"Scar"
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.
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SAMPLE STUDENT BLOGS: Notice the new paragraphs for each new topic discussed.
Monday, December 10, 2007
"Scar"
Blogger Allison Chan said...
Soups On!
Scar
1)Reaction
I thought the chapter "Scar" was very sad. Although it was sad sad it was memorable. At first when i read the line , "..my grandmother told me my mother was a ghost"(33), i thought that her mother was dead. But the comparison of An-Mei's mother to the ghost, is that the family no longer wants to acknowledge her mother. It was sad how it seemed as if the family was disowning An-Mei's mother.
When An-Mei remembers the day she recieved her scar, I felt so sorry for her. Even though An-Mei was very little, she had to witness her mother leaving her and her family bickering. What was worse, was that the soup spilled onto An-Mei's neck. Popo seemed really messed up when she was telling An-Mei that she was going to die, and that she would still have a debt to pay to her family. The part that shocked me the most was that An-Mei's mother cut a piece of her flesh out and put it into the stew for some kind of ancient traditional cure to give her mother life.
2)I would describe An-Mei and Popo's relationship as tough love. Although Popo seems harsh to An-Mei, it's really because she deeply cares about her. When Popo told An-mei she was going to die, An-mei "came hurrying back to other world to find my mother"(39). Popo's didn't mean to hurt An-mei, she was only trying to motivate An-mei to be strong and to get better.
3)Honor mainly revolves around Chinese culture. When An-mei's mother left to be a concubine, she dishonored her family and was disowned. I thought that the disowning part was really harsh. Family is family no matter what. The ancient traditional cure that required a piece of flesh was extreme. I was somewhat shocked and disgusted.
Monday, December 17, 2007 7:53:00 PM
Blogger ANU said...
My mother’s a ghost!
Chapter 2: Scar.
1.From a one through five scale, this chapter was in between two and three. I liked how a scar is both physically and mentally on An-Mei Hsu. Physically, the boiling soup spills on her neck and mentally, the scar symbolizes memories of her banished mother. What really disgusted me was when An-Mei’s mother cuts of a chunk of her skin to stir her warm flesh into the curing soup. What a sacrifice! However, the flesh was worthless since Popo ends up dying anyways. Throughout this chapter, I hated how An-Mei’s mother was viewed guilty to her entire family. It wasn’t her mother’s fault for not producing a son. Amy Tan’s local color in this chapter describes situations in that generation when men slept with concubines to keep the honor by producing sons. An-Mei’s mother was one of Wu Tsing’s mistresses. This tradition shows a lot of inequality for women since they were forced to be banished from the house, like An-Mei’s mother, and considered an outcast from the family when not producing a son. This also shows inequality for women because sons were preferable than daughters. What I found to be strange was after An-Mei gets burnt, Popo seems to be preparing for An-Mei’s deathbed. I believe she was doing that to scare An-Mei from liking her mother.
2. An-Mei and her mother have a close bonding relationship. Although, An-Mei is taught her mother is a disgrace to the family, An-Mei learns to love her mother since she feels like a “girl whose belly held a colorless winter melon”, probably signifying her longing for her nurturing mother. In return, An-Mei’s mother wants her daughter to know her as she strokes her head and says, “An-mei, you know who I am.” Her fear is to be neglected by her daughter as well as her family.
3. Lastly, I would like to focus on the conflict in this chapter. In this chapter, An-Mei has an internal conflict since she loves her mother and wants her, however, her family disapproves of that. She is forced to make a choice between her biological mom and the family members who raised her.
Scar “Time After Time”
1. Reaction: To me, the chapter Scar seemed really mournful but was also unforgettable too considering the length of it was only a few pages. At the beginning when An-Mei’s grandmother Popo told her that her mother was a ghost, what she meant was that the family had considered her not part of the family anymore and disconnected her from their life because she married a wealthy man who had lots of children with many of his concubines. I find this to be really depressing how An-Mei’s mother was rejected from her family because she brought dishonor to the family by marrying a rich man who already has several wives and kids. I don’t understand how they can just turn her away and try to forget about her by not mentioning her anymore because it seems that they value their reputation more than they do with their own flesh and blood.
After I read what happened to An-Mei when she was just 4-years-old with the hot soup spilling over her neck and leaving a scar on her, I felt really sorry for her. I was overwhelmed with grief when her mother tried to take her away with her but had to fight with her family during the process. It was strange to me when Popo told An-Mei that “[they] have made [her] dying clothes and shoes for [her]” and that “if [she] dies, [she] will have a short life and [she] will still owe [her] family a debt…” (39). She also said that if An-Mei doesn’t get better soon then her mom will forget about her. It’s hard to tell if Popo really cares about An-Mei by scaring her with this comment because she wants An-Mei to grow up not like her mother so that she won’t forget her just like Popo did to her mom. The part that surprised me the most happened towards the end when An-Mei explains “how [she] came to love [her] mother” (40).Her mother carved a slice of flesh from her arm and threw it in some kind of ancient traditional soup in order to save her Popo’s life. It’s interesting to see that no matter how much Popo loathes her daughter and although they are still at odds with one another, An-Mei’s mother still returns when she learns that Popo’s ill and offers to do anything to save her mom’s life.
2. The relationship between An-Mei and her grandmother, Popo can be described as tough love. Although Popo’s behavior towards her granddaughter comes off as really strict and mean, she really cares for An-Mei and loves her a lot. Popo’s comment to An-Mei saying that she might die gave her a big scare and prompted her to “[come] hurrying back to the other world to find [her] mother” (39). The reason why she said this to An-Mei was because deep down, she really cared for her well-being, and wanted An-Mei to become a stronger person and to recover quicker.
3. In Chinese culture, honor and respect are the two most important elements. An-Mei’s mother’s decision to become a concubine and marry a rich man who has other concubines also was considered to be a somewhat foolish decision and a dishonor to the entire family. I believe that family is above all, which means that no matter how rough the times in your life may be and despite all the quarrels that you have with your family, you have to remind yourself that they’re still your family and you have to stick together through the harsh times because in the end they’re the only ones who will be there for you.
-Diana Nguyen ♥
1. "Keep Calm, Carry On"
2. "Scar"
3. This chapter surprisingly reveals a wide variety of local color. It widens my eyes to China's ancient traditions of concubines, bound feet, sacrificing one's own flesh for a terminally ill family member, and respect for elders. I thought the fact that An-Mei's mother left her children and family for a man is inhumane. It painted a picture in my mind that she was careless and did not plan for the long run and only thought of-the-moment. Then, when she suddenly came back, it showed me that the character Amy Tan writes about is the complete opposite: compassionate and respectable. An-Mei's mother, although it had been five years, shows up as soon Popo becomes ill and cares for her at a time of utter necessity. "Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother before her" (41). She even goes so far as to add a piece of her own flesh to the medicinal brew for Popo, showing a sign of respect toward her mother before she passes over. I thought this was highly regarded.
4. The characters of Popo and An-Mei's mom have a very particular relationship. Although Popo and the rest of the family never wanted to see her again, An-Mei's mother came back when Popo needed her loving care the most. Their correlation would be described as devoted. This holds true when An-Mei's mom "cut a piece of meat from her arm. Tears poured from her face and blood spilled to the floor… This is how a daughter honors her mother" (41). Even after she turns her back on her family and Popo disowns her, An-Mei's mom continues to be devoted to caring for her mother, even if it is for her last breath.
5. Again, Amy Tan uses the power of symbolism in her writing. The title of the chapter also serves as a symbol: anger. Before her family shooing her mother away, An-Mei called out for her. In return, a large vat of searing hot soup soiled upon her neck and left a burn mark, which eventually became a permanent scar. The boiling soup signifies her family's boiling anger. Since the mother left her children in order to become a concubine, the rest of the family becomes furious and vowed to "remember nothing of her" (33). Like the burn, An-Mei's mother left permanent harm to her family and their value for her.
6. (a. What is the theme or life lesson in this chapter and which line or scene reveals this?)
The theme in this chapter is simply respect your elders. An-Mei respects her mother for sacrificing herself to Popo even after her disownment, and An-Mei's mom respects Popo and shows it by taking care of her through her last breaths. Readers infer An-Mei's admiration when she thinks to herself, "I worshipped this mother from my dream. But the woman standing beside Popo's bed was not the mother of my memory. Yet I came to love this mother as well" (40).
Dead Mother
“Scar”
1.The title of this chapter really grabbed my attention. It foreshadows that An-Mei will have an emotional scar but I wouldn’t have predicted a physical scar. Furthermore, both scars were caused by her mother. I felt pity for An-Mei that her mom left, and even more sympathy when her mom came back and she still wanted her mother. Even though, her mother was not truly dead, I thought she would have been dead in her heart. Judging by the way the other family members treated her, however, I could understand why An-Mei would still run towards her mom. I wonder what made her mom want to live as a concubine. Was it for money, love, or simply to get out of the house?
