything fall down" (178). All the expenses Lena and Harold share and divide pile up until their patience with "what is whose expense" wears out and causes a fight. I didn't like how their lives were so revolved around money and how they didn't compile all their money together, since they are in a marriage and, in a sense, "one".
Lena and her mother Ying-Ying, don't really interact with each other much in this chapter, but Ying-Ying has enough respect for Lena to try to tell her that her marriage isn't working out. Ying-Ying tells Lena in a metaphorical way to fix her marriage before it falls apart completely by asking her why she didn't stop the marble end table from breaking when she said she knew it was going to happen. Ying-Ying also tries to help Lena out in her marriage by hinting at Harold to notice her more when Ying-Ying says Lena is "like a ghost, disappear[ing]" (177). Ying-Ying is protective of Lena. Lena has respect for her mother in the sense of knowing what her mother says is true and that she's only trying to help. They are close as mother and daughter since Lena's father didn't have much in common Ying-Ying so they were all the other had. They seem more like friends though, trying to help each other out but respecting the other's space.
e In the allegory and this chapter, the mothers predict something bad happening to their daughters using furniture in the daughter's house. In both short stories the daughter has bought a new living quarters and the mother is taking a look at it. The bad predictions are both about unhappiness within the marriage. The mother also provides a resolution to the problem. In the allegory, the mother props another mirror up in the room for good luck. In the chapter, the mother confronts the daughter with the problem so the daughter cannot pretend it's not there anymore and deal with it, herself.
Truce- “Rice Husband”
I thought this chapter was pretty weird because of the predictions from Lena’s mom. It was strange how they always seemed to come true. It was kind of funny how Lena’s mean childhood neighbor randomly dies because she had wanted him to all her life. Lena’s husband seemed too much of a perfectionist to be a good person. It was like he wanted everything to be just right, no more and no less. This sort of bugged me because he did not understand what was driving Lena insane when he made her pay so much with her little pay. I did not quite understand this chapter too well because it just kind of ended randomly when the bed side dresser fell, another one of her mom’s predictions. Perhaps the mother had predicted the uneasy marriage all along and the dresser only proved her point?
Lena and Harold’s relationship isn’t like many married couples. Harold believes that it is better to split everything equally, and not give anything away. This affects their over all relationship because Lena gets a lot less money than Harold does and she cannot always afford the stuff he wants to split with her. I think that Harold is being unfair to Lena because of his boss-like figure toward her and his prevention of her moving up in his firm. She does not get the opportunity to make more money and is not even able to share her accounts with her husband. I think that Harold is just to practical for Lena.
I think that the main conflict is between Harold and Lena because it is most talked about. They are in a constant struggle against what they should share and what they should not. This also makes it an internal struggle because each person must decide what he or she wants to share. Lena struggles how she wants to tell Harold this and does not really understand what she wants from him. Lena is also in a struggle with her mom and how her mom can come up with her prophecies that have been occurring ever since Lena was a child. Lena comes to a conclusion that she made her childhood neighbor die, all because of one of her mom’s prophecies. This creates an internal conflict as she tries to deal with her feelings of guilt.
“Bad Man?”-“Rice Husbad”
1. I really liked reading this chapter, a definite thumbs up! Lena’s mother seems like the old wise men and women in stories, the ones that can predict the future, and the ones that make things seem simple and easy. At the end of the vignette, as Lena is picking up the broken glass shards, she says, “I knew it would happen,” and her mother replies, “then why you don’t stop it?” Her mother makes it seem so simple, and her statement applies to everything, including Lena’s marriage to Harold because Lena knows something’s wrong but doesn’t know exactly how to proceed. She is unsure of what she really wants, and questions whether her marriage was meant to fail because of how she didn’t finish her rice when she was little and her mother told her she’d marry a bad man. The whole flashback to Lena’s childhood and how she had a secret crazed affection/hatred towards the boy Arnold was strange, but when he died, it was something that scared her for life because she always wanted him to. Lena also feels as if she’s cursed in away, but I can totally imagine this little girl believing something absurd that her mother says to her and plans secret ways to kill a boy that has been picking on her. What kind of marriage thrives on lists and counting money all the time? Isn’t marriage supposed to be a time for a couple to share everything as one, and not account for every last cent?
2. The relationship between Lena and her husband Harold seems to be based on a bunch of numbers and not passion or love for each other. Lena already begins to get annoyed at Harold and even starts a small fit by crossing out ice cream from their list which, after being married for years, Harold didn’t know she hated. Ever since the beginning of their relationship, they split everything down to the last penny, and after they got married, it continued, but now Lena is beginning to think all of it just isn’t working. When they were married, their passion for each other masked how their relationship really is in Lena’s eyes, but now she’s beginning to see how their life together really is. When Lena tells Harold she loves him, he replies by saying, “I love you, too, Did you lock the door?” And that caused her to believe that what he gave her and what he could give her just wasn’t enough. She once thought that she was so lucky to have a man like Harold, thinking that she was the one that couldn’t match up with him and that she was fortunate to have him love her, but now she understands that they are equal. He wasn’t any better than she was, and she deserved more.
3. Much like the beginning allegory, where a mother visits her daughter’s house and spreads her wisdom, Lena’s mother visits Lena’s new renovated barn that she and her husband have bought. In the allegory, the mother makes complaints about how her daughter shouldn’t put mirrors at the food of beds and Lena’s mother complains about how Lena and Harold make lists and how her daughter hates ice cream. The mother in the beginning spreads her wisdom in her daughter’s home by placing a mirror against the headboard to keep happiness from leaving their house, and Lena’s mother gives Lena advice about taking her situation into her own hands and dealing with it by preventing what she knows is going to happen from happening.
Food Waster
1) Reaction
I thought this chapter was quite interesting, in an unusual way, because I didn't really understand it. I knew what the chapter was talking about, but not its meaning or anything like that. I thought it was weird but cool how Lena's mother was able to "predict" and "foreshadow" bad events to happen in the future. Wasn't it just two or three chapters ago when we found out that the mother was crazy and traumatized in "Voice From the Wall"? Still, I would give this two thumbs up.
2) I think that the relationship between Lena and Harold would be a loving one, but way to calculated and careful. The fact that they tried to be "equals" literally, and split costs of money turned out to cause a split in their marriage. I think that this isn't a good way to base a relationship on; they act more like friends than a married couple.
3) I think that in the chapter the table in the guest room symbolizes the marriage between Harold and Lena. The table was extremely unsteady and liable to fall apart at any moment's notice. Likewise, Lena and Harold's marriage is unstable because of the way the built their relationship. In the end, the table falls and breaks, at the same time, the marriage between Lena and Harold breaks out into problems and fights.
Hey Arnold!
This chapter was really amusing to read and didn't seem as confusing as most of the other chapters so far. I didn't think it was as strange as the other St. Clair stories, although the ice cream part definitely live up to the bizarre-ness of the others. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, and definitely more than the other St. Clair stories.
Arnold and Lena do not get along very well, and I thought it was funny that Lena actually thought of having to marry Arnold. It was obvious that everything Arnold did towards was with a mischievous thought in his mind, from shooting her with rubber bands to crushing Lena's doll with his bicycle. In addition, there was no mention whatsoever of Arnold displaying any favorable traits that Lena might have liked, yet she still thought that she have to marry him when she gets older. From Lena's point of view, "[her] loathing for Arnold" had led her to wishing him to be dead. Of course, neither Arnold nor Lena had any personal reason or motivation for hating each other, it just happened that Arnold chose Lena to pick on, and for Lena to think of her "pock-mark" husband to be Arnold.
Just as a lot of the previous chapters, Tan uses flashback to help explain the motivations behind the main character's actions. Lena is terrified about her future husband, which was thought to be pock-marked and very mean and therefore attempts to "kill" Arnold, whom she thought will grow up to be her husband. However, when her marriage is in trouble, Lena recalls this story and realizes that maybe she'd gotten a husband she'd deserved after all, someone who was although not literally mean, brought forth many problems into her life and eventually threatens their marriage.
‘’ RICE RICE BABY! ‘’
1. This chapter was indeed very bizarre and peculiar, similar to that of all the other St. Clair chapters. It would be refreshing if Tan could just throw us a simple and understanding chapter from Ying - Ying or Lena before the end of the story. However, aside from the strangeness of this chapter, ‘’ Rice Husband ‘’ was written beautifully. I thought that Harold, though apparently a ‘’ remarkable person, ‘’ was incredibly perverted when he compliments Lena being ‘’ soft, ‘’ ‘’ squishy, ‘’ ‘’ and loveable. ‘’ (p.169) Who calls their girlfriend squishy? I thought it was weird. Though written pretty well, two thumbs down for me.
2. Lena and Harold’s relationship is very complex. Unlike an ordinary couple, they focus incredibly on their individual stinginess and how much money is in their separate bank account. I’m sure there are some couples who are like that, though it’s as if love doesn’t really matter to Harold nor Lena. Quite frankly, I find that a shame. Can money and equality really fill in the voids that love could not?
3. I learned some fascinating customs about the Chinese culture after reading the chapter. I never knew that the left over rice after a meal would really make your husband ugly and full of craters once you were to marry. Is this custom just for the females, or is their a similar fate for the males as well? A similar superstition I heard when I was young from my Filipino mother was that if I ever left rice in my bowl, God would be angry with me and I wouldn’t go to heaven after I died. In both superstitions, a negative effect would come out.
Rice Husband
"You're not out of the woods yet."
1) This was one of my favorite stories to read. The first passage immediately pulled me in when Lena said that her mother could predict events in the future. The ordeal with Lena “accidentally” killing Arnold was intriguing, because it made the reader think, “Wow, Lena’s mother is something else.” The type of relationship that Lena and Harold shared was ridiculous, however. It’s no wonder why they broke up; if I had to argue about how much money I owed my sister every time we went shopping together, we’d both lose our minds.
2) Lena and Harold’s relationship can be described as awkward. The only reason that they set up the balance sheet system was they were uncomfortable sharing money with one another. Each does not want to bother the other, and would rather make sure that his or her spouse did not pay more than he or she needed to than enjoy their marriage.
3) Foreshadowing is a huge element in this chapter. It took me a while to realize that all this time, Lena’s mom’s premonition was true. Lena had married a bad man, even if it was not clear at first. She would have been better off marrying Arnold, because according to the newspaper that Lena’s father had been reading, Arnold “had just been accepted to Cal State Hayward and was planning to become a podiatrist.” Arnold had had a very promising future, despite his bad beginnings with Lena when they were school kids.
Leftover rice = Ugly future husband.
1. I can totally and completely relate to the part where Lena's mother tells her she can't leave rice in her bowl after she's done. My mother told me the exact same thing when I was younger, and I immediately ran back to the table to finish every last grain of rice. I was so terrified, but I was just a young girl, so that's understandable. I thought Lena's mother was just a tad bit too rude. What am I saying, she was extremely rude! Over the top! "This is too expensive, that doesn't look nice, what is this, why are you driving so fast?" Please! Don't you ever feel bad for anything you say sometimes? And when her money issues with her husband arrived in the chapter, I was pretty shocked. Everything has to be equal, split right down the middle. Smack. Are you serious? I agree with Lena, "Why do you have to be so goddamn fair!" (179). Her husband needs to back off a little with all the money issues and such. I thought the very last statement made by her mother, "Then why don't you stop it?" was such a burn to Lena. I would ask her the exact same thing. And her reaction made it even more priceless.
2. I think Lena and Harold have a very interesting relationship compared to that of a typical married couple. The way they manage their money as married people is very unusual. Costs are split right down the middle, no questions asked, hands down. And they actually keep a list of everything they bought on the fridge door?! Right down to the last cent. It's kind of sad, knowing that their relationship is based on such strict standards for financial things.
3. This chapter related to the allegory a lot. Lena began to leave rice again to get Arnold to die, just a little too drastic I think. Maybe she left a little too much rice and got more than what she wanted. The allegory in the beginning talks about the placement of a mirror and how it can reflect bad luck on your marriage. Harold and their marriage problems could possibly be caused by the leftover rice in her bowl as a young girl. Her current life could have been reflected off that bowl of unfinished rice. And all she can see is her problems and what she did to cause it and how she's doing nothing to fix it.
Got Rice?
Rice Husband
1)Reaction:
This chapter was bizzare, yet interessting. When Ying Ying St. Clair told her daughter, Lena that she'll marry a pock faced, bad husband if she didn't finish her rice was kind of humorous. It may have been that Ying Ying could really see her daughter's future through the rice, or she just says that to get her daughter to eat. I thought it was really drastic when Lena began starving herself, and eating ice cream, which ended up back in the carton as vomit. Harold does not make the best husband. Cutting everything in half somehoe makes him look cheap. It's astonishing how Ying Ying can predict what will happen. She predicted that she will marry a bad husband because of her unfinished rice.
2)Lena and Harold
Although they are married, they split everything 50/50. It seems like it's the fair thing to do, but it caused problems in their relationship. Harold seems to base the relationship more on the money rather than the love.
3)The scene where Ying Ying tells her daughter, that if she doesn't finish her rice, then she'll marry a bad man, is always said by parents today. It's not always with rice, it's other foods, or things like "if you don't finish your homework you're going to die." Parents usually tell this to their kids so it'll motivate them more. But then it has a toll on the kids. They take everything literally and think about every single wrong thing they might be doing like Lena. She came the conclusion that if she starved herself, she wouldn't have to marry Arnold.
Waste not.
I thought this chapter was awkward. I thought that it was funny how Lena thought this could be punishment for Harold in the beginning when Lena's mother told him to drive slower. I thought that this whole story was unfair to the present day Lena. She helped support Harold into making a new company but she still got paid so little even though it was her idea in the beginning that allowed him to actually follow through with it. I also thought it was unfair how she had to pay for things on the list even though it was for both of them, such as the person who cleans for them and the groceries. I thought Lena's mother was very tricky in this chapter, in trying to get her to finish all of her rice. I thought it was sad how Lena thought that it was her fault that Arnold had died from a disease. I give this chapter a thumbs up because i liked how this and other chapters have changed from the present to a flashback and back. I think it really helps to progress into the story.
2) I think the relationship between Harold and Lena is torn. I think that all they have is actually that list because that connects them with each other. Something as simple as "I just don't think i should get credit for your ice cream anymore" (page 179) could cause them to get into an argument.
I think that the list allows them to connect their lives by showing what they have been doing outside of the house. Also that list shows their relationship because it shows it one sided it is. Harold's side cost so much more money, yet Lena is still forced to pay for half of it. I think that they could/should find a better way to manage their relationship.
3) This relates to our world today because many relationships start at the work company and sometimes it does effect their work, in this case they both quit their jobs and started a new one together. I think this can also relate to modern day life because people always try to be equal with one another so they would do things to try to keep it that way, in this case, the list. This chapter also relates to many other chapters in this book because the people are also having relationship problems and are having arguments with people.
-Aaron Ly
Half of the Ice Creme
(Rice Husband)
1. Reaction: Yikes, lots of unconventional, disturbing elements in this chapter. I loved it though. I think the issue of equality has brought up and addressed well, where does the line between being equal and being seperate lie? Tan made it clear that Lena did not feel that she needed to overcompensate for being a woman, she was just very generous. Lena's eating disorder was also expressed very well. Though she starved herself to look fashionably skinny, she also did it to ensure that the craters on Arnold's face would grow and grow. Another part of her dissorder was her binging on the ice creme. She did this because she felt compelled too, the grief she felt for (inadvertently) causing Arnold's death was very grave. She "wonder[ed] why it was that eating something so good could make [her] feel so terrible, while vomiting something terrible could make [her] feel so good. (p. 167)"
2. Relationships: (Lena and Harold) Their marriage is strained by their obvious separation of everything in their household: the cat, the groceries, the bills, ect. I still can't wrap my head around how this transpired. First Harold refused to let her help him with his business and Lena insisted on chipping in with checks at restaurants and before we know it... This allows them the security and peace of mind that they have a fair marriage.But it really just makes them both irritable. I was a little disappointed with Lena's arguement when she confronted Harold about the ice creme (the part when she couldn't tell him what she wanted) and I was disappointed with Harold when it was revealed to us that he didn't know Lena did/does not like ice creme. You'd think that'd come up in conversation.....
3. How does this relate to other works of literature or life today?:
We're hearing constantly that more than half of the marriages that occur here in the United States end in divorce. We also hear alot about eating dissorders in this day and age. It's also not unheard of for elders to tell youngsters that when a boy is mean to you it means he like you (perhaps like Arnold and Lena).
"Split Everything Fifty-Fifty"
Rice Husband
1. Well that was kind of weird. Harold takes the the concept of being fair to a whole new level. I mean Lena is his wife for crying out loud. They should put their money together and spend it without caring earned it. When you get married you have to learn to share pretty much everything. However, I was surprised when Lena just went along with it and didn't mind at first that Harold wanted to split the all expenses equally and fairly. I didn't think it was fair though because Lena makes less money then Harold does, so he should be the one paying more.
2.Lena and Harold obviously don't have anything close to a typical married couple's relationship. Unlike typical couples they don't share their earnings with each other nor do they spend it together. In married life it is always about sharing with your spouse. Due to this act of "fairness," problems arise in their relationship when Lena questions them splitting the costs of everything.
3. In this chapter I learned that in the Chinese culture, if you didn't finish all your rice you would end up marrying someone ugly. I've never heard anything like this before so it seemed kind of bizarre to me at first. But i guess every culture has its own unique superstitions.
A Grain of Ice Cream
Chapter Rice Husband
1. I liked this chapter, it was interesting how Lena’s mom could foretell what would happen in the future such as that Lena was going to marry a bad man. The part where Lena ate all that ice cream because she thought she was responsible for Arnold’s death was kind of disgusting, but I love the line at the end: “Then why don’t you stop it?”
2. I hate Harold and Lena’s relationship. It seems that it’s completely unfair to Lena, and I hate how Harold thinks and acts that the relationship is fair. They never really share anything and the whole relationship is based on a list of what they spend money on. With an unstable relationship such as this, it’s no wonder that they decided to split up.
3. I learned that Chinese culture based a lot on superstition such as the fact that one should eat all of one’s rice or it’s bad luck. I’ve never heard of such superstitions before and I thought that they were kind of interesting if not a little dumb. I don’t think I could live with all these ideas floating round peacefully since I would always be worrying that about doing the right thing.
Splitting Everything
Rice Husband
1)I thought this chapter was interesting and it kept me reading. At first when Arnold died, it was weird because Lena’s theory and Arnold’s death tied n together, even though it was unreasonable and didn’t make a lot of sense. At the end when Lena’s mom was in the guest room and something broke, I didn’t get that part. And the mom asked Lena the question, I still didn’t get what they broke and what they meant.
2)Lena and Harold’s are married for a couple of years already and they work in the same company together, but they always split everything they buy. They split dinner at home and at a restaurant. Their relationship is close but it’s money that gets in their way and that’s what causes most of the arguments. They love each other, but still they count every cents precisely.
3)Lena’s mother reminded me of a very superstitious mother who could sense something bad happening and it’s crazy. It is like foretells all the bad omens. She makes up lies like finishing your rice in your bowl or something bad will happen in the future. It usually works because this reminded of me when I was young. I was eating dinner with my cousin and I would always shake my leg because it is a habit and she said that if I keep shaking my legs then I will lose a lot of money in the future.
“Let’s split it”
Rice Husband
1/ Although this St.Clair chapter was still somewhat bizarre, at least it isn’t as bizarre at dark as the previous two chapters. Moreover, I actually enjoyed reading this chapter. The chapter was fairly easy to understand and wasn’t so irritating to read. Also, the marriage between Lena and Harold was an interesting one. It is odd to see that even when they are married, they still split things half and half and keep separate accounts instead of sharing their money. Although Harold says he does this in order to keep them as “equals”, I believe that this actually makes them unequal since Lena makes less money than Harold does.
2/ Harold and Lena don’t act much like a normal married couple. Instead, they act more like they are still dating and split everything down right to the penny. The fact Harold is so obsessed with money that he wants to keep trivial expenses separate spews red lights too. He seems to love his cash more than he does his own wife. It is depressing to see that their relationship is based on dollars and cents rather than their love for each other.
3/ I think that the main conflict in this story is an internal conflict within Lena where she has to decide if this marriage is right for her or not. Throughout the story, Lena has shown that she is a bit upset that even though they are married to one another, Harold does not give her promotions, despite being a hard worker. She also starts to question his love for her when she tells Harold that she loves him in which Harold replies I love you too while backing up a car. Lena feels that this is “just not enough”(174) which means that she doesn’t feel that Harold shows enough love for her. Even though she feels this way about Harold, Lena still doesn't show that she want out of the marriage which shows that she doesn’t know whether to do something about it or to just live with Harold’s ways.
"Let's Split the Bill, �cause Sharing is Caring":
1) Reactions to Rice Husband:
This chapter I didn�t like very much, though there were very interesting events that made it level out to an ok chapter. I mostly don't like the part where she described throwing up the ice cream, " That night, in my room, I gorged myself...and I remember wondering why it was that eating something so good could make me feel so terrible.(Tan 167)" This just grossed me out because I imagined a person without any self control just pigging-out and then throwing up a vile mix of dairy and intestinal liquids that was warm and regurgitated out, all warm and steamy, yuck! Another interesting point was how the mother could predict every bad thing that could happen, like how she predicted that she would marry a husband who was still very bad for her because in a way, he had empty spaces(Pock marks) in himself to forces Lena ton have to pay her share. The mother was also able to predict that her marriage was going to ruin because Ying-ying was shown to have a mean expression when examining the list of items and how she later said, "Then why don't you stop it," on page 181, implying that she knew about all that unstableness in this house, and how it will soon break.
2) Relationships in "Rice Husband":
in this chapter, the most unsettling relationship is that between Lena and Harold. For one, the relationship is too formal, because a married couple should not have to worry about paying each other back. Lena does when she says, "I'll owe him around fifty (dollars) from my checking account,(Tan 175)" which means that part of the relationship is based on borrowing. Also, this marriage is based upon equal farness with one another. The couple beliefs that by doing what they do by sharing the payment, that they have a more important share in what is going on in their relationship, like if they are trying to have equal importance. The thing is however is that if one spouse finds that their income is not very sufficient for themselves, it sort of falls upon the other to help support them, like a shared income.
3) Essential Questions in "Rice Husband":
In this chapter, one very crucial element of Amy Tan's writing techniques is her extensive use of symbolism. One symbol that she uses is the ice cream that Lena gorges herself with. the ice cream, as symbol shows all the guilt that Lena had for being "responsible" for the death of her neighbor Arnold. When Lena says, "and that she knew I was the one who had caused Arnold to die,(Tan 167)" she feels guilty for her the hate that she had for Arnold which caused him to "die." As such, she starts to gorge herself, believing that eating something good will make all the bad go away, which it does in her vomit. Another major symbol in this chapter is the marble table built by Harold. Before Ying-ying manages to break it, she mentions how, "You put something else on top (of the table), everything (will) fall down.(Tan 178)" this quote shows how the table, like the relationship, was built upon Harold's standards of money tracking, and it was a very vulnerable relationship that when weighed down with something heavy, like a bad incident about keeping track of money, could completely shatter it.
Girl get your grain on!
Rice Husband: Joy Luck Club
1) Reaction:
By far, this has been my favorite out of all the previous "Lena Ying-Ying St. Clair sagas." It was actually easy to understand and the whole story was based around Lena struggling to maintain her marriage while having to confront her mother about it. Once more, Ms. Tan reveals her grosteque writing abilities, when she describes Lena regurgitating strawberry ice cream. Hm, very delicious!
2) Lena + Harold = Conflict
My idea of marriage would be a happy and go lucky marriage, while I usually pay for dinners. Lina and Harold on the other hand, perfer to split everything. They do this because they believe that it is "equal" and "fair." To me, the way they react to each other is just as the same as in their offices. They are always acting professional and uptight and all the bottled up negativities are release when Lena finally questions this. That leads to a bigger hole forming in their 'perfectly' split relationship.
3) The story relates to the first allegory because basically at the end of "Rice Husband," Ying-Ying basically tells Lena that "if you knew it would happen, why didn't you fix it?" based off of her current relationship with Harold. In the allegory the mother tells her daughter not to ride her bike around the corner, yet she does and then falls. It's like Lena took a chance getting married while her mother knew all along that she would fall and injure herself. However, we are yet to be informed if Lena does get a divorced.. :o
Equally Divided Marriage
Chapter: Rice Husband
1. Reaction
I thought this chapter was very amusing, but a bit bizarre at the same time. It was funny how Ying-Ying told Lena to finish her bowl of rice or her future husband will have pock marks. Immediately, Lena thought of Arnold and did not want to marry him. I was surprised that after Lena watched that program about missionaries in Africa, she would not eat a lot of things anymore including her rice to not marry Arnold. I was also shocked to read that Arnold had died and that Lena thought it was her fault. After many years, Lena married Harold. However, it was really weird and interesting how Harold and Lena had to split all their expenses right down the middle. That definitely wasn’t a healthy marriage because they weren’t like a loving couple. Because of the fact they had to split everything equally, Lena began to question what their marriage was based on and wonders whether it is too late.
2. Lena St. Clair & Harold
Lena and Harold’s relationship is very equal, distant, and independent. They may have started out liking each other, but the relationship began to dwindle. They acted more like roommates rather than a married couple because all of their expenses had to be equally split. Even if Harold made more money, they still had to split all of their payments of bills, food, and appliances. They even had a list on the refrigerator to keep track what payment goes to whom. This really made Lena and Harold become more distant with each other, causing them to not know much about each other anymore. They were no longer like a married couple anymore. Because their expenses were split in half, their relationship was also split in half.
3. Tan uses a great example of symbolism in this chapter. The end table made of marble in Lena and Harold’s room symbolizes Lena and Harold’s marriage. The table is not sturdy at all and looks like it could fall apart at any minute just like how Lena’s marriage could fall apart at any minute. Ying-Ying states, “You put something else on top, everything fall down” (178). When Ying-Ying put her handbag on the table, the vase on top started to wobble. This is like how Ying-Ying goes to Lena and Harold’s home and analyzes their marriage. She finds out that their marriage is not stable at all. When Harold and Lena have the argument, Harold ends the argument saying that she shouldn’t change anything with their marriage unless she knows what their marriage is based on. In that instant, the marble table collapsed as did their marriage. On the last page of the chapter, Lena tells her mother that “it doesn’t matter” and that she “knew it would happen” (181). Ying-Ying responds to Lena, “Then why you don’t stop it?” (181). Even though this could apply to the table, they are actually talking about Lena’s marriage and why she didn’t do anything or tell Harold about how she hated to split things in half long before to stop her marriage from falling apart.
“I hate ice cream!”
Chapter: Rice Husband
1. I really enjoyed reading this chapter. It was really creative of Ying-Ying to tell Lena to finish her leftovers or she would have an ugly husband. This worked in the beginning, but after a while, it basically caused Lena to become anorexic to try to make Arnold (whom Lena was convinced that she would marry) as ugly as possible, but it became a disorder. I was kind of annoyed at how even when they got married, they still divided the cost of thins. And to make things worse, Lena was an employee of Harold, so Lena earns less, so Harold pays more, and this gets confusing, and eventually leads to many of their arguments.
2. The relationship between Lena and Harold is a very interesting one. Even though Harold insists on dividing everything equally to not let money come across their love, his plan is actually back firing on them. It later becomes the burden and same cause to what makes Lena want to separate. Harold has all the right intentions, but just made a bad decision or calculation.
3. I think the message that Amy Tan is trying to send to us is that money is not all that there is to life. It can be good if you use it wisely, but if poorly kept, it can become dangerous. Love is something that is very delicate and pure, it is unconditional. It may be strong and flawless, but if mixed with something like money, it becomes stained and contaminated. It withers like a flower in the harsh cold winter, and then eventually ceases to exist.
“Split in two”
(“Rice Husband”)
1) I was kinda mad when I read this and found out that Lena knew her marriage was going to fail. Why would she do that? Was she trying to prove a point? The entire list of splitting situation was off and so contradictory to a marriage. In a marriage the couple shares everything. Two people are joined into one. I also believe that their cat is a symbol of how the marriage is disintegrating. The fleas are symbolic too. I was very surprised to the list thing, because of how loving and sweet Harold was, he seems weird.
2) Lena, like her mother, shares an eeriness that frightens and confuses me. Out of all the mother-daughter relationships, they are not my favorite at all. I dislike them the most. They both seem to sense what will happen in the future. When her mother tells her to finish her rice, and she doesn’t, Arnold dies, she believes that she killed Arnold, but she didn’t! She’s loony to be her age and still believe that she killed Arnold.
3) This goes back to the allegory. I think that, when in the allegory, the mirror the mother places shows the daughter’s reflection, means that she is responsible for the happiness of her marriage. I think, Lena’s mother tells her the same. She tells her she is responsible to try and keep her marriage alive.
“Chunwang chihan”
1) This chapter was interesting to read, but the ice cream part was pretty nasty. I’d rather not picture someone regurgitating their food. I don’t really like Lena and Harold’s marriage. Even though everything is split, it doesn’t seem fair. She still has to pay half of the bill, when all she orders is a salad, which isn’t that much, and she has to pay half…I think that Ying-ying can sense what is going on, she notices the list of items.
2) Lena and Harold:
Lena and Harold’s relationship is so strange. Although it’s supposed to be an equal marriage, it isn’t equal at all! He doesn’t even know about her ice cream problem. Harold is sort of a jerk. I just think that their relationship isn’t very equal and they don’t really understand each other. Their marriage kind of resembles Lena’s parents. Why won’t Harold promote Lena if she’s doing a good job?
3) Chinese culture:
I didn’t know that they Chinese told kids that to make kids eat all their rice, too. When I was little my parents would always tell me to eat all my rice or I’ll get holes in my face, that really scared me out so I always cleaned my bowl.
1)This chapter was a bit boring so I gave it a thumbs up. I didn't like Harold's and Lena's relationship because it's so mechanical. I was a bit surprised this chapter wasn't bizarre as the other St. Clair vignettes.
2)Harold and Lena's relationship is very mechanical. Even if they don't realize it, their relationship is mostly based on money. They think that by splitting everything, calculating and deciding who gets what, will assure them that their love is genuine, not based on money. What's ironic is by doing so, their marriage falls apart because they split everything. This limits their relationship, keeping them within certain boundaries of money. Lena eventually gets sick of having to split everything down from house payments to ice cream.
3)The wobbly table symbolizes Lena's and Harold's relationship. It eventually collapses when Lena admits what she's feelings and how they're falling apart. That table was already fragile in the beginning like their marriage. Coincidentally, it doesn't fall until Lena's mother made it fall and she was the one that pointed out what was wrong with their relationship.
“His Face Looks like the Moon!”
“Rice Husband”
1.Reaction- Lena St. Clair's chapter is completely bizarre, once again. Lena's mother, Ying-Ying, is really superstitious, and it was shown again in this chapter. When I read about the rice bowl, I laughed because it was definitely not the first time I've heard that superstition, but when Lena talked about the neighbor boy Arnold, I was shocked. The part where Lena is terrified that she may have “killed” Arnold, I was speechless, I really didn't know how to react to that. Here, a little girl is purposely not finishing her bumpy foods to make sure she doesn't marry Arnold, I think that's just a little crazy. Also, the way Lena and Harold split everything dead evenly, in my opinion, isn't how a marriage should function. When Ying-Ying says that Lena doesn't like ice cream, it surprised me that Harold didn't know, after all, they're married!
2.Lena and Harold's marriage is certainly not the average relationship between husband and wife. When I think about a married couple, I see two people joining as one body, one life, meaning that they share pretty much everything together. That doesn't mean, sharing expenses, it means combining everything together, sharing money, and paying for things together, as one. In their relationship, everything has to be even and fair, I really don't agree that a marriage should manage like that. To me, in marriage, you learn about sacrifices in loving your spouse, meaning, if things aren't fair, so be it. In all, Lena and Harold's relationship is pretty out of the ordinary.
3.In this chapter, I did not learn about Chinese culture, but I was reminded of some traditions in Chinese culture. When I was young, my aunt used to tell me to eat all the grains of my rice in my bowl or else my husband would be a crater-face, as she called it in Chinese. It is the same superstition as in this chapter, and when I read this, I was reminded of the first my my aunt told me this because I haven't been told to finish all the rice in my bowl in years. It definitely put a smile on my face to be reminded of MY Chinese heritage.
Sharing is Caring???
Chapter: Rice Husband
1. Ummmm..this chapter made me so mad I didn’t know what to do. It was alright in the beginning, about the rice bowl and the measles incident with Arnold, but as I read more about Lena and Harold's relationship, I just wanted to throw the book! Okay, let me tell you a few things:
- First of all, when I go on a date, the man better pay for me. I’m not about to pay half for nothing. I’m not stingy, that’s just the way it is.
- Second, ain't (ain't is a word!) no man going to tell me that I cant take credit for what I did just because it doesn’t look "professional" to everyone else. That is a bunch of bull!
-Lastly, you cannot shove how much you make in my face and then get a house, that I paid half for, and it's flee infested!! That is so not the business.
My life in the future will never be like that, and I promise you that.
2. Lena and Harold are just stupid and oblivious to the fact that their little equal share plan is wack. Not only did they complicate their relationship, their not trusting each other which is a huge part of any relationship. Although Harold thought that with splitting the cost would less complicate things, he was wrong. It created more conflict between him and Lena by not only separating the money but also themselves from each other.
3. When Tan writes about the black vase breaking, it totally amazes me. When I read it, it turns my perspective of the chapter from annoying to meaningful. I really, then, understood what Tan was trying to say. The table, that Harold so sloppily put together and cherished, symbolized the foundation their relationship is built on. The vase represents the two of them and their marriage. Their relationship is very unsteady and put together all wrong. They built it off money which is not very good. Lena and Harold's fight at the end of the chapter represents the table finally breaking apart, and when the vase broke, their marriage and beliefs did as well.
"The Splitting Couple"
"Rice Husband"
1. I give this chapter thumbs up because I found it really interesting that there is such married couples that split the cost of everything in half. The superstition was really funny that "your future husband have one pock mark for every rice you not finish" (164). The only thing that I did not get was at the end where Lena sees the marble table in pieces.
2. The relationship between Lena and Harold is so ironic. They split the cost of everything they buy no matter if it is only for oneself, the other partner still have to play half of it. It is ironic because Harold loves to split things in halves, so it turns out that he is also splitting his marriage with Lena in half.
3. From this chapter I have learned that in the Chinese culture, many parents use the superstition with their child that if the rice bowl is not clean, they would end up marrying a ugly man. This also reminded me of a superstition when I was younger that if I accidentally swallowed a seed, the plant or fruit tree of the seed will grow on top of my head.
Measles from uneaten rice?
"Rice Husband"
1) I liked this chapter very much because of the uneaten rice remark. I found it hilarious how she thought she killed Arnold because she didn’t eat her rice and other foods. This is also your classic superstition made by a Chinese parent to scare a child. I give it thumbs up for the rice bowl joke.
2) The relationship between Lena and Arnold is evident through the rice bowl superstition. If this superstition was true, then Lena probably did kill Arnold because Arnold had gotten measles before he died which cause small marks all over the body. This obviously relates back to Lena’s uneaten foods which caused “pock marks” all over Arnold’s body.
3) Question 6: This chapter can relate to life today because we often see a child scared to do something because the parent told him or her a lie that something might happen. This is often the parents fault if something bad happens from this because they said the lie in the first place.
Lick your bowl clean
Rice Husband
1. I thought this chapter was strange. It was weird how Lena and her mom could both predict the future but they don’t do anything to stop it. It was also weird how Lena and Harold split everything equally even though they are married. Lena shouldn’t have had to pay fifty percent on everything because she makes less than Harold she helped him start his own company. They didn’t act like they were married because they only cared about money. I thought it was funny when Lena thinks she killed her neighbor because she wasn’t eating food.