2.The relationship between An-Mei and her mother is forgiving. An-Mei hasn’t seen her mother for a long time and has been told many times how her mother is a traitor and should not be spoken of. Yet when her mother comes back, she immediately knew who it was and at the end comes to love her.
3.I learned a few things about the Chinese culture by reading this chapter. I learned that people can have concubines. I also learned some Chinese stories that Popo told An-Mei, such as the girl who refused to listen to their elders. I learned that the Chinese valued honor and dislike traitors.
1. Desperate Disgrace
2. Scar
3. Reaction: Some are the stories and myths and healings are complete nonsense, which has never been in China, its means are for entertainment. I think Amy Tan still needs to practice her Chinese more. Anyways to her writing…I thought it was pretty normal to be a concubine because in society at the time it was…well, normal. The Chinese emperor used to have over a hundred wives that live in the imperial palace and some he didn’t even know who they were. Of course, the first wife was always most respected. There was a Chinese drama that came out when I was really young and I remember watching it on TV. The emperor was a really pleasant person but the Huang Tai Hou (first empress) was just a horrible person, sometimes even the emperor didn’t even like her. She was stuck up because she knew that she had to be respected by everyone else. Then there was the second (or was it the third) empress that was the loving mother to all the important children. She had a kind face and a smile that was inviting and showed nothing but warmth. An Mei’s mother (in Joy Luck Club) reminded me of the third empress. She loved her daughter sincerely. That is why I feel absolutely no hard feelings for her. All mothers have something disgraceful about them, I bet even An Mei’s Popo had some kind of disgrace, no matter how small compared to her daughter. But I would give the cold shoulder to the Popo because she didn’t want to acknowledge her daughter was hers anymore, she practically wanted to disown her, which in China is a horrible, terrifying, utter embarrassment. A mother should always love her daughter no matter what and show that love. I don’t believe anything could be that BAD to turn that love around. And I simply love the daughter, An Mei. First of all, in the movie Joy Luck Club, the young actress reminded me of when I was that age, same figure, same hair, same love for her mother. Second, if it were me, I would also have chosen her way, to follow her mother. Finally, because I would not want to live with someone who talks bad about my mother, no matter who she was or how she acted. I applause An Mei for bearing it.
4. Characters: An Mei, as a little girl could be described as innocent, but she is growing up and understands some complicated things. When An Mei’s mother slices a piece of her own flesh into a pot of soup for her grandmother to heal, An Mei understands the means of the sacrifice which is appropriate if she is to successfully create a healing charm. Her mother is loving. She may look “like the missionary ladies” whose face is s dark shadow when An-Mei first sees her and she seemed insolent and bossy, and her foreign clothes and high-heeled shoes suggested evil, suggested a woman worthy of hatred, but she was exactly the opposite. Her tenderness toward An Mei and her wailing in An Mei’s memory has softened An Mei to able to believe her mother because that’s what she truly was.
5. Writing Technique: Amy Tan’s figurative language and imagery makes the magical fairy tale atmosphere that is woven into the narrative strong. The descriptions make images that create an enchanted mood, where all kinds of strange things seem possible. This chapter opens with the thought that An Mei’s mother is a ghost. Popo told the children that ghosts steal strong-willed little girls. Later, An Mei’s mother seems to “float back and forth like a ghost.” It may shock Western readers when they read about how An Mei’s mother cuts off her own flesh to add as a magical ingredient to heal her mother but it was appropriate.
6. It was oblivious to me about how non-Western parents and Western parents do their parenting because I’ve lived in it all my life, but reading about it suddenly opened my eyes more. People from non-Western cultures often refuse to praise their children afraid they might spoil them. They show love with strong words and hurtful physical gestures but children usually know that they are loved. There is a phrase in China that says, “打是吣, 骂是爱” which means “To beat is to kiss, to discipline is to love” because if your parents don’t love or care about you why would they bother getting mad over you? If they didn’t care about you, and you get horrible grades or do drugs, they would just think, go ahead, I don’t care. But they do love you, that’s why they are mad and discipline you for you stop what you did, to prevent any more harm on you, because they want you to have a good outcome.
How Do You Let Go?
“Scar”
1. I think it isn't very bright to not allow people (and yourself) to talk about certain topics because I believe in overcoming your fears by facing them, not avoiding them. It's kind of creepy how An-mei has that big picture of her father in her main hall. Really creepy. Who would want a scary picture of a dead guy hanging in their house? I would want some kind of thing to remind me, but not something that's creepy. An-mei's brother is mean and stupid because he laughed at a picture of someone who died fell to the ground when a funeral was being held for him. Who does that? I think that is one of the most ridiculous and inconsiderate things that you can possibly do. I think Popo is a bit prejudice. She said to An-mei's brother that he's “the son of a mother who has so little respect that she has become ni, a traitor...”(36). It's like she was saying that just because his mom seems to make stupid decisions, then he's stupid as well. But I don't side with his mom in some parts, either. Even though Popo chased her out of the house when An-mei was severely hurt, she didn't even bother to come back until eons later (or five years). And when she came back, she even had the nerve to ask An-mei if she had been a “good daughter”(37). I think that was really inappropriate and she shouldn't even have been allowed to question such a thing since she wasn't even there to take care of and raise her daughter. I thought Popo was really stupid when she told An-mei that if she died at the moment, she would have had a “short life” (or a worthless life, the way I saw what she said) and will still owe her family a “debt”(39). I don't think Popo should have said that to someone who might be about to die because that person wouldn't die with a pleasant emotion or die peacefully. It was a really inconsiderate thing to say, considering that the person is about to die.
2. The way I see it, Popo probably loved An-mei's mother, but An-mei's mother disappointed her with her actions and decisions and so Popo came to look down on her. I think Popo is just really hurt, and that she seems to be angry because it's easier to be mad at someone than confront him/her and tell her that you're hurt. I guess I call their relationship broken. Popo loved her daughter. Her daughter broke her mom's heart, and permanently too, it looks like. You just can't fix what's permanently broken. It's like trying to change someone's mind when they've already made a decision that they're absolutely, positively determined to stick to.
3. I noticed that this chapter has a lot of similes and metaphors. It was interesting to read that “your own thoughts are so busy swimming inside that everything else gets pushed out” because it has a bit of humor to it, and it's more amusing than reading that you have so many opinions of your own that you're being inconsiderate and not acknowledging what other people have to say (34). Another brilliant metaphor was when Amy Tan wrote that An-mei's brother “shouted that Auntie was a talking chicken without a head...”(35). These metaphors improve the story by replacing boring sentences with phrases that have pizazz. I also like how Tan described bluntness of Popo's words as her having a “tongue like hungry scissors eating silk cloth”(35). It really gave me the thought that Popo's words probably hurt people a lot. A second simile that I liked was An-mei's “heart felt like crickets scratching to get out of a cage” when her mom came home after five years (36). That was much more original than the usual hearts racing and such. Metaphors and similes really add amusing touches to the story.
4. I think the theme of this chapter is that the things you try to escape from will come back to haunt you later. You can't forget something by ignoring it. “In two years' time, my scar became pale and shiny and I had no memory of my mother. That is the way it is with a wound. The wound begins to close in on itself, to protect what is hurting so much. And once it is closed, you no longer see what is underneath, what started the pain”(40). But what happens when someone comes along and open the wound up again? Things like that are not permanently closed, or erased. You have to deal with it, accept it. Forgetting might seem easy, but you're not exactly letting it go by pushing it aside. You let go by embracing whatever it is you're dealing with and accepting it. Only then can you move on with life.
Kimmy Tran
Forever in Me
Scar
1. I thought that most of “Scar” was very sad. I thought that the family’s acknowledgment to the daughter was disappointing to me, as I cannot see my family rejecting me no matter what the circumstances. I felt that the treatment that An-Mei and her brother received was unfair. It is especially outlined Auntie’s treatment to the children. When she spat on the brother, that showed me that she thinks that he is dirt just because his mother “betrayed” them. Even if the mother did a horrible thing, she still shouldn’t view the children as though they were the guilty ones also.
I liked how the scar on An-Mei was caused by a pot of soup and how she describes it as if it was “anger pouring all over [her]” (39) and soup comes later again when her mother cuts her flesh into it. This meant that An-Mei was not only scarred physically but she was scarred emotionally by her mother (and the anger that her mother caused). But the scar also represents that that emotional scar will be the everlasting bond between them.
I thought it was gross that An-Mei’s mother cut her flesh to put into the soup for Popo. But as I kept reading, I later found it to be endearing. I think that An-mei’s mother feeding her flesh to Popo finally restored their bond with each other and melted away all the friction between them, and with that, Popo’s spirit can finally rest and fly away.
I wonder what the winter melons meant though and why they were colorless.
2. I find that the relationship between An-Mei and her mother is unforgettable. Even though An-Mei’s memory of her mother and her scar started to fade away, they were still there. They were still underneath. An-Mei thought that she had no memory of her mom but when she comes back, so does her memory. It was there in her all along but she didn’t know because “a wound [closes] in on itself, [protecting] what is hurting so much” (40). An-Mei will never be able to forget her mother even if she didn’t come back because the permanent scar on her neck caused by her mother. As a result, when her mom comes back, she is able to love her again. This is demonstrated when the mother cuts her flesh to feed Popo and An-Mei states “[That] is how I came to love my mother. How I saw her in my own true nature. What was beneath my skin. Inside my bones” (40). Her mother will always be inside her.
3. Amy Tan used a lot of symbolism. The goose represents her mother while the scar on An-Mei represents hurtful memories and the effect that her mother left on her. Also, I think Amy Tan used to the soup to symbolize the hurtful events that can both hurt and unite us (the soup burnt An-Mei but also another soup restored An-Mei’s respect and love for her mother).
4. I think the theme is that we should always respect our elders no matter what. The theme is stated in the end when An-Mei says, “The pain of the flesh is nothing. The pain you must forget. Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must …until there is nothing” (41). I think Amy Tan is trying to show to us that we must forget the pain that they may have cause us and care and remember our elders because they are our own blood.
Jane Wong
Period 6
1. Just like a Picture that is worth a Thousand Words
2. "Scar"
3. I thought this chapter was rather profound and a bit depressing. An-Mei uses a lot of metaphors to describe what it was like when she lived with her grandmother. This chapter surprised me most because it really showed the reader how she starts off with saying how she never really remembered her mother to loving her mother. Her Popo, as known as her grandmother, had always told her to not remember her mother. Perhaps this is because her grandmother was intolerant of how her mother married An-Mei's father when An-Mei was actually just four years old. I didn't really understand why her grandmother didn't like An-Mei's mother all that much though. Was it because her mother rarely came and visited An-Mei's grandmother or was it because An-Mei's mother never took the responsibilities to become a reliable mother for An-Mei? I liked how An-Mei said her auntie "had a tongue like hungry scissors eating silk cloth" (35). I think it means that her auntie had such a sharp personality that she just always mock everyone who didn't agree with her. When An-Mei mentions about the soup pot spilling down her neck, she said "it was as though everyone's anger were pouring all over [her]" (39). I thought this was a really good simile to show the reader how An-Mei felt at that moment when she had so much stress going on. She cried out for her mother, but popo and her family chased her mother away. The scar that was left on An-Mei's flesh was like a picture that was left with a thousand words because the scar had An-Mei's mind run through with a thousand thoughts of her mother, from forgetting her externally to loving her internally.
4. An-Mei and her mother's relationship seem irreplaceable. Throughout this chapter, An-Mei brings back several memories of what her mother was like. Though she says she has forgotten her mother, there is undeniable love going on in between. When An-Mei's mother comes back, she says "[she] worshipped this mother from [her] dream. But the woman standing by Popo's bed was not the mother of [her] memory" (40). However, when her Popo was ill in bed, An-Mei saw her mother cutting her own flesh and putting it into the soup to represent shou, which means respect. Cutting her own flesh represented the tradition of honor for her own mother. It really showed An-Mei that her mother does care about her Popo and that she does have respect, like it was in her bones. An-Mei said that "you must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother before her. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh" (41). An-Mei believes that her mother has done a great thing and that really showed An-Mei a different side of her mother. So she definitely develops another side of herself to show that she has began to love her mother internally herself. She shows the reader that she has began to that her mother was not just someone who just came back from a long time, but someone who still has the morals to show that there are other things "worth of the pain" (41).
5. Amy Tan continued to use a lot of flashbacks in this chapter. She also uses several similes to describe how she felt throughout the chapter. Her flashbacks consist of what it was like when her mother came back to see her Popo in so many years and the time when she got the scar engraved in her flesh. Amy Tan used strong words such as how her scar has become "pale" and "shiny" (40). She mentioned how the wound closed itself and how that is what a wound is like, where " you no longer see what is underneath, what started the pain" (40). This lets the reader know that a wound is actually a sad memory of an incident that has happened before. Also, when Amy Tan said that the pot of soup that fell down the deep flesh was like anger pouring down, that really emphasized a few meanings. One was that the soup must have seemed like hot, steamy, and angry people who were always putting An-Mei to a lot of stress. Another was that all the pain An-Mei was feeling was like the hottest and hardest pain she had ever felt.
6.For Chinese culture, I am learning that there is something called shou, which means respect. The end of the chapter showed how An-Mei's mother had shou when she cut her own flesh to put in the pot of soup to give to An-Mei's Popo. It showed that her mother had the respect for elders and that she had a caring side. Shou is like a tradition for Chinese people. In this case, her mother had made a huge sacrifice to prove herself worthy of traditional presence. This also proved An-Mei wrong about how her mother was more than what she seemed to be.
1)Some Things Just cannot be Forgotten
2)Feathers from a Thousand Li Away “An-Mei Hsu: Scar”
3)After reading “Scar,” I realized that Amy Tan used a technique very similar to that of Octavia Butler in the novel Kindred. The chapter title “Scar” had both a literal and symbolic meaning. The literal meaning was that An-mei Hsu really did obtain a scar when a pot of boiling soup spilled on her in a conflict between her mother and others in her extended family. Symbolically, her mother left a permanent scar on An-mei when she left home and gained the title of traitor to her ancestors.
An-mei’s mother was a character that was described from two clearly different perspectives. One was out of the words and actions portrayed by Popo and auntie. The other was my/our own perspective. Tan wrote about An-mei’s mother in the indirect way that allowed me to finalize An-mei’s mother’s true personality for myself. Popo and auntie say that An-mei’s mother was a traitor, disobedient and forbid An-mei and her brother to speak of their mother’s name. Later, however, when I actually met An-mei’s mother (though reading about her actions and not just hearing what others thought about her) I realized that An-mei’s mother is the complete opposite of my earlier impression. She loves and respects Popo, cares for her children and regrets that she left An-mei. It wasn’t until I met her that I saw her in a whole new light.
As for auntie, I think that she has a despicable and an abusive attitude. It was said that she “had a very bad temper with children,” (35) and it mad me angry when she “pushed [An-mei’s] brother against the gate and spat in his face” (35). I mean, they’re not even her children… and she slaps them across the face? It’s inhumane. There is no doubt that she abuses them as a way to take out her anger for An-mei’s mother. I don’t think that she has the right to hurt those children physically. She should at least try to talk them out of the disrespect with calm words.
After reading this chapter, there are still a few things that I didn’t understand and want to know. Such as whether Popo is An-mei’s grandmother from her father’s side of the family or her grandmother from her mother’s side of the family, and why An-mei’s mother left in the first place, what caused her to leave?
4)I would describe the relationship between An-mei and her mother, Nuyer, as somewhat indecisive. An-mei’s thoughts and knowledge of her own mother was influenced by what the people around her said. Her grandmother and auntie spoke much more than just “lowly” of her mother. They said that she was disobedient, disrespectful, greedy, shameful and a traitor. In reality, however, An-mei had never seen her mother as any of these. Her only memory of the lady she never really knew was of the time her mother came to try to take her back but was shooed away with harsh words. Even so, Nuyer was unforgotten. Although An-mei said that “[her] wound [closed] in on itself, [and protected] what [was] hurting so much,” (40) all she really did was hide the memory of her mother for a while, to heal her disappointment and longing for her mother. An-mei’s mixed feelings toward her mother also served as a result of when her mother came back at Popo’s greatest time of need. What she saw of this woman is completely the opposite of what she had been hearing the past years. Her mother’s return to care for Popo showed love and respect. She stayed headstrong even as she saw the looks of disapproval from within the house. When Nuyer cut a piece of her own flesh to add to the medicinal brew for Popo, it can’t be said that she had a greedy personality because she wasn’t thinking about the pain. She thought about her mother and she sacrificed. There is no doubt that Nuyer loved her daughter very much. She was unsuccessful at hiding the sorrow that she had kept down for many years. She remembered the dinner. The dinner that would scar her daughter for life. As she touched the white scar, she broke down and cried. She clearly regretted leaving her daughter and loved her as any true mother would.
5)I think that the most noticeable writing technique that Tan uses in this particular chapter is symbolism. The “scar” represents a reminder for An-mei. It is permanent; something that will never fully fade away. Looking at the scar may have reminded An-mei of the past event and what caused her to obtain that white scar. The “boiling hot soup” that spilled on An-mei the year she was four signaled the start of related events that happen later in her life. The hot soup symbolizes her family’s temper and anger toward her mother. When the soup pours all over An-mei, it is a symbol meaning the family’s anger toward her mother will be taken out on her now that her mother has gone. This implication was directly stated when An-mei thought “it was as though everyone’s anger was pouring all over me” (39). It foreshadows something that was to happen for years to come. The “soup” was once again mentioned later on in the story. At this time, the soup symbolized anger, but later, the soup symbolized respect, love and hope. When Popo was fatally ill, An-mei’s mother returned and brewed a medicinal soup for Popo. It’s most important ingredient was a piece of An-mei’s mother’s own flesh. It symbolized hope for “[An-mei’s mother] cooked magic in this ancient tradition to try to cure [Popo] this one last time” (41). All of these symbols improve the story because they create interest. It is a smart way to indirectly imply different meanings and creates a better understanding by focusing on some important elements in the story.