2. Lena and Harold have a very weird relationship. Even though they are married they insist on splitting everything equally. They did this so they would have “love without obligation.” Lena was fine with this in the beginning because she was so deeply in love with him but now her mom has pointed out this problem. Splitting the cost equally causes problems with their relationship because they care about money more than each other.
3. I learned some new information about Chinese culture from this chapter. I learned that in Chinese culture you are supposed to eat every grain of rice or you will marry an ugly man with marks on their face. This is the first time I heard this superstition. I hope this superstition doesn’t apply to guys because lots of times I don’t finish my rice.
“Rice Grains on a Face”
Rice Husband
1. It was odd how Lena believed the number of rice grains left in her bowl would reflect the number of flaws on her future husband’s face. Another weird thing was how she believed that she killed Arnold. This follows the trend – how all of the St. Clair stories are bizarre. Like Lena’s chapter before this one, this vignette shows how her mother was very superstitious. And, because Lena believed in everything her mother had to say, it also shows Ying-Ying’s impact on her daughter. Despite that this chapter was odd, it was still interesting to read. Lena and Harold have a lot of money issues. It seems as if their relationship is based on money, rather than love.
2. Harold and Lena have a detached relationship, even though they are married. Even though they try not to care about money so they split everything in half, their relationship is still money-driven. It is rude how Harold won’t give Lena a promotion despite the fact that she works just as hard as he does and she’s the boss and could do anything he wants. What shocked me the most was when Harold didn’t know that Lena didn’t eat ice cream. How could you be married to someone for years and not know what they like and don’t like?
3. Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter. On page 180, Tan writes “the marble end table collapsed on top of its spindly black legs. Off to one side, the side is the black vase, the smooth cylinder broken in half, the freesias strewn in a puddle of water.” Ying-Ying states that the vase fell down. When Lena replies that it’s alright and she knew it would happen, Ying-Ying asks “Then why didn’t you stop it.” This vase on the black table represents Lena and Harold’s marriage. Lena knew that it was falling apart and she still didn’t do anything about it
Title: Pock-Marks and Strawberry Ice Cream
(Focusing on “Rice Husband”)
1) When I read the title, I thought that maybe this chapter would take place back in China, but it didn’t; it was in America. I couldn’t understand how Harold could be as bad or even worse than Arnold, when all he wants is balance and equality in his household. I see how it could get annoying after a while, but it really isn’t that bad if you think about it. Arnold sounded like a real brat to me so I didn’t want Lena to grow up to marry him, have him as her “rice husband,” but I still don’t think she killed him by not eating. It was probably just a superstition, a coincidence that Arnold died. His disease was like a freak accident, but it was still suspiciously connected in some way to Lena’s eating habits.
2) If I were to describe Lena and Harold’s relationship, I’d probably think of the word “divided,” but in a sharing kind of way. Harold, from my point of view, is just trying to make their marriage more balanced, so neither of them is more like the leader in the relationship. I can’t see why Lena wouldn’t like this, but it might seem kind of old and superficial to her, I guess. She doesn’t want to be equal; she wants Harold to lead.
3) The conflict in this chapter is internal, human vs. self. Lena’s thoughts and wants, along with her memories, are all clashing against each other in one huge bout of fighting. She was to come to terms with what she’s feeling, and though she knows that her marriage is falling apart, I don’t think she knows the exact reasons for it, just yet. Maybe she’ll find out later on?
Rice!
1. Reaction
I enjoyed reading this chapter because while reading this, it reminded me of a movie that I watched somewhere. I understood this chapter pretty well, how Lena had a rough childhood and how this would perfectly fit in a movie. Its kind of ironic how Harold thinks its perfect while Lena feels the other way.
2. Conflict
Lena and Harold are married, but their relationship is different than a regular married couple. They have to separate their bills, and their economic problems because of the inequality the husband feels about Lena. It sucks how Harold, doesn't appreciate Lena for all that she has done for him.
3. Amy Tan uses symbolism and flashbacks in this chapter. The flashback with Lena who knew a boy, Arnold, who was terribly pockmarked. Horrified at the thought that she would one day marry him, she ate all of her rice. Still fearing that she might have to marry Arnold, Lena began to hate him and torment him. She was also so upset about Arnold that she refused to eat. Some symbols in this chapter was the table that Harold built, and how it was wobbly. If anyone put anything on it, it would fall over. Lena knew that it was prone to falling over, but she never asked Harold why he treasures it so much. The table is a symbol of Lena and Harold's marriage. Lena knows there are problems with their relationship, but she didn't consult with Harold sooner to solve the problems. Instead, she let it linger until the whole marriage was destroyed by the problems.
Fallen Table – “Rice Husband”
1. This chapter was good to read. It was amusing how Lena believed what her mother had said about cleaning the rice in the bowl or else your husband would have pock marks. Additionally, I was a little surprised at how Lena and Harold were able to live with splitting the cost of everything in half. Everything being split in half and having Ying-Ying come visit her house made Lena aware of the disasters in her marriage.
2. The relationship between Lena and Harold is very fair. The cost for everything is split in half. On the refrigerator is a list that says “Lena and Harold and under each of [their] names are things [they’ve] bought and how much they cost.” Harold is also surprised at the fact that Lena doesn’t eat ice cream because she hates it. All this time, Harold thought she didn’t eat ice cream just to lose weight. This shows how little Harold knows about Lena. Instead of a marriage filled with love and care, this marriage has fallen to one dependent on money.
3. In this chapter, the crooked table is used to symbolize Lena and Harold’s marriage. Lena realizes that the table is unstable and tells Harold to fix it and just like their marriage, Lena is the first to feel “a little uneasy about something.” Then when the vase falls off the table, it foreshadows something that will happen later to Lena’s marriage with Harold. Lena claims that she knew the table would fall and her mother calmly relies, “Then why you don’t stop it?” This puts Lena’s marriage into perspective. She knows that her marriage has taken a turn for the worse so she should do something to correct it.
"freerice.com!"
Rice Husband
This chapter was a very weird chapter for me to read because I have never met a married couple that spit everything they bought exactly in half. They even posted a list that "says "Lena" and "Harold" and under each of [their] names are things [they've] bought and how much they cost." As I read this chapter, I thought about how I would have felt if I was in the shoes of Lena. I would go crazy! I would break up with Harold on the first date because apparently, we had to "split" the cost. I mean, what kind of guy would ask a girl out and make her pay?! That's just ridiculous!
The main conflict in this chapter is between Lena and Harold. They are a typical married couple but they have an unusual way of living. Obviously, when two people are married, they share everything. In this case, however, Lena and Harold have separate banking accounts and they pay for everything exactly in half. Apparently, everything had to be "fair." This unusual living style is what causes Lena's outbreak thus creating the first road to their divorce.
This chapter is related to the allegory because Lena's mother, Ying-ying, visits her at her house and she sees all the little clues that led to an unhappy marriage. She even saw the "list stuck on [their] refrigerator door," the truth that Lena's been hiding from Ying-ying. Ying-ying tries to help Lena and Harold just like the mother in the allegory fixes the mirror.
Arnold and his pitted face
Chapter: Rice Husband
1) This is certainly one of my favorite chapters. I love how Lena's mother anticipates everything that eventually happens. Unfortunately, her mother's superstitions seem to haunt Lena. Lena is more than disgusted for marrying Arnold so she eats up her whole rice bowl like a crazy animal. Lena thinks of Harold to be too good for her. From the beginning, Amy Tan does a great revealing Harold's ways of being cheap about money. I'm not exactly sure that he's cheap but it seems to me, he's pretty clever when it comes to money. For example, he doesn't accept money from Lena when he's about to start an architecture firm saying, 'he doesn't want their relationship to be involved in this.' He's so fake! In reality, he ends up taking up that offer anyways because Lena works twice as hard but makes less than seven times than Harold. I believe Lena made a mistake when marrying Harold and that's okay, because life is always about making mistakes. However, if she did anticipate that this marriage wouldn't work, she should've took action and not let Harold take advantage of her.
2) Lena and Ying Ying seem to have a very unique mother-daughter relationship. While Ying-Ying scares Lena with numerous superstitions, Lena believes in all of them. She takes everything very seriously. In return, with her special abilities, Ying-Ying warns her daughter many times to protect her. She knows about her daughter and Harold and wants Lena to 'fix [the marriage].' However, the problem may be that Lena took Ying-Ying's superstitions too seriously. Ying-Ying might've just meant for her daughter to eat all the grains of rice since food shouldn't be wasted. In order to make her eat it, she scares her daughter by saying there will be pock marks on her future husband's face. Lena does eat them but eventually, begins to go crazy as she wishes for Arnold to die. Coincidently, Arnold does die and Lena blames herself for his death. She seems mentally disturbed because of her mother's beliefs.
3) Relating this to an event today:
This chapter reminds of me of superstitions told in India. For example, at parties there is usually money flying on the newly wed couple's head as they are dancing, a sign for a rich and happy life. Indian women always warn their children never steal the money or else they will end up homeless on a streets. The money is usually given to the Dj or the couple. However, this superstition is just another way of telling the children, don't steal. There's more certainty that the child won't pick up the money if he or she is scared than just being instructed. I believe Ying-Ying tries to do the same thing with her daughter and that's her way of disciplining her daughter.
Just Eat It!
(Rice Husband)
1. I like how the mother had a sense of what would happen before it happened. I have seen this happen with my mom. During one of my play performances, I had fainted back stage from dehydration. Later my mom told me that she had a feeling something was wrong with me, so she went backstage and found me on the ground. The mother brings a lot of wisdom into the story. My favorite part is at the end when the mom tells Lena why she didn’t stop what was happening when she knew it would happen.
2. Lena and her mom may have differences, but in the end, their relationship is stronger than Lena and her husband’s relationship. Although Lena and Harold are married, Harold does not fully understand Lena like her mother does. Lena’s mom had to tell Harold that Lena does not like ice cream. Nobody knows a person better than the person’s mom does; they naturally have a special connection that makes them have an understanding of each other. The connection may not be noticed immediately, but over time it becomes clearer.
3. This chapter refers to the allegory by showing that Lena’s marriage is bad. In the allegory, the mirror is at the front of the bed, reflecting off all happiness and wealth that may come their way. This is occurring with Lena. In the allegory and in the chapter, both of the parents try to help correct things.
Divided We Stand
Amy Tan’s great characterization made me hate this chapter because of Harold. Harold makes me mad and frustrated because he is so unfair with love. Even though they divide the cost of everything they do together, it is not fair. Love shouldn’t be measured by the amount of money one puts in, because love between two people shouldn’t include money. I believe that Harold is totally using Lena because Lena gets paid less than Harold, so what’s the point of dividing things if it isn’t fair? I got as frustrated as Lena did when it came to Harold. Because of this frustrating feeling, I don’t like this chapter!
The relationship between Lena and Harold is definitely rough marriage. There is not much understanding between the two and because of that, the relationship is breaking apart. Harold doesn’t know much about Lena, and Lena was ok with it at first until her mother points it out. After her mother saw Harold’s and Lena’s list of things they buy for their relationship, her mother was stricken to see that ice cream was on the list. Lena then started “to realize that Harold has never noticed that” she doesn’t “eat any of the ice cream he brings home.” Harold didn’t even know that Lena hated ice cream, and not only that, Harold didn’t understand how Lena feels about the list. After Lena noticed how much Harold did not understand her, she saw how unfair he was to her, and from there, Lena’s marriage is breaking apart.
This chapter reflects some of the elements in the allegory. Though I don’t understand what the “peach-blossom luck” thing was about, I can see that the mother in the allegory had the same traits to see “bad omens” like Ying-ying St. Clair. In the allegory, the mother saw a bad omen on her daughter’s marriage. This event is similar to the one in “Rice Husband,” when Ying-ying saw how Lena’s marriage was not going smoothly. Later on, Ying-ying saw a bad omen for Lena’s marriage from a vase that broke in half. So, the allegory relates to the chapter by introducing how mothers see omen in their daughter’s marriage.
“Women Don’t Know What They Want”
Rice Husband
1. I didn’t like this chapter because it was a little confusing. Lena thought that due to her not finishing those foods that Arnold died. For a while she blames herself for it but I find it ridiculous that it could’ve resulted from her not eating. The outrageous superstitions of the St. Clairs’ live on.
2. Harold and Lena would have a normal relationship except for the fact that they split everything right down the middle. Lena realizes up to a certain point that really, what they are doing is not fair to her. She thinks about“…how much [she] [gets] paid, how much [she] [works], how fair Harold is to everybody except [her], [she] [gets] upset”. Harold thinks what he is doing is totally fair. That splitting all their costs down the middle is fair even though he spends much more. When Lena realizes that she pays for the gallon of ice cream she never eats, and Harold never notices, it’s the last straw.
3. I think that there is internal conflict in Lena. She is indecisive inside about whether she should talk about the splitting things equally with her husband problem. Because her marriage is built on that unstable foundation of not being able to trust each other fully with money. Everything is fine except when it comes to who did this, who bought what, and how much does each person pay. The tension is very stiff and uncomfortable since they always argue about who should pay for what. It’s not how a marriage should be like.
Bad table, Rice husband
1) I thought it was cool the way her mother was able to see tings. It’s bad that she was only able to see the bad things but still that would be cool so you could try and prevent it from happening. What Lena had to put up with made me kind of mad. She deserves a better husband and I hated that that occurred because she did not eat all her rice. The fact that she lives in a barn was kind of weird because not many people buy barns that were turned into homes. Her mother commented about everything and I had the same surprised feeling the mother did about the list. A married couple is supposed to share everything and all they did was split everything up in half. There is a lot of math involved and it would be easier if they put the money in the bank together. The table wasn’t an ordinary table it symbolized there marriage. The fact that the table broke I think represents there marriage. The guy does not share money and the girl thinks of herself below the man. This chapter was both good and bad. The comparison of the table and the marriage was good but the fact that the characters act the way they do was kind of bad.
2) Lena and her husband are the most unusual characters. Lena growing up knew she would get a bad husband so to try and prevent that she refused to finish anything. She then blamed herself for the death of Arnold. She thought it was her fault for not finishing her food but what she did not know was that she was going to get something worse. She got Harold, a person who doesn’t trust people with money and is pretty stingy. He is a person who sees things business wise. Harold seems to be easily irritated and not a very nice person. They both argue a lot and they don’t get along. They make a weird couple.
3) Tan uses metaphors to show there marriage. She uses the poorly built table as there marriage and the fact that it wasn’t nice added more to it. The table then falls over and the vase breaks. Lena only tells her mother that she knew that that was going to happen. The problem was that she did nothing to prevent it. The vase that falls is broken in half like there marriage. The table and vase represent her marriage.
“Splitting Apart”
(Chapter: Rice Husband)
1. Reaction
I really like reading the St. Clair chapters. I find all the superstitions that Ying- Ying has very amusing and fun to read about. My parents also used to tell me to eat the bits of rice that stuck to the sides of the bowl, but unlike Ying- Ying, my parents told me that I would grow pocks, not my future husband.
2. I found Lena’s relationship with her husband, Harold, to be very strange considering that they are married to each other. I think that it’s strange how, even though they are husband and wife, they split everything in half. They even split the grocery bill in half! Isn’t a marriage based on sharing and love?
3. I think that one of the messages of this chapter is to not follow Lena and Harold’s way of living together. I know that this probably isn’t what Amy Tan really wanted to say in the chapter, but this is what I personally learned from Rice Husband. From reading, we learn that Lena and Harold don’t share. Instead they take account of who did what, who owes what and who paid for what. Since they never share, they never learned to really be a couple since they spend so much time calculating. Harold didn’t even know that his wife doesn’t eat ice-cream. Since Lena’s marriage is a failure, we learn to not follow after her example.
"I want a future-telling mom like that"
(Rice Husband)
1) Coincidentally, this chapter includes some kind of evil to it. Ying-Ying always told her to finish every grain of rice or each rice that's left would become a mark on her future husband's face. When she heard this, she instantly thought about her neighbor, Arnold, who always annoyed and bullied her. Hoping that he wouldn't be her future husband, she never completely finished her meal and eventually and coincidentally kills Arnold. Wow, that's true evil right there.
2) The only relationship I can think of in this chapter is Lena and Harold. Harold seemed to be those kinds of men who would occasionally care more about the money and its shares. Arnold starts an architecture firm, inviting Lena along. They both decide on what to pay for, this thing and that thing, until it seemed like Harold started to only worry about the equality of money. Oddly, Lena already saw this coming and did nothing to avoid it.
3) The Chinese Culture always talked about finishing the remaining grains of rice in a bowl or you would more and more pimples later on in life. I've had always disbelieve these superstitions but looking at my face now...it makes me wonder.
“Everything’s Equal!”
Chapter “Rice Husband”
1) My Reaction
I thought this chapter was sad for Lena and her marriage with Harold. They always split the cost for everything. I gave this chapter a thumbs down because I thought the chapter did not have any action. The storyline dragged on about how their marriage had problems because they were always equal with everything. One thing that made me angry was Harold. How could he dump the wife that helped him build his career and kick her out of the house? He was such a jerk and I was glad that they were getting divorced.
2) Lena and Harold
The relationship between Lena and Harold was not like a common marriage couple but like roommates. In the beginning, Lena and Harold adored each other. Lena encouraged Harold that “he was good enough to start his own firm” (170). She even lent him money. Thus, his business prospered but over the years, their relationship began to fade. They would split the money for everything even for little things such as ice cream. As a result, their marriage ended up in a divorce. Usually Husbands and wives don’t have that kind of problem because they share everything together. If they love each other, then they don’t need to worry about borrowing or lending money to each other.
3) Amy Tan’s message is “Always express your problems to one another.” Lena never told her problems to Harold so therefore, he never knew what was on her mind. When Ying-ying visited Lena and Harold, she noticed the list and the words “ice cream $4.50.” Lena never liked ice cream but Harold replied, “I guess I assumed you were just trying to lost weight…Oh well (177). Harold never cared about how Lena never ate ice cream simply because she never told him about it. She had to live a life of being equal to her husband. She paid for this and he paid for that. Maybe if she told Harold what she was thinking, then possibly her marriage wouldn’t have ended up with a divorce.
Pock-Marked Husband – “Rice Husband”
1. I thought this chapter was very interesting because I have never heard of a couple splitting everything so evenly and down to even ice cream and can still pretend to be happy. Most people would think that the only reason why they do this is because the husband is cheap. Lena’s mother knows exactly that things will go badly. She knows that things will end badly even before they begin. For instance, Lena’s mother knew that it was a bad idea for Lena to marry her husband, but Lena married him anyways, maybe even in spite of her mother. I thought that was very funny.
2 In this story, I think the Lena’s relationship with her husband is very unique. They think that they are in love with each other and don’t want money to get in the way of their love when really, they are just stingy about money. Their relationship is based on the one thing they don’t want it to be about: money. They’re stingy about their money. I think that Lena really does not want the money to be the reason that they separated, but it had become such a huge aspect of their marriage life, that she could no longer avoid it.
3. In this chapter, I learn about a Chinese superstition. This superstition states that one should eat every last grain of rice or else they will have a bad husband. My grandmother used to always tell me the same thing when I neglected to finish my bowl of rice. I used to believe in this superstition just like Lena, but instead, I left not a single grain of rice in my bowl. When I finished eating my rice, it looked like it had just been washed.
“every grain counts”
1.)This chapter confused me yet, it was very interesting. I could not help but read on. I really disliked the thought of Lena being anorexic at a young age. It damages your body, and in this chapter I could feel her throwing up. I felt so bad when the neighbor kid, Arnold, dies. After finding out Lena was no longer anorexic, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. It was as if I knew her, and cared about her so much, just to worry like that. I believe many couples go through money problems, but it still disappoints me that it causes couples to split up.
2.)Harold and Lena obviously love eachother, but are threatened by each other in some way. Lena believes it is disappointing to be known as Harold’s domestic equal. Their marriage is falling apart, and it seems to get worse when Ying Ying comes. Lena tries to tell Harold about how she hates ice cream, the little discussion soon turns into an argument, in what soon turns into Ying ying breaking a vase on a table Harold had built in his earlier days. They love each other, but not enough to stay with eachother.
3.)#6
Everyday in the world couples fight about the smallest things. And the fighting always seems to progress when a family mother comes to live with them. In this chapter Harold and Lena fight, and it progresses when Ying Ying comes to live with them. They cannot hide it and soon end up bickering. Just like in present time.
Split the tab
1. The st.clairs are always my favorite because of their total weird factor. In all the chapters about them, I couldnt put down the book. This chapter gave me mixed emotions of disgust, on Lena and harolds part, and wonder because of the abilities Lenas mother may posess. I honestly have no idea why anyone would marry someone like harold or why they would split everything...thats just strange.
2. Lena and Harold's relationship was the most interesting and annoying relationship in this chapter. They split everything even the ice cream that only harold eats. This seems totally unfair to me. And Harold seems to put down Lena alot because of her willingness, i guess, to go along with everything he says.
3.This chapter had many cool symbols init. for example, Tan uses the wobbly table harold built as a symbol of how unstable their relationship is. This is also like Lena and harold's relationship because Lena goes along with whatever harold says and doesnt fix anything. The table is like this because even though she knows there is something wrong with the table she does not do anything to even atempt to fix it.
Psychic Mommy - “Rice Husband”
I thought this chapter was really peculiar, especially the relationship between Lena and Harold. I can’t believe a marriage can be “shared” the way their marriage was. I thought a couple doesn’t break down their relationship based on their checkbooks. I amazed that Harold doesn’t take money from his wife! When a husband is in hard times, the wife should pitch in and help him out but Harold doesn’t want any help at all! Reading the chapter, I was furious at Harold for being so stuck-up and not taking Lena’s money. I also can’t believe that he doesn’t know that his wife doesn’t eat ice-cream or even notice her personal insecurities. The chapter also scared me because Lena’s mother, Ying-Ying can supposedly predict the bad omens.
Lena and Harold’s relationship is based on their checkbooks. Of course they really do love each other; however they seem to count everything that is bought, even down to the last cent! They split their grocery list based on their own needs. Deep inside Rose, I felt that she was always scared that Harold would leave her if they didn’t combine their “checkbooks”. They do not even share the cat and Harold wants only Lena to take care of it. He wants no responsibility of the cat. Harold believes keeping money separate holds their love together but instead, it’s breaking their relationship apart bit by bit.
In the middle of the chapter, Lena shows her mom the marble end table that was Harold’s first creations. The marble end table was very unstable and poorly designed. Lena knows that it is in horrible condition yet she continues to place items on top of it. At the end of the chapter, her mother knocked over the marble end table and it shattered into pieces. Her mother asks her why she didn’t stop it from falling if she saw it coming. The marble end table is symbolic to Lena’s relationship with Harold. Their relationship was very unstable just like the marble end table and Lena knew it. She didn’t stop to fix their relationship at all even though she knew it was slowly fading away.
“Fiddy Fiddy”
“Rice Husband”
Reaction:
Pretty cool chapter. I’d give it only one thumb up. I like how the St. Clairs have some sort of magic in them that things come true when they think it. When Lena wanted Arnold, a kid who lived near, to die, he eventually did. Mrs. St. Clair also possesses this power; she predicted her own husband’s death. I thought that was cool to read about, people with powers but not really.
Lena and Harold:
This relationship is pretty much straight by the book. They split everything in half which is fair but shouldn’t really be done. The man is supposed to basically pay for everything. The relationship is cold and metallic. There really aren’t any feelings to it. It’s pretty cool though that Lena gets Harold money because of the fifty-fifty split.
3] This chapter had a pretty nifty symbol. There is this nightstand that Harold and Lena made which was wobbly and unbalanced. This symbolized their relationship together and how it was rocky and unbalanced. When Lena talks to Harold the table breaks, symbolizing the end of their relationship.
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!
“Rice Husband”
When Lena talks about her mother’s coming visit, it seems like nothing good can come from it because all her mom sees is bad things. Right when she comes, all she sees is a barn, and doesn’t have a very positive outlook on life. The whole flashback going back to Arnold dying makes it seem as if Lena just connects events that really have no connection, but it’s still interesting to see how she believes that she actually caused his death. I think most kids are that way though, because I’m pretty positive I believed in a lot of crazy things when I was a kid. It seems pretty ominous when she says she gets what she deserves in Harold, though. Their relationship seems kind of lame in how he treats her, as she makes much less than him, and she still insists on paying for half of everything. Everything regarding money seems to be taken a little seriously, and their relationship at work doesn’t seem so great, seeing as how even though she comes up with a lot of ideas she’s way underpaid. The whole thing with the ice cream seems another important thing, because even though she never eats it, she still has to pay for it. While it’s not really important to her, I think the fact that he never noticed she didn’t eat ice cream bothers her, like he doesn’t notice a lot of things about her. When Lena sees that her mom’s broken the vase, and she’s asked why she didn’t stop it from happening if she knew what was coming, it seems like such an obvious question but stumps Lena.
The relationship between Harold and Lena doesn’t seem so great. First of all, it’s clear that this relationship is not equal. She doesn’t pay for as much of the house, doesn’t get paid as much at work, and while she gives everything to him, he seems kind of careless of their relationship. A sign showing that is how he doesn’t notice her problem with ice cream, and the current problem of paying for the exterminator. He doesn’t seem very gentleman-like either, making her split the bill with him.
There’s definitely foreshadowing in the first paragraph of this part of the book, when Lena talks about her mom seeing bad things and how they happen. I think Lena’s mom sees what’s happening to Lena’s and Harold’s marriage, much like Lena thought. With her ability to see bad things and they’re cause, I think she sees how unequal their relationship actually is, and is sad for Lena. The use of the foreshadowing definitely tells the reader that the chapter’s not going to end happy, and it’s proven true as the Harold and Lena fight at the end of the chapter.
"I like your acne."
“Rice Husband”
1. This chapter was boring and uneventful most of the time. I lost interest in this chapter. In the first few pages, when Lena started talking about Arnold and her future husband. Then, I didn’t want to read about her failing relationship with Arnold, but I still did. The best part of this chapter was when the table collapsed on itself and Lena came up to inspect it. When Lena entered the room, she saw her mom in a cool pose on the window and all her mom, Ying, said was “Why don’t you stop then.” That was a cool line.
2. Lena and Harold has a rocky marriage. The Spark that was there in the beginning seemed to have faded and now they are paying more attention to all the bad things rather than looking at the bright side. Lena wants more of something, but she’s not sure what. Possibly more togetherness? They seem to do everything so separate and choppy. Being married, they should share money and not pay attention to small items, yet they made big deal of everything. Harold seems like a nice guy. The only thing with him is that he wants things to be flurdy, but yet everything with money is so firm and solid.
3. This chapter relates to life because many couples get caught up in the moment and don’t think into the future. With Lena and Harold, they loved each other without a doubt very much. However, they didn’t think about how life would be like in the future. They were caught up in the moment. Like couples nowadays, couples love each other, get married, have kids, but then they start losing interest. The next thing you know they’re filing for divorce and separating.
Kimmy Tran
Period 6
1. Mother Knows Best
2. Rice Husband
3. I thought this chapter was very interesting and very funny. I liked how clairvoyant the mother can be, using simple locations of various places. I also liked the character, Lena. In the chapter “The Voice from the Wall,” I don’t think I got a very clear understanding of who she is (quirks, likes, dislikes, etc) but she seemed not as spoiled and distant from her heritage than the other daughters of the book. This chapter allowed me to learn more about her and she seemed to respect her mother’s intuition. I think that she’s the most relatable to me.
I liked the rice bowl concept of the chapter also. I thought it was funny how Lena was scared that she’d marry Arnold, the annoying neighbor. It was cute how Arnold may have had a little schoolyard crush on her. Acting like a normal eight year old who has his eyes set on a pretty girl, he tortured her. But I didn’t like how Lena actually wanted him to die though. That was creepy to me. An eight year old girl shouldn’t want someone to die, even if she hated him. That is no excuse.
Harold was a jerk! Lena originally provided the idea of him starting his own business and he uses the fact that he is the boss and makes more money as leverage over Lena. He thinks he has more control over the relationship and is the dominant one, not even matching Lena’s illusion of the whole relationship being “equal.” I was glad that the mother could recognize the bad relationship.
I also didn’t like Lena becoming an anorexic just because it was the “style.” She also thought the worst of things, like she did in her previous chapter. I also didn’t like how she thought that she had no control of her own life. She always left it up to fate and I think that caused a more serious problem. She silently let things happens with her life rather than taking charge
4. The relationship between Lena and Harold is an illusion. To each person, they view the relationship as healthy while actually it was rotting from the inside out. It is shown in multiple scenes. The ice cream factor and also the flea arguments had shown it. I think that Lena, who was having doubts about the marriage, was reassured and that just stuck with her up until now. In her mind, she believes that it is a normal marriage and doesn’t do anything to change it, even though she is unhappy. Harold keeps thinking that his wife is happy which is ridiculous because he treats her more like a subordinate rather than an equal partner in marriage.
5. There is a lot of symbolism in this chapter. One example of it is the table that Harold made which is located in the guest room. The table isn’t sturdy at all and is off balanced. This represents Harold and Lena’s relationship obviously. Their relationship isn’t very stable and could fall to pieces in a second. The symbolism not only helps us to view the relationship clearly but also it can further the plot. In the climax of the story, Lena and Harold are bickering and discussing about their marriage. At that point, the reader doesn’t really get a clear feel if they are going to break up or not. But the table falling down into pieces at the end shows the reader that they are probably going to separate.
6. (d. How is this chapter connected to the allegory at the start of the section?)
The allegory before included a woman and her mother. The mother put a mirror on the opposite wall from another mirror in order to bring her daughter’s marriage luck and send it down a good path. The daughter thought that she was stupid for believing in the omens. This related to this chapter because the mother is also inspecting her daughter’s house too, making sure that it is balanced and a suitable place to live in. Like the end of the allegory, Lena realizes that her mother was right.
Why don't you stop it?
Focusing on : Rice Husband
Through reading about Lena's eating disorder, I was able to learn a little bit more about the thoughts of people who have eating disorders. On page 167, when Lena says, " And I remember wondering why it was that eating something good could make me feel so terrible, while vomiting something terrible could make me feel so good," I became confused and also wondered why she thought this way. I came to realize that the way an anorexic person ate was not the only thing that differed them from other people, but that the way they thought about things was much more complex-especially about food. They believed that eating food that tastes good is terrible, while throwing up that "terrible food" is good. Someone like me, who has nothing against strawberry ice cream, would never truly be unable to understand their complicated, analytical thoughts. One other scene that made me react was the scene in which Lena said that after " six months of dinners, five months of post-pardinal love-making, and one week of timid and silly love confession," they got married, I felt frustrated towards the fact that society seemed to support sex before marriage. The message that I seemed to get out of this passage was, "As long as you don't get pregnant before you're married, you can have sex."
One phrase that describes the relationship between Harold and Lena is "mutual understanding, " or in other words, run on the basis that both people are equals and are in the relationship on mutual terms not emotional. Though Harold may say things like, "Well, I know our marriage is based on a lot more than a balance sheet.A lot more, " I believe that the truth is that their relationship is in fact based on only a little more than a balance sheet. For example, in the scene in which Lena says, "I love you," to Harold he merely answers, "I love you too. Did you lock the door?" thinking only about work, giving a thoughtless reply. Also, as Lena mentions herself she says, "..how fair Harold is to everybody except me...so really, we're equals, except that Harold makes about seven time more than what I make. He knows this too..." supporting the fact that Harold may say one thing but really mean another thing, sometimes without even thinking. I came to the conclusion that their relationship was a "mutual understanding," through scenes like these and also because almost every single page of their story mentioned money, not love.
One writing technique that Amy Tan uses in this chapter is foreshadow. An example of this is shown on page 168, where it reads, "I didn't get Arnold. I got Harold." Knowing that Arnold is a not so clear-skinned, burden to Lena, readers get a sense that Harold is worse than Arnold, a person who Lena probably hates to death. Her use of foreshadow helps improve the story in that it makes readers guess what will happen next, letting readers create "bridges" between different scenes. Tan's use of foreshadow, in the above quote, also helped improve the story in that it revealed the way Lena felt about Harold even before there was any mentioning of Harold. Her input of "I didn't get Arnold. I got Harold," stuck in my head throughout the story and made me look at Harold negatively, making me biased towards everything he said and did.
This chapter connects to allegory in many ways. For example, just like the mother in the allegory, Ying-Ying, sees "bad omens in everything," and tells Lena about a marble end table that seems unbalanced, just like her marriage life. Like Ying-Ying, the mother in the allegory also warns her daughter about a household item, in this case a mirror, and how putting it at the foot of the her bed will make all her "marriage happiness...bounce back and turn the opposite way." Ironically,in both stories, the daughters come to realize that what their mothers are telling them are in fact accurately, strangely true.
1. "Overdue Prediction"
2. "Rice Husband"
3. This chapter was quite strange, especially how Lena's mother, Ying-ying, can predict the future. I also found Lena and Harold's relationship weird. Their relationship is not based on true love because of the fact that money makes such a large impact between the two.
4. I thought Lena and Harold's story was out of the ordinary. Their relationship is quite far from the typical American dream: every little bit that the couple share, down to the last grain of rice, are not labors of love. The way the two show their love and care is by replacing it with numbers and calculations – everything is strictly accounted! Right down to the point where they keep a list to keep track of how much each of them spend and if one spends more than the other, there's owing involved. Their relationship gave off a strong impression to me that although they love each other, their love could be described as blinded. The fact that they cannot have healthy arguments foreshadows Lena and Harold to split before they can even grow old together.
5. Some more symbolism is displayed in Lena's story. One symbol that was clear to me was the sudden shattering of the vase atop the table in the guest room where Ying-ying was staying. This occurred during Lena and her husband's financial argument. The vase coincidentally happened at the same time their disagreement was surfacing because its shattering represents Lena's marriage falling to pieces.
6. (a. What is the theme or life lesson in this chapter and which line or scene reveals this?)
As with her mother's story from "The Moon Lady," Lena's problem is not speaking out about what she believes in, which leads to the theme: expressing one's wishes is not selfish. A section from this chapter that shows Lena not being able to stand up for herself is when she works hard in her husband's company and shows great talent, he refuses to promote Lena because he does not want to appear to be unfairly favoring his wife. She thinks she cannot do anything about this, resulting in Harold's salary being seven times that of hers.
All may be fair in love and war, but when you overanalyze the score,
can anything be left anymore?
“Rice Husband”
1. “To this day, I believe my mother has the mysterious ability to see things before they happen”(161). I don't think that anyone can see the future. You can control certain things from happening, but things don't just happen because it's destined to. They happen because you cause them to happen, not the way the house is tilted or how you arrange your furniture.
I thought Arnold was being really cute with Lena, and I think the only reason why she wanted so badly not to like him was because honestly, she did like him. Boys are specifically mean to a certain girl when he likes her, and I think girls find it annoying at first, but in the end, she'll like the boy too because “hate is a passion emotion”, or so it says in one of the books of the Twilight series. I agree.
I agree that sometimes “eating something good could make me feel so terrible” because if it's really sweet, it makes me want to take it out of my stomache after I've eaten too much of it (167). Coca Cola tastes so good and I thought I really loved it, but just the other day I couldn't finish the whole can because it felt so gross.
Lena kind of reminded me of myself when she thinks that it's so great “how such a remarkable person as Harold could think I was extraordinary”(169). When someone impresses me or when I look up to someone and then that person thinks I'm just as equal as they are, I feel amazing because such a wonderful person can think so highly of me, and sometimes I think that they're too good for me. That kind of thinking resulted in a long lecture from a friend of mine. I'm sure that Lena, like me, is just insecure sometimes. She said she could “imagine dozens, hundreds of adoring women eager to buy Harold breakfast, lunch, and dinner to feel the pleasure of his breath on their skin”(169). That is exactly how I think. Lena also resembles me when she says that she thinks that the “feeling of fear never left me, that I would be caught someday, exposed as a sham of a woman”(169).
Arnold and Harold remind me of the names of people in an old cartoon I used to watch.
Arnold would've been better for Lena. Those silly things like flicking the rubber bands at her are what make a relationship fun and effortless.