6)(c. What are you learning about Chinese culture?)
This chapter revealed a lot of local color which allowed me to learn about a few things that existed in both China’s past and present. Chinese culture values honor and shou (meaning respect). An-mei’s mother shames the entire family when she decided to marry a rich man even if it meant that she would become his third concubine. This action condemned to be a traitor. Some of the cultural things that were mentioned were things that I already knew about such as concubines, bound feet and the golden rule of respect. Others, such as cutting one’s own flesh to brew in a medicinal soup surprised me. I realize that each has its own story yet to be told.
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1.The Soup Special
2.“Scar”
3.Although this chapter was much shorter than the previous, I felt that it held much depth to a part of An-Mei Hsu’s life. The overall emotion it presented was sad, and it gave me the impression that An-Mei’s childhood was ultimately confusing and heart-breaking, being a child with no mother or father. I thought that this chapter was at times, visually morbid, and because of this, hard to differentiate between a dream and reality. I recall many stories that my elders told me about “a greedy girl” or “a girl who refused to listen to her elders” (34). These tales would always end up scaring me into doing the opposite of those unfortunate characters, and I see that An-Mei reacted to the stories the same way as well. While reading “Scar,” I had a gut-feeling that although An-Mei’s mother was permanently excluded from the family, the relatives weren’t the most righteous, reasonable people either. They resented An-Mei’s mother’s actions and held maddening grudges. The relatives’ morals and actions seemed to say that they would never forgive An-Mei’s mother for leaving. This was the most saddening, because An-Mei would never fully have the motherly love she needed.
4.I thought that this chapter mostly reflected on the relationship between An-Mei and her mother. All she has are two stubborn female relatives, both whom cannot care for her the way a mother would. I would describe An-Mei’s relationship with her mother as a miserable, and lacking one. In An-Mei’s “dream” (which was actually a reality when she was four years old), her auntie physically restrained her from running to her mother. Instead of being in the grasp of her mother, she receives a pot of scalding-hot soup poured down her neck. The soup was “everyone’s anger” (39) that hurt her and left her with nothing but a scar; an ugly reminder of her see-saw childhood. What further distances her from her mother is that An-Mei does not know how to react or feel about her mother’s presence when she is finally there next to An-Mei. In place of what An-Mei should have had was a scar, lacking love but full of emptiness.
5.The writing technique I appreciated the most in this chapter was the imagery, along with word choice. In “Scar,” the words maintained a certain aura of darkness and words one would use to describe a movie like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Without them, it would not have been easy to recognize the pain and hurt that An-Mei experienced. The stories that Popo told followed these lines, as well as the raw scene of her mother slicing a bit of her own flesh off. The things that An-Mei saw were fascinatingly described by Amy Tan with words that were physically there, yet at the same time, giving off creative, grisly images within the reader’s mind.
6.What is the theme or life lesson in this chapter and which line or scene reveals this?
I think the theme in this chapter is that you must have honor and respect, shou, for your family. It is necessary to show it because your ancestors are in your body, and in your bones. This is found in the last paragraph of “Scar,” directly after An-Mei witnesses what her mother does to the soup. The pain her mother inflicts upon herself by cutting her own flesh is for honor and the “only way to remember what is in [her] bones” (41), as well as an attempt at an ancient, traditional cure.
Underneath it All
Focusing on: Scar
This chapter gave me the chills, chills that were caused by both Amy Tan's descriptions of the physical pains that the An-mei and her mother went through and the wording of her philosophical views on wounds and scars. While reading about the story behind An-mei's burn, I felt like I had been the one to have gotten burnt,or in other words, I felt as if I had pushed An-mei out of the way and replaced her in the story. This chapter made me feel as if I had wounds all over my body and because of these "wounds" I felt extremely depressed and was able to emphasise with the physical pains of both An-mei and her mother, and thus was able to emphasise with their emotional pains as well. In the scene where An-mei's mother cuts her skin, I was at first only able to imagine the physical pain that she went through, but through this understanding was later able to get a sense of the emotional pain that she was going through as well. A particular scene in which I was able to connect to was the scene in which An-mei's mother was rubbing An-mei's "smooth-neck scar." This illustration of An-mei and her mother reminded me of the times when my mom rubbed my skin when I got a bruise. Just like how An-mei felt mentally better when her mom rubbed her skin, I felt the same when my mom rubbed my skin. Another scene in which I was able to connect to my life was the scene that described An-mei's fear and innocene as she walked past her father's painting. Just like how she "would quickly walk by [her] father with a know-nothing look and hide in a corner of [her] room where he could not see her [face]," my sister used to act the same way when she felt guilty and didn't want my parents to find out her secret wrong-doing. Aside from scenes, a character in this chapter who really annoyed me was the aunt. Although she was not greatly affected or really any part of the conflict, she always butted into the family's business and often scolded, slapped the children, and even talked smack about their mother saying things like, "She is so beneath others that even the devil must look down to see her."
I would describe the relationship between Popo and An-mei as a "foreign langauge," a relationship in which only the two people who speak it can understand. When Popo tells An-mei that she and her brother fell "out of the bowels of a stupid goose," and were "two eggs that nobody wanted," this oddly didn't anger or sadden An-mei but instead made her feel loved because she believed that Popo said this because she loved them. An-mei "translates" her grandmother's words as ," to Popo we were also very precious." At first, no one may understand why An-mei thinks this way, but later on readers are able to conclude that she reacts this way to Popo because she has gotten used to the way her grandmother acts and can tell when she is serious and when she is not. Another scene in which this is expressed is when Popo explained the procession that would take place if An-mei were to die. Some may become convinced that Popo is cruel for "threatening" An-mei and scaring her, but the real motives behind Popo's actions are actually expressed when Popo begins to talk about An-mei's mother. Popo mentions An-mei's mother because she knows the true feelings of An-mei, despite An-mei's effort to hide them. Popo's strategy works and An-mei comes, "hurrying back from the other world to find [her] mother."
I noticed that Amy Tan used a lot of similes in this chapter. For example, when she was describing Popo's flesh she could have just said that her skin "had gone soft and rotten with a bad smell," but she also added the simile that, "Popo had swollen up like an overripe squash," summing up that fact more easily and precisely. Her use of similes improved her writing by helping readers feel more of a connection to the text by comparing bigger ideas to real-world objects.
An-mei's mother in a sense is the woman in the allegory who buys a swan. Just like the woman, An-mei's mother marries and becomes a concubine in hopes of creating an easier and better life for her daughter. But once again, just like the lady in the allegory, her hopes are crumbled and that "swan" or that "future" is taken away from her by the immigration officials, in this case Popo and her family. She is also left confused and speechless when she sees the negativities that ios are brought by her good-intentions. Her daughter is taught to ignore and look down upon her because she voluntarily becomes a concubine-a disgrace. Her good intentions are unknown to An-mei and appears as worthless. Her desire to provide for her daughter, becomes overshadowed by her familys' criticism and ignorance. An-mei's mother longs to reveal the purpose, the motives behind her action but is unable to. Though the allegory mentions words like "Coca-Cola" and "American" I believe that the allegory applies to the chapter Scar as well.
Johnny Chu
Period 7
1. The Unforgotten Truth
2. The Scar
3. This chapter focuses on An-Mei’s mother and her memories. When An-Mei was little her grandmother (Popo) would tell her that her mother died when she was very young. However, that was not the truth. What really happened was that her mother left her when her father died to remarry a wealthy man. This action is very irresponsible since she left An-Mei behind. This chapter is only called “The Scar” simply because An-Mei got scalded by hot soup when her mother was trying to take her and leave. The family sat down to eat, but while halfway eating An-Mei’s mother came. They argued and the argument became fierce. While the family was in their argument hot soup tipped over and spilled on An-Mei’s chest. Another significant event in this chapter is when An-Mei’s mother cut her flesh and put it into the herbal soup. This was a couple years after An-Mei’s mother left. I think that An-Mei’s mother was truly sorry and she sacrificed her flesh trying to save Popo. She bleed a lot during the process and could of died this shows that An-Mei’s mother is trying to do something for what she done years back and it seems that she felt and bad for leaving the family and remarrying.
4. The relationship between An-Mei and her aunt is not so good. Since her aunt would always get mad at her. I think it was because she was mad at her mother. You can compare this to “The Secret Life of Bees” where Lily’s Dad tried to force her to go home. T. Ray hit Lily and threatened her as if it was Lily’s mother running away from her. Another relationship that can be talked about is An-Mei and her mother. Even though they have not seen each other for years, An-Mei, from her first glimpse of her seemed to feel that she knew her. But the truth is that An-Mei only saw her mother when she was a toddler.
5. Amy Tan starts the story with a flashback about An-Mei when she was a little girl. Which gives you a view of what happened? She would then talk about the characters which are the members of the family.
6c. In this chapter I learned that Chinese people are very superstitious because they believed in ghosts. Amy Tan used this to point to talk about An-Mei’s mother. It is a good way to say that you should never remember someone ever again. In the Chinese culture people are scared of ghosts so they never really mention them, so they are forgotten most times.
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Rikki Dionisio
Period 6
1.) Unfinished Business
2.) Feathers from a Thousands Li Away: Scar
3.) This chapter reveals much about China's culture. There was talk about Chinese traditions and customs like foot binding, concubines, and when An-mei's mother cuts her own flesh in hopes to cure her mother. Something that caught my attention was that An-mei's mother became a concubine. I didn't know that concubines were still popular in that time period. In history we have read that concubines were popular in many civilizations, China being one, but I didn't know that they were still popular in such recent times. I thought that the tradition of having concubines had finally died out and we had more respect for women.
I felt that sad reading this chapter because when An-mei's mother finally returned to visit after five years and she is brushing An-mei's hair, she gently caresses the scar on the back of her (An-mei's) neck, and the memory of when she recieved it came rushing back. What saddened me even more was that the scar was caused by an incident involving An-mei's mother trying to get her daughter back and a bowl of soup spills on her neck causing her to recieve a burn.
A second event that happened in the chapter, that stuck out to me, was when An-mei's mother cuts out a piece of her skin and puts it in a soup in rememberance of her mother. I thought that this was an act of guilt or remorse because An-mei's mother and grandmother did not have a very loving relationship and An-mei's mother did not get that chance to fix it causing her to act this way. This incident caused An-mei and her mother to become closer, though. She finally felt a real love towards her mother because she was willing to hurt herself in hopes of curing her father.
4.) The relationship that stuck out the most to me in this chapter was that of Popo and An-mei's mother because although they had a very distant relationship An-mei cut a piece of her flesh to place into the bowl for her mother father although they had a tough relationship. An-mei's mother's family basically disowns her, but she still returns when her mother needs her. She had a choice of whether or not to return because of previous incidents, but she still returns. No matter what problems the family throws at her, An-mei's mother is still a devoted, respectful daughter to her parents.
5.) Similar to Octiva Butler, Tan uses symbolism in her chapter titles to foreshadow later events. I think that "scar" was an appropriate chapter title not only because it reveals the story behind An-mei's scar, but characters also gain scars emotionally. An-mei's mother cuts her flesh off, which literally causes a scar. But because An-mei's mother and Popo have "unfinished business" to attend to, she will never get the chance to because he passes away and she never will, causing the hurt she had been feeling to never heal.
6.) a. What is the theme or life lesson in this chapter and which line or scene reveals this?
In this chapter I learned that family quarreling should never break a family apart because when someone you are fighting with dies you never get the chance to settle the petty drama between you and them and you will just be left with a "scar" from hurt causes by constant bickering.
1. The Ghost’s Soup
2. Scar
3. Apparently I wasn’t paying attention to the first page of this chapter, or I was preoccupied with something else, because I kept thinking Popo was An-Mei’s sister and I thought her mom had died, so I was kind of confused until I reread the chapter. Also, the second paragraph is sort of contradicting, because Popo says that An-Mei and her brother came from a stupid bird, how no one wanted them, but then the paragraph ends with saying “to Popo we were also very precious.” What’s that supposed to mean? And the storied Popo tells An-Mei, do those have a hidden meaning? Is it maybe a cultural thing that I don’t get because I’m not Chinese?
This chapter also seemed kind of sad to me. An-Mei didn’t know her mother or her father; I would don’t think I’d be happy if I didn’t know my parents, but I guess it’s just one of those things you would get used to. And then in the end, her grandmother, the person she’s lived with her whole life, she dies. It just makes me sad, it seems like An-Mei is abandoned.
4. An-Mei’s mother and Popo have a very strained relationship. It’s difficult to forgive someone who upsets you, and An-Mei’s mother dishonored Popo, the worst thing you can do in the Chinese culture. They have a difficult relationship because of it, Popo wants nothing to do with her daughter, but her daughter wants very much to be forgiven. She sacrifices herself in the last scene in the chapter, cutting off a piece of her arm to try and cure Popo. But in the beginning of the chapter, Popo keeps telling An-Mei how evil her mother was and how An-Mei should never speak her name.
5. Amy Tan uses a lot of repetition, kind of parallel structure. She starts with telling us about how An-Mei came from a “stupid goose” and then when her mother is introduced, An-Mei used that description for her mother, “I saw that she had a long white neck, just like the goose that had laid me.” The there were the storied Popo tells An-Mei, about the winter melon and her brains running out of her head. Both these thoughts come up again when An-Mei mother is brushing her hair one night. I think An-Mei was remembering all the warnings Popo had given her about her mother, and, being in her presence, they popped into her head and started to worry her.
6. I think the theme in this chapter is that it doesn’t matter what you do in life, you family will always be there for you. Popo totally blocked her daughter out of her life after she had An-Mei, but when Popo was on her death bed, her daughter came and tried to help cure her. An-Mei also blocked out her mother, and when her grandmother was dying and she didn’t have anybody to take care of her, her mother shows up, just in time to take over from Popo.
1. A Mother’s Love
2. Scar
3. Wow. I thought that the mother-daughter bond in this chapter was really powerful. Though An-Mei and her mother have not seen each other in years, they are automatically able to connect and relate. It makes me wonder if this is always true with mothers and daughters.
4. I would describe the relationship between An-Mei and her mother as intuitive. Even though An-Mei has not seen her mother in years, as soon as she walks in the door, she knows who she is. An-Mei sees in her mother her own self, and feels her in her bones. As her mother rubs An-Mei’s scar, An-Mei feels the sad memories being rubbed back into her. For An-Mei, the proof of their intuition comes when she sees her mother cut her own flesh to try and save Popo. She knows that this is something she would do for her own mother.
5. Amy Tan uses An-Mei’s scar as a symbol for the emotional damage inflicted on her as a small child when her mother was forced to leave. She was caught in the middle, between her mother, and her shamed family. All of the anger in her house is poured onto An-Mei, just like the scalding soup.
6. The main conflict in this chapter is An-Mei’s internal struggle. All of her life, she has been told that her mother was a bad person. But as soon as she sees her, she recognizes the bond that they share.
Lost but Not Forgotten
“Scar”
1. While I was reading the “Scar”, I noticed that this chapter’s mood is a lot darker and more solemn than the previous chapter. When I read about the treatment of An-mei and her brother from her family, I felt that it was unfair. An-mei’s aunt is a prime example of the harsh treatment as she spat at An-mei’s brother. She could think that the brother was worthless because his mother had “betrayed” the family. I felt that it was unreasonable to blame the children for the mother’s mistakes.
Another part of the chapter that intrigued me was when An-mei’s mother cut a piece of her flesh and dropped it into her mother’s soup. I thought it was gross to think about skin in soup but I understand that it was part of an age-old tradition. In putting her own flesh into the soup, An-mei’s mother tried to ease Popo’s pain and tried to “save” her life.
2. The relationship between Popo and An-mei’s mother can be described as unforgotten. After An-mei became Wu-Tsing’s concubine, Popo and her family felt betrayed and hurt and they never forgot how they felt. The family even pushed their feelings into An-mei until she forgot who her mother was completely. However, An-mei’s mother never forgot about her mother despite their harsh treatment towards her. At Popo’s deathbed, An-mei’s mother came to their house after 5 years to cut a piece of her flesh to alleviate Popo’s pain and to “remember what is in [her] bones” (41).
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses symbolism. The boiling soup is symbolized as the family’s anger towards An-mei’s mother. This feeling washed over An-mei resulting in a scar in her life that would never go away. However, this soup can also unite the family with love and tradition. An-mei’s mother finally returned home and tried to help her own mother that chased her out of the house with the symbolic soup.
4. From this chapter I learned a lot about shou, respect for ancestors or family. When An-mei’s mother returned home and made the soup, it was her way of shou. It showed that her mother had a caring and respecting side towards Popo. Also, in the beginning of the chapter, the mother was said to lose her shou when she left the family to become a concubine.