2. To me, Lena and Harold's relationship is obviously unbalanced. They overthink things too much and they're too uptight about money and many other silly things that shouldn't matter if you're really in love. I think they're relationship is destined for doom. “None of our friends could ever believe we fight over something as stupid as fleas, but they would also never believe that our problems are much, much deeper than that, so deep I don't even know where the bottom is”(163). Lena is right to be “so tired of it, adding things up, subtracting, making it come out even”(179). When it's love, you shouldn't have to think that way, that one should “pay for the exterminators, because Mirugai is your cat and so they're your fleas. It's only fair”(163). I thought Lena was also right to think that what Harold had to offer was “just not enough”(174).
3. I liked how Amy Tan used a flashback so we can see how Lena came to marry Harold (because you can't seriously believe that they chose to marry each other if she didn't use flashback, can you?) and how their relationship was before. If she didn't, I would be confused about why they married each other and why Lena didn't choose a different man. Tan gave us an explanation for the way things are in the book at the present.
4. What I learned from this chapter (or what the theme is) is that you can believe that everything happens for a reason, but when you think too much about those reasons, you might not be able to see everything that you have. Or something like that. You could lose everything. Lena said at the start of the chapter that her mother “has a Chinese saying for what she knows. Chunwang chihan: If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Which means, I suppose, one thing is always the result of another”(161). But maybe things don't have to be that way; you don't have to analyze everything. Lena and Harold's marriage should be “based on a lot more than a balance sheet”(180). Maybe the old concept of chi is overrated. I mean, maybe it's not, but one shouldn't try to make their whole life balanced.
“Chunwang chihan.”
Rice Husband
I don’t exactly know why, but I think this is my favorite chapter so far in this half of the book. I guess it’s because I related to a lot of the memories Lena had as a child involving her mom. Such as when she was little and her mom told her that she would marry a bad man with pock-marks if she didn’t eat every last grain of her rice. I remember when I visited my Grandma in Vietnam and I stayed at her house. My dad’s sister and brother in law and his nieces lived there also. And whenever I couldn’t finish my rice (because I was full) my dad’s sister would tell me that if I didn’t, then I’d be disrespecting God or something. All I know is that it was disrespectful and very bad. I’m a Buddhist and our family doesn’t even go to temples a lot, maybe 4 times. I remember not thinking a lot about not finishing every single rice grain, but feeling annoyed. Reading how Lena’s mother’s premonitions came true sort of scared me a little…I was like “what the heck?...” I guess it’s good that she can see bad things coming…but it’s not good when you can’t do anything to prevent it from happening. I was very disappointed that Lena wanted “to be fashionably anorexic like all the other thirteen-year-old girls who were dieting and finding other ways to suffer as teenagers” (166). I don’t blame her, because teenage girls still do that nowadays and it’s just horrible. I was revolted when I read that she regurgitated her ice-cream and now because of that she’s stayed away from it ever since. When I was reading this chapter, most of the time I felt like I was reading her own journal, which I liked. I think for that reason, it made the chapter flow more and easy to read. I don’t hate Harold a lot…but I think it’s ridiculous to “share” stuff like he does with Lena. They’re married for God’s sake! And they’re still splitting everything down the middle?! I think that whole concept is naïve, ludicrous, and just plain dumb. On the other hand, I think they’re trying to have a loving, peaceful relationship without all the obligations. Some marriages fall apart because one person brings home more of the bacon and then couples just start fighting about money and everything and nothing. I think what’s happening with Lena and Harold proved that a love without obligations can be destructive too.
Lena’s and Harold’s relationship can be construed as unbalanced. It’s ironic because they even keep lists of what they buy and how much each thing costs. However, he makes more money than her, but I think she loves him more. I don’t think they’re giving what the other one needs. It’s obvious that Lena is going crazy from keeping everything equal between them and it seems like that’s all Harold cares about. And Harold doesn’t see that all Lena wants to “share” with him is her love. You can clearly see that he doesn’t exactly return the same feelings she had for him when they were in the car and she told him that she loved him to which he replied casually while backing out of the driveway, “I love you, too. Did you lock the door?” (174).
In this chapter, Amy Tan used the marble end table with the black vase on top to symbolize Lena’s relationship with Harold. The table, “a poorly designed piece that Harold made in his student days,” is “made out of a slab of unevenly cut marble and thin crisscrosses of black lacquer wood for the legs” (178). Lena and Harold’s relationship is like the table. It wasn’t built on a good foundation that would last and through the years, it’s not going to be able to hold itself up. It’s cold, hard, and uneven. Right after they had their fight, they heard “the sound of glass shattering” (180). Once Lena came upstairs, she “see it right away: the marble end table collapsed on top of its spindly black legs. Off to the side is the black vase, the smooth cylinder broken in half, the freesias strewn in a puddle of water” (180). Amy Tan also uses great word choice to create a depressing, gloomy mood. She uses words like black, broken, spindly, strewn, and shatter. Besides that, the fallen and broken vase can also represents the inevitable crumbling of Lena’s relationship with Harold.
There are many connections from this chapter to the allegory. Both of them had Chinese mothers who “saw bad omens in everything” (159) and who warned their Asian American daughters. Lena’s mother told her that she would marry a bad man if she did not finish her rice and Lena married Harold. The daughter in the allegory was warned that mirrors at the foot of her bed would reverse all her marriage happiness. The mother then gave her another mirror to fix it and told her that “in this mirror is my future grandchild, already sitting on my lap next spring” (159). Unfortunately, the daughter only saw “her own reflection looking back at her” which I think means that her marriage is not going to work because there’s no baby.
Rikki Dionisio, Period 6
1. “Let Me Pop That For You”
2. American Translation: “Rice Husband”
3. This was another humorous chapter because Lena’s mother, Ying-Ying, told her that for every grain of rice she did not consume her husband would have one pock mark, and to avoid the fate of marrying her neighbor whom always bullied her she ate every grain of rice. Though it was sad that from this stemmed Lena’s eating disorder.
Something else that intrigued me in this chapter was that Lena and Harold did not live as “one” and split their income to pay for everything together. Harold abuses Lena at his firm and though she shows great potential he refuses to promote her to deter any problems that may arise in the future for “favoring his wife.” I believe that if someone shows potential that they deserve to be promoted because it could do wonders for a business.
4. The relationship between Harold and Lena is unusual. Instead of being like a typical married couple and have one bank account for joint expenses they split things unequally down the middle (oxymoron?). In addition, Lena focused on not having a husband with an ugly exterior but grew up to marry a man with an ugly interior. They do not get along and argue much of the time. Harold also abuses the fact that Lena is his wife in many ways.
5. Tan uses symbolism in this chapter. I believe the wobbly table symbolizes the marriage/bond that Harold and Lena have. Ying-Ying asked Lena why she still kept the table when everything that you put on top of the tale will fall in break Lena has no answer. I believe that the marriage between Harold and Lena is wobbly and everything they “try” to do to fix it doesn’t work. It’s like painting over an open crack, no matter how many coats you paint over it the crack with always show through unless you fill it in.
6. I believe the conflict in this chapter is human vs self. Lena is struggling to accept the fate she has been dealt and as a teenager believed that Arnold could have been her destined husband if she wasn’t so caught up in having a husband who looked good on the outside and not the inside. She grew up to marry a person that mistreats her, though he is decently good looking. I believe she wishes she wasn’t so shallow about the choices she made a young girl, that I believe her mother possibly drilled into her head.
1) Mother Knew that the Marble End Table wasn’t the Only Thing that Fell
2) American Translation “Lena St. Clair: Rice Husband”
3) My first reaction to this vignette was that what Ying-Ying can do is pretty scary. I mean like, really, I wouldn’t want to know when someone is going to die. I think that it would make me pretty paranoid for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t want my mother to be able to see all that, but then again, if I lived with someone like that all my life the way Lena did, I guess that eventually, I would become used to it as well.
I have to say that Harold Livotny was a jerk. I don’t think he was very fair, no matter how Lena described him. Split all bills right down the middle? Unbelievable. I didn’t understand why he didn’t make Lena a chief architect/designer in something too… After all, they were married. It didn’t make any sense. And Lena, just stood there taking all of it… not how a marriage should be. Lena even said, “And when I do think about it, how much I get paid, how hard I work, how fair Harold is to everybody except me, I get upset,” (173). Well I thought that she should have been much more than upset, she is too reserved. I would have been outraged. Just because he sees the fact that they were married and nothing else, he believed that “it would not seem fair to the other employees if he promoted [her] just because [they] wew now married,” (173). To say the truth, he shouldn’t have just promoted her, but he should have made her a “partner” too. She gave a lot of the ideas that he carried out too.
As for Lena’s eating disorder and wish “to be fashionably anorexic …” (166), I really don’t have a comment… I guess I was just a little disappointed… not something I would do.
4) There is an unmistakable rocky relationship between Harold and Lena. i think that their relationship is too fair to work out right. I mean that love shouldn’t depend on how much each other is paying from his or her bank account. The fact that they (especially Harold) has to depend on keeping their bills separate to continue their love for each other. Harold said that, “As long as we keep the money thing separate, we’ll always be sure of our love for each other,” (171). Well it seemed to be that his brilliant plan back-fired, because since that was all they cared about – keeping their money separate - , it pulled them apart. I mean that Harold rather not borrow Lena’s money, but instead have her pay rent when she moved in with him. That’s embarrassing. I think that because they care so much about everything they share and how much it cost, it blinds them from the true meaning of love. It may make them forget why they loved each other in the first place.
5) The most significant writing technique that Amy Tan used in this chapter was symbolism. That symbol was the marble end table that Harold supposedly worked so hard on. It fell down in the end of the chapter in relation to Harold and Lena’s relationship. I think that the unstable end table symbolized Lena’s marriage. In the scene at the very end of the chapter, it was stated oh-so-clearly that Ying-Ying knew about how her daughter’s marriage was coming along. Even she used the end table to compare and represent. She asked Lena, “Why don’t you stop it?” (181), when Lena stated that she already knew ahead of time that sooner or later, that weak table would come crashing down. It was a subtle, yet striking question at the same time. “The table [was] a poorly designed piece that Harold made in his student days,” and “[he was] so proud of it,” (178) could be translated to mean that their relationship was poorly handled. Though the two did things, thinking that they could make the relationship work, they seemed to have taken a wrong path.
6) (d. How is this chapter connected to the allegory at the start of the section?)
I was surprise at how much this vignette related to the allegory at the start of the section. Both the main characters in the allegory and the vignette had mothers who “saw bad omens in everything,” (159). They predicted or had many superstitions that were a big part of their lives. Also, in the allegory, the mother foresaw that her daughter’s “marriage happiness…bounc[ed] back and turn[ed] the opposite way,” (159) upon seeing the mirror at the end of her daughter’s bed, while in the vignette, Lena’s marriage wasn’t the most successful either.
1. “Here’s the Money, Honey”
2. Rice Husband
3. In this chapter, I thought it was really cute how Lena St. Clair tells about her relationship with her husband, Harold. He seemed to love her so much in the beginning, but like most relationships, the love died out. It also looks like she has really high respect for her mother in the way she describes her as a very wise, and an omniscient person. Her mother, Ying-Ying, predicted the future by just looking at the way things are placed and set. Unfortunately, everything she predicted was a bad omen. She regrets not listening to her predictions, and doing something to prevent it. Now, she is dealing with her Americanized daughter, who is facing the same situation. Through her “Chinese eyes”, she follows her superstitions and passed these onto her daughter. She told Lena the tale of her future husband who would grow pockmarks in his face for every grain of rice that she didn’t finish in her bowl. Her mother must have been really smart to think of the different situations in the neighborhood. I think her mother knew about Arnold, the boy with craters that lived near them. So by telling Lena that Arnold would be her future husband if she didn’t eat, Lena started to finish all her rice. Being a naïve child, little did she know that her mother was just trying to break her strange addiction to being one of those anorexic teenagers. When she grows up, she ends up marrying Harold instead of Arnold. In the parts where Lena describes the cute lines Harold used on her and the way he handled her, I thought it was really romantic. Harold was the most compassionate man she’d ever met. He cared for her and unconditionally loved her. They met in their younger years at work, and grew up starting their own company. It was a little weird that on their dates, they always split their money in half to pay for the checks. Then later on it turned into splitting money for everything that they used in the house. The little things just turned into a bad habit, and soon Harold had become really stingy about how they spent their money. I think her mother’s visit helped Lena open up her eyes. Her relationship was breaking apart and she knew it, but she didn’t want to admit it. Again with her Chinese superstitions, Ying-Ying saw the balance sheet hanging on the refrigerator. I think this meant that she saw how split up the relationship really was. But they were a married couple! What married couple keeps track of every cent they spend? It just didn’t make sense. At the end, the marble table broke. It wasn’t really surprising, because I was expecting this symbol of the broken marriage. She ends with the question “Then why don’t you stop it” asked by her mother. It was really ironic because she had gone through many situations like this. In a previous chapter her mother had regretted not keeping her baby safe inside her womb. Now, it is Lena’s turn to make a decision. Also when her mother comes to visit, why does she want to hide the problems that they are going through? She was bound to find out anyway. I was wondering if Harold really did love her. Was it her or her money that he loved? Is it worth her time to save the marriage? Or is this really love that she shares with Harold?
4. Lena and Arnold’s relationship can be described as a childish love that smoldered into a dark hatred. When they were children, Arnold was very mean to Lena. Usually, in a child’s behavior, this could be interpreted as flirting, which meant that Arnold did like Lena, but didn’t know how to show it properly. Because of his unruly attitude, Lena claims she hated him too. She feared marrying him, and putting up with such a rude boy. Consequently, she listens to her mother and eats all her rice in the beginning, but then later when she develops anorexia, she stops eating, and Arnold ends up dying. It wasn’t until after the death that Lena realizes maybe she did love him, and that was where the hate came from. She thinks that it was her fault that Arnold dies, and she hates him for making her feel the guilt. She hates that maybe she secretly loved him too, but he was always mean to her, and never returned the feelings.
5. One technique Amy Tan uses in this chapter is foreshadowing. When the chapter starts off, Tan immediately jumps into talking about her mother’s premonitions, and how they always point to something bad happening. She then introduces Lena and her husband with the line –“I remembered this ability of my mothers, because now she is visiting my husband and me in the house we just bought in Woodside. And I wonder what she will see (162).” From this it is shown that something later in this chapter was going to happen between the three. It was most likely that her mother would look at their relationship and predict something bad. We are to find that it does happen, and Lena’s relationship with her husband is failing. Her mother was just there to help Lena open up her eyes.
6. Some things I learned from this chapter were the weird superstitions the Chinese had just by looking at the placing of certain objects and such. The Chinese seem to take a lot of pride in objects, and everything had to be in place or “balanced” is what they called it. If things weren’t balanced, it meant unfortunate disasters were rolling their way. I also learned the words “Chunwang chihan” which meant “if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.”
Brian Tat
Period 7
The Fake Relationship of Contaminated Money
Rich Husband
When reading the first few pages in my car, I felt bored of the repetition of the flashbacks that have been included. They felt ordinary and boring with no sense of drama in them. I don’t believe I understood some of the hidden symbols that were in the book like the house. Throughout the chapter, the mother describes the house as a fake and that it seems the house is slanted. Well, from this information, I think that the house represents their relationship in a way. I will explain this later in the literary devices Tan uses. Well, I believe that one page 177, the ghost the mother was talking about symbolizes Lena’s presence in the relationship. I believe the ghost represents how Lena won’t do anything about Harold’s way of keeping money out of their relationship. By making money out of their relationship so it would not affect their love, it seemed rather pathetic to me. I think that by doing so, a couple would be only obsessed with money of how it is split evenly. It seems to me that they cared about who got what and who would pay for what. It didn’t seem like love to me at all, but more like, two roommates for life. I believe the table also represents the splitting of money between the couple. For example, Harold is proud of the table, and in turn, it can relate that Harold is also proud of splitting things between Lena and himself. Lena’s mother sees the table and their relationship as something that will “fall down.” In the end, the vase crashes from being on the table. I believe that the vase also represents the lives of Harold and Lena. Though the splitting of money made their lives a bit easier, it ends up crashing and splitting both.
I feel that Harold and Lena’s relationship seems rather loveless. Well, it feels like they’ve made their relationship based on money in hopes of not contaminating the so-called love. Instead, however, the method backfires and it makes their whole relationship based on money and about who pays what. In one scene, Lena describes how they argue about Mirugai, the cat that Harold gave to Lena. They try and sort out who should pay for what and things; however, the couple should’ve given some effort in trying to not be fair.
At first, reading the chapter, I could not find much literay devices besides flashbacks. The flashbacks made it seem boring for me, because nothing really seemed important. However, I discovered that Amy Tan used a fusion of foreshadowing and symbolism. The symbols in the chapter are often confusing, but just finding them makes it more exciting. It allowed me to think more closely about an object and what it does to discover what it may represent. Foreshadowing is also used to show that something may happen to Harold and Lena’s marriage or relationship, because the mother predicts it.
I believe the theme of the chapter is “Chungwang chihan.” Basically, I think it means that humans need to accept the fact that “one thing is always the result of another.” Around the beginning of the chapter, it is introduced as a Chinese saying. However, throughout the chapter, there are small scenes that prove this to be the theme. For example, when the couple first met, they started to split the tab. This would ultimately ruin their relationship and end up in an obsessive relationship about money.
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1. “Let There Be Rice”
2. “Rice Husband”
3. To me, this chapter was rather tedious to read. Although Tan uses great writing techniques, they seemed all too over used in this chapter. Perhaps it was because I was making myself read it in the car, and get rather sick when doing so with any book. My judgmental mood gave me a very critical thought of the characters in this chapter. The relationship between Lena and Harold was disheartening and I think it senseless to be involved in a marriage with someone whom you don’t love. Or perhaps they are unbelievably well at hiding their love for each other. Ha . . . this is even more irritating to me.
4. The relationship between Harold and Lena. Although I just went on complaining about it in the para’ above^, I will do so here as well. Again, the relationship between Harold and Lena is rather ‘disheartening’, in my view at least. They seem to have come to a somewhat mutual agreement, just to live and deal with money, food, their home, and any other matters concerning anything but themselves. Personally, I believe as people, as a married couple, living as long as they have, they owe it to themselves to have some time regarding each other. Over a pediment of a few weeks, or months, they could possibly learn to love one another. This would make everything for them easier.
5. Amy Tan uses, in my opinion, comical symbolism in this chapter comparing Lena and Harold’s marriage to a wobbly table. I suppose that is exactly what their relationship could be described as. A table wobbled because there was no balance and not enough time put into making it, as was Lena and Harold’s marriage a big misfit of no understanding.
6. In this chapter it really hit me how marriage in the Chinese culture is a tricky business. There are few couple’s whom are married happily. It creates a sad thought in my mind to know other cultures do not value the thought of love as much as my own culture does. Promoting love and free will has caused me to think almost critically and be judgmental towards the Chinese culture. I have to pull myself back and think that they have lived this way for so many years, and it is something normal for them. Either way it is interesting to learn the different values between cultures.
1. Balancing Act
2. “Rice Husband”
3. This chapter was interesting, I liked it a lot better than “The Voice From the Wall.” I got a much better understanding of Lena and even Ying-Ying in this chapter. I really disliked Harold’s character because of the way that he treated Lena throughout the chapter. I wonder why almost all of the male characters in the book are unlikeable. Did Amy Tan do it on purpose, or is that really the types of men that she has met in her life? It is weird how Lena and her mother can “predict” things before they happen. But it might just be because they are introverted and observant of the world around them.
4. I would describe Lena and Harold’s relationship as unfair towards Lena. They split everything “fairly,” according to Harold, but really, it comes out unfairly. They supposedly each pay for their own share, but in a relationship, there is no way that everything could possibly be split evenly! And no reason that it should. If you love someone, than you should share things, reguardless of who is paying for what. It is ice cream that is the final straw for Lena, though the problem is much deeper than that. It is unfair that Harold makes quite a bit more money than her, even though he is the one that is paying her!
5. Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter. There is a table in their house that Harold made, and it had uneven legs, which is supposed to make it seem artistic. There is a fragile vase on top, and when it crashes to the ground, Lena says that she knew it would happen. Her mother asks, “Then why don’t you stop it?” I believe that it is a symbol for Lena and Harold’s marriage. It is a fragile vase that is placed on an uneven table, or unfair standards. Sooner or later it was going to fall through, and Lena realizes that she should stop it.
6. The life lesson in this chapter is that people should be able to stand up for themselves. Lena, taking after her mother, follows what other people do because she believes that she does not have the power to change it. For example, the whole nonsense with the money issue. Harold creates this whole system of splitting things and paying for their own things, and Lena has always known it was silly. She just never stood up for herself and said anything. Finally, after the ice cream issue, she learns to fight for what she deserves: happiness.
Just as Mother Predicted…
Rice Husband
1. This chapter was funny to me because of the irony. Lena’s mother tells her to eat all her rice or she’ll end up with a husband full of pockmarks. She thinks her future husband will be the annoying neighbor boy, so she refuses to eat. And then she ends up marrying someone similar to the annoying boy anyway. And then there’s more that Lena’s mom says will happen, which she does nothing to prevent. This chapter was kinda weird too, because Lena and Harold’s relationship wasn’t really love. It started out kind of love, but I think it was more the idea of being a couple that Lena liked. Their marriage is divided, they share expenses that they share, which is really odd. Normally after a marriage, the phrase “what’s mine is yours” is followed, but not in their relationship. I don’t think it’s a particularly good way to have a relationship, but whatever floats your boat, I guess.
2. Lena and her mom have an odd relationship. At times it’s unbearable to be near each other, at least for Lena. But other times Lena shows a lot of respect for her mom, and she believes when Ying-ying says something is going to happen. Harold just ignores it, but Lena knows her mom has an oddly correct and precise talent for intuition.
3. There’s more symbolism in this chapter, and I think the most obvious is at the end of the chapter when the vase breaks. It symbolizes how Harold and Lena’s relationship is balancing on something unsteady, and it’s going to crash eventually. And it did, when they had their argument about how they share finances. Once the argument happened, the vase fell.
4. I think one of the themes in this chapter is that you should always voice your opinion. Lena feels that she should be promoted in Harold’s company, but he says it’s unfair to everyone else because she’s his wife. She showed a lot of talent working on one of his restaurant designs, but he still thinks it’s unfair. And because she didn't voice her opinion about this, he continues to make way more money than she does, also influencing their finances and how it’s divided.
“Half and Half Ice-Cream”
CH. The Rice Husband
1. Why is it that the chapters involving the St.Claire’s are always so superstitious and weird? When Ying-Ying told Lena that she would marry a pock-marked man if she did not finish all her rice, I never knew that Lena would manipulate that superstition and do the opposite of what her mother’s intentions were. Ying-Ying probably just wanted her daughter to finish all her food and not be so careless, and at first, Lena did try her best to not waste any food; however, after she watched that video clip of all those people dying of skin diseases, I was shocked when Lena decided to resort to throwing away all her food just so she could avoid marrying Arnold.
2. I think that the relationship between Lena and Harold used to be blind-love, but now, it is slowly withering. When they first met, Lena said that Harold always made her “swoon on the inside” and turn all her thoughts blurry. I think it was unwise of her to let Harold have so much control over her and even more stupid to split so many things money-wise. After they got married, both of them started to see the each other’s flaws and regret. However, even though they are arguing right now like typical married couples, I have a feeling that it is not going to be a happy ending for them.
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a lot of foreshadowing. The chapter starts out with Lena telling the reader about how her mother was always able to foretell some thing bad before it happens. Then, she says that “…now she is visiting my husband and me in the house we just bought in Woodside. And I wonder what she will see (162).” By that quote, we can probably figure out that Lena’s mother will see something bad in their relationship that will most likely ruin them.
4. The main conflict in “The Rice Husband” is probably character vs. self. All her life, Lena was most likely brought up like a child of a typical Chinese family, and in most families, children always had to be humble and not out spoken. After Lena marries Harold, she starts to feel as if she is too dependent on him, and splitting everything didn’t help either. In the end, she couldn’t take it anymore, and just exploded.
Jane Wong
Period 6
1. Crazy Assumptions That Turn Out To Be True.
2. Rice Husband
3. In this chapter, it actually reminded me of what my mom used to tell me also. She told me the same thing about how if I did not finish the last grains of the rice, I would have to marry a husband with pits on his face. I never believed her. This chapter shows how Ying-ying, Lena's mother, says a lot of things that soon turn out to be true. She assumed a lot of unfortunate events like how Lena said. Personally, my mom never seemed to have somewhat of a sixth sense, but I secretly believed that she also knew that bad things would happen when I ignored them. Perhaps this was what Lena was going through. She never liked how her mother told her all the unraveled and unfortunate events that were forecoming, but to the reader, it seemed as though she never knew what to do after bad things eventually happened event after event. Apparently Lena believed that if Arnold, her neighbor was "destined" to be her future husband, she would have to waste more grains so he would somehow have more pits on his face or even catch a disease and die. Clearly, she didn't want to be "destined" to marry to Arnold, like how her mother said when her mother told her that her future husband would have pits on his face. I guess this also tells the reader that Lena did believe her mother at some point and didn't want it to actually happen, so she tried to prevent it. I thought it was kind of weird that Harold and Lena would share everything "equally." It just didn't seem right to see that a married couple would mind so much about who bought this and that. I don't really have a question for this chapter, because it's obvious that Lena goes through events that somehow always reflects to some kind of unfortunate outcome.
4. The character relationship would be between Lena and her husband Harold. As said before, it is definitely a strange relationship. Their marriage seems too unbalanced. In the chapter, it says that they have to share everything equally. Actually, it's not neccessarily sharing, if everything has to be split in almost half. When Lena mentions how Harold opens up a new restaurant for the both of them to work at, he had the higher pay. "So really, we're equals, except that Harold makes about seven times more than what I make. He knows this, too, because he signs my monthly check, and then I deposit it into my separate checking account (173). This quotes already shows that though Harold knew, he didn't really make the effort to do anything else because he claimed that if he did raise her position, it wouldn't be "equal" to the other workers just because they were married.
5. I'm not sure if there were really any flashbacks throughout this chapter. However, there was somewhat foreshadowing going on. It foreshadowed that an unfortunate event would happen when Lena grew up after Amy Tan brings back to how her mother used to tell her that a series of bad events would happen after she saw them. It showed how Lena actually marries Harold, her husband in the future, and how their relationship becomes unstable through the ways they split things and communicate. I assume that the poorly designed, wooden table that Harold made when he was younger, was a symbol to tell the reader that Lena's marriage with Harold, was just as wobbly as the table after all those years that they've been together.
6. a. I suppose that the theme of this chapter is that you cannot always assume that things can be fixed because in reality, the truth is that nothing can be perfect and unfortunate events will have to happen at some time, some point, and somewhere. When Lena's mother assumed that the bank across their street would become bankruptcy, it did happen and it wasn't like someone could wash away what that person did illegally in the bank. Sometimes people just have to face the truths and accept what's actually there in front of them sooner or later.
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Rice Husband “We Might As Well Be Strangers”
1.The chapter “Rice Husband” was really interesting to read and made me think a lot about the character Lena more and how she copes with her marriage problems and most importantly, her priorities. I thought that when Lena's mother, who supposedly can predict the future just by looking in Lena's rice bowl and told her that she would marry a bad man someday, that frightened her into being more superstitious because Lena also believes that her mother's psychic abilities are real. I thought that it sounded a little ridiculous but Lena did show some apprehension when her mother came to visit her and Harold in their house, and worried about what she'll see in them as a couple because she knows that their marriage is rocky at the moment. It seems to me that Lena didn't like to speak up for herself in her relationship with Harold and just dismisses the serious issues that they're having even though she feels that she deserves so much better than what she's getting right now because in some ways she still feels guilty for the cause of death of her neighbor years ago. Lena is great at decorating her husbands restaurant and comes up with brilliant innovations but Harold is ignorant of that fact and pays her less than what she really deserves. I think that Harold is a jerk and treats Lena with not a lot of respect, plus he is also greedy and always tries to split the money whenever they pay for something. That tells me that he probably likes to be in control of everything he does and doesn't rely on anybody but himself. It's clear that he has some trust issues and that he doesn't want to be held responsible for any mistakes that Lena might make down the road. Lena's mother may be a little weird in the sense that she can predict only bad things that may happen in the future but at least she can see the obvious signs and fatal flaws in Lena's marriage with Harold. I think that the problems in their marriage remains evident to Lena, but I can't understand why she doesn't have the courage to face it.
2.Lena and Harold's relationship is based solely on the fact that . They live like they're two completely different persons and they divide everything up expense wise. This reminds me of roommates living together and dividing the food that each buy in the fridge and labeling them with their name so that no one else will try to steal their food. Lena and Harold's relationship is just like that which shows us that Harold cares more about his money than he does Lena, which is a totally stupid thing to do. I think that Lena was never really in love with Harold and she was just fooling herself when she thought that they were actually going to work. In her mind, Lena knows what she is capable of doing but she can't seem to share this with anyone else. I think that Lena is just driving herself into a deep black hole because rather than just acknowledging the fact that Harold is completely obsessed about money, she ignores it and focuses more on what she wants in particular out of him. It's useless because it's clear that Harold is just not the right person for Lena and that she's wasting her time trying to make it work but in reality she's just making everything worse for herself. It's this confusion and her not knowing what she wants from this marriage with Harold that is keeping her from finally leaving him for once and for all.
3.I think that the only think that the only writing technique that stood out for me in this chapter was the symbolism with the unstable and wobbly table which Harold built when he was a student. In the end of the chapter, the unsteady and fragile table broke and when Lena rushed upstairs to find out what had happened, her mother responded that it simply collapsed. Lena says that she knew it was going to happen but didn't care. Her mother then asks Lena why she didn't prevent it from breaking if she knew already what would happen but Lena had no answer to the question. The shaky, unbalanced table represents their marriage and how it's going right now. It was no coincidence that during the height of their argument between Lena and Harold, the table falls apart and collapse onto the floor, which symbolizes the end of their marriage. Lena had no answer to her mother's question about the table and I think that she feels the same way about her relationship with Harold. I think that their marriage was already shaky and felt unstable right at the start so it was useless to try to fix it because the end was kind of inevitable, and they would later separate and get a divorce.
4.This chapter connects back to the allegory because both of the daughter's mother each had different superstitions on how your good luck may turn into something completely the opposite. The allegory involves a mirror and the mother told her daughter how the placement of the mirror at the end of the bed would later bring her bad luck. Ying-ying has a talent of seeing what bad things lie in the future and warns her daughter, Lena about this. It's the same in the end because the daughters learn that their mothers were actually right in some weird way and know what's going to happen.
Tiffany Vuong
6th period
1. “The Unbalanced Half”
2. “Rice Husband”
3. This chapter feels a bit strange how everything ties together. Lena thought that her mom could predict the bad things in the future and because she believes that, when her mother tells her that if she doesn’t eat all of her rice then she’ll be married to a bad husband and how coincidental was it that her neighbor had the measles and died leaving Lena to feel she was at blame for it. As I began reading Lena explain to her mother the list on the refrigerator that shows who buys what and what they share it amazed me how their relationship is working out. The passage made me think about the beginning of the chapter when she meets Harold and goes to eat with him. They also had to share the bill. I was left confused at how they took their relationship to the next level when they have to think about money like that. I mean, when you love someone shouldn’t you be able to share everything you have and not have to worry how much more money your spending than the other? And if you are spending more, then the other owes you?
4. The relationship between Harold and Lena could be described as confused. Their relationship isn’t fit for marriage. The only relationship they should’ve taken it to was friendship. Lena hates how everything is going, how they share, how they don’t share, how they owe each other, how they worry about money. When she finally tries to talk to Harold about it she doesn’t have the words to explain how she's feeling. Lena doesn’t even know what she's feeling; if she doesn’t know how to tell Harold he's never going to know how she feels.
5. Amy Tan used symbolism in this chapter. The wobbly table I think symbolizes Harold and Lena’s relationship. Harold is proud of his accomplishment on creating that wobbly table similar to when he is proud of begin with Lena when she gives him ideas for his company. The wobbling of the table portrays the balance of their relationship. Lena feels the balance is too much for her to handle and she knows or worries the “table” is going to fall, meaning her relationship feels like it’s not going to last long.
6. I think the main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self (internal). Lena was fine with how the relationship between her and Harold was going early on, but then later she feels differently. She doesn’t know why, how she wants it, how she's feeling, how she wants Harold to change, if she even wants to stay in the relationship, or how to explain how she's feeling.
The Balance Sheet…
Rice Husband
1)I thought that this chapter showed a good example of what a marriage can be like. Making a balance sheet for everything you buy and keeping track of it. Getting into arguments about who spends more and such things. I also thought that the Lena’s mother was creepy because of the fact that she was some how able to see things before they happened. Like how she predicted that since the apartment that they lived in was too slanted that it will cause her baby to fall out of her womb dead, and so it did. How she knew that her husband was going to pass away.
2)I think that Lena and Harold are both greedy. The scene where Lena complains about how the ice cream should be taken off of the list was showing how she was greedy and how she did not want the cat, but she has to buy it food anyways. How they set up the balance sheet is selfish.
3)Amy Tan uses flashbacks and simile in this chapter. She flashes back to how her mother would see bad things coming and it would be true. This helps us understand what her mother was like and how her life was. This improves her writing because she puts it almost at the beginning so that it catches our attention and draws us to read.
4)I learned that you should never create a balance sheet in a marriage or a relationship because it shows greediness and could ruin your relationship. This chapter gave me an example of this.
Chunwang Chihan
Rice Husband
1. I found it really funny when Lena decided she would try to kill Arnold by not eating or anything, and didn’t really think it would work. However, when he ended up dying, and it was revealed that he was becoming sick when Lena first started to waste food, I was pretty creeped out. The St. Clair’s stories have always creeped me out. Especially Lena’s mother’s. I also do not really understand why Lena and Harold split everything right down middle if they are already married. When they are just dating, I can understand why they would do that, but if they are married, then shouldn’t everything they have be shared, including money? I really didn’t understand that.
2. Lena and Harold’s marriage is a very unique one. They split everything right down the middle, even if one of them rarely uses what they bought. Lena begins to question why they split everything, especially when her mother comes. Lena wants to be fair and equal, but Harold doesn’t seem to treat her fairly.
3. Amy Tan uses flashback in this chapter. She uses flashback to show Lena when she was a child wasting food in order to not get married to Arnold. Her mother had told her that if she wastes food, she will marry someone really bad. Lena then says that she didn’t get Arnold, she got Harold. This shows that she doesn’t think that Harold is that great of a person.
4. In this chapter, I learn in Chinese culture that wasting food is considered very bad. In fact, it is so bad, that it can determine what kind of person someone will marry. If you waste a lot of food, then you will marry someone bad. Also, chunwang chihan means that one thing is the result of another. Something always happens because another thing caused it.
1. “Everything Divided by One Half”
2. AMERICAN TRANSLATION: “LENA ST. CLAIR: Rice Husband”
3. I thought that it is extraordinary how Ying-ying is able predict what will happen in the future just by looking at her surroundings. She predicted many things such as how the bank became bankrupt, how her husband died, and how her daughter married a bad man. I don’t understand Lena and Harold’s routine of dividing their money in half everyday. Whenever they eat out, they divide the bill even though one of them ate more than the other. I think that Harold should pay and that he and Lena should stop this nonsense about money. It is sad because Lena makes less than her husband and yet Harold asks her to give the same amount in everything. It is very weird how Harold is Lena’s boss and signs her monthly check. It is very unusual and I feel that Lena and Harold should not work in the same office. They should find different jobs so that they don’t spend the whole day trapped in the same building with each other. I think they need space between them at work. I can’t believe they list every item they buy and post them up on the fridge! The fact that what each person buys is called mine, instead of ours.
4. I think that the relationship between Harold and Lena can be described as unstable. The main problem with Lena’s and Harold’s relationship is money. They can’t seem to understand that as a married couple, their choices of handling their money is unusual. Other couples have one bank account and join their money together. They don’t care who makes more money because they love each other. The scene where Lena paid half the bill even though she only ate a salad was very unfair. Splitting their money in half shows how they don’t really respect or trust the other person. Harold doesn’t seem to appreciate Lena’s company but her income. When Lena told Harold that she loved him, Harold didn’t sincerely say he loved her and continued on with his driving. Lena and Harold’s marriage doesn’t seem real but somewhat like a contract marriage where they live everyday following rules.
5. Amy Tan uses flashbacks in this chapter. Lena recalls back when she was eight years old and how her mother said that she would marry a bad man. The fact that Lena does not finish her rice bowl allows her mother to conclude that “[her] future husband [will have] one pock mark for every drice [she] does not finish” (164). Another technique Amy Tan uses is foreshadowing. Ying-ying has many predictions and notices signs that things will go wrong. In the beginning, she talks about the bank becoming bankrupt and the philodendron plant. The end table that Harold made which wobbled showed that Harold and Lena’s relationship was not stable and their marriage would fall apart. Flashbacks and foreshadowing helps the story by giving insight to things and preparing the audience of what’s to come.
6. I think that the life lesson in this chapter is speak up and don’t allow things to go too far. It is important for people to speak up and tell people what is on their mind. Communication is key and if a person does not say anything, their thoughts will not be heard. In this chapter, Lena did not stand up to her husband. She began having trouble with them accounting for everything but she didn’t do anything to stop it. She was afraid, but as a wife, she should tell her husband her thoughts and feelings. She allowed Harold to take control of their marriage and that is something Lena needed to change. Finally, when she spoke up and told Harold what the matter was, everything started to make sense and her mind cleared up.
1. Never leave a grain of rice behind
2. Rice Husband
3. This chapter was really interesting, but at the same time it was also very strange. I was a little petrified when I read that Lena’s mother, Ying Ying, could apparently predict bad omens. First, Ying Ying predicts that “the new born baby in her womb would fall out dead, and it did” (161). Later, she predicts that her husband would die because the philodendron plants he gave her were withering away. Also Ying Ying tells Lena that “[her] future husband [would] have one pock mark for every rice [she did] not finish” (164). Could the mother really be psychic and predict the “bad omens” that occurred in her family or were they just coincidences?
Another thing that intrigued me was that Harold and Lena split practically everything they shared in half. Harold, especially, believed that if they kept their money separate, problems wouldn’t arise between their relationship. After reading a couple of scenes with Harold and his whole idea of their relationship being “equal” bored me. I despised the fact that Harold thought that he was the “dominate one” and controlled Lena. However, I think Lena should’ve stood up for herself and showed Harold who was the actual boss.
4. I would describe Lena and Harold’s relationship as unstable. It is ironic that Lena and Harold keep a list of what they buy and how much it costs. Harold believes that if they divide everything in half, things would be “equal” but in reality, this system of splitting things up is actually splitting apart their relationship. Lena is “so tired of it, adding things up, subtracting, making it come out even”(179). All Lena wants in return from Harold is that he “share” a little bit of his love. When they are sitting in the car, Lena says, “I love you” to Harold and as he backs out of the driveway, he simply replies, “I love you too. Did you lock the door?"(174). Harold ignores Lena’s desire because he is blinded by the need to sort out everything they share. Harold’s actions are pulling their relationship apart and blinding them from the true love that lies within them.
5. One of the many writing techniques that Amy Tan uses is symbolism. It improves the story because it catches the reader’s interest and indirectly involves different meanings to the situation, which provides an enhanced understanding. At the climax, Lena and Harold are discussing or fighting over their marriage and they hear “the sound of glass shattering” (180). Lena, then, rushes upstairs and finds that “the marble end table collapsed on top of its spindly black legs. Off to the side is the black vase, the smooth cylinder broken in half, the freesias strewn in a puddle of water” (180). Tan uses the crooked marble end table with the black vase to symbolize Lena’s and Harold’s marriage. Like the unbalanced table, Lena and Harold’s relationship is also unstable because it doesn’t have a strong and balanced foundation. Once it fell, it would break into a thousand little pieces and never be placed back into its original configuration.
6. This chapter and the allegory at the start of the section had a lot in common. Both in the allegory and in the chapter, the mothers “saw bad omens in everything” (159). They both predicted unhappiness within their daughter’s marriage. In the allegory, the mother complains that the daughter shouldn’t have the mirror at the foot of the bed, otherwise her daughter’s “marriage happiness [would] bounce back and turn the opposite way,” (159). In the chapter, Ying Ying complains about the list that Lena and Harold make to keep account of the things they buy. The mother in the allegory provides a resolution and places a mirror against the headboard to keep the happiness within her daughter’s house, and Lena’s mother advices her daughter that she should prevent what she knows is going to happen before it is too late and take the situation into her own hands.
1. “Domino Effect”
2. American Translation: Rice Husband
3. Compared to Amy Tan’s previous chapters, this chapter was interesting when Ying-Ying told her daughter, Lena, that, for every bowl of rice she did not finish, her future husband would get one pock mark. While this part was a little amusing, it was sad because it was the root of Lena’s eating disorder. I also had no idea what a “pock mark” was because I’ve never heard of that term before. It seems to me that the St. Clair family is really strange—especially Lena’s mother. One of the things that grabbed my attention while reading this chapter was the fact that Lena’s mother could predict the family’s future. As weird as that was, I wish my own mom had the ability to do that. But then again, I’d probably become paranoid and always rely on my mom too much if she could predict the bad events of the future like Ying-Ying. I wouldn’t do anything without her consent, afraid that I would have a bad future.
4. Harold and Lena didn’t share a very strong relationship with each other. They didn’t have a normal husband-and-wife lifestyle. I think that a husband and wife should share the costs, not split it in half. Harold and Lena didn’t follow the usual “what’s mine is yours” rule. They actually made a list of the things they each bought and paid for. Lena even “owed” her husband money in order to balance their paid costs. It’s clear that Lena and Harold’s relationship isn’t fit for marriage.
5. A symbol used in this chapter was the wobbly table that Harold built. The table represented Lena and Harold’s unstable marriage. If anything was placed on the table, it would collapse. Lena knew this would happen, but didn’t say anything or try to prevent the table from falling. Lena and Harold’s marriage is also shaky, caused by money and work problems. Like, the table, Lena knew that there were issues with their relationship, but didn’t talk to Harold about them. Instead, she let those problems remain until the flame to their marriage was burnt out and destroyed by those problems, just like how she left the table how it was until it toppled over and broke a vase.
6. I think the main theme of this chapter is that one thing is the result of another, or chunwang chihan. Ying-Ying’s saying is similar to the “Domino Effect.” Once something taps against one domino piece, the rest of the domino train topples over. Ying-Ying tells her daughter, Lena, that if she didn’t finish eating all the rice in her bowl, “[her] future husband would have one pock mark for every rice [she did] not finish” (164). Lena becomes worried that her future husband would end up being Arnold, a mean boy in her neighborhood, and begins to finish her meals. Later on, however, Lena starts to leave her rice bowls full, believing that she was affecting Arnold this way. A few years later, now anorexic, Lena learned that Arnold had died and she thought that she was the cause of it. She feels horrible about it and stuffed herself of ice cream, only to end up throwing it all up on her balcony. Because of this, she never ate ice cream again.
-Terri Tan
period 6
1. We’ll split the tab right after we split this marriage
2. Rice Husband
3. Upon reading the first chapter of American Translation, I was quick to recognize the time difference from the last set of chapters. Although their ages have changed, obviously their mother/daughter relationships have not. I don’t understand why Lena and Harold need to split everything to eliminate “false dependencies”. To me, that is ridiculous to think marriage is based on false dependences. In a marriage, I don’t believe you need to be equal. You cannot see love in any measure. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a marriage, but a rivalry. I wish the conflict was resolved at the end of the chapter. I’m not sure who has it worse; Lena for not being able to see passed all the imbalances and value their relationship as it is or Harold for not recognizing their conflicting equality.
4. The relationship between Harold and Lena is decisive and imbalanced. Their marriage revolves around decisions and being equal. It’s like they’re life is a balancing act, where everything must be in equilibrium otherwise everything falls down. They must decide how they’re going to split every aspect of their lives. Because they constantly make lists of who spends what, they live an imbalanced marriage. They must decide how everything will be split equally. Even on their wedding, Harold had to pay for the fees while Lena has her friend take the photos.
5. Amy Tan uses a flashback to reveal the truth behind Lena’s mother’s intuition of Chunwang Chihan. This connection is what correlates to the story’s overall theme, thus creating a better understand and more significant meaning to the moral. The flashback reveals Lena’s mother’s prediction of marrying a bad man. Harold can be seen as the bad man during their tumultuous marriage, proving that Lena should have stopped before they began.
6. The theme of Rice Husband is Lena’s mother’s saying of Chunwang Chihan. “if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.” Everything is a result of another. Lena should have known when getting into this marriage, that their way of financing and their idea of equality could corrupt their relationship.
A simple question
Rice Husband
1) First of all, the way that Lena and her husband have worked out their marriage is really weird and I can see why it fell apart. Yes, marriage should be equal between two people, that’s the way its supposed to be, but writing down everything they bought and making careful tallies about who should pay for what is overdoing it. It will just cause more stress and tear the marriage apart. About all of Ying-Ying’s predictions coming true, I think they are part luck, part self-fulfilling prophecy. Though, the whole section with Arnold and Lena wishing he would die was very weird. Personally, I’ve always believed coincidences could be found in anything, if you looked hard enough. But, would the simple act of consciously hating someone affect him or her without you intending it? Later in the book, when she is having doubts about her marriage to Harold, she hits this self-fulfilling prophecy again. She sees the signs of what will come, that Harold will wake up and say “Why, gosh, you aren’t the girl I thought you were…” She doesn’t do anything about it, and its happening. This idea is prominently pronounced in the end, when Ying-Ying asks Lena why didn’t she stop the vase from falling, if she knew it was going to happen. Oh, does anyone know what the old table next to the bed stands for? I’ve decided that Amy Tam basically doesn’t put anything in she doesn’t need.
2) Lena and Harold. Strained. Again, like I said above, I think this relationship is totally screwy and needs to be re-thought or it will break down. Harold is basically happy, and Lena is caught up in this illusion that she isn’t good enough for Harold, until near the middle of the chapter. Then, she realizes that they are equal, and she is good enough for Harold, but that she isn’t getting equal shares. So, the relationship is changing, Harold doesn’t realize it, and Lena is really annoyed at him for not noticing or changing.
3) In this chapter, Amy Tam uses symbolism when talking about Lena’s marriage. One of the symbols of it the wobbly table which Harold made. At the end, the vase topples of the table, signifying the problems of the marriage. This also might be saying that the problem lies with Harold, but Lena sees that and does nothing, shown by how she does not move the vase when she knows it will fall.
4) This chapter is linked to the allegory in how the mother predicts the future, not through magic, but through common sense. The baby will look like the mother, so that’s why the daughter sees herself and her daughter in the mirror.
Raymond Yeh
Period 6
1. Uneven Relationship
2. Rice Husband
3. I find that all the coincidences in the chapter are pretty strange. For example, when her father’s plant died because of damaged roots, her father actually died from blocked arteries. When Lena wanted Arnold dead, he actually fell into a coma and never woke up. I also liked the ending when Lena’s mother tells Lena to “stop it”, referencing to Lena’s broken marriage.
4. Lena and Harold’s relationship seems to be falling apart. Their whole marriage is only based on money. They have to share the money equally and even devise a list to make sure it is divided evenly. When it isn’t, Lena and her husband usually end up fighting each other. Since they argue over petty things such as how to redistrubute their wealth, they probably have no feelings for each other and have doomed their marriage.
5. The broken table that Lena’s husband made symbolizes their broken relationship. When Lena sees the shattered table, she tells her mother that she knew it would happen. Her mother simply replies, “Then why don’t you stop it. (181). Like the table, Lena’s marriage is deteriorating. She knows that her relationship with her husband is not going well yet she does not do anything. In order to “stop it”, she either has to try to fix their marriage or just get a divorce since their marriage is solely based on balancing money.
6. Lena’s mother’s uncanny nature to be able to predict the future may be based on the Chinese concept of feng sui. It is the practice of arranging items or building buildings in a certain way to achieve harmony and balance between heaven and the universe. Certain beliefs include how the front door of a house should not face the back door otherwise the wealth of the household will flow out.
1. Sharing…Is Not So Caring
2. “Rice Husband”
3. In this chapter, “Rice Husband,” I think Lena’s mother, Ying-Ying represents the stereotype that “mama knows best.” I think this because she predicted her baby would die and it did, she also predicted a bank located across from a plumbing store would have “all its money drained away,” and it did. I also think that Lena and Harold are stereotypical because the two know they have problems, but since her mother is staying over, like a typical couple, they want to/have to pretend nothing is the matter so their parents or in-laws will not see what is really going on. I think it was interesting to read that Ying-Ying knew what was going to happen to Lena’s marriage, yet she didn’t say anything prior to visiting and staying with them for a week I think it was extremely ridiculous that Lena and Harold pay things equally and write lists of how much they spend and what items they share. I understand that the two split the dinner bills and whatnot when they were dating; but, a married couple should pay together, rather than comparing their expenditures of what they share. I felt sorry for Lena when her husband didn’t even look her in the eye when he said, “I love you, too.” To me, that was heartbreaking. I wonder why Lena waited so long to confront Harold with what had been on her mind for so long. She claims she “knew it would happen,” and just like her mother asked, I wonder why she didn’t stop it from happening.
4. I would describe Lena and Harold’s relationship as rocky. It’s clear they’re unfit for marriage. The two ridiculously pay bills equally, making lists of what they share. Harold thinks splitting everything will make them equals but what he’s really doing is splitting their relationship farther and farther away from each other. It seems that he cannot grasp the concept that a married couple would pay things together and join their money, rather than splitting it. Lena is fed up with “making it come out even” (179). Lena doesn’t care about the money; all she simply wants is love from her husband who no longer seems to show any whatsoever. For example, Lena tells him she loves him, and he simply replies without even looking at her, “I love you too. Did you lock the door?” Lena tries to tell Harold what she really needs and wants from him but Harold is too busy thinking of sorting out all the things they share.
5. Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter. A symbol in “Rice Husband” would be the unbalanced end table made out of slab that Harold had built. The table symbolizes Lena and Harold’s marriage. Like the table, their marriage is unstable, unbalanced. When Lena goes upstairs to check what had fallen down, she says she knew it would happen, and just like the table, she knew what would happen to her marriage if she said nothing to Harold. Unfortunately, she didn’t, leaving their problems unsolved and like the table, let her marriage crash down.
6. I think the theme for this chapter is “Chungwang chihan,” which is the Chinese saying that one thing is always the result of another. Lena knew that she and Harold’s decision of splitting everything and becoming equals would harm their marriage, yet she did nothing to fix it.
1. Family Predictions
2. Rice Husband
3. I found this chapter funny because when I was little, my mother told me the same thing. The difference was that instead of marrying a husband with pits on his face, I would be the ones with the pits! Even so, I never really listened to her. I thought it was a little odd that Harold and Lena would fight over who paid for the flea exterminator. Aren’t couples supposed to care more about their relationship than money? I thought Arnold was really mean for flinging rubber bands at Lena and running over her doll with his bicycle when he was twelve. I always assumed those kinds of actions were done only by people under the age of ten. Even so, I didn’t think Arnold deserved to die. Everyone has teased someone at least once in their lifetime. When Lena ate the ice cream, she “[retched it] back into the ice cream container” (167). That scene was really gross; it had me wondering if she put the ice cream container back into the fridge. When I saw the list on the fridge that Lena and Harold wrote, I knew their marriage wasn’t very stable because of the fact that it was so focused on money. I think that Lena should have listened to her mother closer because her mother is the one with more experience and knowledge.
4. I think the relationship between Lena and Harold is very peculiar. The foundation of their marriage seems to be based on money instead of love. They even made a list on the fridge that balances out what each spouse spent so they both end up spending an equal amount.
5. In this chapter, Tan used symbolism and foreshadowing. For example, there was symbolism in the marble end table that Harold made a long time ago. The rocky table represented the rocky relationship between Lena and Harold. When the rocky table fell down and broke, it foreshadowed that the marriage between Lena and Harold was going to fall.
6. In this chapter, I learned about an old Chinese superstition. According to the Chinese, every grain of rice that someone doesn’t finish will end up as a dent on the future spouses face. My mom told me this one when I was little, but I hadn’t really paid much attention to it until now. I really think this myth was told to children so they wouldn’t waste food, which was precious when others were starving.
1. “Shattered”
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I think that Arnold dying five years after Lena St. Clair began to hate him and stop eating was a complete coincidence. “How is it that he contracted the measles the same year I began to consciously hate him?” (168). I don’t believe that hate can kill someone, unless you purposely point a gun to their head. Then, I thought Lena and Harold being married and not sharing the same bank account was stupid. Why get married if you won’t even trust your spouse with your money? It’s pointless.
4. The relationship between Lena and Harold can be described as respectful, yet unwise. Not sharing bank accounts shows that you’re doing your part of the work; but at the same time it’s asking for a fight. “…I know I’m starting a fight that is bigger than I know how to handle…‘I’m so tired of it, adding things up, subtracting, making it come out even. I’m so sick of it’” (179). Their relationship is almost business-like, the way they add and subtract costs. It also bothers me that “…Harold makes about seven times more than [she makes]” (173). If Harold makes seven times more than she makes, he should pay seven times more than she pays for expenses; especially because they’re in the same company. It’s only fair, unless he wants her to quit working for him and work somewhere else that pays more.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan used flashbacks. She began talking about how her mother was coming to visit, then went back into time about how Arnold died and she began to loathe ice cream. Later, she returned to the present and how Harold and Lena were fighting over the cat and ice cream costs.
6. d. This chapter connects to the allegory in that both daughters were annoyed at how their mothers both saw everything bad about things and nothing good about them. Both of their mothers were highly superstitious as well.
1. “Husband in a Bowl”
2. Rice Husband
3. In this chapter, I found this chapter to be very enjoyable. It starts off with Lena and Harold falling in love and soon getting married. However, soon the love dies and their relationship becomes an annoyance to each other. In the beginning, the split everything, paying for their very own; everything was split in half and to be paid for individually. Soon, the money ordeal becomes a problem for Lena. When her mother, Ying-Ying, comes for a visit, Lena quickly realizes there is something wrong with her and Harold. Their love was based on a piece of paper with money written all over it. When Lena tries to confront Harold later that evening, she is left in tears and speechlessness. Stuttering words came out of her mouth as she told Harold her feelings. Harold, upset and furious, scolds Lena, asking her exactly what she wants. Again, Ying-Ying’s predictions about the marriage were coming true.
When Lena was growing up, her mother told her to finish eating her rice bowl cleanly; to not leave any specs rice. Each rice grain left over represents a pockmark in her future husband’s face. Lena was terrified at this, as she realized there was a neighbor boy named Arnold, whose face was covered in freckles. Arnold was a jerk and a bully towards Lena. Worried her future husband might be Arnold, Lena eats all her rice everyday for the next few weeks, never leaving a rice grain behind.
When Ying-Ying was at the Lena and Harold’s place, she quickly acknowledged the marble end side table near the guest bed. Ying-Ying’s remark about the unstable and rocky table was similar to Harold’s and Lena’s relationship. In the end of the chapter, the table falls down and collapses, soon after Lena and Harold’s argument downstairs. Like the table, the marriage has fallen and collapsed as well.
4. Lena and Harold’s marriage is like a business proposal. In the beginning of their relationship, they had already laid down all the rules and guidelines to their relationship. Love should not have guidelines and boundaries. Harold has to pay his necessities and Lena has to pair hers. Everything is written down on a paper to keep track. I thought that marriage is when two individuals come together and become one. There is no sharing in Harold and Lena’s relationship or their marriage.
5. Amy Tan used symbolism in this chapter. The unstable and rocky marble end table in the guestroom symbolizes Lena and Harold’s marriage. It is unstable because though the love is there, the money issue has gone out of hand. It is rocky because Lena doesn’t feel absolutely happy and satisfied with what she has with Harold currently. In the end, after the argument between Lena and Harold, the table collapsed, just like the marriage itself.
6. As the story progresses, my understanding of the Chinese culture has widened. The Chinese people take a lot of pride in the placing of their everyday objects. Everything must be balanced and equal. If not, then bad things will occur and that is not essential for a good and healthy life.
1. “Leftover Grains”
2. “Rice Husband”
3. When I read this chapter, I thought it was weird how Ying-Ying was able to see the family’s future. Everything she predicted seemed to come true for them, like the death of her baby and her husband’s death. The story of Arnold and how he died kind of confused me. How did Lena not eating result to that? I also didn’t see the point of Lena and Harold splitting all of their expenses. I’ve always thought that in a marriage, it didn’t matter how much someone paid or if they were equal, but if they loved each other. I thought their list of what they’ve bought and how much they cost was a sign that their money was a big part of their marriage. I feel bad for Lena, not knowing what she really wants. At the end, I really wished the conflict was resolved. I wanted to know what her decision was.
4. The relationship between Lena and Harold is unusual. Their marriage seems to revolve around money rather than love. The scene where Ying-Ying and Lena look at the “list stuck on [the] refrigerator door” (174) obviously shows that they base themselves on being equal and splitting everything, keeping money always on their minds. They must equally divide everything, even if something benefits one more than the other.
5. Amy Tan uses symbolism and foreshadowing to show Lena and Harold’s relationship. The table in the guest bedroom was very wobbly and unstable. Physically, the table is just not very sturdy. But symbolically, it stood for Lena and Harold’s marriage, and how it was indecisive and imbalanced. At the end, when the table fell, it foreshadows that like the table, Lena and Harold’s relationship will more than likely fail.
6. In this chapter, I learned about a Chinese superstition. They said that every grain of rice that you didn’t eat will end up as a dent in your spouse’s face. I thought it was a really weird superstition that parents only told their children to get them to finish up their food, because my mom always used to tell me stories like that to get me to eat.
1. Keep the Change~
2. "Rice Husband"
3. As I was reading this chapter, I constantly thought that it was weird or...very odd. I was intrigued by Lena St.Clari's train of thought when she believed that whatever she ate affected Arnold and his appearance. I found it ironic that Arnold died 5 years after Lena started to hate him. I don't believe that her hatred was the cause of Arnold's death, but it was ironic because when he finally did die, she felt guilty. I also found it sad that Lena developed anorexia from her "hatred" towards Arnold. She refused to eat food in order to inflict maladies to Arnold and that resulted in her lack of the need to eat.
Another part of the chapter that perked my interest was Lena's and Harold's relationship. As I was reading the chapter, I compared Lena's money-revolved relationship with her husband and I compared it to my own parent's fun-loving attitude. Huh, that's interesting.
4. The relationship between Lena and Herald can be described (as a noun) by money. Lena and Herald may be married, but their whole relationship is different from the common couple. Their whole relationship seems to consist of their thoughts of "money" and "where is that money going?". They tend to split the costs of everything in their life and it eventually doomed their marriage and caused them to split themselves.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses flashbacks. Throughout the chapter, she described how Lena's mother was coming to visit, about Arnold and her hatred towards him, and her ice-cream incident. The flashbacks helped me understand the character a little more.
6. One thing that I learned about Chinese culture from this chapter was about their superstitions. I found it funny that Lena's mother told her that for every grain that she didn't eat, her husband would have a pock-mark on his face. It was amusing because I recall my own parents trying to get me into eating food by scaring me.
1. Chunwan Chihan
2. Rice Husband
3. I thought this chapter was really weird. First of all, Lena St. Clair’s mother is extremely superstitious but the things that she predicts actually come true. I think they are just coincidences but Lena is convinced that her mother has a “mysterious ability”. I thought it was funny how her mother told her that if she didn’t finish her food then she was doomed to have a terrible husband with craters on his face. But it was kind of sad when she thought that she was the one who killed Arnold. The way that Lena and her husband, Harold, split costs so that their marriage would be “equal” was strange. I’ve never heard of a married couple doing that before. I felt embarrassed for Lena when her mother was reading the list on her refrigerator. Money is a big deal for all of them.
4. The relationship between Lena and Harold is has little communication between the two. Lena seems to cater to Harold’s needs instead of expressing her true feelings. Lena “swoons inside” and “surrenders everything to him” makes it seem like she never thinks of herself. Harold doesn’t seem to feel the same amount of love or doesn’t know how to show it because when Lena tells him that she loves him, he kind of brushes it off and just tells her that he loves her too. It not fair to Lena that she has to pay for some of his personal expenses when she makes way less money than him but she was too scared to tell him. It is ironic how a marriage based on equality of money is actually tearing them apart.
5. Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter. The unstable table made of rocky marble and the vase on top symbolizes their marriage. It was not steady from the start but they still tried to balance it. They tried to make it equal with money. She describes the vase as black and smooth at first but then it is broken in half. The flowers are in a puddle of water which can represent that it is drowning. Their marriage is in trouble.
6. I learned that in Chinese culture, everything has a certain place. Everything must be balanced or else bad things will result. Also, by looking at simple things, you could read the future.
1. Never leave a rice grain behind
2. Rice Husband
3. In this chapter, I thought it was funny about how her mother tells her to eat every single grain of rice just like how my mother tells me. I thought Lena’s and Harold’s relationship seemed a bit weird of having to split almost everything they spend in half. Even though they seemed to love each other, their relationship slowly died out which I think is Lena’s fault for not clarifying things up for Harold. Harold also knew that something was wrong but he needed Lena to be direct about it which also leads them into arguing.
4.Lena and Harold’s relationship can be thought as most relationships between a man and a woman. Relationship all start out with that big spark and to keep the spark or from the relationship falling apart, they set up a balance sheet. This shows how in a relationship you try to come up with an idea that will help keep it from falling apart but sometimes it backfires just like how the balance sheet backfired for them.
5. One of the writing techniques Amy Tan uses is symbolism. In the chapter, the table that Harold made symbolizes the relationship between him and Lena. As they were arguing, they hear the table fall apart and at that point, their relationship also fell apart.
6. As Lena’s mother talks about chunwang chihan, it can relate to how the Chinese culture of everything needs to flow. Chunwang chihan means that one thing is always the result of another like feng shui which if you feel balanced, then it feels right and results in a good life.
1.It’s Your Ice Cream
2.“Rice Husband”
3.Finding myself constantly intimidated by the content I usually find in the St. Clairs’ stories, I was relieved to see that Lena was less paranoid than her younger self. Although this made me feel better, Lena’s situation as a grown-up woman concerns me. I disliked the way she and her husband took care of themselves financially. As friends, I think consciously splitting the tab is reasonable, but as partners, the subject of who pays what should just come naturally. I think Harold should step it up a notch, not because he is the husband, but because he is more financially stable than Lena. I feel that I’m becoming less fond of Lena because of her relationship with Harold, but liking her mother Ying-ying more because she seems to have changed from her slightly psychotic younger self.
4.I think that Lena and Harold’s relationship is opposite of what Lena thinks it is. In my eyes, they are far from being “equals.” Harold seems to have the upper hand, justifying many of the things he does by the fact that he makes more money. He seems to make many of their decisions, telling Lena, “You should pay for the exterminators, because Mirugai is your cat and so they’re your fleas” (163). So, as he sees everything in this way, Lena somehow does not want to admit the lack of balance between them. Their relationship is unsettling, because neither of them wants to recognize what their problem is.
5.I thought the symbolism in this chapter summed up basically everything that was wrong with Lena’s relationship with Harold. The unstable, rocky table that Harold built in his student years represents what their relationship was as friends, when they had first started out, and how they had dealt with money. Before their marriage, the money was not an issue, and so nothing was wrong. Though as partners, holding onto that table, those old ways, are unhealthy. They cannot apply those financial habits to what they are now, as a couple. The result of doing so, is a wobbly marriage.
6.I think the main conflict in this chapter is an external problem, between Lena and Harold. They are having problems communicating, which leads to an unbalanced financial situation. The conflict is easy to see when Ying-ying sees the money list, and when Harold does not seem to notice the fact that Lena never eats the “shared” ice cream.
Being Fair
Rice Husband
1. I think Lena’s marriage is very pitiful it seems as though Harold is the one that keeps demanding for things and is the only one who is benefitting from the relationship. For instance, although she is the actual brains behind their company, he refuses to promote her or give her a raise. He seems to want to keep her below him. I also thought it was stupid how they split their expenses because I think that they should be able to share everything, and not act like two strangers who just live in the same house.
2. I think the relationship between Lena and Harold is ironic. They make such a big fuss about being fair, but in reality, Lena is not treated equal to Harold. Sometimes Lena thinks about “how hard [she] works, how fair Harold is to everybody except [her]” (173) and it makes her upset to see how she is not getting what she rightfully earns. When Harold exceeds his budget, Lena has to pick up the tab.
3. I like the way Amy Tan uses foreshadow in this chapter. In the beginning she tells about how Lena’s mother warned her that if she did not finish her rice, she would have a mean husband with spots on his face for every grain of rice that she didn’t eat. This sort of foreshadows that Lena’s future husband will not be very nice to her.
4. The major life lesson in this chapter is that when we can foresee that something bad will happen we should try to stop it instead of remaining passive and letting it occur. Near the end of this chapter Lena’s mother accidentally breaks a table the Harold built and asks Lena if she knew it was unsteady, why didn’t Lena fix the table before it broke. This lesson was also shown throughout the chapter through the relationship between Lena and Harold that was falling apart.
-Laurie Jeng
Banana Split
“Rice Husband”
1.I kind of have a feeling that Amy Tan dislikes men because, just like the male characters shown thus far, Harold is a weak and unlikable jerk. Compared to the other St. Clair chapters, this chapter seemed more down to earth. Although it was tamer, one of the eerie things that stuck out was Arnold’s death. That was scary. I would be horrified if I felt like I was somehow responsible for killing a boy that I hated. I feel sad for Lena. She has such a twisted imagination that traumatizes her. The part where she reveals she was anorexic and gorges herself with ice cream stood out to me as well (Hm, now that I think about it, this was a creepy chapter ). The eating disorders shocked me at first but they seem to go hand-in-hand with her somewhat paranoid personality. She mentioned that she became anorexic because of the rest of the skinny teen girls. I bet that she felt paranoid and very conscious about how others saw her when she was a teenager.
2. Lena and Harold’s marriage is passionless. Their relationship seems like it’s based on calculations. I think that’s bull that they separate their costs. It shows that their whole marriage isn’t conjoined. They should be paying things together because they’re a married couple not a boyfriend-girlfriend couple that happens to live in the same house. Harold is so rude; he tries to play it off that his a gentleman by “sharing” his costs with Lena when he is in fact taking advantage of her. It’s obvious that Harold is the boss in the relationship. Lena just follows whatever Harold says or does even if she knows in her heart that he’s manipulating her.
3.Symbolism strikes again in this chapter in the form of a table and rice. The table that Harold made in architecture school represents his marriage to Lena. Sure there are three legs but they don’t support the table. In their marriage, they have an organized system for splitting expenses. Though there is a system, it doesn’t support their marriage. Like the table legs, they don’t have a strong foundation.
Rice is another significant symbol. According to Ying Ying, each uneaten rice grain equates to another “pock mark” on your future husband (164).
4.I learned about the importance of finishing your food, particularly your rice. Ying Ying explains that each grain of rice that you don’t eat will become another “pock mark” on your husband (164). This belief shows that the Chinese value food and believe that you should eat everything that you are given. I also learned about “Chunwang chiham: If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold” (161). The phrase reflects in Lena’s marriage. Because there is no passion or love, their marriage has gone “cold.”
Johnny Chu
Period 7
1. Equal Couple
2. Rice Husband
3. One thing I don’t get is that why do Lena and Harold have to problems with always sharing the cost and then later on their relationship is wrecked. They have always shared the costs for everything ever since they met each other. Lena never cared about this until later and she became very irritated by it. In my opinion it’s not such a big deal if you share costs or not because if you are married you usually share everything. Another thing that was annoying was how they even argue about who gets credit for the ice cream and who wanted the cat. They have always argued on pointless things. Lena always starts the fights and in my opinion it’s not even worth arguing over those things they argue about since it’s very pointless.
4. The relationship between Harold and Lena was very good until Lena got mad because Harold always had to divide the costs. Later on they settle the problem and become normal again. The relationship between Lena and her mother is very close, but Lena doesn’t like her mother always embarrassing her.
5. I noticed Amy Tan use symbolism in this chapter. The wobbly table in the guest room symbolized a weak relationship.
6c. In Chinese culture fengshui and other things are very important.
Eileen Ly from 7th period
Fallen Freesias
Rice Husband
To me, Lena seems like she’s been living her life under the influence of her mother’s superstitions which have proved to be true over and over again. She thinks she’s responsible for the death of Arnold, and its inevitable that she married Harold whom she feels that her love for him is one sided. In the end, I feel sorry for Lena. She realizes that Harold loves her, but doesn’t understand her fully, or has never even tried to. Harold appears to be one of those people who live by organized charts and organized lists of payments to keep his life in check. When Lena attacks or threatens this way of living, he can’t even begin to understand her intentions. He doesn’t know what she wants. Lena sees this…this hopelessness of his and despairs that she doesn’t know her own desires anymore. Could it be that she has been living in a life-a life that her mother has predicted for her? I feel like Lena gets angry and jealous of Harold too. He takes all her ideas and turns it into profit for himself. Personally, Harold’s pretty annoying. Making all this biased assumption with money problems--I find it ironic that Harold states “As long as we keep the money thing separate, we’ll always be sure of our love for each other” (171)” . In fact, Harold gets so caught up in making everything equal, that there’s barely any love between both of them. Lena protests to this, but why doesn’t she stop him?
The relationship between Harold and Lena is best described as one-sided and distraught. Harold knows what he wants- no monetary obligations to the “unending love” of their marriage. Lena loves Harold, and is smitten with him. But when it comes time to say “I love you”, Lena feels empty, as if something’s lacking from her marriage. She wonders what it could be and gets flustered just thinking about it. She thinks about what she really wants from Harold, and the only thing the reader can do is make their own assumptions about it. For example the phrase “Then why don’t you stop it?” (181) could mean that Lena let her marriage get out of hand. The anger that Lena feels toward Harold leaves her confused because she thinks to herself, why was I angry in the first place. Whatever the cause, I know that their love for each other could have been merely infatuation. That gives me second doubts though, because Lena really loves Harold…but does Harold love her back? Or is he too caught up in his equality?
Tan uses symbolism in this chapter, “Rice Husband”. She uses the marble end table that she mentions in the end of the passage and on page 178. The freesias which are symbols of love and innocence have fallen down which could represent their relationship with each other. With the table legs representing her decisions which have been turned lopsided and weak, the black cylindrical vase has cracked cleanly in half which could symbolize Harold’s habit of splitting up things equally. The crack vase containing all of Lena’s innocence and joy has cleaved into two leaving her with two broken halves of her marriage. All of this has happened because of the table legs, her decisions which have been made for her because she let them happen. This symbol or these symbols improve the story because they provide the reader with a sense of mystery that they have to figure out for themselves.
Tan’s symbols are used to imply the theme of identity and pressures in life. The line “And it’s such a simple question” (181) implies that sometimes the pressures in life leave us looking for ourselves, as if we decided to finally look back and wonder, Where am I? In Lena’s case, she gets so confused. To be frank, I’m kind of annoyed and confused about her situation. I mean, Harold is a jerk. But unless she knows what she’s aiming for, only then can she get up and go for it. So I guess, the theme is: Even the most simplest of questions in life can be difficult.
“Nothing But a Balance Sheet”
2. LENA ST. CLAIR: Rice Husband
3. At the beginning of the chapter, I pitied Lena St. Clair because of how her mother always critiqued things negatively. How her mother is always analyzing things, and pointing out the bad parts of St. Clair’s home and, in a way, whole life. I felt it was even more depressing because St. Clair realized that all of these things were completely true, though she did not take the initiative to fix it all, letting her husband, Howard, make all of the real decisions. From these scenes, I also thought it was really comforting how her mother could “see” the flaws in St. Clair’s life, because I think it takes understanding to see such things. The way St. Clair’s mother could understand her so was heartwarming.