Eileen Ly from 7th period
A Ghost in Flesh
“Scar”
At first when I read “Scar”, I was really put off by Tan’s…descriptive language. I didn’t really understand the whole idea of her mother cutting her flesh into the soup. Nonetheless, I reread it and it came clearer to me. My idea of Popo is this old woman who has a lot of respect for her ancestry like most Chinese families. When her daughter sells her body away to become a concubine, Popo is full of hatred which is then put upon An-Mei and her little brother. Perhaps Popo is so busy being angry that she doesn’t take time to listen to her own daughter. It seems like she has branded her daughter, “a stupid goose (33), out of hurt and disappointment. I feel sad about Popo’s disposition to her daughter. Does she hold honor and hatred to be even above her own daughter? On the 34th page of the book, Popo becomes ill and tells An-mei, “Never say her name. To say her name is to spit on your father’s grave”. I think that sometimes adults are so busy with their own troubles that they forget to take time to actually think about the children. So busy that they don’t care how their children are affected. I know for sure that An-mei is troubled. She hears her aunt and Popo bad-mouthing her mom all the time. At the same time, An-mei longs for her mother’s love. She is “the girl whose belly [holds] a colorless melon” (37). Additionally, the ending was a bit intense; I had to reread it a couple of times to understand the theme. An- mei’s mother sacrificed her flesh in an attempt to save her mother, a mother who had shown her no support in her decision to become a concubine. I can imagine that An-mei is a woman who respects her family even if she has fallen and the world looks down upon her.
In An-mei and her mother’s relationship, I would choose to describe it as love hungry. Both of them are desperate for love. Although An-mei’s mother may not show it as much as An-mei, the reader can tell as she cuts a piece of her flesh and puts it into the medicine soup to feed to her mother. In An-mei’s flashback, her mother came back for her daughter in a display of love but was not allowed to bring her along. I would say that a common characteristic between the both of them is their ability to love even when there is hate. In An-mei’s mother’s view, Popo appears to curse her existence yet she is prepared to bleed for the very person who hates her. For An-mei, her vision of her mother is negatively influenced by Popo and her aunt’s opinions but she still “[comes] to love [her] mother” (40).
For this rather short excerpt, Tan uses a lot of flashbacks as An-mei’s memories. By using this technique, she paints a canvas of memories that add interest to the text and also clarifies on the chapter’s theme. She also uses a bit of word choice and indirect characterization to give the reader an image of her characters such as Popo. There is a lot of dialogue in this chapter and also only a couple of sentence variety styles. Tan switches back and forth between the format of the sentences but she uses the first person point of view which hands the reader the feeling and mood of the story. To me, it feels like one of those black and white French theater films, where the whole atmosphere seems dulled out but also at the same time, powerful and captivating. There might be a bit of symbolism in the story such as An-mei’s neck scar. It could represent her love for her mother, both damaging and painful part of her.
The life lesson of this chapter is no matter how painful a memory can be, it will always be a part of you. It can be forgotten but it will leave a scar on your life. An-mei’s scar is evidence. She obtains it as a child from a boiling pot of soup filled with “everyone’s anger…pouring all over” (39). Revealing the theme is the line, “The wound begins to close in on itself, to protect what is hurting so much. And once it is closed, you no longer see what is underneath, what started the pain” (40).
1. Obligations
2. “Scar”
3. After reading this chapter, I felt really bad for An-mei’s mother because of how cruelly her family treated her after she became a concubine. I can’t imagine how terrible it must’ve felt to have your own mother chase you out of the house and separate you from your children.
I respect for An-mei’s mother for returning after five years. Even though Popo abandoned her and took her kids away, An-mei’s mother still came back to perform a painful, ancient tradition in an attempt to cure her. It was incredible how An-mei’s mother was still able to try to rescue Popo after being cast away by her.
4. I would describe Popo’s and An-mei’s relationship as motherly. While An-mei was placed under Popo’s care, Popo told her stories that would help her cope with her mother’s disappearance. She also told her a bunch of other tales that have good morals so that An-mei will be good. Popo’s intention for An-mei was to nurture her into a great, unselfish person. She was also very supportive of An-Mei after hot soup spilled on her neck. She stayed at An-mei’s bed side and poured water over the burn until the girl was asleep and came back in the morning to peel off the dead skin. Popo cared a lot about An-mei and treated her as if she was her own daughter.
5. Amy Tan uses great word choice in “Scar”. For example, she uses words like “cold” to describe the hallways and “tall” to describe stairs (33). These words have a negative connotation and show how lonely and isolated An-mei felt while living with her aunt, uncle, and grandmother. Tan also uses words like “swollen”, “rotten” and “bad smell” to describe Popo’s flesh after she grew sick (34). Words like these show readers how poor Popo’s condition was as well as foreshadow Popo’s incoming death.
6. By reading this chapter, I learned that the Chinese believed that ghosts steal children that are considered precious. So in order to protect their children from being taken away by specters, guardians must lie and claim that their children are useless and worthless. Parents put down their children because they love them and don’t want them taken away by ghosts. Second, I learned a couple of the stories that are told to children to stop them becoming greedy and disobedient. Lastly, I learned that it is honorable for a woman to stay a widow after her husband dies.
Scar "Time After Time" continue...
4)Writing Technique: The main writing technique that I noticed Amy Tan used in the chapter scar was symbolism. This whole chapter contained a lot of similes and metaphors like how Popo described An-Mei's mother as a ghost, meaning that their relationship is broken and her mother is no longer in their family in that sense. Popo and An-Mei's mother both convey lots of anger and hostility towards each other. The boiling pot of soup in the chapter symbolizes Popo's deep anger and frustration towards her daughter. When the hot, steaming soup spilled on An-Mei, leaving a permanent scar on her, it seemed as though Popo and the family's hatred at An-Mei's mother's current position as a Concubine has in some ways left this kind of scar on the whole family as a whole too. No matter how hard the family tries to act like An-Mei's mother is not their and ignore the problems bewteen them, there is still a scar that shows what happened and the memory is still present lingering in their minds.
Scar, “Ghosts only come into our lives when we have wrongly pushed someone away.”
1. Although this chapter was short, it conveyed strong feelings of mourn and sadness to the reader. In this chapter, An-Mei’s grandmother told her that her own mother was a ghost. I thought at first that perhaps she had passed away, then realized that by referring to her mother a ghost, she really meant that the woman wasn’t a part of their lives. An-Mei’s mother had married a rich man with many kids and wives. For doing this, her family saw her as dishonoring her family, and then decided to reject her. The significance of the chapter title was revealed soon after when we are told that at the age of 4 An-Mei had a large soup pot fall on her neck. The burn left a scar. Popo tells An-Mei a lot of hurtful things. I wonder if he says them so she will not turn out as her mother did, rather be greatful and keep them in her life forever. We learn that An-Mei’s explains “how [she] came to love [her] mother” (40), despite all the reasons she shouldn’t.
2. Popo and An-Mei are two strong people whom love each other, but both have their share of problems. I would call it a “love hate relationship”. Popo seems to come off as really harsh and severely strict. If we take a step back we can see that the reason for the way she treats her granddaughter is imply a show of how much she cares for her.
3. Two of the most important ideas in a Chinese family are those of respect and and honor, epically to ones family. When An-Mei makes the decision to be a concubine of a man with many wives and children, her family sees it as a complete and utter show of disrespect and dishonor. The times were hard for her and her family, but she made the decision to dishonor them. Her family, then, made the decision to push her out of their lives. This was a mistake on both ends because during times that get us down, the best way to get through them, is to stick together.
-Jennifer Vance<33
1)“Shou” Your Respects
2)Scar
3)I think that this chapter, titled ‘Scar’, generally leaned more towards a depressing and mournful mood. In the beginning, when I read the line, “…my grandmother told me that my mother was a ghost” (33), my first instinct was that An-mei’s mother was dead. However, her grandmother Popo’s comparison with An-mei’s mother and a ghost was that she (An-mei’s mother) was no longer associated with the family. When Popo told An-mei the stories about the melon-bellied girl and the girl who ignored her elders, I felt that Popo was trying to imply that those disobedient girls represented An-mei’s mother. Popo then states, “Never say her name, to say her name is to spit on your father’s grave” (34). That line was rather…harsh of her to say. They’re mother and daughter. Could a mother truly hate her own daughter as much as Popo did with An-mei’s mother? Everybody at some point in their lifetime can make dishonorable mistakes. After five years, I can’t believe that Popo won’t just forgive and forget. I guess Popo is truly old-fashioned. When An-mei narrated about her auntie’s personality and her actions towards An-mei’s younger brother, I immediately formed a disliking towards her auntie. On page 35, Amy Tan writes, “…my brother shouted that Auntie was a talking chicken without a head.” That line was pretty amusing, yet also rude. It’s no wonder that An-mei’s Auntie “pushed [An-mei’s] brother against the gate and spat on his face” (35). Yes, her brother was rude, but that doesn’t mean that her Auntie can spit at her own nephew’s face. She could’ve just resorted to something more civil, like grounding and scolding him. Or, in their time and place’s case, smack him. Spitting is just really gross, unsanitary, and, to me, something that cavemen would probably do. Near the end of the chapter, Tan writes about the death of Popo and how An-mei’s mother finally revisited after five years away from the family to pay her final respects towards her mother. I wanted to gag at this scene. An-mei’s mother takes a knife and cuts a piece of the flesh from her arm. With crimson colors oozing out of her arm, An-mei’s mother adds that piece of her own meat into the soup and fed it to Popo. How disgusting! I felt so queasy and nauseous that I had to put down the book and take a breather. To tell you the truth, I’ve never reacted well to these types of scenes.
4)There are many great relationships to talk about from this chapter. The one relationship that stands out to me the most though was of An-mei’s younger brother and their auntie. The only interaction between them was mainly on page 35. From that single page, however, many things can be interpreted. Their aunt is constantly irritable towards An-mei’s brother. Their aunt says that he has “no shou, no respect for ancestors or family, just like [their mother]” (35). I think that their relationship can be described as quarrelsome. Their aunt is extremely disappointed and mad at An-mei’s mother. After An-mei’s brother utters a rude (yet, at the same time, amusing) comment, their auntie shouts, “You are the son of a mother who has so little respect she has become ni, a traitor to our ancestors” (36). She takes some of that tied up anger and verbally throws it at An-mei’s brother.
5)Like Octavia Butler, the author of Kindred, Amy Tan incorporates the use of literal and symbolic meaning in the chapter titled “Scar”. Literally, it’s titled “Scar” because An-mei, at a young and innocent age, receives a permanent scar on her neck when her mother comes to visit during a family dinner. Before her family shoos her mother away, An-Mei called out for her. The thundering shouts causes a large pot of burning hot soup to spill upon An-mei’s neck and leaves a burn mark, which eventually becomes a permanent scar. In the symbolic sense, the scar on An-Mei also represents hurtful memories and the feelings that her mother has left with her, such as the sore feeling of abandonment.
6)(What is the theme or life lesson in this chapter and which line or scene reveals this?) I think the universal theme in this chapter was that you must have shou, or respect, for your family. Your actions and behaviors will reflect on what they have taught you. If you are an honorable person, your family has raised you well. If you are disrespectful, it “shous” (Haha, get it? Shou = show) that your family has not taught you any moral values or how to behave. This is found in the closing paragraph of “Scar,” directly after An-Mei witnesses what her mother puts to the soup. The pain that An-mei’s mother inflicts upon herself by cutting her own flesh signifies honor and the “only way to remember what is in [her] bones” (41), as well as an attempt at a traditional and therapeutic cure.
:D
1. Memories of a Stranger
2. “Scar”
3. I really liked the title of this chapter, “Scar.” It definitely grabbed my attention. Amy Tan cleverly used her title to foreshadow something having to do with a scar. As I read on, it became more apparent that it would not be just physical; but, an emotional one, as well. When Popo told An-mei her mother was a ghost, the first thing I thought was that she was dead. But, it turns out that Popo meant she was forbidden to be spoken of. I think this shows that An-mei’s mother was a disgrace to her family as a result of her actions. Because she has “so little respect she has become a ni, a traitor to [their] ancestors” (36), Popo tells An-mei and her brother to forget their mother on purpose. It’s ironic how even though her mother left her and her brother to be with another man and become a concubine, An-mei still learned to love her in the end, even though she caused her so much pain and hurt. I think deep down An-mei longed for her mother, since she grew up without one. Although, her mother hurt her, gave her memories a child shouldn’t remember, she still ran to her, hoping to receive the warmth of a mother’s love. I thought it was interesting for An-mei to not remembering her mother, to then lover her in the end.
4. I think An-mei’s mother and Popo’s relationship would be described as loyal. I think this because I don’t think Popo doesn’t love her daughter, I just think that she is not happy with her daughter’s decisions of leaving her children and becoming a concubine, that she has learned to think less of her. And although An-mei’s mother knows her family is against her, she still comes to be by her mother’s side when Popo, who does not brush her out of her house, becomes ill. An-mei’s mother even cuts off her own flesh to try to cure her mother, even though it caused her much pain.
5. Once again, Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter to improve the story. She uses symbols like the swan to represent her An-Mei’s mother. Tan also uses the soup to represent the events that brought An-mei’s family together with it spilling over her neck, symbolizing the family’s anger pouring onto her, leaving her a scar, and then An-mei’s mother using the soup to try to help cure her mother, which restored her respect and loyalty to Popo.
6. In this chapter, the theme is to respect your elders. It is important to respect those older than you because they are the ones who have made you who you are. They are the ones who pass down their heritage on to you. This is found in the last scene where An-mei’s mother cuts her own flesh in attempt to cure her mother, to honor her mother “because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones” (41).
1. “The Ghost who Reappeared”
2. FEATHERS FROM A THOUSAND LI AWAY: “AN-MEI HSU: Scar”
3. This chapter was very short compared to the previous one. An-mei Hsu’s life was very unusual and filled with gloomy moments. Right from the beginning she did not live with her parents but her Grandmother Popo and her brother. It seems to me that An-mei’s family disowned her mother for some reason because everyone called her mother a ghost. I was frightened when An-mei recalled stories Popo would tell her when Popo was sick. I can relate to An-mei because when I was young, my family and relatives would tell me stories children would be frightened of. They told me stories similar to the ones Popo told An-mei in order to teach me a lesson if I didn’t behave. I can recall my aunt telling me never to stick my head out of the car because it might get chopped off my a car going the opposite direction. She told me that she witnessed a man’s head suddenly decapitate when he stuck his head out of the car window. I was very young back then and followed whatever my family told me because their stories scared me tremendously. Now that I think about it, they told me stories out of the ordinary for my sake. An-mei’s aunt thought she had the right to scold An-mei and her brother roughly because of her mother’s actions from the past. Her aunt spat at An-mei’s brother’s face when he talked back at her and said mean things about their mother. The part where her mother cut her flesh and put it in a soup frightened me. Even though An-mei’s mother was disowned, the body that she occupied was made up of Popo’s flesh and spirit.
4. I would describe Popo’s and An-mei’s mother’s relationship as understanding. An-mei’s mother understands that her family has disowned her by allowing her family to neglect her when she came back. Although Popo was very sick, she allowed her daughter to stay in the house and visit her when she came back.Even though Popo and An-mei’s mother went their separate ways, they understood that family is family. An-mei’s mother’s flesh was created from Popo’s and that is proof of love from the past.
5. Amy Tan uses similes, metaphors, and flashbacks in this chapter. By using these techniques, the reader is able to picture scenes that enable them to experience a different environment. An-mei recalled her memories of Popo’s stories when Popo was sick. Popo talked about a greedy girl and another one who disrespected her elders. An-mei also recalled the time when she received her scar from a soup pot that fell over her neck. An example of a simile was when An-mei said, “Popo had swollen up like an overripe squash” (34). Instead of directly stating that Popo’s face changed dramatically by becoming swollen, the simile gave the reader an insight of how Popo’s face looked like. An example of a metaphor was when An-mei’s brother talked back to their aunt that she “was a talking chicken without a head” (35). I felt that comparing her aunt to a headless chicken showed how angry and upset her brother was at their aunt.
6. I learned more about the Chinese culture throughout this chapter. A person who is disowned would be called a ghost and his/her family members would not say their name. In the chapter, An-mei’s mother was treated as a ghost. After the boiling soup accidentally poured on An-mei, Popo told her that her dying clothes were prepared. Family members tell the person what they would wear and how the funeral would occur before the person died.
1. “Unforgotten”
2. “Scar”
3. I didn’t entirely understand this chapter. The figurative stories Popo told An-mei were difficult to understand at first, especially the story about the girl with a winter melon in her stomach. I also thought it was outrageous how An-mei’s family treated her mother like an outcast because of the person she married. In my opinion, even though the relatives disapproved of her husband, they should have acknowledged her more. An-mei could not even utter her mother’s name because “to say her name is to spit on your father’s grave” (34). If An-mei’s father was so disliked, why does Popo care about his honor and respect? The aunt handled the situation awfully. She was being so prejudice towards An-mei and her brother just because of their lineage. I wonder how the characters would have reacted if they were in the same situation but in more modern time period. I found the painting of An-mei’s father slightly disturbing because Popo made it seem like his eyes were always watching others. Also, I didn’t know why An-mei’s mother needed to cut a piece of her flesh into the soup for Popo.
4. I think An-mei’s mother and Popo have a strange love-hate relationship. Popo and the rest of the family are disgraced by the actions of An-mei’s mother. Even so, Popo and the mother still have a strong connection with deep roots. This relationship was shown when the mother “cut a piece of meat from her arm” (41) to save the dying Popo.
5. This chapter definitely included a lot of flashbacks. The flashbacks really help, especially in the beginning, because it shows the reader the bonds different characters have with each other. It also gives background information on past events that may affect the future. This technique was used so often, however, that it became confusing. I began to lose track of what happened in the past and what happened in the present.