When I began reading about St. Clair and her relationship with a boy she once knew as a child, Arnold, I thought it was really cute how she thought of him first as the person she would have to marry. Consequently, I was sad when she had discovered that he had died at such a young age, and how St. Clair blamed it on herself. at the same time, I felt it was evil that St. Clair stopped eating so that he would die, so she wouldn’t have to marry him. I was shocked at the fact that such a young girl could think such thoughts.
Through the rest of the chapter, I was angered by the unfairness that Harold treated St. Clair with. It wasn’t fair that just because they were “in love” that he wouldn’t give her the raise she deserved and mistreats her. In all honesty, I felt Harold was being plain selfish, caring about what others may think of him just because he treated her better, though she really does deserve the treatment. After all, he wouldn’t even be successful as he is now if it weren’t for her. If St. Clair can’t make Harold treat her as an equal, I hope that they don’t end up together at all.
4. The relationship between Lena St. Clair and Howard Livotny can be described as unequal. This is especially shown when St. Clair describes her pay, saying she, “[loves her] work when [she] doesn’t think about it too much.” But when she does think about it, about, “how much [she gets] paid, how hard [she works], how fair Harold is to everybody except [her], [she gets] upset” (173). Harold thinks he’s being fair, but he’s not because St. Clair does work really hard, but Harold won’t raise her pay or position because he says he wants to be fair to the other workers, making sure that they don’t think he is favoring her over others. And though they are “equal” money-wise, he is always given a bigger say in their decisions, and because St. Clair wants to keep their relationship, she lets him do whatever he wants. So in the end, he is given much higher standing in their relationship.
5. In this chapter, I notice Amy Tan using many flashbacks. For example she uses flashbacks from when Lena St. Clair is a child (her relationship with Arnold) and her relationship with Harold (before they got married). This improves the chapter for various reasons, as it lets us see the development of Harold and St. Clair’s relationship, which eventually led to the problem they currently have with each other. Also, the other flashbacks related to Arnold shows us the development of St. Clair’s inability to stop things before they happen even though she knows it will eventually, rather than just saying so. It gives us a step-by-step display of how St. Clair came to be in an interesting manner, instead of plainly saying that St. Clair had problems. It gives us details, descriptions of St. Clair’s life.
6. What is the theme or life lesson in this chapter and which line or scene reveals this?
The life lesson in this chapter is to trust your gut and express your feelings. Instead of just allowing Harold to push her around, Lena St. Clair should have voiced her opinion and let Harold know how she felt – about the marble end table, about the balance sheet, about moving in, etc. If she had told him how she felt, her marriage wouldn’t be stuck in such a problem. This is shown when St. Clair’s mother is speaking to her about the broken marble end table. Lena says she, “knew it would happen,” and her mother retorts, saying simply, “Then why don’t you stop it?” (181). I think this reveals the theme – St. Clair could have stopped things from happening (as she knew it would) if she had expressed her thoughts and feelings instead of being nice and allowing Howard create the system of their lives.
1. And it all falls down
2. “Rice Husband”
3. In this chapter, I realized what Ying-ying was trying to say in the allegory of “The Moon Lady”, when she said that she and Lena are “unseen”, “unheard” and “unknown” by others (64). The two women keep their problems and desires inside themselves. Around the middle of “Rice Husband”, Lena is unnerved at the difference of the size of her and husband’s paycheck when they were supposed to be partners. However, she didn’t try to talk to Harold about it. When Harold shows little to no signs of affection towards Lena, Lena thought to herself that “it’s just not enough” (174) and wants more from him. However, she yet again didn’t tell him. I found myself getting a bit frustrated, but sympathetic, with her and was unsurprised that in the end she started to feel regret for marrying Harold.
4. Harold and Lena share a professional and cool relationship. They follow a set of rules that enforces them to buy their items with their own money. Their systematic way of life sets them apart and creates a sort of business-like and distant marriage.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses symbolism, adding to the depth of the story. The “poorly designed” table that Harold made, that broke by the end of the chapter, represents his and Lena’s relationship. Lena knew that the table would fall apart eventually, but does not try to stop it. The same goes for their marriage. Being equals in money is what Lena’s and Harold’s relationship is built on. But at first, Lena didn’t want this concept of fairness in their relationship. Unfortunately, she doesn’t tell him and they continue this idea into their marriage. When Lena finally voiced her opinion that the balance sheet should be removed, Harold refuses. Near the same time, the poorly crafted table breaks, signifying the collapse of their relationship.
6. This chapter is connected to the allegory at the start of the chapter through the phrase chunwang chihan - the idea of cause and effect. Lena allowed the concept of equality to continue during their dates, despite the fact that she didn’t like it, and eventually, it wormed its way into their marriage. Because she didn’t try to resolve the money issue earlier, she suffered its consequences in her marriage later.
A Simple Question
“Rice Husband”
1. I thought that this vignette was a bit weird. But I especially liked the ending because it showed how unsure Lena was and it left a cliffhanger, leaving me, the reader, curious as to what happens to their marriage. I also enjoyed the story about Arnold and the rice. Her mom predicted she would marry a bad man and Lena thought it was Arnold. However, I thought that the man her mother was talking about was Harold. Also, I thought it was weird that Harold and Arnold’s names were similar in a way. I don’t know if Amy Tan did that conscientiously or not, but that’s what I noticed.
2. Rather than a married couple, Lena and her husband seem more like roommates. They share a room, however they split the cost of everything, for example, the list of things. Furthermore, Harold talks about Lena’s cat as hers instead of theirs. It also seems as if Harold was using Lena. When he said that he didn’t want to bring money into their relationship, he let her live with him so she can pay him $500 dollars for rent. He also took her idea, even though she gave it out freely, and it seemed as if he was more interested in his job than he was in Lena.
3. Amy Tan uses the table that Harold made in order to symbolize Lena’s marriage. Lena mentions that the table was poorly designed, but Harold was still proud of it. This symbolizes how their marriage was not built around stability. Ying-Ying also mentions that if you put something else on top, everything will fall down and says Chunwang chihan which means one thing is the result of another. When the table falls down after a fight that started from Lena’s unknown desires, it symbolized how the marriage fell apart.
4. I think that the theme of this chapter is that one person’s actions will always lead to something else. It is mentioned in the beginning of the chapter as “Chungwang chihan.” It also shows in the story with Arnold and Lena’s rice bowls. Lena came to loathe Arnold so much that I caused her to want him to die. Then, she decided to kill him by leaving more rice in her bowl so he would get leprosy. Later, Arnold dies, leaving Lena guilty and hating ice cream for the rest of her life.
“A Simple Question”
Rice Husband
1. I thought this chapter was kind of sad. First Lena guilt-trips herself when Arnold dies and psychologically scars herself. And she can’t even eat ice cream now. How sad! I would die if I couldn’t eat ice cream. I don’t know what I would do without it. I understand how she would feel it was her fault that Arnold died. I probably would have that same nagging feeling in the back of my mind that maybe, just maybe, I was the cause of Arnold’s death. I also think it was sad that Lena and Harold’s relationship is on the brink of collapsing. She finally gets over the fact that her supposed “husband” Arnold died, and now things aren’t working out with her actual husband Harold. Poor Lena’s life is like a TV drama. I don’t really like Harold though. I think he is stupid for not promoting Lena, and even more stupid for allowing Lena to pay for so many things, instead of just combing their assets and pay their bills together like a normal married couple. I think that Ying-Ying was actually pretty wise when she asked Lena “why [she] don’t stop it” (181). It seems pretty obvious, but in reality, most people would not notice that insight.
2. Lena and Harold’s relationship can be described as secular. Both focus on money and not on their feelings. All they do is bicker over whether they are paying an equal amount. They never take into consideration the fact that they might want to pay for everything because they love each other. Or better yet, not keep tabs on the money at all. Instead they should just combine their wealth and not have to worry about who has what.
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a lot of symbolism. Tan uses the wobbly end table to symbolize Lena’s and Harold’s marriage. Just as the legs of the table is flimsy, so is the foundation of Lena’s and Harold’s marriage. It is just a matter of time before both the table and the marriage collapse.
4. I think that the main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self. Lena has many internal conflicts including agonizing over whether or not she really killed Harold, and her struggle with her inability to give voice to her true desires, and thus save her marriage. Throughout the chapter, we see that Lena allows Harold to make the major decisions in their marriage, namely the one where they account for every expense in their marriage, trying to make it “equal.” This instead causes an imbalance in their marriage, and Lena passively accepts it, instead of speaking up for herself.
Dan Truong
Period 06
Uneven Splits
(on “Rice Husband”)
3) I thought this chapter was uncomfortable. I thought that it was funny how Lena thought this could be punishment for Harold in the beginning when Lena's mother told him to drive slower. I thought that this whole story was unfair to the present day Lena. She helped support Harold into making a new company but she still got paid so little even though it was her idea in the beginning that allowed him to actually follow through with it. I also thought it was unfair how she had to pay for things on the list even though it was for both of them, such as the person who cleans for them and the groceries. I thought Lena's mother was very tricky in this chapter, in trying to get her to finish all of her rice. I thought it was sad how Lena thought that it was her fault that Arnold had died from a disease
4) I think the relationship between Harold and Lena is not real. What kind of relationship is this? What’s wrong with Lena? I think the only type of communication they have is through that grocery list. Arguments form from little things like who should’ve paid for what. Harold and Lena should not have paid together, because then their relationship displays its true colors by showing that their relationship is fake and they try to be fair by splitting costs, but it does not work.
5) One of the techniques that I noticed Amy Tan used in this chapter was symbolism. She used Harold’s table that is not sturdy as a symbolic device. It represents Harold’s and Lena’s unstable relationship.
6c) In this chapter, I learned that, in Chinese culture, wasting food is not a good thing to do. I learned that it can decide what type of person you would marry if you were an exceptional food-waster. If you waste a lot of food, then you will marry someone bad as well. Although I already knew this because my mom always scolds me when I throw away those nasty veggies. I hate vegetables.
1) A Bowl Full of Future
2) Rice Husband
3) For the first time, I actually understood one of the St. Clair’s stories! WOW! I feel amazed. I loved the fact that Lena’s mom probably used that Chinese superstition as a way to get Lena to eat everything. I do NOT like how Lena was kind of stupid and thought that if she did not eat at all then things would be ok. That’s like the “more blood covers some blood” train of thought. I couldn’t believe that Ying-Ying had this psychic power kind of thing, which was so totally awesome!
4) I think I can say that Harold and Lena have a very “unbalanced” relationship. Harold has to be in control, even separating money issues and groceries on a sheet of paper. Wow, that is manipulative. And Lena, she is ok with it. I ask myself why! Lena has no control on her side of the marriage at all! The fact that Lena can let herself be used just shows how much control she has in the relationship.
5) Amy Tan’s use of flashbacks really helped in this chapter. The way she foreshadowed how Lena would eventually marry a bad man because of all the unfinished food was amazing. At first I was thinking “what does this have to do with anything?” But then I understood it and thought about how her childhood really wasn’t a happy one.
6) I learned a little more about Chinese culture in this chapter. I didn’t know that the amount of rice in your bowl leftover predicted anything in your future. I thought that was weird.
Trung Tran
Fallen Down
“Rice Husband”
1. This chapter was quite amusing especially when they mention the fact about Lena’s mother being able to see the future. It reminded me of my mom. However, most of my mom’s “visions” usually didn’t happen or it did happen, but the total opposite. I thought this storyline was rather weak and boring. The flashback about Arnold was unnecessary and took up a big chunk of the chapter when I thought Amy should have explained more about the mother. She appears in the beginning and then breaks something in the end. All in all, I did not get that “life lesson” or awe like the other chapters I had read.
2. The relationship between Lena and Harold was unsteady. Lena should have stopped the money problems in the beginning but she did not, which grew into the foundation she has with Harold now. Splitting everything from everyday uses to dinners and movies. Isn’t it rather contradicting to be “together” when they are “splitting” their costs?
3. Amy Tang used symbolism to refer to the wobbly table as Lena and Harold. When the table fell, Lena and Harold’s relationship also collapsed. That was way the mother said” why didn’t you stop it”. Lena knew all along that the “table” was wobbly. She just let it sit there and not bother with it. Pretty soon, the legs of the table gets weaker and weaker until one just can’t take it anymore. Referring to the relationship, Lena was the “leg” that could not take it anymore which resulted in anger toward her husband and consequently, their relationship had “fallen down”.
4. The theme of the chapter is to take action before it is too late. If Lena had stopped the money issue earlier before Harold got used to it, none of the fighting would have started. She would not be in this mess. Just like the wobbly table, if she fixed the leg then it would not have fallen down.
1. How am I supposed to stop my marriage from collapsing?!
2. Rice Husband
3. I thought this was a bit of an odd chapter. There are a lot of traditional omens that Lena’s mom finds once she enters the house. She is astonished at how much money Lena and her husband spent on the barn made into a house and surprised that they split everything down the middle. A first I thought they split everything they both use or want down the middle. I thought, “What’s so wrong with that? They are sharing everything.” My instinctive assumption was that they share the expense of the family not personal use too because instinctively that what I thought was normal and right. Then later when Lena’s mom stares at the paper she saw they summed up everything they bought and split disregarding who bought what for what reason. So after I understood I felt that that’s not normal when someone has to pay for part of another’s personal indulgences like the ice cream she never eats. Common sense people. You buy what you need you share what you want to share. You‘re not suppose to be beaten to share. I think the mothers share something in common. They ask questions that are so simple blurted out from their Chinglish yet they are so difficult to answer. And they answer it like it should have been done already because it is so easy to do!
4. Lena makes people feel like she is a push over. She knows when something is wrong and change would be nice but to make that change is so long and hard she feels it’s better to just stay like this and endure because she has already been enduring it. And as usual I feel like her husband is just insensitive to her feelings like all the other husbands that these women marry. This fact is evident by the ice cream that Harold continues to buy every week even though Lena never even eats it. He never notices that she hates it and it makes her nauseous. Harold is oblivious to the inequality of his relationship with Lena. He says the clichés “false dependencies”, “love without obligation”, and “equality”. She was the cofounder of his architectural firm and she provided the money with her rent and her moral support even the creative ideas for the projects. Yet Harold refuses to recognize her contributions. Indeed, he deliberately prevents her from sharing financial success because he insists on avoiding “favoritism.” He doesn’t seem to know that his wife was the true start of his business and wealth. Behind every great man there is a woman.
5. The rickety table in the guest room that Harold made symbolizes their marriage. Like their relationship the table is rickety and badly designed. It is ready to collapse with slightest provocation. Harold is, once again, oblivious to the table’s bad design as he is to the marriage. The table was sure to collapse, the marriage doomed to fail.
6. It connects to the parable in a way that has the mother as guidance again. In the parable the mother tries to make everything lucky again by putting a mirror on the head of the bed trying to be helpful and straighten out her daughter’s ignorance. In the story, mother comes to save the day again. Nothing can start without the mother. Her mother really starts to get her thinking so she can do the right thing.
1. Balance isn’t always perfect
2. Rice Husband
3. This chapter was really interesting. Lena had a perfect marriage, everything was shared equally, yet she was still unhappy. She was angry about how everything was so balanced. She eventually broke down and was confused, and upset. It was also really confusing how she ate so rice because she didn’t want to have Arnold as her husband. But then again, she also stopped eating because of that. I don’t get how she hated ice-cream and why she ate it. It was also confusing how she was mad at him, for what seemed like no reason at all, besides that they share too much. The ending I thought was very powerful. It brought up a very good question, if someone knows something bad is going to happen, then why don’t they stop it?
4. I would compare Lena’s relationship with Harold as partnership rather than a married couple. They seem more of business partner’s how everything is balanced and equal. In today’s world marriages aren’t as balanced as that. They each pay for their own things, and don’t really split what they buy.
5. Amy Tan uses flashback in this chapter, to go back to the time when Lena was 8 years old. This gave a little insight on the past and some of Lena’s troubles. It gave us an idea of Lena’s childhood, and what her mom taught her. It can also be a lesson, because she explains some of superstitions the Chinese people believed in. She could have also used the marble table for symbolism. It could have symbolized their balance in their marriage, at the end it finally fell over.
6. I think this relates to the allegory at the beginning of the chapter because, the story showed a daughter having problems with her marriage, and then the mom helping. In this story Lena is having troubles, and her mom steps in. It may have helped or not, but her mom asked her a good question at the end of the story. If she knew it was going to happen, why didn’t she stop it?
-Brendan
Well, In All Actuality…
Rice Husband
3) Throughout this chapter, something stirred into me. The sense to just do something flooded through me. Reading this chapter, I felt some connection. I could feel their youthfulness, their energy. My life had a rhythm that matches them, from one thing to another, never staying still, a nomad, a vagabond. I could understand how, in this period of their life at any rate. I also wasn’t surprised at how their relationship ended. I could also connect to the feeling that her mother was picking at all the weak points, to bring everything down. I’ve felt the same kind of, well, paranoia, when it comes to the comments of my mother.
4) I think that the relationship between Harold and Lena was, well, falling apart, was something to be expected. The relationship between them could be described as “serious”, but from what I saw, it was more convenient than anything. I believe that they really loved each other in the beginning, however, as time passed on, their lives became a little too wild. It moved to fast from one thing to another, and it seemed as if they could not keep up with everything. As time passed on, I think the relationship became more of a convenience, then a lovers’ connection. At the end of the chapter, the re-occurring object was the checklist. I believe the checklist made the relationship convenient, so they were blinded by it that they didn’t realize the first bond that had attracted them together had fallen apart.
5) I think the flashback that shows her childhood was extremely important. From this flashback, we are alleviated from the mood, and are dragged back to the dismal mood that seems to accompany the most recent of chapters that Amy Tan has written. It also gives us a flashback about how Lena grew up the way she did, and the personality she developed.
6) Finally, another chapter that I think relates back to the allegory. The characteristic about the mother and her ability to see the bad omens, yet be able to predict these things by reading the signs and seeing these bad omens are kind of coinciding. I believe that in both the chapter and the allegory are connected that all one has to do is look, and they can see signs everywhere, they just have to know what they are looking for.
“Chunwang Chihan”
Rice Husband
1. I thought that this chapter was quite boring. All I got from the story was how Lena’s mother always sees bad signs in everything and that Lena’s marriage with Harold was not what she had thought it to be. I found it quite ridiculous how a married couple split their expenses right in half and that everything had to be equal. It was also strange to me how Harold did not know that Lena hated ice cream after the years they have been together. It made me wonder what kind of marriage they have.
2. Lena and Harold’s relationship can be said to be independent. Everything in their relationship is non-reliant upon each other. They have a list on the refrigerator to separate the expenses so that each of them can pay an equal amount and they don’t consult personal problems with each other until the problem is out of hand. Lena doesn’t mention the splitting of the bill equally until after years of it bothering her. As a couple, it would be better if the two consulted the problems as they come along instead of holding it in to one’s self.
3. Foreshadowing is a technique Amy Tan uses to enhance her writing. A sign of marriage problems first appeared when Lena’s mom sees bad signs in the house like the slanting of the floor and the shape of the hayloft. Another sign was how Lena’s mom kept on mentioning “chunwang chihan,” which means, “one thing is always the result of another”(161). The last foreshadow of something bad that was going to happen in the marriage was when Lena crossed ice cream off the list. All these signs improved the story by allowing the readers to prepare for something negative that was going to happen.
4. The theme in this chapter is the result of something causes something else to happen. This can be summed up in the Chinese words “chunwang chihan” which is one of Lena’s mom’s sayings. This is demonstrated through a simple table that is a symbol in the chapter. The table is wobbly and poorly designed and if something is put atop, the object would surely fall and the table would break. That is what happened when a vase of freesias was put on top of the table. This theme is also shown through the relationship between Lena and Harold. The simple crossing off of “ice cream” on the list caused the couple to question their marriage.
1. Unbalanced
2. Rice Husband
3. When Lena’s mother said, “Your future husband have one pock mark for every rice you not finish” something inside me thought: what if she doesn’t eat every grain of rice, how would these pock marks add up? After reading a little further, I was satisfied to see her try this theory out, but I wasn’t expecting it to reach Arnold like a disease. Lena’s marriage isn’t quite the average marriage after I read further into the chapter. Having a list of expenses would surely put their marriage on the edge. I’m not a love guru, but I’m pretty sure things like this list would create a dilemma between the couple. When Lena said she knew her marriage wasn’t going to work out, her mother says to her, “then why you don’t stop it?” In my opinion, this was a well crafted response, simple yet powerful. It shows how some people just let it go, even if they know it won’t work out, they don’t bother to fix it.
4. Lena’s relationship with Harold is obviously detached. Their list is enough proof for their relationship. Having to pay for their own expense, splitting the cost between the two, their relationship falls downward. It’s a wonder how they could live with each other, being bound by marriage, and still split the money by their income. Their spouse becomes just a roommate.
5. Amy Tan is a master of symbols and in this chapter I noticed the symbol of her marriage. When Lena and her mother were in the guest room and they noticed the vase sitting on top of a wobbly table. I think the table represents their behaviors and their ideas of balancing the expense, and the vase represents their marriage. As things starts to decline, their vase would fall from the unbalanced relationship.
6. The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self. Lena lives with Harold despite the list of split expenses. She wants it to end, but doesn’t do anything about it. Lena doesn’t have the strength because she was always dependent on Harold, and now she wants change, she couldn’t do it by herself.
Every Grain of Rice
“Rice Husband”
1. When I first read “Rice Husband”, I was amused at the Lena’s naivety and how she so easily believed that for every grain of rice she left in her bowl, a pock mark would appear on her husband. However, it also shocked me that she would deliberately leave more rice in her bowl to assure herself that she would not marry Arnold. I was actually not very surprised when Arnold ended up becoming sick and dying, considering the fact that Lena and her mother seem to have some sort of sixth sense for bad luck. Harold and Lena’s relationship bothered me quite a lot. It didn’t occur to me at first that there was anything strange about their relationship the first time this chapter. However, after I read “Rice Husband” over, I was completely shocked at how a relationship where everything was split down evenly, down to which items they buy and which parts of the bill they paid, could have even lasted for so long.
2. Lena and Harold seem to have a relationship that would resemble the relationship between business partners. Their relationship is strictly professional. The two focus on equality and business, doing things on their own rather than together. Like business partners, their marriage is like a contract that only binds the two together for a similar cause. Their marriage is strictly professional. When Lena begins to think that “this business about being equals [starts] to bother [her]” (159), the word “business” makes the readers feel that their relationship is one without love.
3. Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter to describe the relationship between Harold and Lena. The “end table made out of a slab of unevenly cut marble and thin crisscrosses of black lacquer wood” (163) represents the foundation on which Lena and Harold build their marriage on top of. On top, the vase is their relationship, fragile, and unsteady. When Lena’s mother comments that putting “something else on top, everything fall down” (163), she seems to refer to Lena’s marriage, how any small thing could destroy their already unbalanced marriage. Then, when the table falls and the vase breaks, Lena says she “knew it would happen” (165). This suggests that Lena knew her marriage would eventually topple over, that it would eventually shatter.
4. The theme of “Rice Husband” is Chunwang chihan: If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Lena supposes that this means “one thing is always the result of another” (149). One example of this theme demonstrated in this allegory would be when Lena begins to leave more rice in her bowl and eventually leads to Arnold’s death. Although it may not have really been her fault, according to the superstition, this would have been “chunwang chihan.” Another example of chunwang chihan would be the unsteady table and the vase on top, or the relationship between Lena and Harold. Once the table falls, the vase breaks. Once Lena starts doubting that the equality between the two just isn’t enough for her, their relationship falls apart.
1.Perfect Marriage – Real or Myth?
2.Rice Husband
3.As I began this chapter, I questioned why Harold and Lena would spend so much money on a house that was really a remake of a barn. The things that they thought was worth the money, like the hand-bleached hardwood floor and the hand-sponged hardwood floor, wasn’t worth the money. I read along and noticed the bickering between Howard and Lena as very common among married couples. Then I read about Lena and her hate for Arnold. He seemed to be a really mean bully/jerk, but then it might be his way to try and get closer to Lena. She really hated him, so with the combined belief of her future husband being Arnold and that if she left a lot of food uneaten on her plates/bowls, then Arnold would get leprosy, move to Africa and die, because she saw how people who had leprosy looked like they had very bad pock marks, and if she left lots of food behind then Arnold would have leprosy too. I was amazed at her childish belief, but then remembered that she was still a kid when she did that. As I read along, I learned of their marriage and equality, how it caused problems for them, eventually leading to Lena and Harold’s pointless argument. It seems like their marriage is breaking apart. I deeply disapproved their marriage conditions and how it is done. It seemed like they clearly divided up everything and made themselves individuals and apart from each other when the reason behind a marriage is to unite the couple. In the end, when Ying-Ying simply asked “Then why don’t you stop it?” (181), I realized that it had a deep meaning for Lena when she considered it a simple question in the sense that she couldn’t answer it. She linked it to her own marriage falling apart and her not doing anything to stop it from happening. To me, that was the best ending to a part of a book out of all the books I’ve ever read.
4.The relationship between Harold and Lena seemed based upon money. They always counted and divided the cost of everything, instead of sharing it and not make the barrier between them so obvious. They even had separate bank accounts for their money. They split the cost in half and each pay equally, sadly shown when Lena realizes that “The way things are going this week, Harold’s already spent over a hundred dollars more, so I’ll owe him around fifty from my checking account.” (175). It made them independent of each other and put lots of distance between them. They divided things too equally, which makes them seem like two strangers instead of a married couple. Then what’s the point of getting married?
5.In this vignette, Amy Tan used foreshadow to let us know what will soon happen. She let the detail about Ying-Ying complaining how Lena has to pay for ice cream even when she really hates it, and then later on after the dinner Ying-Ying tells Harold that she doesn’t eat ice cream. Then, when she mentions that Lena thought of “how much (she) gets paid, how hard (she) works, how fair Harold is to everybody except (her), (she) gets upset.” (173), she was foreshadowing that their seemingly perfect marriage was going to start breaking apart.
6. The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. human, or Lena vs. Harold. Even though Harold doesn’t think anything’s wrong with their relationship, Lena soon discovers that she thinks a marriage based on the cost of things and being split in half is a very good one. That’s why they’re arguing over what’s wrong with their relationship.
1. Equal
2. Rice Husband
3. Lena shows her mother the place where her and her husband live and her mother is quick to criticize. Lena thinks her mother can see things before they happen, so she is nervous about her mother's stay in her new home. Lena and her husband have an interesting relationship. Ever since they met they always tried to make thing "equal." They always split the bill and restaurants and account for everything they share so they each pay half. Even though Lena now works under her husband, Harold, and earn about a seventh of what he does, she still pays her half for most things. Lena was why Harold started his own firm in the first place and she came up with a lot of the ideas. Still, Harold treats Lena unfairly. They used to get along well, but more recently Lena has become discontented with their relationship. Their relationship is struggling and when Lena's mother came to visit, she could tell. Lena wanted her mother to think everything was fine, but her mother saw though everything. When Lena was younger, her mother caused her to think that she was going to marry a bad man because she often left rice in her bowl. At the time, there happened to be a mean neighborhood boy with pockmarks on his face, which was suppose to be results from leftover rice the person's destined spouse leaves behind. Lena was afraid she would have to marry him so she eventually came up with a plan to indirectly kill him. She began to eat less and less and left more leftovers. Coincidentally or not, the neighbor, Arnold, died five years later. Lena ate a whole bucket of ice cream after she found out and then threw up. She never ate ice cream again. So in the end, Lena didn't have to marry the mean boy. She ended up with Harold instead, but she still isn't happy.
4. Lena and Harold's relationship seems strained. They seem to share everything and try to make it as equal as possible so money doesn't interfere with their relationship but things still don't go very smoothly. Harold seems content with their life style, meanwhile Lena is clearly unhappy. Her oblivious husband doesn't even know she doesn't eat ice cream. Harold claims Lena hasn't receive a promotion because it wouldn't be fair to the other workers, but Lena was part of starting the firm and has been there the longest anyway. Lena feels unappreciated. She no longer wants to put up with the "equality," but she's not sure of what she wants either.
5. The unstable end table that resides in the guest room symbolizes Lena and Harold's relationship. Near the end of the chapter, the table collapses causing a vase to break. At the same time, Lena and Harold have an argument which might be the end of their marriage.
6. One of the conflicts in this chapter is actually one that Lena has with herself. She is currently unhappy in a supposedly equal marriage. However, she doesn't know what she wants. She doesn't really want to have to pay less because she makes less money, but she doesn't like things the way they are either. In the end, it all comes down to Lena knowing what she wants to change or if she wants the relationship to end in general.
Margaret Trask, Per. 7
1. “Regret”
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I found it interesting that the mother is so incredibly aware of the universe around her, and that this is true to the extent that she predicts events before they happen. I would perhaps find it eerie if my mother was this was, but if I grew up with this as an everyday occurrence, I might feel differently. Her perception is so fine, her daughter worries about her judgment of the important things, especially because even though she can lie to everyone else about her marriage she fears that her mother can see right through her. In the end, she does.
4. Lena and her mother have a strained but strong relationship, because even though Lena fears her mother’s judgment, it is only because she will see the truth. Lena’s mother would want to help her daughter, showing her love. Her judgment in the end would really only be for Lena’s own good.
5. I notice a lot of symbolism, the most important example being the rickety nightstand that Harold made so long ago. This, like the relationship between Lena and Harold, was shaky from the start. Though it is destined to break, and she sees it coming, Lena doesn’t start to fix the problem but rather ignores it and goes on with her life as if everything is normal. In the end, though, the table shatters a beautiful vase, like the shattering of everyone involved in the doomed relationship.
6. The conflict in this chapter is internal, human vs. self. Lena is so afraid that the life she is living is a lie, she knows her mother will discover the truth. This fear keeps her from helping herself out of the
1. “Unsure Equality”
2. Rice Husband
3. This chapter wasn’t as exciting as other chapters from The Joy Luck Club, but I did understand some of the symbolism and the characters pretty well. Ying Ying was kind enough to take home and raise Lena when she had found young Lena by a tub of ice cream. Also, somehow Ying Ying is able to know about the future of her family and when she was found to be right about many things, I became intrigued about her abilities. Maybe they were just all coincidences. Next, the way of the equality with money between Lena and her husband, Harold is ridiculous to me. Having to right down how much one spends and compare it to the other’s spending and having to pay the one who pays the most for necessities is just absurd. I believe that if both people in the marriage are trying their best to have money for necessities for them both and money to spend on fun activities for both, that would be a successful marriage, at least for the money part anyways.
4. Well, as I said before, Ying Ying is a very strange person, but very caring as well. She took Lena in when she was a child on the streets by a tub of ice cream and her ways for seeing the future intrigue me. When Ying Ying thought the bank would close that had opened up, a month later she was correct because an officer was arrested for embezzlement. Ying Ying also cares about her daughter’s future and about her marriage. She asked later why Lena had done nothing to make her marriage better.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is Lena trying to have a successful and not a stressful relationship as well as a marriage with Harold. Lena and Harold throughout this whole chapter talk about how much each spends, what each spends it on and if what they spend it on should be counted as a necessity. The conflict is external and human vs. human. In the chapter Lena has to get through to Harold and Harold has to understand that marriage is not about how much each other spends, but if each person loves one another and trusts each other completely with everything, even spending money.
6. There are many symbols in this chapter. The first would have to be the money spending list on the refrigerator which symbolizes . The last of the objects are at the end of the chapter. These objects are the marble end table that had broken which symbolizes the sturdiness of the marriage between Lena and Harold. It had been working fine, but since Ying Ying came into the picture, Lena realized that the marriage was not working out the way she hoped and wanted it to. Then, when the legs broke, that symbolizes the sturdiness of the marriage had broken and the arguments were about to break out of Lena and Harold, which they did. The smooth black vase which held water in it symbolizes Lena because Harold said she had smooth and soft skin. The water in the vase symbolizes the tears that were held inside of Lena. The darkness of the vase did not show the water and Lena did not show her tears because if she did Harold would not like it and become angry. Lena let the tears out when the arguments broke out between Harold and her. The vase let the water out when the table legs broke and the table fell.
1. Too much “equality”
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I think that out of all the chapters of the book so far, this one was the easiest going one. There wasn’t anything weird that happened and it was reasonable. I can picture the conflicts happening in real life and I could also picture the characters and feel their emotions as they argued, suppressed their feelings towards each other, and how each character felt about one another. I liked Ying- ying’s character the most in this story. She seemed to kind of fade in the background but when she was needed to make a point of something important, she came out. When she came out, she didn’t do it in a way that was overbearing, but easy and it showed how she cared for her daughter, Lena. I also liked how the conflict between Lena and her husband was set because it wasn’t full of yelling arguments. Overall, the chapter was really good.
4. The main conflict of the story was Lena’s relationship with her husband, Harold. Their relationship was something like an elephant in the room. They both knew that there was a problem, but it just never came out for them to discuss and it was ignored. I agree with Lena that Harold’s “equality” is just way too much. Not everything has to be split exactly down the middle. Lena and Harold are in a marriage and I believe that their lives shouldn’t be so separate from each other about anything, including money. It’s also not fair how Lena supports her husband so much in the business and comes up with a majority of the ideas, yet she gets paid one seventh of what Harold does. The conflict is human vs. human because it’s between Harold and Lena. The problem doesn’t exactly get solved yet but, at the end of the chapter, Harold and Lena are on their way to solving the problem because Lena finally brings up the problem of their “equality.”
5. I liked how Amy Tan used the marble end table as a symbolism of Lena and Harold’s marriage. At the end of the chapter, the end table, which has been very wobbly all of its existence, finally collapses. Ying- ying asks Lena why she didn’t stop it if she knew that it would fall soon. Just like her marriage, why didn’t Lena do anything about it before it collapsed? Lena should have known that her marriage with Harold wasn’t stable and that she should have spoken up about it.
1. Feng Shui Master
By Fiona Cheung
2. Rice Husband
3. Once again I found this chapter interesting. I knew what she was talking about with the whole “the number of rice left in your bowl is how many pimples and zits your future husband will have” because I had been told that all my life—even to this day a fear still hovers over me that it might come true. I think it’s kind of scary how the mother seemed to really be able to predict everything, even metaphorically with the flower and her husbands’ arteries; maybe older people really have more wisdom. I thought Lena had married Arnold at first because of her hate towards him—hate is usually the beginning of love, as she said. I have to admit the coincidences do add up to make his death suspicious and scary; perhaps she inherited the psychic abilities from her mother. This chapter also made me wonder if marriage really changes people and relationships.
4. This chapter showed that though Lena may be a bit different and special from other girls, she is in the end, just another girl who wants more romance. She had no problem before with splitting the costs and being even, but we can see that after some time, she started to get tired of being “equal.” What girl would not be annoyed if you tell your husband you love him, and he sloppily says it back, only to ask you if you locked the car in the end? Also, like every girl, she gets mood swings, which I think accounted for most of her starting fights. Lastly, like every girl, she smiles and tingles inside at compliments he throws at her, always worrying about other girls who might go after him. Aside from being a typical girl, she is also clever, as hinted by all the ideas she offered him for restaurant themes. I liked her idea about the menus hanging down from the fishing pole.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is more of human vs human between Lena and Harold. Their marriage has obvious issues with the splitting of everything, but they always ignored it until many other small things built up in Lena until she exploded. There is a lack of communication in their marriage—how could a husband not know that his wife does not like ice cream? This conflict is not resolved in the end, as it only ended with an argument and seems like the beginning of a divorce.
6. The marble end table symbolized Lena and Harold’s marriage. Before her mother put the purse on it, it was already unbalanced and a bit unsteady, and Lena says she “always wondered why he’s so proud of it” and “the lines are clumsy,” the lines being the basis of their marriage—equality (163). Once her mother placed the purse on it, meaning her mother came and interfered with their marriage, the table collapsed, just as they fought right on that night. Lena had known that the table had collapsed, just as she had started doubting their marriage, but had done nothing to stop it. Her mother does not apologize because she knows it is up to the couple to solve their problems.
Arun Jandaur
Period 3
Blog #6: “Rice Husband”
1. That’s A Little More Ice Cream Than You Can Handle!
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I actually liked this chapter. It wasn’t too confusing and it was interesting reading about Lena and Harold’s relationship. I felt sorry for them. From the start I knew that their marriage would break apart because of how they always tried to balance their spending and even made a list about what each person spent on things like food, gas, etc. Harold was right about their relationship and how “he didn’t want to contaminate it with money” (157). He was wrong, however, about wanting to keep their money separate. My personal opinion is that a married couple should have a shared bank account. I mean, if their lives are combined, why shouldn’t their bank accounts be as well? To an extent, it’s okay to split money but it really does mess up a relationship when it gets carried away to the point where they “should pay only a percentage of the mortgage based on what [they] earn” (161) when buying a house. I felt sad when reading this chapter because Lena almost knew where their relationship was headed and there wasn’t much she could do. I always found it saddening when a married couple fights amongst themselves.
4. The character I chose to focus on was Lena’s mother, Ying-Ying St. Clair. She is wise and has an omniscient view of the world. She always knows what’s going to happen and how it affects her family. She is a static and flat character. We always notice her negative side because she is always predicting malicious events that are going to happen to her family. Since we only see one side of her, we know she is a flat character. What makes her static is that she doesn’t change. She is merely a spectator watching the show. What tells you this is how she just walks around the house watching everything and asking questions. She doesn’t cause a conflict or change in any way at all.
5. The conflict in this chapter is Human vs. Human between Lena and Harold. They are always splitting things up evenly and, like I said above, it usually doesn’t end well. Also, they fight over silly things like who is paying for the ice cream or who paid for the groceries. Also, their communication skills aren’t that great. They can barely talk to each other about the prices without one or the other getting upset. I also found it extremely pathetic that Harold didn’t know that his wife hated ice cream even after five years of being married to her. The conflict between them clearly didn’t become resolved. As a matter of fact, the chapter ended with a fight.
6. While reading this chapter, I noticed one symbol: It was the weak marble table. When Lena says, “Careful, it’s not too sturdy” (163), we know that she means her marriage. Also, right when Lena and Harold are fighting, they hear a crash. Lena investigates and she discovers the marble table broken and the vase, shattered. It is readily obvious that this event represents her marriage breaking. Topping it off, Ying-Ying asks Lena, “why you don’t stop it” (165), a question Lena can’t answer.
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~ScottLee3rdPeriod
1. “Ice Cream Anyone?”
2. Lena St. Clair – Rice Husband
3. Out of the many short vignettes this book contains, I believe this was one of the least confusing ones, although it was one of the most interesting ones. There was one question left unanswered by the end of the chapter, however. How does her mother predict all these catastrophic events? It’s extremely unusual to see someone successfully predict the loss of a baby, the cause of the death of her husband, and a myriad of other events using the simple concept of feng shui. Also, I believe that the relationship between Harold and Lena has been and remains a fake relationship. I doubt they were “in love”. The way they treat simple matters such as the usage of money displays the inherent weakness in their relationship. In my opinion, their relationship emanated failure right from the start, where they split their tabs, even though the husband ate more. I think Lena is more of a weak character controlled by her husband, although in many Asian families in the contemporary world, it’s the other way around.
4. Lena St. Clair displays an abnormal subservience to her husband in this chapter on many occasions. However, she displays another trait at the very end of this vignette. She decides to take a stand against what she thought was unfair, which was pointed out by her mother. In the scene where she begins to scream at her husband for the too perfect “fairness” in their life, she shows her defiant side, the side that has been hidden away deep in her heart since the beginning of this relationship. To her, the balance sheet just doesn’t cut it anymore. She finally notices how “unfair” everything actually is in the marriage and their everyday life.
5. I believe the conflict in this chapter is a man vs. man conflict between Lena and Harold. Although she didn’t realize it at first, I believe Lena has always had doubts in her relationship, and ultimately marriage, with Harold. At the end of the vignette, she lets out the anger and frustration that has been holed up inside her for an extremely long time. Harold argues back, not fully understanding the problem. I think it’s also a clash of cultures and beliefs, each thinking something different.
6. The one lucid symbol I noticed in this chapter was the marble end table that collapsed by itself. It symbolizes Harold and Lena’s marriage. The failed marriage between the two collapsed just as the marble table collapsed with the spindly black legs. The legs just weren’t strong enough to hold up the bond between those two, showing that their marriage was never fit to last.
1. Strawberry Ice Cream is Yummy :3 Mmmmmm
2. Rice Husband
3. I thought that this chapter was pretty interesting. I found it cool how Lena's mom could predict future events. What she bases her predictions on is pretty strange though. I thought that Arnold's death and Lena's coincidences were oddly connected; I actually thought that Lena could've caused Arnold's death. At least that's what Tan's writing made me believe. Also, the relationship between Lena and Harold was, in my opinion, pretty believable and realistic. I can imagine a real life couple in the same situation. Their relationship is shallow and obviously not working out very well. Even after the two get married, their relationship doesn't seem to get any better.
4. I think that Harold is a jerk. I don't know why, but I just don't like him. He supposedly treats everyone "equally", yet he takes advantage of Lena. The way he splits everything down the middle is terrible. I feel as if Harold doesn't appreciate Lena. Even though they are married, he separates his money from hers. Even after all the support and ideas that Lena feeds Harold, he still doesn't see Lena as an equal. Harold is a flat, selfish character; Lena loves him and helps him start his own firm. Yet, he takes most of the credit for himself, thinks that he is in charge of things, and I thought that it was selfish that he named the firm after himself. "Livotny and Associates", how come he didn't include Lena's name? Why does he make seven times more than Lena? His character just seems really unfair to me.
5. I believe that the conflict is man vs. man; Lena vs. Harold. The external conflict between Lena and Harold is evident. The married couple don't even seem to be in love with each other. Like how they deal with money, I think that Lena and Harold's relationship is also split down the middle. Harold just doesn't seem to understand Lena, and the two don't seem to communicate. Lena just seems to do whatever Harold says, but in the end, she can no longer hold in her dissatisfaction, and she explodes. Even then, Harold still doesn't seem to understand Lena. He doesn't even notice that Lena doesn't eat ice cream, and they live together. How can Harold not notice these things? In the end, I think Lena did end up in a bad marriage.
6. The obvious symbol in this chapter is the marble table Harold made. Like Harold and Lena's relationship, the table is "not too sturdy". It can't handle any weight. Likewise, Harold and Lena's relationship is sloppily built, and can't handle any pressure. Both the table and Lena's relationship are weak and shaky. You can't put anything on top of the shaky table. Like what Lena's mom said, if "you put something else on top, everything fall down", when Lena brings to surface and voices a problem in their marriage, Harold cannot handle it. Like the table, their marriage collapses.
1. Chunwang chihan
2. “Rice Husband”
3. This chapter was full of Chinese superstitions about Feng shui and how it affects people’s lives. Lena’s mother always predicted that bad things would happen according to the environment and surroundings. She miscarried her baby because their house was on a too steep hill. The bank’s money got embezzled because a plumbing store opened up across from the bank. Lena’s father died because the plant he gave to Lena’s mother died. These are all just superstitions, but Lena’s mother’s predictions always seemed to be accurate, which I thought was really weird because I never believed in them. In the story, Lena seemed too eager to be with Harold, which makes her vulnerable. She was willing to give him anything and not expect something in return, but that only works in the beginning of their relationship. Later, Lena would eventually realize that she deserves something in return, which is what happens later in the chapter. Arnold’s death also confused me. Was he really supposed to be Lena’s future husband? Did he really die because Lena kept wasting her food?
4. Harold, Lena’s husband, was unfair to Lena in some ways. Even though he acknowledged that he should pay more of the mortgage because he had more income than she does, she really should’ve gotten a better pay. After all, it was her ideas that he used that made his new firm so successful, and she obviously continued to work hard to help him after the firm was established. Although he loved Lena and tried to figure out what the problem was when she started crying, he never really got to know her very well. He didn’t even know that she doesn’t like to eat ice cream, and only assumed that she was trying to lose weight.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. human: Lena vs. Harold. Even though they are married, they still act like they are only dating. They split all of their expenses in half, which makes them separate, and not a whole married couple. All of the discussions about paying for vacation and mortgage made their relationship all planned out and very formal and regulated. Lena realizes this and tries to persuade herself that it was her over-thinking. Then, when she told Harold that she loves him, he didn’t even look at her and added, “Did you lock the door?” This shows how little value their marriage had. They loved each other in the beginning and got married, but later it was all only a pattern that they followed that kept them together.
6b. The marble and lacquer wood table symbolizes Lena and Harold’s marriage. It was made “in his student days” with clumsy lines and “doesn’t bear any of the traits of ‘fluidity’ that are so important to Harold these days” (163). They only seemed to love each other in the beginning, and as previously stated, their life later on only followed a pattern. Lena and their marriage didn’t seem as important to Harold anymore. Their marriage was wobbly and clumsily made, just like that table, which later fell down by itself, symbolizing that they finally realized that their marriage was breaking apart. Lena had known this would happen, but she was naive. She tried to pretend that the problems weren’t there and was willing to sacrifice anything for Harold because she’d “loved” him. However, after the marriage, and seeing how Harold doesn’t care about her as much as she does for him, Lena realized that the marriage wasn’t going to work out and fall.
Alice La, Period 4
This is How A Marriage Breaks
Rice Husband
1. It's not uncommon for people to occasionally have premonitions, (hence, women's intuition, ESP, etc..) but this is the first time I encountered anyone who could tell the future by what was happening in the present. Yingying apparently has this power, as she sees a plant die due to poor water circulation and predicts the death of her husband, which turns out to be because of clogged arteries. Then again, it's unclear whether she really can see what's happening or if she's simply using the opportunity to point at a coincidence and say "I knew it," claiming she has powers. However, Yingying's pretty convincing, so I think she has real prediction powers, or at the very least the ability to see the present by using the things around her in the present. The bit about Arnold dying was a little scary, which fits in nicely with the overall mood of the St. Clairs's stories. It would be a terrible world if, without thinking, we could all kill someone unintentionally like Lena believes she did.
2. Throughout the course of this vignette, Yingying sees the future, but only for her family and loved ones. This is the extent of her love and concern, leading her to warn Lena about the pockmarks her future spouse will have if she doesn't eat. Especially notable is her remark that the table will fall down if any stress is put on it, shortly before Lena tries to get Harold to give up the balance-sheet-style of their marriage and ends up fighting with him. The table does fall down.
3. If you see something bad about to happen, change it. Yingying feels bad for not doing anything, even though she could have prevented some of the terrible things that happened to her in the past. She also asks Lena, "Then why don't you stop it?" after Lena says she knew the table would fall.
4. The main conflict is between Lena and Harold, man vs. woman, as Lena's secret resentment and spite towards Harold begin to surface. This isn't resolved towards the end, as although they finally fight over the equality of the marriage, they are interrupted by the breaking of the table.
Chunwang Chihan
Lena St. Clair’s “Rice Husband”
I really like this vignette because its content allowed me to understand what Lena gone through with her husband from start to present. I think that Amy Tan wrote a wonderful story about a relationship between two people. Lena’s position, I can semi-relate to. I don’t really want to blog my experience . . Although the vignette was a big longer than the other ones, it kept me interested. I think Lena resembles her mother greatly. In her previous vignette, she talks about her mother, surrendering her decisions to her husband. Lena’s father puts words in her mother’s mouth. In this vignette, Lena surrenders herself to her husband as she pays for things that she did not use/apply to her, lets him make most of the decisions, and lets him take credit/ownership. Lena believes this is “fair” and equal. I’m a noob when it comes to Chinese customs. To me, I think this book is telling me that Chinese women do not have a say in their families – that their voices are not heard nor understood. What’s with Chinese humility? Someone should explain that to me.
Harold, Lena’s husband, is a dominating character. There is something about him I don’t like. The way the relationship is run is interesting and I question if it is a relationship at all. I wonder if he really loves his wife. To say, “I love you, too. Did you lock the door?” to his wife after she tells him she loves him sincerely . . . well that’s not good. Does he not see that the splitting for half and money arrangements actually aren’t fair? Another thing about him is that I don’t know if Harold is actually a bad husband. He does not abuse her or cheat on her. I can’t say he does not treat her right because there isn’t enough evidence.
The main conflict in this vignette is an internal human vs. self conflict. Lena is bothered by her relationship with Harold as “equals.” She says that it had been on her mind yet does not really know it. It makes her feel uneasy. Lena is somewhat suppressed by something. I’m not sure. It may be her husband, her incorporating Chinese humility in her relationship, or her thoughts and the way she handles things. Lena has a lot of thoughts that she keeps to herself. She becomes scared of the consequences of being herself or unbalancing the relationship. These doubts inside her are frustrating and cause her despair.
This vignette connects to the allegory because Lena’s mother is superstitious like the mother in the allegory. Lena’s mother told her daughter that if she did not finish her rice, she would marry a bad man. Lena does worry about her future temporary but then ignores it. The daughter in the allegory does not understand her mother’s warnings/superstitions as she sees herself in the mirror not a future child.
No lips = cold teeth
“Rice Husband”
3. This chapter was very mysterious in a way. The way Lena’s mother knew that her husband was going to die “because a philodendron plant [he] had given her had withered and died, despite the fact that she watered it faithfully.” (149) The roots wouldn’t receive water and her husband died of clogged arteries, but wouldn’t he have died anyway because of his poor eating habits? The man ate five slices of bacon and three eggs sunny side up every morning! That’s super unhealthy. Lena’s mother is too much of a nag towards her daughter. She shouldn’t criticize so much, but then again, she was right about the whole Arnold thing. But could Lena really cause someone’s death by not eating her food?
4. I choose Harold. First of all, I don’t like his name. Second, I don’t like how everything needs to be equal between himself and Lena. It’s kind of ridiculous. He makes seven times more money then she does, yet she owes him $50 because he spent more then her that week. I think Harold is stingy and shouldn’t even argue about who pays what. I also think he is a nice guy and has the potential to be even better, so that makes him a dynamic character. He really wouldn’t have started his own business without Lena and needs to give her more credit. There is hope for him because on the last page he comes to realization that lately there marriage has been based on a balance sheet.
5. The main conflict is an internal human vs. self with the human being Lena. Lena is unhappy with the way her marriage needs to be completely equal with her husband and she doesn’t know how to express this to him. It becomes more apparent when her mother comes for a visit and hints at everything wrong with her house and marriage. This sends Lena over the edge and she must confess to her husband her feelings about their marriage and the equality. I’m not sure if the problem gets resolved because the chapter ends before we find it, but I have a feeling it does.
6. The theme of the chapter is to eat every grain of rice in your bowl or someone is going to die. Haha. Just kidding. I think the real theme is that if you see something bad about to happen then you should try to stop it before it does. On the very last page of the chapter a vase falls of a wobbly end table and Lena states “I knew it would happen. Then why didn’t you stop it?” asks [her] mother. And it’s such a simple question.” (165) This quote bothers me because Lena’s mother saw so many bad things that were to come, but never stopped any of them, yet tells Lena she should’ve stopped the vase from falling when Lena knew that it would happen. Does that make sense? Anyway the theme is don’t let bad things just pass you by, prevent them.
1) Reaction
Lena's stories and Ying-ying's tend to stray more on the darker and arcane side and "Rice Husband" is no exception. I think her mother Ying-ying, if she really does have the power to see things before they happen, she should try and prevent them, at least take action in some sort of way. There was a lot of superstition in this story, not to mention symbols also. Lena's mother sees a lot of things and takes them as symbols fused with her own superstitions to predict what will happen. Eerily, they all seem to come true one way or another. It seems to me though that Ying-ying is a woman filled with wisdom, and when she comes to visit Harold and Lena, she could already feel that there's something wrong with them. I believe there's something wrong with Lena and Harold's relationship, more specifically, the part where they split money and things. As married couples, I think they should take account for one another's spending, and not split everything as they did when they were dating. Lena seems to think that their marriage is centered around the balance of money. I also think that her mother scared her with the prediction of how her husband will be the mean boy Arnold. I didn't get how leaving more and more rice in her bowls and not finishing her food help contributed to the supernatural event of Arnold dying though. She managed to change the fate that her mum predicted.
2) Lena. I think Lena St. Clair was influenced by her mother's over superstition and predictions about who her future husband is going to be. After that, she just began to freak out about how Arnold will be her future husband and starts to hate him. She tries to find any sort of means that will prevent this prediction her mother made. She saw the church video and began "sacrificing," which was basically wasting food and not finishing them. Somehow after that, Arnold died and it was like Lena was the one to blame for his death by wasting so much food. Harold and Lena's relationship is somewhat complicated as even though they are married couples they still split the money and everyday uses. Even though Harold says he didn't want to contaminate their relationship with money, it seems as if their relationship now is strained on a balance of money. This kind of relationship in a couple is very different and it sort of separated them from each other. She in her eight-year old childhood was scared and panic-stricken that Arnold would become her husband and she hated the boy. After he mysteriously died of measles, her mother gave Lena a look as if it was her fault and that she killed him by leaving more food in her plates. She was changed by this and probably caused her self confidence to drop, making her think badly of herself.
3) I think the conflict in this story is man versus man. Lena is struggling in her relationship with Harold, and against herself. She feels sort of worthless and that Harold deserves something much better than her. Lena is in constant fear that one day Harold will wake up and leave her and all the good fortune will go with him. She thinks too low of herself and needs more self confidence. She has many fears that Harold wouldn't like her anymore, that he will think she smells bad and many others. Harold is lucky to deserve someone like her and after her talk with Rose, she begins to build some self confidence and identity. The other conflict is with her mother. In the story they got along pretty well but her mother's prediction scarred her. It made Lena have the urge to hate the boy Arnold, resulting in his untimely death.
4) There are many symbols in this vignette, such as the bucket of ice cream, the marble table that Harold made, the list of things they split and many more. The bucket of ice cream that Lena gorged herself with after hearing about Arnold's death
symbolizes a separation. It didn't mean much to her then, but as she married Harold, she never ate any of the ice cream after that incident. This separated her and Harold like the list did. Lena didn't eat any of the ice cream Harold brought home and that was because of the childhood experience of throwing up the ice cream over the balcony. She not eating it signified a boundary, along with the list of things that they separated, Lena and Harold's relationship was, although fair and equal, but separated. When she was vomiting the ice cream she thought how could something so good make me feel so terrible and how could vomiting so terrible make her feel so good." I think this could refer to Arnold and Harold. Arnold may seem terrible on the outside, but maybe inside he's a really sweet guy. On the other hand, Harold may seem all nice and sweet outside but on the inside he may just be a complete brute. The marble table was like their relationship, and it was fragile and weak, ready to shatter anytime. When it shattered in the end, her mother asked "why didn't you fix it?" The table symbolized their relationship and when it shattered, Lena picked the pieces up, as if rebuilding it once more.
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Eat your Rice!
"Rice Husband"
3. I thought this vignette was interesting and actually kind of bizarre. The content of the story was very easy to follow which kept me interested. I thought it was kind of weird how by Lena not eating her rice, it caused the death of Arnold, but then again, I think it's just one of those Chinese things. It was cool though how Lena's mom predicted future events and what not. Lena and Arnold's relationship was.. unfair, but is probably very alike to many relationships today. If he make seven times more money than Lena, why does he make Lena pay $50 because he spent more money that week? It just doesn't make much sense to me. And why would he treats others fairly yet take advantage of Lena? Poor Lena..
4. I choose Harold, the stingy one. I just don't like how everything between him and Lena has to be equal. It just isn't right if she pays him money when he makes seven times more than she does! He definitely dominates in the relationship which isn't right because relationships should be run by both people. I'm sure he isn't a bad husband, just the things that he does is very different from what normal-running relationships should be like.
5. The main conflict is internal and human vs. self. Lena is not agreeing with her marriage with Harold and how they have to be completely equal. She is very unhappy. When Lena's mother comes and visits, Lena begins to realize that she is this unhappy with the progress of her marriage. Her mother also hints and says little things that show how her marriage is going downhill. Lena confronts Harold and try to resolve it, but I'm not sure if they do.
6. A symbol in this vignette is the marble table which represents Harold and Lena's relationship. The table is "not too sturdy" like their relationship. Like the table, their realtionship is also weak and shaky. Lena's mother says "You put something else on top, everything falls down." When Lena confronts her husband with the many problems in their relationship, the marble table has "fallen down," just like their marriage.
1. I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!
2. Rice Husband
3. In the blog for “Voice in the Wall”, I stated that Lena’s complete lack of backbone really irritated me, and that remains true for this chapter as well. It was disheartening for me to find that Lena is just as weak as an adult as she was as a little girl. All the scenes with Harold bossing her around, in particular, really irked me. Lena and Harold’s entire marriage seems so ridiculous, and the tabs they keep on each other and their finances make them seem more like business partners than husband and wife. Why does Lena seem so afraid, so ignorant, that she is unwilling to do anything to change their relationship? As Lena’s mom said, if Lena knew their relationship would deteriorate to such states, “then why you don’t stop it?”
4. I think that Harold is an extremely flat, superficial character. He is self absorbed to the point that he doesn’t even notice that Lena dislikes ice cream, nor how unhappy Lena is with their marriage. In his zeal to make everything “fair”, Harold loses sight of what is really important in life. The fact that he and Lena split all their expenses down the middle prove that Harold’s main concern is money, not love or affection. He even picks fights over the dang CAT that he bought Lena for her birthday, which I find to be extremely irritating. To be fair, the conflict between the two would not be possible without Lena’s full participation, but I still think that Harold is mainly to blame, mostly because everything he does, from acting as Lena’s boss to her husband, seems notoriously unfair. He is controlling and even tries to tell Lena what to think about their marriage at the end of the chapter. It’s quite ironic, because in trying to make everything as equal in his mind as possible, Harold ends up making everything quite the opposite.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is the external conflict of man vs. man between Lena and Harold. They argue about everything from food, vacations, mortgage – anything that has to do with finances and how to divide the costs “fairly” between the two. They even go so far as to argue about who should pay for the expenses for the couple’s pet cat, which Lena owns but Harold purchased for her. There is also some underlying tensions between the two due to their professions. Harold is actually Lena’s boss in the architectural firm that they both work for, but Harold got his big break and promotion mainly thanks to Lena and her ideas. However, Lena received little to no credit for her contributions, and like everything else in the relationship, Harold took all the credit and responsibility.
6. The marble end table that collapses at the end of the chapter symbolizes Lena’s marriage and all of its weaknesses. The table was constructed by Harold when he was younger, while he was still a student in school. Just like in the marriage, where Harold holds most of the authority about the purchase of the house, how the household is run and decorated, and how the couple spends their free time, the construction of the table was dictated by Harold as well. Both the marriage and the table are equally unsteady and by the end of the chapter, both come crumbling down.
- Michelle Chan Period 4 =D
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"I believe that everything happens for a reason." -Marilyn Monroe
(a.k.a. Rice Husband)
3. I doubt that Lena's mom was pyschic. I think her predictions were just coincidences. That's all. Goshdarnnit, I wish Harold would stop dealing with numbers with Lena. They're husband and wife, for goodness sakes! It's immoral to split prices with your partner in life like that. Their house sounds really nice, fancy schmancy. Were Harold and Lena really in love? What is love? I think Lena's mom is being really "ASDFKL;" when she tells Lena about the pock-mark man, scaring Lena, making Lena eat all the rice in her bowl, then telling her, "But that's still too bad. Yesterday, there was still rice in your bowl." What does she expect Lena to do: travel back in time and finish all the rice in her bowl?! Geez, she learned her lesson; now leave the poor girl alone. I think it's crazy that Lena would not eat to make Arnold suffer. Scientifically, that is not possible and outright crazy. Ooh, Lena's father dabbing his bacon into his egg yolks sound really good. And if Arnold was really destined to be Lena's husband, then Lena changed her own fate by "killing Arnold" so she got Harold. Did Lena marry Harold because she wanted him to herself and not other women? Geez, Lena was by his side the whole time, encouraging him, lending him money to start his business, giving him tips and ideas and what does she get in return? NEGLECT FROM HER HUSBAND. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't even be that successful. Harold doesn't want to admit this and it's stupid how selfish and insensitive he is. I wouldn't mind at all if Lena got a divorce. However, that tantrum that Lena threw at the end of the chapter was kind of a random outburst. I would have been frightened if I were Harold, after all those years and suddenly, BOOM. Why doesn't she want to confront Harold again?
4. Lena does not take action in her marriage. I think she is afraid to speak up and control part of her life with Harold because she doesn't want to lose her marriage and all she has worked for. When her mother visits, she knows that her mother will see the destruction in Lena's marriage. She awaits it and knows that what her mother will say is true, but she tries to deny it for some reason.
5. I think the main conflict is split into two parts. Lena and Harold (external: man vs. man) struggle in their marriage to keep things in balance, forcing themselves to split everything into two; yet, Lena struggles against herself (internal: man vs. self) to confront to Harold that she is unhappy in the marriage. In the end, half of the conflict is resolved because Lena pulls herself together to confront to Harold that she feels something wrong about their marriage, but they still haven't decided what is wrong with it yet.
6. Up until now, for sure, the table that Harold made was the most obvious symbol in the whole book, to me. It symbolizes Lena and Harold's marriage. The fancy, yet poorly-constructed bedside table in the guest room represents their life together. Lena has tried to tell Harold to fix it, but Harold sees no point to fixing it. She wants to correct their fragile marriage, but Harold does not see what needs to be changed. At the end of the story, both the table and their marriage come to a fall.
Emily Huynh, Period 4
Rice relationship
"Rice Husband"
3) I thought this chapter was a bit crazy. How could the type of husband you will marry be determined by some rice? It was dumb for Lena to stop eating just because she didn't want to end up with a bad husband although that is still what she seemed to get. I'm not sure if Lena honestly married a bad man because it seems to me that their marriage is screwed up because of the both of them. Overall I found it interesting how Lena's mom can determined what will happen next.
4)Lena is the main character in this chapter and I think ever since she was eight she has been scared to fall in love with a man who isn't "bad". Her marriage with Harold seems a little ridiculous in that they actually have a lost of the things each one of them has bought. When two people are married they should almost act as one and decide on things together, not have a list on the refrigerator stating who spent money on different items. Lena comes across as not feeling equal to her husband which ends up causing problems. Lena's mother symbolicly notifies Lena about the breaking of her marriage and still Lena doesn't try to help keep it together.
5)The conflict takes place between Lena and Harold (her husband) making it human vs. human and external. They are arguing about who spends money on what and who should pay for certain things. Instead of just one of them paying for something, no questions asked. Lena doesn't really know what she wants in Harold as a husband and ends up thinking, "Or maybe we shouldn't have gotten married in the first place. Maybe Harold is a bad man. Maybe I've made him this way." (164)The conflict ends up not being resolved and instead Lena and Harold end up sitting in silence.
6)In the beginning of the chapter a list of events that Lena's mother determined were mentioned and how they all came true. At the end of the chapter before Harold and Lena's fight Lena's mother says, "You put something else on top everything fall down. Chunwang chihan." After the argument between the couple Lena goes back into the Mother's room only to see that the table her mother said would fall over actually did and Lena's mother asks her, "Then why you don't stop it?" Her mother is talking about Lena's relationship her husband.
Alvin Lee 4th Period
1. The Leftover Grains
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I believe Lena in this chapter is a bit too superstitious thinking that her future husband would have as many pock-marks as the number of rice grains that she did not finish. Also, the fact that she ended up marrying someone like Harold appeared humorous to me because she still ended up marrying a bad husband. I feel bad for Lena because her marriage had fallen apart because of her broken feelings towards Harold. The part where she threw up the ice cream back into the can disgusted me.
4. Lena in this chapter feels that everything Harold and her share in their relationship is too fair. At first they believe it’s so that they won’t depend on false dependencies but it eventually leads to the falling of their marriage. Lena realizes that the marriage is falling apart but she does nothing to stop it.
5. Main conflict would be between Lena and Harold because they argue and fight over the little things they share like food, movies, money for the house, and other expenses. Also, at work, Harold as Lena’s boss has a higher pay but gets credit for Lena’s brilliant design ideas. Because of this, the conflict is man vs. man. I don’t think it gets resolved in the end because they still have a big argument on what their marriage is based upon.
6d. Amy Tan uses a flashback to review Lena and Harold’s past up to where they met. This gives us a background on Harold and it leads up to how their marriage had its ups and downs. This flashback improves the story by showing us who Harold is so we can understand how Lena feels towards him and why.
The Broken Vase
"Rice Husband"
This was one of the more intriguing chapters that Amy Tan wrote. I liked how she made Lena so honest. The relationship between her and Harold seemed believable, despite the problems that they were having. Lena seemed like a real person to me, someone who seemed in-tune with their emotions, like in the scene where they were fighting and she starts to cry. I felt as if I were right there with her and experiencing the feelings that she was going through.
Throughout the chapter, Harold and Lena’s marriage seemed to be falling apart due to their system of “equality.” Ironically, it seemed to me that Lena was the one that had to sacrifice a lot for their relationship, while Harold was more about, “me, me, me.” For example, if I were to start a joint-business, I’d want my name to be apart of the firm too! Harold didn’t seem to be interested in Lena as she was interested in him, since he barely even cared when he found out she didn’t like ice cream. As I progressed through the chapter, I kept thinking that Lena was only fooling herself. ‘Cause in the end, she states, “And just like that, I started to think, It’s just not enough.” (160)
The external conflict in this chapter would be man vs. man, or Lena against Harold. Even though they try to act as a team, it’s obvious that their views clash when it comes to sharing things. While Harold is happy and goes along with the flow, Lena struggles with her resentment to their system of equality but tries to hide it. This also an internal struggle of man vs. self because of Lena’s insecurities.
One writing technique that helped me understand the chapter better was Amy Tan’s use of flashbacks. From Lena throwing up the ice cream, to the scene when Lena and Harold first met each other, the flashbacks really helped connect to the characters’ actions and what it shows about them. In the beginning of the chapter there was a line that said, “My mother looked in my rice bowl and told me I would marry a bad man.” A while later, after Lena gorges herself in the ice cream, she thinks about “why it was that eating something good could make me feel so terrible, while vomiting something terrible could make me feel so good.” (154) This statement relates to her marriage situation because, if Ying-Ying St. Clair was right, Harold is a bad husband yet Lena still caters to him even though she knows deep in her heart that they would not work out. She still continues to act as if nothing is wrong (stuffing herself in ice cream) until she finally “vomits” up all her feelings when they have a fight.
1. “One thing is always the result of another”
2. Lena St. Clair: Rice Husband
3. I liked this chapter; I thought it was very easy to follow, and the “fluidity” was great. From my perspective, I see that Lena St. Clair knew well of the problem between her and her husband, Harold, yet she struggled to be succinct when it came along in discussion. Her mother is staying with them temporarily and on her first day in their “barn,” she already notices the unbalances of their home and what issues Lena will encounter as a result. In addition, her mother, being very traditional, has a difficult time adjusting to her American ways. For example, she doesn’t understand why Lena remains mute when she knows her marriage is to be doomed if she continues to do nothing. What really helped tie it together was the very end of the vignette when her mother says, “Then why you don’t stop it?” (165) after Lena says she knew the table would fall over. It reminded the reader what the whole vignette is about and possibly relates to Lena and Harold’s relationship. Will their relationship fall over too? Hm.. Anyway, a part that confused me was when Lena blamed herself for Arnold’s death…did her excess rice lead him to his death? Is the rice symbolic?
4. The character I would like to focus on is Lena St. Clair. Lena somewhat reminded me of a timid child being bullied in school: a person who failed to speak up when he/she knew what was happening was wrong. However, her husband Harold isn’t quite the bully, is he? Maybe he wouldn’t continue with their balance sheets and equalizing them if his wife was more headstrong. Yes, Lena St. Clair is a smart girl; she identifies the problem between her and Harold, but brains don’t come in handy when they aren’t put to use! Lena needs to talk to Harold without sugar coating everything; she needs to converse their problem thoroughly if she wants to reach a solution. Instead, she kind of lets everyone push her around like Harold and her mother. For instance, she doesn’t speak against her mother when she knows her mother’s actions were disrespectful at her favorite Chinese restaurant, nor does she speak up about her pay at work. Lena is a follower, and she needs to learn to speak up about how she feels rather than get pushed in the car and along for the ride.
5. The main conflict in this vignette is man vs. man external and it is Lena against her husband, Harold. Lately, they haven’t seen eye to eye, but they don’t do anything to solve the problem either. Lena’s anger towards her husband is something that has been bottled up inside of her, starting when she wasn’t credited for her ideas at work or paid to the extent she deserved. She lived in the shadow of her husband for so many years she can no longer stand it. How will their problem be solved? Another conflict is man vs. self internal, and I think it is between Lena and herself. She struggles to confide to the people around her, and she almost doesn’t have a voice. Throughout her life, it seems like she has just listened and never really spoke. She needs to gain “the strength of a horse” like her mother and speak out about how she feels, not live behind the scenes.
6. I think the theme in this vignette is that if you don’t fix the problem when it is right in front of you, it will result to another problem. I think this is the theme because Lena’s mother has the power to foretell the future, and as Lena explains, her mother’s assumptions were always true. This theme also comes into play when Lena is struggling in her relationship with Harold. If she doesn’t fix their problem now, it will only get worse, just like their broken wooden table.
Linh Vuong
3rd Period
1. Failure, Sharing, Love
2. Rice Husband
3. This was a very peculiar opening to the third section I mean I did not see this coming at all. The idea of Lena St. Clair and Harold Livotny sharing a marriage when their accounts are separate matters instead of one was unexpected. There was a flashback when Lena’s mother is telling her daughter to finish her bowl of rice or else she will be vowed to a horrible husband. This childhood flashback helped foreshadow the influence of her mother’s tale that Arnold is no different than Harold. When Lena sicken to eat another spoonful of ice cream ever again sort of questions whether that connects to Harold or the whole rice story. I am still fuzzy over the fact that Lena feels guilty for Arnold’s death to the fact of her eating habits. Is there much more meaning to this or is it just simple as that based on the rice theory.
4. Lena St. Clair plays the role of the protagonist. In the beginning of the vignette, Lena is reminded of her mother’s story of what would happen to you if you do not finish your rice bowl. If one does not finish their rice bowl you will marry to a horribly bad husband. The memory clings to her as she embarks her life with a husband, Harold, who divided their checks and accounts separately. Ever since they had a meal together they would split the check and that characteristic sort of continued to stay. When Lena’s mother begins to stay with her, Lena questions whether her marriage with Harold is forming a weak bond. Whether their way of spending money and sharing is ending up in a big mess. As Lena evolves in the chapter she comes to realize that her marriage is going downhill after all.
5. The conflict displayed in this vignette is a blend of internal and external. The human versus self or internal conflict is that Lena St. Clair is troubled by her mother’s influence. First from eating every grain in her bowl or else she would marry someone bad or from Arnold’s death. Secondly, Lena feels constricted to share stuff like any other couple will because her husband and her self confided in dividing everything they share. The external or human versus human views emotions tensing between Lena and Harold and how they share two lives. A marriage is supposed to be one, but Lena’s marriage portrays an even divider between the bride and groom’s possessions.
6. One of the symbols that may foreshadow the mother’s intuition to Lena’s marriage was the marble table symbolizing the collapsing of weak roots. How Lena and Harold married and based their accounting on separate checks may result in one of the weak foundation or weakness they built on. The legs of the table were too thin and weak that they could not hold the relationship anymore.
1. Ice cream Indulgence.
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I liked this chapter because it was very simple and flowed smoothly. In my opinion, I see that Lena has problems but doesn’t discuss them or try to fix them. I instantly realized that Lena and Harold weren’t that close when they split the tab. Splitting a tab is okay between friends, but in a relationship the person who pays should be decided without discussion. I think Harold isn’t being a man and needs to step up because he is the man in the relationship. Harold needs to also be fairer because Lena is the one who basically runs their company, yet she isn’t promoted or given a raise.
4. Ying-Ying St. Clair is wise and can see things from an omniscient point of view. She is very observant and is always watching like an eagle in the sky. She can predict things that will happen and how they will affect her. She is a flat and static character because we only see her predicting bad things that will happen. We don’t see any change in her personality so she is static. Ying-Ying doesn’t create conflict, but instead tries to solve it by talking to her daughter about her problems.
5. I think Lena and Harold’s relationship is ridiculous because they don’t act like a married couple at all. Everything they do shows them acting like boyfriend and girlfriend. Harold says he is “sharing” his expenses with Lena which is just an excuse to be cheap and take advantage of her. Harold manipulates Lena and Lena follows his orders which is stupid because that’s not how a relationship should work. The conflict is human vs. human because it is between Harold and Lena. The conflict isn’t yet resolved at the end of the chapter but I think it will be soon because Lena is starting to talk about their equality.
6. One symbol that really stood out to me was the marble table. I made the connection that it was a symbol of their marriage when Lena said it was “not too sturdy”. When Lena and Harold are fighting and the table and vase break, it is clearly obvious that it represents their marriage being broken.
1. “If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold!”
2. Rice Husband
3. Overall, this chapter kept me somewhat entertained. Even though it was a bit bazaar, and rough for me to understand in some parts, I like how it all came together. Ying Ying I think is a lot like most of the other mothers in this book. She believes in superstitions, protects Lena from danger, and always has something to say about everything. The relationship between Harold and Lena, however, is strange to me. They keep tabs on who owes who what, and how much they pay for everything. Harold does not favor Lena at work, which causes for her to be in a complete field and area of the job she is not even trained in, which leads her to believe that Harold does not even notice her and he is favoring every other employee except her.
4. Lena is a character who is not completely satisfied. For a while, she put up with everything but then she started to question it. Why do we share everything? Why is everyday the same? Why is Harold such a bad man? And she questions herself everyday. They shared their expenses, and this is the way they had always lived but then it started to bother Lena, she questioned the way she lived and why she was even with Harold.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is man vs. man. Lena and Harold do not have much conflict in the beginning of the chapter but as it progresses, she notices the way she lives and the way that her marriage is not fair. Harold makes a big deal about how the other workers will not feel equal if he promotes her yet, he makes her pay equal share to how much money they spend and what they owe each other. A marriage is about sharing, and becoming one which is not how they live but rather they are two different people who come from two different lifestyles, trying to live and interact with each other but it is not successful.
6. Tan’s word choice in this chapter is essential to the mood she is creating. In the scene when Lena is at Sunday school and her teacher is showing the class a video, there are several words listed which contribute to the desired “tone” of leprosy. Tan uses words such as: swollen, numb, twisted as jungle vines, terrible, afflictions, misery, pits & pustules, cracks & bumps, erupted, vehemence, snails writhing in a bed of salt. In my mind, these words create a dark and unsettling, and in a way sort of creepy mood. This scene is only one of the many scenes that contains key word choice in its text.
What about... I Don't share.
Rice Husband
3)I thought this chapter was more easy going than the others. The mood was light and bright even though the chapter had a depressing ending. The sharing system between Harold and Lena was very awkward. I mean come on now,she's your wife for God's sake. Even though they saw it as a way of being equal, I believe that there could have been other ways to express this belief. Something I noticed was that Lena believed what her mother told her when she was a child to the moment that she was married. The ending "if you knew it would happen, why didn't you fix it?" made me think of Ying-Ying as a person who knew the future but could not be involved.
4)Lena
Lena was a gullible child due to the fact that she believed everything that came from her mother's mouth. She grew up to be like her mother, a wife who would yield for her husband. In a sense, she is competitive, because she wanted her marriage to be one where her spouse and herself are viewed as equals. This can also be seen as a shield for her. Like Rose, I think that Lena tried to run away from her marriage using it to be irresponsible.
5)One of the conflicts in this chapter was between Harold and Lena. This is an external conflict, man vs man. This conflict ignited another conflict which is internal. The fights between Lena and Harold caused Lena to doubt herself and her marriage therefore causing a man vs self conflict.
6b) An object from in this chapter is the table. It symbolized Lena's and Harold's marriage.
1) Rice Cream
2) Rice Husband
3) Good chapter, It was interesting to read. It wasn't confusing and it was great at the same time. I didn't exactly understand why She stuffed herself with ice cream though. Why ice cream of all things? I thought
that the writing was amazing as always. It's so clever how Lena's mother says her husband will have a face that reflect her own habits. It's also pretty scary how Arnold dies, because it almost seems as if his death was influenced by Lena's will. The ending really did tie things up well.
4) I always find myself disliking the weak, indecisive female characters. Why do some of them have to be so lame? They always seem to be thrusting their problems upon their husbands if they can't solve it by themselves and if they cause the problems by themselves. They really need to suck it up for a change and stop bitching to their hubbies for help. I know Lena has her problems with Anorexia but how does she expect her husband to know that she hates ice cream? SHE NEVER TOLD HIM! INDECISIVE PLEASE! Then she gets mad because he buys the ice cream. I think she may be conflicted because of her anorexia or because of her mom always telling her about the bad things that are going to happen. I guess she might also be scared about the incident with Arnold, because even though it logically isn't her fault it's scary to think her "wish" came true. I think she's troubled because of Her mom's predictions, her Anorexia, her marriage that's "falling apart," and possibly because of the death of Arnold by measles.
3)I think that the theme of this story is that something happens only because of something else. For example, when Lena's dad died, his death was predicted by Ying-Ying because he ate Bacon and eggs every single day. Lena becomes anorexic after becoming addicted to bad eating habits when she stops eating to attempt to make Arnold die. And because the Table falls, a vase is broken. Also, Arnold dies when Lena thinks she influenced him to die. I think the theme of the story is fairly clear.
1. Speak up!
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I thought this chapter was pretty interesting. I got a much better understanding of Lena and even Ying-Ying, but I didn’t like Harold’s character because of the way he treated Lena throughout the chapter. It’s funny to me how almost all of the men in this book aren’t very likeable and they have unappealing traits. I wonder if Amy Tan had bad experiences with men or something. And it’s pretty weird how Lena and her mother can predict things before they happen but it’s pretty cool. It might be because they are very observant of their surroundings.
4. I would describe Harold as totally unfair to Lena. They supposedly split everything “evenly” according to him, but in reality it isn’t even. They each pay for their own share which I think is completely ridiculous because that’s not the way marriages are supposed to go. If you love someone, you share things. That’s just the way it is. I feel that Harold is in charge of the relationship and I don’t think that’s right because it’s supposed to be a mutual thing.
5. The main conflict is external and human vs. human. Lena and Harold are always arguing and not agreeing on things and you can tell she is very unhappy. Lena’s mom drops little hints that imply that their marriage isn’t working out. This is what makes Lena realize that it really isn’t, and it’s going down the tubes. The conflict ends up unresolved when Lena confronts him about it, and they both just sit in silence.
6. The life lesson is that people should stand up for themselves. Lena takes after her mother and follows what people tell her to do because she doesn’t believe she has any power to change it. Lena knows it’s stupid to go with Harold’s system of splitting their costs evenly, but she goes with it anyway. She doesn’t know how to stand up for herself and voice her opinion, and that’s not a good way to go about life.
1.) Why Don’t You Stop It?
2.) Rice Husband
3.) The beginning of this vignette really intrigued me because it starts out that Lena’s mother could somehow predict the future. As I continue reading further, there are “hints” to Lena’s mother’s ability to foretell the future. For example, when the plant that Lena’s father gave to her mother, withers, Ying-ying knew that he will die. Those little details that suggest something else really interests me. When I think about it, my mom is just like that, except that she doesn’t say that she can predict the future. In addition, I feel sorry for Lena because her life has been very difficult and isn’t it a coincidence that the names Arnold and Harold sound very similar? Not only does Harold start a business with only his name in it, but he does not treat her very fair with splitting costs and to me, it seems as if Lena is doing all the work in that company.
4.) In this vignette, it shows how well Ying-ying, Lena’s mother, cares for Lena. It was only until Lena’s mother pointed out all the mistakes of Lena’s marriage that it opened her eyes to see all the flaws between her and Harold. In fact, their marriage is all based on money and their list. All her mother has done for her, it was for the benefit for Lena. Since her childhood, her mother has told her that she must finish her rice or else her husband will have a pock-mark but in reality, it was to encourage her to finish her meal. Her mother observes and points out little mistakes like how Harold drives the car but overall, we see how much Ying-ying loves Lena.
5.) The main conflict in this vignette is man vs. man and is external. Basically, it is Lena vs. Harold. In the end, Lena decides that she no longer wants to have the list and share everything that they purchase. Moreover, because they work in the same business, live together, and share the expenses, it all leads to an unhappy marriage for Lena and finally in the end, she confronts Harold and tells him firsthand. She never thought of their “equal share” as a problem, but when her mother comments about the list, she realizes that all along, she has been unhappy but still goes along with it.
6b.) The vase that eventually breaks at the end of the vignette is a symbol of Lena’s and Harold’s marriage. The vase was on top of a wobbly table showing that it is inevitable that the vase will fall and shatter just like their marriage. Because Harold built that table which is what is holding the vase or their marriage, Harold was the one who was dragging their marriage along and Lena is just following him. The table is already wobbly as it is and is difficult to balance the vase on top of it. When the vase breaks, Lena realizes that their marriage should be based off something more than just a balance sheet sharing the costs.
Michelle Méndez
4th period
1. What kind of couple..?
2. Rice Husband
3. Reading about her mother’s ability to predict bad things that happen amazed me. I could definitely relate to it because my Asian parents talks about many different bad things that’ll happen if I do certain things. My parent’s prediction was never true, unlike Lena’s mother. The fact that Lena and her husband had to separate their expenses also surprised me. I mean, what kind of couple would do that? Sounds to me like Harold is just a selfish person. A question I have about the chapter is also how exactly is Lena’s mother able to predict events that happen?
4. HAROLD and Lena’s relationship sounds worst than those of friends. I mean the two people are married and they each need to pay for their own things…? Not even friends would be that cheap to each other. Harold pretty much sounds like a selfish character who cares more about his money than his wife.
5. The main conflict is Human Vs Human between Lena and Harold throughout most of the chapter. The quarrel over the smallest things like paying to get rid of fleas on their cat. Like I said earlier, it seems money is a bigger aspect of Harold’s life than Lena. Despite Lena’s contributions towards Harold’s business, he still refused to raise her salary because she’s his wife.
6. The table made by Harold is an obvious symbol of the chapter. It symbolizes how weak the relationship is between Harold and Lena. The table breaks like Harold and Lena’s relationship.
James YU
3rd period
1. Finish your rice bowl!
2. Rice Husband
3. I though this chapter was pretty interesting for the most part. It talked about how Lena grew up with her mother, Ying-ying, who could tell things before they happen, and I could relate to that because I have a family member who is a fortune-teller. I thought it was kind of weird how the couple had a list on the amount of money they spend, and they balance out the amount with each other. I don’t think relationships should run like that, I think couples should just share whatever they have instead of splitting things up, especially money, into two separate pairs of hands. I don’t understand the last line of the chapter, “And it was such a simple question” (165).
4. The main character that is focused in this chapter is Lena St. Clair. It starts off with Lena as she was growing up, she would always finish eating her rice bowls since her mother said that every grain of rice she wasted would result as a pock mark on her husband’s face. She was constantly “pushed” around in this chapter, or throughout her life. I guess her mother kind of changed her way of thinking for some things, and she changed without complaints. She lets her husband, who doesn’t really treat her like a wife, go on everything that he does wrong. The fact that they actually have a list of things they spend their money on, and apparently they have to balance out the outgoing amount to be fair. Her mother shows lots of forms of rudeness when she visits Lena, but apparently that doesn’t bother Lena either. In the end, her mother breaks the vase that was set upon her non-sturdy table and that marked the end of their relationship. The story ends with her saying how she should have fixed things before they led to bigger problems. I think she should’ve have tried to change herself in ways that would make her more demanding and leading, that would’ve made things better.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is man vs. man and it is between Lena and Harold. They fight and argue a lot due to the way things are run in their household. Instead of sharing the incoming money, food, and other expenses they decided to divide the amount among each other and try to balance the amount with themselves. Lena even states in the chapter that because Harold spent about $50 more on her, she “owes” him a $50 deal. Lena hides her feelings on how this way of living affects her, while her husband doesn’t even have the ideal that she doesn’t like this way of life. The problem doesn’t get resolved in the end because they still run their household in such ways.
6. I think the vase was a symbol in this chapter. Ying-ying could tell when bad things happen, and what each particular thing means when it happens. The fact that she broke the vase at the end of story symbolizes the breaking of her daughter’s relationship with her husband. The vase was placed on a non-sturdy table, and their household was kind of like that, non-stable and weak, the breaking of the vase was like their relationship, it would stay together when the table was somewhat stable enough to keep it, but once it got out of hand it would knock over and break.
1. "Fix it"
2. "Rice Husband"
3. This chapter didn't really have an interesting story line. It seemed short, and most of the pages were just cluttered with details. Aside from that, the actual story itself seemed...plain. The story seemed pretty cliche. The story of a "failed marriage" has been used for many years by TV and books and movies, but the better ones usually have an interesting twist to it. This story, however, did not.
4. Lena is the main character of this chapter. She seems pretty strong-minded at first. I mean, she offered to pay for the entire food bill, and she agreed to pay for half, even though she didn't buy much. Later on in the story, it seems like she's been worn down. I know that paying evenly while you're coworkers is okay, but when you're married, it seems weird. Even though she still spends less, she pays half. It seems kind of unfair on her part, but she accepts it anyways.
5. I think the conflict is human vs self, as Lena can't bring herself to tell Harold what she wants. She just accepts things, and even though she isn't comfortable with them, she struggles to bring herself to say it.
6. I think the table is a symbol of Harold's old self. It isn't perfect, and Lena says she doesn't know why he keeps it around ,even though he likes everything to be perfect and fluid. I think that the weak and un-fluid-ness of Harold is what Lena fell in love with. Lena knew the table was going to fall, and her mother asks her why she didn't stop it. It's like how Lena knew her marriage would fail, but she did nothing to fix it.
1. Pock marks
2. Rice Husband
3. Oh my gosh, I remember when my mom used to tell me that I had to eat my rice. Boy was that annoying, but it worked, I ate my rice because I was scared of the same story that Ying-Ying told Lena. I think it’s really stupid how they based their whole marriage on tabs. I mean I think marriage has to be based on something more firm. I mean you are going to share your whole life with them, might as well the income and outcome. Lena should just tear that tab and actually try to save her marriage when she knew that it wasn’t going to work.
4. Lena can’t stand for herself. She didn’t like the whole idea of the tab, but still she wouldn’t speak out. Lena tried so hard to not have a bad husband, but at the end she still does. They weren’t equal in their marriage and led to the fall of their relationship.
5. I think that the main conflict is man vs. man. Lena and Harold fought over stupid things like their daily expenses. I think it’s also man vs. self because she didn’t know what she wants from Harold. She wasn’t satisfied with their relationship and she’s unhappy about their marriage. I think that the conflicts weren’t resolved because they weren’t sure of what their relationship was based on and Lena still didn’t know what she wanted.
6. A symbol in this chapter is the table and the vase. The table stood for Harold’s old self and that when Lena tried to change how he based their relationship, the table eventually became unbalanced and eventually fell, taking the vase with it. The vase was their marriage, and when Harold’s old self deteriorate, their marriage broke in half.
Jessica Hartono, Period 4
Eat your rice!
Rice Husband
1. I thought this chapter was pretty interesting how Ying-Ying can "tell the future". This is also a story I can relate to in a way because when my brother leaves a lot of rice or eats really messily at the dinner table, my grandmother and mother always say that he's going to have a really ugly or dirty wife. I think it's weird how Lena and Harold split EVERYTHING with each other, including money.
2. Lena is the main character of the chapter. She is a person of respect, and even when things are unfair, she just goes with it and doesn't make a big deal out of it. For example, many times, it's respect to be paying for a meal. That's why a lot of times, if you go to a chinese restaurant, you will see people fighting over the bill. Lena offers to pay for the whole meal a lot of times. As her relationship with Harold grows stronger, she doesn't feel the same about the whole money issue, but Harold disagrees and says that "as long as [they] keep the money thing separate, [they'll] always be sure of [their] love for each other"(157).
3. I think the conflict in this chapter is a man vs. man conflict. It is Lena vs. Harold. Lena hates how they always split the money and everything in the house even after they are married. She just wants to share everything like a normal husband and wife, but she hides everything from Harold and continues to live the way he wants to live, and that's by splitting everything.
4. I think the theme of this chapter is to stand up for what you believe in and don't hide yourself from your beliefs. If you don't then a lot of times the wrong will take over the right. Even if you're the only one, stand up for what you believe in. Just because someone else thinks the other way, doesn't mean they are right.
-Eric Tam, Period 3
Unequal and Uneven
Rice Husband
1) Lena St. Clair has very strange stories. In the beginning of the chapter, she believed her loathing of Arnold caused her to subliminally kill him. This shows that the things that go on in her head and her thoughts are pretty messed up. Later, I thought her relationship with Harold was stable; they both were successful, but digging deeper into their lives, there were all sorts of problems. I sort of think Lena's mother was to blame for some of them, with all her bizarre superstitions and strange behaviors in the past. She probably had good intentions to help her daughter, but it makes me angry to hear how she is never satisfied and always finds something to complain about.
2) Lena's relationship with Harold is very different, instead of doing things together and sharing things like ordinary married couples, everything is equally split. This shows how much she values equality and a balance of power like her mother says. These are some traits Lena St. Clair has that may make her a control-freak.
3)The main conflict in this chapter is man vs. man between Lena and Harold. Lena talks about how they are always arguing over petty things, because she is unsatisfied with their way of life. She doesn't like how they split everything 50/50 and a lot of their problems have to do with money. It doesn't get revolved because at the end of the chapter, they revert to their old sharing habits and nothing changes. It's like they are living independently even while living together.
4) The wobbly-legged marble table may be a symbol for their marriage. The table was weak and uneven, tilting on its side, and prone to fall at any moment. It had no 'fluidity', and no strength to bind it together and stand on its legs. Just like their marriage, they were not interwoven together as a married couple, and they did not work together. As it says in the end of the chapter, Lena knew what was going to happen if they continued their way of life, but she didn't try hard enough to change things or to stop it.
1. “Finish Your Rice or Be a Murderer”
2. “Rice Husband”
3. This chapter isn’t the most interesting, but it was easier to follow than most. I still find all the superstitions or beliefs of Ying-ying (or these Chinese women in general) ridiculous. I mean, predicting a bad husband from a nearly empty bowl of rice? What’re the chances of that really coming true in reality? No matter how outrageous those ideas may be, it is interesting to read about. At first, I thought that Lena and Harold’s relationship was cute and sweet. Looking into their marriage, which results with dividing everything equally, I’m quite surprised at how it even works. It should be about giving, taking, sacrificing and consideration, not splitting everything so no one “owes” the other. This is just another story about a failing marriage, similar to the ones previously.
4. Lena seems like an independent woman, financially at least. She’s willing to pay for half or the whole meals unlike the stereotype that men always have to pay. As the chapter progresses, however, she seems to be holding back, not assertive or open about her wants. She lets Harold go on with the way he is in the marriage, not very caring or anything as a husband. Maybe if she spoke up earlier, things could’ve changed and improved into a happy and healthy relationship.
5. I think the main conflict in this chapter is man vs. man between Lena and Harold. They are in a marriage that Lena is obviously not content with because she doesn’t want everything to be in equilibrium for fairness, but Harold doesn’t seem to mind a thing. She finally explodes and tells ho, what’s wrong, but he takes it the wrong way. The chapter ends in the middle of an argument with their relationship deteriorating.
6. I think the table symbolizes Lena and Harold’s relationship. The table isn’t “fluid” as their marriage is rocky with problems. It is also unstable and eventually collapses, and similarly, the marriage fails as well. It can’t support anything or succeed if the foundation isn’t secure to begin with.
Rice? Wut?
Rice Husband - Joy Luck Club
1) I guess it can be easy to say that this chapter is "different" than the others. Different meaning, like, I wouldn't have expected it to be in the story, sort of saying like it is more of a side story that doesn't really pertain to the overall story of the book. I don't know. I found it to be one of the few chapters that caught my attention, and therefore, I enjoyed it.
2) The connection between Lena and Harold could be described as...tense I would say, also out of the ordinary. The two kept strict accounts of each other on the money that one another spent. Harold didn't promote Lena for her exceptional work, because "he did not want to be unfairly favoring his wife," causing Lena to question Harold's thought of being "equal."
3)It is kind of hard to pinpoint one kind of theme going on in this chapter, one could be chaining events. Meaning, one event can trigger another and another and so on. A second theme in this chapter could be the fact that if you see something happening, do what you can to stop it.
Alex R.
1. Leave it clean
2. Rice Husband
3.This chapter was boring. It talks too much about bizarre beliefs, including each grain of rice being equivalent to one pock mark on the face of her future husband. It also seems as if Lena and her husband aren't that close, even though they live together and are married. They split everything and are never intimate with each other.
4. I think that Lena is a very interesting woman. She pays for half of everything and tends to act as an equal to her husband. This shows that she is confident and has a strong sense of independence.
5.The main conflict in this chapter is probably human vs. self. Lena is scared of ending up married to her neighbor, so she stops eating and wishes for her neighbor's death. She becomes anorexic and throws up after eating ice cream. This problem is never resolved because she never eats ice cream again and still has doubts about whether she killed her neighbor.
6.The theme of this chapter is that you shouldn't try to fight your destiny. You should just go along with it and you just might end up better as a result.
1. Teeter-totter
2. Rice Husband
3. I really don’t see the significance of tallying what you buy, especially if you’re married. This really takes equal to a whole other level. I’m not married, but I’ve witnessed my fair share of them. Aunts and uncles, grandparents, never have I seen them have to pay each other back or keep track of what each other buy because they don’t want money to get in the way of their marriage. Money is important but it is not what a married couple should be based on. Lena and Harold should have just abandoned their concept of keeping track of everything from the get go. This would have totally eliminated almost all conflicts but then I guess it wouldn’t make much of a story.
4. So, in the end, I think that this probably could have been resolved if Lena had spoke out to Harold. At least tell him that the whole idea of keeping track of things would be a fiasco and just abandon the thought. I think she feels like it could potentially harm her marriage but she ends up crying and telling Harold in the end anyway.
5. I think that the conflict is man vs. man. Lena is feeling the way she is because of Harold. They are constantly going over expenses when Lena clearly does not want to. Lena is “really into giving freely” (pg 157). Also could be man vs. self with Lena’s conflict in wanting to tell Harold how she feels but can’t.
6. The table that collapses could be a symbol in this chapter. It represents Lena and Harold’s relationship and that it is unsteady. In the end, it falls over because of its imbalance and how it was built. Lena comes in the room saying that she knew that it would break sooner or later. Ying-Ying simply says, “Then why you don’t stop it?” (pg 165)
Bryan Bui
Jessica Lee
Period 4
1. "She is like a ghost, dissappear."
2. Rice Husband
3. Well, this chapter wasn't exactly what I expected. In Voice from the Wall, Lena had all those crazy hallucinations but they weren't in this chapter. I think the most abnormal thing would have been the part about the pock-mark man. "We deserve what we get." pg. 155 I wonder why Lena thought she deserved Harold? If Arnold didn't die, would she think she deserved to be with him? Did she think having Harold in her life was a positive, negative or "just alright, cause we're equals" thing? On pg 156 Lena thinks about how she and Harold are equals by matching herself to him. Did she think about Harold being good enough for her?
4. I think that Lena doesn't really care whether or not things are equal between her and Harold. Harold seems to be the one deciding their choices, from the house to the list, while Lena just goes along with it . I think that Lena is under the sense that things are equal even if she gets the bad end of the bargain, so as long as Harold sees that things are fair.
5. I think that the main conflict is human vs. self, Lena vs. herself because she's asking herself whether or not her marriage is truly equal, and she can't seem to find the answer to it.
6. I think that the end table was a symbol in this chapter. I think that it symbolizes Lena's marriage, how it was uneven rather than equal.
1) “Fallen Down”
2) Rice Husband
3) My first reaction to this vignette was that what Ying-Ying can do is pretty amazing. Although this ability can be somewhat useful, I wouldn’t want to know when someone is going to die... I wouldn’t want my mother to be able to see all that because I might’ve been limited to what I can do. I don’t really like Harold Livotny and his whole idea of separating their accounts… After all, they are married. It didn’t make any sense. When her mother stays at their home, she notices the imbalances and problems Lena will face in the future. In addition, her mother, being very traditional, has a difficult time adjusting to her American ways. For example, she doesn’t understand why Lena remains mute when she knows her marriage is to be doomed if she continues to do nothing. At the end of the vignette her mother says, “Then why you don’t stop it?” (165) after Lena says she knew the table would fall over. It reminded the reader of the relationship between Lena and Harold.
4) I think Harold is a very independent and reluctant man. The fact that they (especially Harold) has to depend on keeping their bills separate to continue their love for each other. Harold said that, “As long as we keep the money thing separate, we’ll always be sure of our love for each other,” (171). Well it seemed to be that his brilliant plan back-fired, because since that was all they cared about – keeping their money separate - , it pulled them apart. I mean that Harold rather not borrow Lena’s money, but instead have her pay rent when she moved in with him. This made me feel like Harold wasn’t a very trustworthy man.
5) At the last page of the vignette a symbol is shown where the marble end table that Harold supposedly worked so hard on fell down, symbolizing the relationship between Harold and Lena. It was also clearly stated that Ying-Ying knew about her daughter’s marriage was coming along, “Then why you don’t stop it?” (165). When everything collapsed in the end, it symbolized that their relationship followed the wrong path.
6D) Surprisingly, both the main characters in the allegory and the vignette had mothers who “saw bad omens in everything,” (159). They predicted and saw through many things before they even happened. Also, in the allegory, the mother foreshadowed the events of her daughter’s marriage, telling her to stop it and not continue with it, predicting her daughter’s marriage to bounce back and turn the opposite way.
1) Till the Very Last Grain
2) “Rice Husband”
3) Yay! There’s nothing like experiencing more of Lena’s twisted dilemmas. It was interesting to see Ying-Ying still superstitious, even in her old age. I was a little freaked out at how “balanced” their marriage was. The balanced checklist on the refrigerator was just too much for me. It’s creepy that they have to be exact equals. Ying-Ying’s ability to see disasters before they occur also was intriguing to me. I do wonder what will become of Lena’s marriage. At the moment, it seems to be going down hill. It just happens to be that Rose’s marriage is going down hill at the same time. I do wonder if Waverly’s and June’s marriage will end up like those two. I’m also surprised the financial system that was created by the two to reinforce their marriage is actually tearing their marriage apart.
4) Lena is obviously very doubtful in this chapter. She takes everything seriously and shows signs of influence from her mother. When Lena over reacts to the cat situation, I can see that she is insecure about her relationship with Harold. She doesn’t want her relationship with Harold to be disrupted by financial issues. She makes a big deal out of everything that disrupts her balance. Like her mother, she can somewhat sense something bad that will happen to her family, in this case her relationship with Harold, before it even happens. Therefore, she gets worked up about paying less than Harold and I can see that she is determined to get what she wants to bring balance to her marriage.
5) The conflict in this chapter is obviously man vs. man due to the fact that Lena had many financial arguments. The couple attempted to create a financial system to help them have a balanced relationship, but all it did was cause them to conflict with each other more. Harold doesn’t seem to fathom Lena, and Lena attempts to communicate with him and all he does is smiles. Lena seems to keep secrets from Harold also only creating more conflict in the future. For example, they’ve been married for five years and just to that certain moment she tells him that she hates ice cream and he has been buying ice cream for a long time.
6) There’s one symbol that stands out the most in this chapter and that would be the marble table that Harold built. It represents his hard labor he put into it; however, it was unbalanced and this could represent Lena and Harold’s relationship. At the end of the chapter, a vase falls off that table and breaks. Lena says she could’ve prevented it, so I believe the vase falling signifies the end of her marriage or a bumpy marriage.
Brandon Lam
1. Cream Ice
2. "Rice Husband"
3. The chapter was fairly straight forward and easy-to-understand compared to the others. Lena acts like a typical Chinese wife in this vignette. She is quiet and subservient to her husband, but is suddenly bold and courageous near the end. Clearly, the relationship between Lena and her husband is very frail, they even split the tab when paying for meals. The supposed "husband and wife" relationship is more along the lines of "friends".
4. Throughout most of the chapter, Lena is a picturesque wife that is quiet and listens to her husband, but at the very end she displays character by standing up to her husband. Lena is shown to be oppressed by her husband and is finally showing her "voice". She then realizes how her life was so unfair.
5. The conflict in this chapter is Man vs. Man, being between Lena and Harold. Lena is constantly oppressed by traditions, and ultimately Harold, whom she is forced to "work" for. All of her feelings are continually stored until the end of the vignette, which is the moment that she "releases".
6. The symbol seems to be the marble table, which symbolized Lena and Harold's relationship. It eventually collapsed as did the relationship between Lena and Harold.
Whatever happened to “Mi casa es tu casa?”
“Rice Husband”
Harold is a douche for taking advantage of his wife like that. He makes several times more than her, which is BECAUSE of Lena's advice to him, he spends a LOT more than her, accounting for household expenses, yet she is expected to pay 50% of everything! That's not how families work now right...?
And HE signs her paychecks; I don't think husbands are supposed to have THAT much control over their wives, are they?
Lena St. Claire was VERY insecure about her future spouse; she worried about grains of rice left on her bowl? Kind of extreme, isn't it? But then that would just prove Amy Tan's point on how Chinese people are extremely superstitious. That scene where Lena knows that the table is very unstable and yet just leaves it there, shows that she's very unassertive and just goes with the flow, not speaking up about anything. Her mothers last statement in that chapter “Then why you don't stop it?” sums it all up.
The conflict was man vs man and man vs self, Lena St. Clair involved in both, the first being with her husband Harold and having unfair financial statuses while being married. The second one has to do with Lena's trait of inaction and passiveness, and how she overcomes this one at the end by confronting her husband.
I think the theme is to take matters into one's own hands, when Lena's mother Ying-Ying simply asks 'Then why you don't stop it?'; that was the message. Amy Tan emphasized this theme throughout the chapter, giving examples such as Lena not doing anything about her marriage.
~El Schelonai AKA Nicholas Lee, Period the 4th
Rice shaped crescent
“Rice Husband”
Reaction: I thought that this chapter was really interesting and opened a new door to the world of superstition. It amazed me how accurate Lena’s mother, Ying-Ying, could predict the future and foretell the upcoming events. For example, she predicted her husband’s death because the flowers he had been growing suddenly withered and died and also the result of the house built on a hill that was too steep being the death of the new baby. I also found the relationship between Lena and her husband, Harold, quite interesting because they split everything evenly and she tracked her husband’s expenses. When I get marriage this is most-definitely not the kind of relationship I want with my husband. It makes them seem like roommates, instead of husband and wife.
Characters: The marriage between the two characters, Lena and Harold, is a dysfunctional one because the way the way the feel and act don’t really resemble a couple. In the beginning, they decided to split every cost evenly between the two and usual marriages aren’t like this. They should share everything instead of worrying about money, which is what their marriage is based on. They act happy and loving to others surrounding them but on the inside, Lena knows that there is something wrong and their relationship is not strong.
Conflict: The main conflict in this vignette is an internal human vs. self conflict. Lena is struggling with herself and thoughts on the inside. She keeps a lot of emotions and thoughts to herself and doesn’t know how to express them properly. She is afraid of the consequences and results of her thoughts if she was to publicize them so these thoughts and doubts are causing her great despair. She is unhappy and bothered by the relationship with Harold because their marriage is equal but she does not know how to tell him. She also has worries about her Chinese family and the way they live for she think it’s too old fashion.
Symbolism: Amy Tan uses the unstable, wobbly rock marble end table in the guestroom as a symbol of Lena and Harold’s marriage. This represents the unstableness of their marriage and how it is indecisive and unbalanced. The legs of the table have been lopsided and weak, which represents for Lena’s lack of stern decision making. Then the vase cracking in half symbolizes the evenly split of everything in their relationship. This was caused by the unstable table legs, her ability to not make decisions and having them made for her. When the table collapsed, was when her marriage did too.
1) "Broken"
2) "Rice Husband"
3) I was astonished when I read the part where Lena became anorexic to be like the other teen girls that wanted to become skinny. Then, when she broke down and ate half a gallon of ice cream, which she threw up disgusted me. Later, Lena doesn't like ice cream because of that incident that she had in the past.
4) Harold - Harold is a fair gentleman that wants his marriage to be fair. He splits prices of the things that they buy, like the list of items on the fridge.
5) One of the conflicts was between Lena and Harold. They split everything that they buy and make everything fair to each other in their lives. Lena's mother comes and questions her about the splitting of things. Lena then takes action and questions Harold why they have to split everything that they have.
6) I think that the table that Harold created and the vase that they had on top of the table were symbols of their marriage. The table was wobbly and that shows that the marriage that Lena and Harold had problems and was unstable. The vase represented their marriage and how it shattered after the argument that they had over why they have to split things.
Jerrrrrrrrrrrrrry Li.
1. Pock-mark man
2. “Rice Husband”
3. This chapter was surprisingly, very entertaining. The simplicity and easiness of Amy Tan’s writing made it flow smoothly. Ying-Ying’s “mysterious ability to see things before they happen” (149) was shocking. She was able to predict her baby and husband’s death, the future of a banking company, and Lena’s marriage. Although all these Chinese superstitions may seem strange, they remind me a lot of the stories my grandmother would always tell me. Also, Lena and Harold’s relationship really made me question their love for each other. If they’re a married couple, why not act like one? The idea of always having to split money for daily groceries and necessities seems a bit pathetic.
4. Harold’s character is extremely wacky. He seems like a self-absorbed jerk. Without Lena’s help, he would still be stuck working at Harned Kelley & Davis! Even after opening up his own firm, Harold does not promote Lena because he thinks, “it would not seem fair to the other employees” (159). Uhhh, she’s your wife for goodness sake! Plus, how does he end up with seven times more money than Lena? What happened to equality in marriage?
5. I think the conflict in this chapter is man vs. man; Lena vs. Harold. The couple struggle to keep their marriage intact by splitting everything in half. However, Lena’s thoughts and feelings start to boil as she finally begins to realize that their relationship is not going anywhere. In the end, Lena tries to solve their conflict by finally trying to confront Harold.
6. The table in the guest room is an important symbol in this chapter. The “slab of unevenly cut marble and thin crisscrosses of black lacquer wood for the legs,” (163) symbolizes Lena and Harold’s marriage. During Ying-Ying’s stay at the house, she tells Lena that the table is not sturdy enough and anything put on top will fall down. At the end of the chapter, the collapsing table foreshadows the downfall of the couple’s marriage.
1. Such a waste of food!
2. Rice Husband
3. I thought this chapter was pretty weird. Why marry someone when you don't even know the reason? I think Lena is kind of stupid. When she and Harold first met, they split all the money payments equally. It wasn't a problem at first, but when they got married, money became an issue. When two people marry, they should just be happy they can pay for the other person! Unlike Lena, her mother, Ying-Ying, predicted the fall between Harold and Lena and knew from the beginning that they shouldn't have married.
4. An important character in this chapter is Lena’s mother, Ying-Ying St. Clair. She is wise and knows when there is a problem and what it will affect in her family. You always see her negative side though because she always notices the bad things and uses them to predict what will happen in the future. She walks around in her daughter's house inspecting everything and asking questions and tells her about the many problems of it.
5. I think the main conflict of this chapter is internal in Lena, human vs self. Lena is unsure about her marriage when she starts having thoughts about the ice-cream issue. When Harold told her he always thought she was "on a diet" I noticed that if he loved her enough, he would know that she didn't like ice-cream at all. Therefore, she questions herself, unable to answer, why she married Harold in the first place.
6. I believe the theme of this chapter is that if you don’t fix the problem right now, it will just get worse. Although all the words her mother said were negative, Lena can't ignore the fact that she's always right. This theme is also shown while Lena is struggling in her relationship with Harold. If she doesn’t fix their problem soon, nothing will improve, but will only get worse.
~~becca! (period 3)
IT'S KIND OF COLD TODAY
1)Wasting Food = Dead Arnold?!?!
2)Rice Husband
3) This chapter wasn't as interesting or suspenseful as the other chapters, but it seemed much easier to follow. The superstitions in this vignette are downright strange. Never in my life would I think that the amount of rice you leave in your bowl would have any relation whatsoever to the marks on someone's face. The relationship between Lena and Harold was also unfair. Here we have Lena providing most of the work for the architecture buisness but she get's less than half of the profit.
4)Lena seems to have inherited her mother's superstitions and this is what dooms her marriage. Instead of trying to fix her marriage, I think she simply accepted the fact that the events in her life were already set in motion and are now to late to stop.
5) I think the theme has something to do with the Chinese saying about the butterfly in the beginning of the chapter. The theme is that one thing is the result of another. This could be the theme because when Lena leaves the rice behind in her bowl, it causes Arnold to slowly get marks on his face and eventually die
1. Not Sharing Defines Shattering Of the Unbreakable Bond.
2. Rice Husband
3. I thought this chapter was a bit slow. The characters seemed to be happy in the chapter and not a lot of conflict seemed to happen. This made the chapter a bit boring and slow. The chapter seemed like a typical day of their lives because not much happens. A part of the chapter that I didn’t really understand was why they calculate so much. It made them seem very greedy and selfish because the way they handle money.
4. Lena St. Clair seems to be very divided or wanting things to all be equal. The way she divides the money and how it is used with Harold makes it seem like she cannot live off him. She seems to want to always want exactly half and half. She doesn’t seem to want to pay for her husband or have her husband pay for her. She seems to be too independent and that seems to cause their split in the relationship.
5. The main conflict seems to be being too equal with things. They divide the work to equally but that is usually normal. They divide on who buys what and how much they pay each other back. This seems to be the real conflict because they don’t allow their spouse to live off the other one. This makes them independent from one another. The conflict seems to be Human vs Human and is external. It is human vs. human because it is Lena vs Harold and is external because they are in a conflict with each other on who pays for what and how they pay and when they pay. They seem to not like dividing everything they have and debating on what they can and what they cannot share. Usually, in a marriage, a couple joins together as a family and they share everything they have. A purpose of a marriage is to unite two families into one family, which includes the possessions. But in this case, after their marriage, they still divide their items. They don’t stop it and this seems to lead to the end of their marriage because she doesn’t stop it even though she could.
6. I think a theme in this chapter is that, if you divide too many things in a unity, the unity will not last. The scene when Lena and Harold argue on what they can and cannot share shows that they are very divided. It then seems to hint that the marriage is broken because the table Harold makes breaks which seems to be a bond of their marriage.
Benjamin Ly
1. Crater Face
2. Rice Husband
3. I think this chapter was very straight forward and was easy to fathom. Also, the descriptions that Tan gave on the pimples on Arnold’s face were exaggerated, but it gave it a more impactful effect and also made it more disgusting. The marriage seemed to be coming to an end when the chapter closed and when I read it I thought, “it’s about time this so-called marriage ended,” since it seemed more like a business than a marriage. They split everything in half and did not really share anything like people in marriages normally do.
4. Lena St. Clair seems like a person who just goes along with the flow and even if she sees something wrong she won’t work to prevent it. Like in her marriage, she felt it was weird that they were still splitting the tab, but she did not really say anything about it until the end when she spoke out to Harold and crossed off the ice cream on his side of the list. Though, at the end of the chapter the vase fell off of the table and she says she knew it was going to fall, but when her mom asks her why she didn’t do anything about it she thought that it was a simple answer.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is external between Lena and her husband Harold, which makes it a man vs. man conflict. By the end of the chapter it has not been officially resolved, but there is a hint that it about to be, since the vase falls and breaks, and I think the vase was the compromise between Harold’s “fluidity” and Lena’s instability.
6b. In this chapter I think possible symbols would be the ice cream and the vase artwork piece. The ice cream could symbolize Lena’s guilt, compromise and silence, since she stuffs it all down herself after Arnold dies and then she stops eating it. Then the ice cream is on the list, and when she crosses it off it crosses out her compromise with Harold’s rules and regulations. The vase symbolizes the marriage between Harold and Lena. Everything in the house was stable and fluidly glided along with one another, but then Lena’s mom is able to see how it is unstable and unable to handle anything further on top of it. She says, “You put something on top, everything falls down.” And at the end the vase breaks after Lena adds an argument on top of their relationship, which I think means the marriage is going to end.
1. Rice!
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I thought this chapter was very interesting and peculiar. I found the relationship between Lena and Harold was weird. They practically based their relationship on their checkbooks. I thought it was interesting how they added more superstitions too, like when Ying-ying predicts bad omens. For example, she knew it was a bad idea for Lena to marry her husband, but she married him anyways.
4. The main character of the chapter is Lena St. Clair. She is obviously influenced by her mother and it is revealed when she has doubts about her relationship with Harold. She doesn’t realize how she’s being pushed around in her life.
5. I think the main conflict is between Lena and Harold. It is an external man vs. man conflict. The are always argue and complain on how the household should be run. They base their relationship on their checkbooks making Lena very unhappy with the situation. This problem, however, was not solved at the end of the chapter.
6. I think the vase symbolizes the spit in Lena and Harold’s relationship. When the vase cracked in half, her marriage collapsed.
1)Rice and Life!
2)Rice Husband
3)Reaction: This chapter was really up to par with the other chapters and it really kept me interested in the story. It was pretty weird for me to see how Harold never really saw Lena as an equal, even though she played a huge part in his sucess. She was actually the brains and the designer in the firm. The architecture firm should have been named after both of them instead one only Harold. Also, when couples get married, the barrier of money usually is faded away and is no longer present in the relationship, but I was really shocked to see how they constantly tried to split EVERYTHING down the middle. I mean, has anyone ever taught them to SHARE in their life?
Apparently not! This must explain why Lena was so irascible in the chapter towards her husband.
4)A character that really stood out to me was Ying-Ying St. Clair, since she really seemed to love and care for her daughter. Although she does not directly show it in loving ways, she lovingly critisizes her daughter and shoots her down so that Lena can become a better person. When Ying-Ying tried to point out all of the imperfections of Lena's new home, it would seem as if she was really dis-content with the way her daughter chose to spend her money. She also couldn't fathom why anyone would spend so much money on a BARN, but through all of her criticism, she really wanted the best for her daughter and tried to point out the things that she believe her daughter could change or improve in her life. One thing I didn't understand was why she would continue to let her daughter marry a "bad man". Ying-Ying was able to see it from the past, yet she still continued to stand aside and let her daughter make the wrong decisions. Is this really right?
5)One big conflict in this story is an internal conflict residing in Lena (Man vs. Self). The conflict is born due to how Lena is unable to express her feelings and tell her husband what she truly wanted. She lives in such discomfort and sadness, which I think could have possibly been changed had she spoken up and told her husband that she would like him to see her as an equal. She just went along with how bad things are as Harold and she constantly split everything in half, which gave them nothing to share or cherish between each other. Letting the horrible trend continue, Lena was ultimately digging her marriage's own grave.
6)One big symbol in this story is the table that Harold had built in the beginning of their marriage. Seeing as how Harold took no care in building the table, it had seemed like he was not trying to put any support into his marriage. And because of this wobbly table, their marriage became unsteady as well. Ying-Ying not doing anything about the table also connects with how she was extremely passive in her marriage and did not try to change or take a stand in anything.
1) Pock Marks
2) “Rice Husband”
3) This chapter was simple and kind of boring. However, I thought that it was very easy to read and moved smoothly. I think its strange how Lena’s mother, Ying-ying, can predict the future and see bad things happen. I thinks its wrong how Lena and Harold split all their money instead of sharing it together. Their marriage is based on equality and splitting money evenly instead of sharing and caring for each other.
4) I think Lena is stupid for letting Harold take advantage of her. For example, when they go out to eat, they split the bill evenly even though Lena only had a salad. Also, Harold is in control of most of the money. Lena works for Harold and he signs her pay checks and gives her very little. Yet he still expects Lena to pay for half of everything. I think Lena should have tried to fix things instead of letting Harold control her and letting their marriage fall apart.
5) The main conflict of this chapter is man vs. man, between Lena and Harold. They are always arguing. Lena is not happy with how their marriage is going. It can also be human vs. self because Lena is conflicting inside on whether or not she should stay with Harold. In the end, Lena confronts Harold and Harold doesn’t really care.
6) I think a symbol in this chapter would be the table. It is unbalanced and uneven just like Lena’s marriage with Harold. In the end, the table breaks, showing the end of their marriage. It also represents how Lena didn’t try to save the marriage, because she told her mother she knew it was going to fall but she didn’t do anything about it. Same with how she didn’t do anything to save her marriage.
Raymond Glassey
Period 3
1. Cause and Effect
2. “Rice Husband”
3. I actually liked this chapter (which is a significant improvement over “Moon Lady” and “A Voice from the Wall”). Amy Tan wrote it rather well and the annoying Chinese mysticism/insanity in other chapters containing Ying-Ying wasn’t as prominent. There were some instances such as the death of Arnold and falling of the table, but those could have been accidents or coincidences just as easily. Some aspects of the chapter were rather bizarre though, such as the economic part of their relationship. Harold insists on “sharing” the money spent with Lena as to not “taint” their relationship, but at the same time, being her boss, doesn’t provide her with equal amounts of money and claims it would be “unfair” to show her equality with other coworkers. The whole deal at the start with the pockmark husband seemed rather silly too, but rather realistic considering the gullible mind of an eight-year-old. The thirteen-year-old eating and vomiting ice cream wasn’t too appealing though and didn’t make as much sense.
4. Lena seems to be a remarkably indecisive character in her actions, but not in her thoughts. For instance, she convinces herself that she deserves Harold and to hide their marriage difficulties from her mother, but when it came to telling Harold she didn’t want to share money, she was unable to. The same thing occurred with the marble table falling over and the vase shattering. She says she knew it would happen and yet, as her mother said, “Then why don’t you stop it?”
5. The main conflict is character vs. character because Lena and Harold are conflicting with each in their marriage. It’s an external conflict and it is caused by the tension growing in Lena’s mind about how Harold treats her somewhat unfairly and annoyance at their silly routine of splitting money. The end of the chapter does not resolve the conflict, but it appears as though Lena is making progress when she confronts Harold.
6. The symbol in the chapter that stands out the most is probably the marble table that falls over and the vase on it, which breaks. It signifies the marriage between Lena and Harold (like Red Candle? I don’t know) and when the unstable table falls and the face shatters, the marriage/bond is broken. Lena knew it was unstable and could have tried to save it, but for some reason she didn’t try to stop it.
1:Nom
2:Rice Husband
3:I thought this chapter was weird. I can somehow relate to Lena because my parents used to tell me the same thing with the pock marks, even though I never believed. They would also tell me some more weird Chinese superstition that never came true, like hitting your parents will result in being hit by lighting, even on a clear, sunny day. I also found it funny how Lena 'tried' to kill Arnold by starving herself even though before she used to eat everything and left the bowl spotless.
4:Lena is so influenced by her mother telling her all this gibberish that it affected her physically and mentally. She doesn't want to marry a man with pock marks so she cleans off her bowl, but when she thinks she's going to marry Arnold, she starves herself and becomes anorexic hoping that Arnold would break out with pocks and die.
5:The main conflict is man vs. self. Lena starves herself and becomes anorexic hoping not to marry Arnold. When Arnold dies, she gorges herself in ice-cream wondering if she caused Arnold's death, and threw up all the ice-cream later. Does not tell whether this conflict is resolved or not.
6:The chair that Harold built is a symbol that represents Harold and Lena's relationship. It was very weak and unstable. When the table collapsed, so did their marriage.
Wai Chan
3rd period
Accounting
2. Rice Husband
3. This chapter was probably, in my opinion, one of the more interesting chapters in the book. It tells the story from the perspective of the child after she has grown up which kind of puts a whole "spin" on the chapter. Overall, I think this chapter was pretty straightfoward. I could completely understand why Harold and Lena's marriage fell apart. I mean, what is marriage really about? Marriage is about loving your partner as yourself and not letting some petty things like money or who bought what or who pays for what get in the way. One thing I thought was strange in particular was how the mother could predict things that would happen in the future, even when she was given no signs that that particular event would take place. Also, in this chapter, I felt kind of sorry for Lena because she had so much more potential for greatness than Harold had; yet, she was, in a way, oppressed by her husband and couldn't rise up to her full ambition. It was she that gave Harold the idea to start his new company in the first place. She even does most of the work when it comes to actually designing the themes that clients ordered. I also really noticed that the wobbly table represented their marriage. At first, like their marriage, the table was fine, but wobbly, and nobody dared to touch it or put anything on it because they knew it would fall. So their marriage was fine, but, at the slightest touch, could be upset. This was exactly the same situation that their marriage was in. If you don't touch it, it's fine. But once Lena expresses herself through the ice cream incident, thereby putting "weight" on their marriage, the entire thing collapsed. The ending was extremely revealing and provided probably the most closure out of any chapter that I have read in this book so far. I mean, if she saw the marriage was going downhill, why didn't she pull it back up and save it? No, she chose to let to die, to let it slide into an ever deepening hole.
4. Harold is a person of interest in this chapter merely because of the fact that he doesn't realize the consequences of his actions. He gives Lena a low corporate position in the company, even though he and her both know that she is the real "star of the show". Also, he just doesn't understand how marriage is supposed to work. I mean really, accounting for each purchase? Are you really going to divorce your wife just because she can't pay for a tub of ice cream? Anyways, to me, he's just funny. He's so oblivious to how things work in a real marriage, probably because he has never known one. Due to this fact, he can't comprehend why Lena is so angry at him because he thinks that how it's been going so far is just fine and dandy. He doesn't know what's wrong and right. It just really shows his ignorant and uncaring personality, exactly the bad husband that Lena ironically had feared in her childhood.
5. The main conflict(s) in this chapter are both internal and external. One is human vs. human and one is human vs. self. The human vs. human conflicts stems from the arguments and disagreements that Lena and Harold have. They just can't seem to get along even their supposedly happy marriage and nonchalant demeanor. The next conflict comes from the internal struggle that Lena has within herself. She is constantly being toyed with by Harold and that leaves her emotionally stranded and lost. She doesn't know what she wants to do, whether it's staying in the marriage and pretending nothing's wrong, or divorcing Harold and getting a better husband. In the end, she picks divorcing Harold, and I think, from her viewpoint, that was the right choice to make. She couldn't keep living the way that she had. It doesn't satisfy her at all.
6c. This chapter connects to the allegory at the beginning of the chapter because, like her mother said, one thing is always a result of another. Lena's unhappy marriage was a direct result of her and Harold's actions within the marriage. Even though Lena knew that their marriage was ailing, she did nothing to stop it and, by doing so, continued the reaction until it leads to her eventual outburst and soon-to-be divorce with Harold. Ironically, she learned this lesson of action and reaction before her marriage and she still didn't heed the warning, leading her into this terribly one-sided marriage.
-Calvin Ho
Period 4
1. Where's the Ying to the Yang?
2. Rice Husband
3. The chapter was very interesting....... I didn't expect that we would go back to learning more about her life. I can't believe that Lena thought she's the reason Arnold died. It's sorta depressing that she carries the burden for the rest of her life, and tried to prove her mom wrong by leaving so much food left! So much food wasted. -_- In the end she ended up with unsteady marriage that collapsed in the end.
4. Lena thinks that the only way for her to be equal with Harold is by spending the same amount of money. She knows that within their relationship they have problems, but doesn't bother to try to fix. She's scared to face the truth about their marriage, and doesn't remember why she married him in the first place.
5. I think that the problem here is human vs self because Lena is insecure about her marriage. She doesn't confront it even though she knows that it's a serious problem. Lena's marriage revolves around paying equally. Money is the problem here. Harold makes 7 times more than her, and he doesn't promote Lena since it would seem unfair to others even though she's awesome at her job.
6. The table in the guest room was made by Harold when he was still a student. This represents their current marriage which is on the verge of collapsing. Lena doesn't do anything to prevent the vase from falling from the unsteady table until it already fell and broke.
-Diana Li Period 3
1) "Money Talks"
2) Rice Husband
3) I've hated most if not all of the St. Clairs stories. I find them very boring. I hate how Lena goes on blabbering about how she met Harold. I can not relate to this chapter at all. And usually the chapters that I enjoy are the ones that I connect to. Like the chapter "Two Kinds" by June. I've enjoyed most if not all of the Woo's stories so far. The only part of the chapter I found kind of intriguing and had me looking for a symbol was the end, when the table broke.
4)The character I will focus on is Lena. Though she makes it seem like a bad thing, Lena is also a superstitious person. At the start of the story, she complains about how her mother always finds a bad thing out of something. And soon Lena is influenced by this. An example of this is when her mother told her about the pockmark husbands. She tried to starve herself/eat to control who she would marry in the future.
5) I think the conflict is human vs human. It is an internal yet also external conflict. Her conflict is against Harold. They are having problems keeping their marriage stable. When they are married, Harold claims that he does not want their marriage to be contaminated by money. Ironically, they later have a problem in their marriage about how they always tally what they spend their money on.
6) I think the vase that breaks symbolizes Harold and Lena's marriage. When it breaks, Lena's mom isn't sorry for breaking it. Lena says "It doesn't matter, I knew it would happen." Her mother asks her why she didn't stop it.
Hit the pock man!
Rice Husband
1. I thought this chapter was fairly entertaining to reads, especially the opening anecdote about finishing one’s rice. When I was little, my mother would tell me to finish my rice at dinner every night. For every grain of rice that I left in my bowl, there would be one less day of happiness I would have in the future, so naturally I would scrape those last tiny grains of rice into my mouth to ensure my “eternal happiness.” The way that Lena and her husband Harold always split their living expenses seemed quit strange to me, since in my opinion, married couples should communally share and spend their money together, not separately. Although it might seem wise to keep their financial assets separate, the separation of their money makes me feel that their marriage lacks some true meaning: the special bond of mutual trust between husband and wife.
2. Lena St. Clair is the protagonist of the chapter, but she seems rather underdeveloped. She seems to be rather independent compared to the stereotypical “Chinese” woman, but still she defers to her husband Harold in many aspects of their marriage. For example, Lena accepts her low salary at Harold’s interior design firm, while Harold earns several times as much as Lena does. Lena seems to also be ignorant of her Chinese heritage, as she is shown to not heed to her mother’s sagacious advice.
3. The main conflict of this chapter would be man vs. man, Lena vs. her husband Harold. Lena feels that her marriage to Harold lacks intimate qualities; she doesn’t feel so strongly attached to Harold. Lena feels that Harold makes matters to practical, including their marriage, which Lena thinks should be based on mutual trust rather than propriety rights.
4. One of the symbols of this chapter would be the table that Harold built during his undergraduate years. The wobbly, unstable table represents the uncertain nature of Lena’s marriage to Harold. When Lena’s mother stays at their house, the table gets knocked over, symbolizing the disturbance that the arrival of Lena’s mother has caused towards the marriage. In other words, after Lena’s mother arrives, Lena begins to seriously question the values of her marriage.
-Albert Li
Kathy Nguyen
Per 4
"Things aren't balanced out."
"Rice Husband"
3) I thought this chapter was quite interesting. It was pretty scary knowing Lena's mother was able to predict bad things that happened in the family and the cause of it. For instance, the baby in her womb that would die because "[their] new apartment sat too steeply on the hill." The bank would lose its money, since "a plumbing and fixtures store opened up across the street from [their] bank" (149), and after one month it did. And the known death of her father from the blockage of 90% of his arteries, because of the plant that he gave to Lena's mother was watered everyday, it would not take in the water from its damaged and soon died. How could this women continue to only see bad things, if she did have this "mysterious" power, why could not she have taken advantage to make the event turn out good? Though she thought Arnold would be her husband when she was small, Arnold could have been a better man in the future. Also, if Lena did believe all of this, since they all seem to have come true, why couldn't she be cautious of her life with Harold when her mother warned her that she would have a bad husband from not finishing her bowl of rice? I thought Lena and Harold's method of balancing their ways of spending was odd. Aren't couples suppose to combine it and help each other out? Especially if one of them makes about seven times more than what [the other makes]" (159). I feel sad for Lena when towards the end of the story is when she realizes that her mother's prediction was true.
4) The character I have chosen is Ying-ying (Betty) St. Clair. She has this bad omniscient view of the world, and is able to predict anything awful that will happen in the family. She is a static character because she doesn't change throughout the story, still the mother who views only bad things through her eyes. And is not involved within any conflicts in the chapter, only living in Lena and Harold's home walking around noticing things no one else does and questions it. Ying-ying is also a flat character because, she predicts bad events that will occur within the family.
Kathy Nguyen
Per 4
5) The conflict in this story would be an internal conflict, man vs. man. The conflict is based on Lena and Harold. They lack communication, which is important for those with a good bond between one another, and the fact they are a married couple. When they split the bill evenly between them, they don't say anything about it, only paying things on what they individually spend and what is their's. When they try to bring up about their ways of spending, it only results into a stupid arguement. According to the chapter, they argued over paying for the exterminators because of the fleas caused by Lena's cat, Mirugai. And being together for five years, Harold still didn't know that Lena hates icecream, only assuming she tried to lose weight. The conflict between them isn't resolved, that being known, because the chapter ended in a fight over Lena finally over looking their ways of balancing things; "the way [they] account for everything, what [they] share, [and] what [they] don't share" (164).
6b) Two objects I found in the chapter that could be symbols are Harold's end table and the vase on it. The marble end table is "a poorly designed piece that [he] made in his student days" (163). When Lena tells her mother, "'Careful, it's not too sturdy,' (163) that symbolizes her the unsturdiness of her marriage. After that scene, Lena and Harold argue over their ways of balancing, and they hear the crash. Lena goes into her mother's room to see "the marble end table collasped on top of its spindly black legs," and the vase "broken in half." The vase breaking in half, symbolizes their marriage, which was once whole now split apart. Lena's mother asks her "'Then why don't you stop it?'" (165), something Lena could not answer back.
1. When everything is equal, is it really equal?
2. Rice Husband
3. I was really frustrated by this chapter. It really annoys me how Lena and her husband split everything down the middle. I really can’t stand that because not only is it silly for a married couple to do that, it isn’t equal at all. They try so hard to be equal but they are nowhere near it. I feel really bad for Lena because her husband tries to be so fair but he ends up being unfair to her. Using Lena’s idea he gets paid seven times the amount she does. He won’t promote her even though she does such a great job because he thinks others will believe it’s because she is his wife. I really like the end of the chapter when the uneven table finally gives out and the vase falls and break. I really didn’t realize it was a really important scene until he mother asked why she didn’t stop it.
4. Lena knows everything that is wrong. Everything is uneven in their relationship and they are both lying to themselves when they think it’s even. It’s just like the badly put together table. It’s uneven and soon or later it will collapse and whatever was on it will break. Their marriage seems like it will break if Lena doesn’t make things right. She seemed like a very independent woman who wouldn’t be able to stand such an uneven relationship.
5. I believe the conflicts in this chapter are human vs. human and human vs. self. Lena and her husband fight about what’s fair and what isn’t. Lena also had insecurities about herself because of her husband who is making a lot more money than her. Inside she seems so bitter because she believes she deserves a promotion and maybe some credit for giving her husband the idea for what he’s doing in the first place.
6. I think the table is a symbol of Lena’s marriage. It wasn’t put together very well and is very uneven. Over time it gets more and more unsteady before it finally collapses and the vase on top is broken. I think this might represent the balance of their marriage being broken.
-Taylor Gralak
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1.Rice...good
2.Rice Husband
3.I think Lena St. Clair’s logic is messed up. First, she eats all of her food so she won’t have to marry Arnold Reisman. Then she purposely sacrifices her food so Arnold will get sick and die. She sure hates Arnold. She honestly thinks her eating habits will decide who becomes her husband? What did Lena see in Harold in the first place?
4.Harold only cares about money: how he can earn the most profit and how wealthy he looks. Even though he splits the cost of everything evenly in half, Lena actually pays more than she needs to. On dates with Harold, she only eats a salad yet pays more than the price of a salad because they split the cost in half. She has to pay a five hundred dollar rent to Harold even though her studio only costs four hundred thirty five. Lena also works twice as hard as any employee and comes up with the best ideas of how to improve Harold’s business yet she gets a meager pay compared to what anyone else would get for doing the same job. Harold and Lena gets married and live in the same house but Harold is the only one who can decide on how their house looks. He spends a huge amount of money on the details of the house, like hand-bleached wood and hand-sponged walls. Harold likes to be and look wealthy.
5. The main conflict is an internal conflict because Lena is struggling with her feelings. She doesn’t know how to deal with Harold and his insistence of splitting the cost of everything in half. She does not know how to fix their marriage so Lena can be happy and content with their marriage, and she does not know what she wants. The conflict is human vs. self. By the end of the story, the conflict is not resolved.
6C. In both the allegory and the chapter, Rice Husband, the mother helps her daughter out and gives her a brighter future. In the allegory, the mother fixes her daughter’s fengshui and makes her daughter’s future brighter with the hope of grandchildren. In Rice Husband, Lena, the daughter doesn’t know where her marriage is going. Her mother makes the marble end table fall, symbolizing the downfall of Lena’s marriage. Lena tells her mother that she knew the table, or her marriage was going to fall anyways, and her mother asked Lena, ‘“Why don’t you stop it”’ (pg. 165)? By making the table fall, the mother makes her daughter face her marriage problem so Lena can figure out what to do. In both the allegory and Rice Husband, the mother helps the daughter out for a better future.
Jodie Chan
Period 3
Don't Leave a Single Grain Behind!
"rice husband- Joy Luck Club"
1-My take-
I was surprised to see that this chapter wasn’t as confusing as I had braced myself for. I rather liked the change of pace- it was interesting and didn’t make my mind explode from confusing scenes and what not. I fully enjoyed learning a lot more about the complex relationship between Lena and Harold. It seems they cannot seem to agree with each other at all in some parts of the chapter. They make the simplest task such as dividing money into a hell whole catastrophe. One more point I would like to high light is the mother. Is she super natural or something because if she is I need her to guess the lotto number for me- she’s amazing when it comes to ESP :P
2-My view-
Lena and Harold are like two beta fish in the same bowl- constantly trying to kill each other. I do believe they try make this “marriage” work but honestly all of their effort is masked by the fact that the only interaction they do with each other is conflict and splitting the costs of everything. I know marriages are considered a success if they just last for a long time but with their luck I believe it will crash and burn somewhere along the road.
3-The conflict-
DEFINETLY a man vs man with Lena and Harold in the ring. As I have said before, this forced marriage of theirs would never last even if they want it to. They have no feelings towards each other, it’s a strictly financial marriage, and their day to day interaction includes those actions of business partners – NOT A MARRIED COUPLE. I don’t know how they’re going to solve this one, it seems to me this marriage was over with before they even said their vows.
4.-Symbolism_
I sort of linked Harold smashing the table to a symbol as their “smashed” marriage. What I am more intrigued by is how Lena herself reacted to seeing the smashed table. I think it was quite obvious she and her husband were through, but she consulted her mother at times like this. Lena knows her marriage is going downhill fast, and the only advice she gets from her mom is to stop it. The way I see it, she has 2 main options. 1- Fix a marriage that was broken before it even happened or 2- Divorce out of this pathetic excuse of a relationship that solely revolves around cash.
1. Sharing is Caring
2. Rice Husband
3. I thought this chapter was captivating. I liked how Lena's mom could predict all sorts of crazy events like her own miscarriage and her husband's death by "damaged roots" or clogged arteries. The relationship between Lena and Harold was somewhat annoying, however. The way they equally and fairly paid for everything and separated their property, makes me feel as if they're room mates, not husband and wife.
4. Throughout the chapter, Lena acts strong, independent and respectable. However, a few times, her other dependent and weaker sides are shown. She once doubtingly imagines hundreds of women ready to take her place as Harold's lover revealing her insecurity.
5. The main conflict would be external, human vs human. In this case, it is Lena vs Harold. The two lead a faulty relationship based on split equality and fairness, which lacks the sense of unity that marriage is founded on. They struggle with simple arguments and at the end of the chapter, I do not think that the conflict is solved at all.
6. One symbol was the wobbling table that Harold had made, which represented their shaky relationship. When the black vase on top knocked over, it as well signified the breaking of their relationship.
Vincent Nguyen Period 3
1. Here’s the money, honey…
2. Lena St. Clair: Rice Husband
3. In all the chapters about the St. Clairs, I couldn’t put down the book. So far, they’ve been my favorite to read about because of the fact that they are quite strange. This vignette gave me assorted feelings of abhorrence, on Lena and Harol’d part, and wonder because of the abilities Lena’s mother may possess. I truthfully cannot fathom why anyone would marry someone like Harold or why they would split everything. I liked how clairvoyant the mother can be, using simple locations of various places and I liked the character, Lena. In the chapter “The Voice from the Wall,” I didn’t get a very clear understanding of who she is, but she seemed not as spoiled and distant from her heritage than the other daughters of this novel. This chapter allowed me to find out more about Lena and she seemed to respect her mother’s perceptions. I also liked the rice bowl concept of this chapter. I found it was funny how Lena was scared that she would end up marrying Arnold, the annoying neighbor. I thought it was cute how Arnold may have had a schoolyard crush on her. But I didn’t like how Lena actually wanted him to die. That was frightening to me. An eight year old girl shouldn’t want someone to die, even if she hated him.
4. I have to say that Harold Livotny was a jerk! I do not think he was very fair, no matter how Lena described him. He didn’t even give Lena any credit for giving him the idea of setting up his own firm. Harold merely treated Lena like a regular employee, I’m not saying he should of given her special treatment, but maybe he could’ve given her a promotion for all her hard work!
5. The main conflict in this vignette is between Lena and Harold, man vs. man. They are a typical married couple, but they have an odd way of living. When two people are married, obviously they share everything, but in this case, however, Lena and Harold have separate banking accounts. They also pay for everything exactly in half. Everything had to be "fair” apparently. This strange living manner caused Lena's outbreak thus creating the first step to their separation.
6. In this chapter, there is a one symbol that really stuck out to me. It was the table that Harold made which is located in the guest room. The table isn’t strong or sturdy at all and is off balance. I believe this represents Harold and Lena’s relationship which isn’t very stable and could fall to pieces in a second.
Melani Cabanayan; Period 3
1. getting kinda hungry
2. Rice Husband
3. jeez man when i read the chapter title i expected somewhat of a food related chapter, but as i read on i started hearing things like dead babies in wombs, death of a father, and losing money to a bank. this chapter blew my mind, i turned the pages hoping for something joyous and tasteful, but it ends up being a trail of agony and anxiety.
4. seems to me that Lena seems to be somewhat different than the stereotypical Chinese women i see today. she doesn't act like a loud obnoxious woman, nor is she a wise peaceful woman. a category of her own; though her husband however has a complete greed for money.
5. clearly a man vs man conflict in this segment, Lena and Harold struggle with many, many issues with their marriage and it's the only visible, important issue that arises in this chapter.
6. the theme was pretty visible, near the begin it states "one thing is always a result of another" kind of like that phrase where if you kill a fly in the past it could drastically effect the future or something like that, oh well that's enough out of me.
-khanh
1. “Couples’ Therapy”
2. "Rice Husband"
3. Throughout this chapter, I wondered how Lena and Harold try to work out the kinks in their relationships. It seems to me that the two of them can’t even make simple financial decisions, let alone connect with each other. This being said, why did the two get married in the first place? Another question that came across my mind was how Ying-Ying was able to predict all of the bad things that would happen.
4. Lena is clearly influenced by Ying-Ying’s superstitious beliefs. As a child, Lena was told by Ying-Ying that her husband will have one pock mark for each grain of rice she leaves unfinished. Lena decides to not finish her rice because she detests her neighbor Arnold, who she’s afraid, might end up her husband. Years later, Arnold dies from a rare case of measles; Lena is terrified at the possibility she may have unintentionally killed Arnold because of the superstitions.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is man vs. man, between Lena and Harold. Both of them keep track of their purchases and how much each one is. The relationship between the two seems more to be like that of a business one, rather than being a real married couple. When Lena brings up the ice cream, it shows that the two of them have more problems beneath the surface. Both of them are unhappy in their marriage, and are unable to resolve their problems.
6. A symbol that can be found in this chapter is the marble table that Harold made. It symbolizes the couple’s deteriorating marriage. Lena doesn’t take any action and lets Harold make the decisions in their relationship. As a result, their marriage eventually comes crumbling down, just like the table.
Brian Yang
Period 4
1. MEGA FAIR
2. The Rice Husband
3. At this point, I think I can safely say that the St. Clairs have the best chapters. They are consistently interesting, original, and, most importantly, fun to read. And this chapter does not disappoint. I dare say it's the best one so far. It's a very character driven piece, not to say that the other chapters weren't, they certainly were, but in this chapter...by god did Amy Tan drive those characters. The character dynamic between Lena and Harold is the best Tan has offered so far, with the way that Tan chose to tackle this idea of equality being the most original and interesting I have ever seen. Of course, I cannot say that I wrote that without a bit of hyperbole and I don't mean to make it out as a literary second coming, but I also don't mean to be entirely facetious in the matter and it's certainly not an attempt at mockery in that not all of my adulation for it is undeserved for I really do think it's one of the strongest chapters in the book. It handles the subject matter in a very personable way where thoughts and dialogue take the place of events to convey the chapter's ideas; much more than the rest of the chapters so far. And it's approach is very subtle and gives the reader room to breath, analyze, and interpret without taking away from any immersion. It doesn't have the suspense that the other chapters have and nothing much happens, but its relaxing pace made everything come together so much easier. I also like how that subtlety extended out Ying-Ying in that I found her to be unobtrusive while I often found the other mothers to be quite oppressing in their presence to the reader. Yes, the book is about the relationships the girls have with their mothers, but I liked how this chapter accomplished that with Ying-Ying speaking only as much as she needed to and letting the focus remain on the important issues at hand. All in all, I think this is the strongest chapter so far.
4. Lena is a passive, superstitious person who believes very much in fate. She believed she caused Arnold's death because of her eating habits and she believes she got Harold, whose idea about equality she doesn't like, because of fate and, as a result, doesn't do much to try to change that. Harold seems to be the one really in control of the relationship while Lena's inability to take an initiative is causing her much discomfort.
5. The main conflict is that Lena does not like Harold's idea of fairness. It's a man vs. man conflict in that it directly involves Lena and Harold. It is not solved by the end.
6.C. This chapter connects to the allegory because both the allegory and the chapter deal with the hidden wisdom that lies within the mothers of the stories' superstitious beliefs, with the mirror and the rice.
1. Money Matters
2. Rice husband
3. I hated this chapter, I had to force my self into reading it. I thought this chapter wasn't good as all of the other chapters. The relationship Lena and Harold was barely passable, how did they get married?
4. Lena was strangely superstitious in the beginning with Arnold dieing. Then later she vies herself as a strong, smart, and willed person.
5. Human vs Human ( Lena vs. Harold) They were fighting on splitting bills on money, in their marriage. They also had some other augments, which does not get solved.
6. D. Imagery, this chapter was full of it. It was slowed a lot in the beginning parts, and made it a more enjoyable chapter
~Better late than never?
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