6D. In this chapter, I learned that respect and honor are very important in Chinese culture. An-mei’s mother dishonored her family when she became the third concubine to her husband. In turn, her family did not want anything to do with her anymore, so they disowned her. I believe that family is family, no matter what they do. Family will always be bound by blood and that can never change. I think disowning An-mei’s mother was much too harsh.
“Losing Face”
CH. Scar
3. My first reaction to the part where An-mei’s mom was cooking the soup was, “Aughhhh! She’s feeding her mom her own meat!!!” However, as I slowly processed it through my mind again, I realized it was very bold act of showing her xiao shun (it means consideration, but for some reason it sounds funny in English). Even though An-mei’s mother knew that her family hated her for deserting them to become a concubine, she was still brave enough to return home and take care of Popo. Facing the harsh and sharp rebukes of Auntie and the displeased glares from the rest the family, she refused to be stopped as she tried everyway to cure her mother until her spirits flew away. It surprised me a lot because if I was An-mei’s mother, I would have chickened out at the thought of returning to a place where I was hated by everyone.
Another scene that surprised me was when An-mei was burned by the pot of hot soup and almost died. When she was lying in her bed close to death, I can not believe the way Auntie went up to her and explained “Your funeral will be very small. Our mourning time for you will be very short” (39). Nowadays, if someone died, their family would probably give them at least a decent burial and grieve for a long time not just because of their age. That part of the story confused me because didn’t the Chinese tradition always value their children the most? Was An-mei just an exception because of her mom’s actions?
4. I would say that the relationship between An-mei and her mom is something like long distance. It is as if no matter how much they love each other, they will always have a barrier between them due to the family’s disapproval of An-mei’s mother’s decision. Despite the fact that An-mei grew up being told of all the bad things about her mother, she is still determined to hold on to the thin yet strong strand of love that connected them together. For example in the scene that An-mei is dying, when Auntie tells her that, “Even your mother has used up her tears and left. If you do not get well soon, she will forget you” (39). Immediately, An-mei gathers up the strength and “[comes] hurrying back from the other world to [find] [her] mother”.
5. A writing technique that Amy Tan constantly incorporates throughout this chapter is the use of similes. Like the section where An-mei’s mother is stroking An-mei’s childhood scar, Amy Tan compares it to as if she was “rubbing the memory back into [her] skin” (38). Using similes like those transforms a simple action into a much deeper and abstract meaning that makes us think twice before reading on.
6. Some things about the Chinese culture in this chapter are that they are extremely superstitious. Auntie tells An-mei how her mother is a ghost and in those days, it was forbidden to talk about ghosts. Even Popo was supersiticious and would say aloud to the “ghosts” that An-mei and her brother were bad eggs that had “fallen out of the bowels of a stupid goose, two eggs that nobody wanted” (33).
oops.
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6. Some things ( add. "i learned") about the Chinese Culture....blah
haha, yea... XD
had to fix it.
1.“Beneath the Skin”
2.“Scar”
3.Although this chapter was fairly short, I received many different emotions when reading. The main emotion I felt was definitely heartbreaking. For a little girl to be told to remember nothing of her mother is difficult. An-Mei‘s mother leaves to become a concubine of Wu Tsing, and her memories of her mother is all that’s left of her and for An-Mei to have to forget is quite depressing. The thought of An-Mei’s childhood is upsetting: having to live with a painting of her father, her mother off being a concubine, living with her aunt who hates children and her grandmother whose commanding An-Mei to forget all memories of her mother. I felt it was really interesting when An-Mei’s mother reminded An-Mei she knew who she was, and automatically knowing that rubbing the scar underneath her chin would be like rubbing memories of her back to An-Mei. That moment really shocked me because right after she rubbed her scar, her mother began to cry meaning she either missed An-Mei and her brother very much or her past decisions lead to a regretful present and future. I was really pleased with how Amy Tan ended the chapter. An-Mei forgave her mother and understood the situation her mother was going through without having her explain in detail the reasons she left and beg for An-Mei’s forgiveness.
4.I would describe An-Mei’s mother and Popo’s relationship as bittersweet. Popo is ill and very close to the end of the road, and to show her respects to her mother, An-Mei’s mother comes back even after Popo forces her to leave An-Mei because she is scared how An-Mei would turn out, not wanting her to turn out like her mother. As a daughter, An-Mei’s mother honors Popo by slicing a chuck of flesh from the softest part of her arm and includes it in the steaming pot of herbs and medicines for Popo, to try to cure her one last time. And as much as cutting her arm was painful, An-Mei’s mother knew it was worth it.
5.In this chapter flashbacks were very helpful. The flashback Amy Tan included in this chapter, created a sense of guidance as you read. When An-Mei’s mother rubs her scar there’s a flashback to the actual moment An-Mei receives that scar. The flashback gives you enough details to let you know the significance of the scar and a brief description of how the moment happened. The chapter title is “Scar” so you know it has an impact.
6.C. This chapter had a lot of Chinese culture in it. For instance, how An-Mei’s mother slit her arm and threw the chuck into the soup and fed it to Popo is how a daughter honors her mother. “Ni,” means a traitor to the ancestors. And how the Chinese believe in using myths to teach life lessons.
“Remember what is in your Bones”
Scar
My first reaction to this chapter was that An-Mei’s grandma, Popo, is really mean and harsh! Aren’t grandmothers supposed to be loving and give you lots of kisses and money? Instead, she basically brainwashes her granddaughter into thinking that her mom is a ghost and making her forget her own mother. I felt sorry for An-Mei to have grown up in such a depressive and gloomy atmosphere. I was even more appalled by her aunt, “who had a very bad temper with children (35),” for hurting An-Mei’s little brother and degrading their mother. They talk so much about respect, but I don’t think the aunt or grandma knows much about it. I felt like An-Mei every time they compared her to her mom, who they thought was just a worthless concubine. They wanted An-Mei to think that she wasn’t there anymore, that she was dead, a ghost. No matter what, I don’t think any mother can leave or forget her child. When An-Mei’s mother shouted for her to come, I thought about Lily’s mom in “The Secret Life of Bees.” The desperation and longing from the mother to be with her child again is heart-breaking. The only memory of her mother An-Mei has after her scar was healed is from her dreams. I think you can expect this from a child who’s been through traumatizing events. What’s interesting to me is that An-Mei learned to love the mother that wasn’t from her dreams by watching her show deep respect, or shou, to her grandma. I think I agree with her when she says that you must forget the pain to remember what is in your bones. The pain might blind you or make you forget about where you came from, your heritage, the people who love you, like An-Mei’s mother.
An-Mei’s relationship with her mom is a kind of unconditional love and understanding. Although they didn’t spend a lot of time with each other because of Popo and An-Mei’s aunt, they still were able to understand why it was that way. As a child she recalled seeing her mom standing next to Popo’s bed. She watched her mom cut her own skin and mix it in a soup that she fed to the dying Popo. She saw “the pain of the flesh and the worth of the pain,” and learns “this is how a daughter honors her mother” (41). From this, “[An-Mei] came to love [her] mother. [She] saw in her [mom] her own true nature” (40).
Symbolism is featured prominently in this chapter. Popo calls An-Mei’s mom a ghost, which symbolizes that she is dead to them. She’s no longer someone they acknowledge to be alive; they have no connection with her. The soup that was poured on An-Mei represents “everyone’s anger” (30). And the scar that is left on her neck symbolizes her memory of the day her mother came back and begged her to come with her.
I think the theme of the chapter or the life lesson is that once we forget all the pain in our past, and “peel off [our] skin, and that of [our] mother, and her mother before her (41),” can we discover our identity, our heritage.
1. “Forgetting Pain”
2. “Scar”
3. This chapter was very shocking and sudden. It left me feeling empty as I shuddered at the image of the animosity and tension between this family. When first introduced to Popo, I felt like An-Mei Hsu did not actually love her grandmother, but instead only respected her because she feared Popo. Her grandmother forbid her to even think about her real mother, and told negative stories of “bad” children and what would happen to them. She had a strange approach on teaching An-Mei to live with good morals, but deep down she probably really did care for An-Mei’s well being. An-Mei never mentions any warm, happy memories of her grandmother, which gave me the idea that her grandmother was never really affectionate, and didn’t care for love. Also when An-Mei talks about her father and aunt, no hints of familial love are shown. Her father had already passed away, while her aunt also had a stiff personality and trashed about her mother constantly. An-Mei probably really waned to love her mother, but living with people who hated her mother made it really difficult. She only had bad memories of the last time she saw her mother, and knew the ugly stories of what her mother did. Finally the scene that was most startling was Popo’s death. An-Mei’s mother had come home to show her respect, and even tried saving Popo. Sadly she failed and once again, rejected from acceptance by the family. Some questions that came up were what does the flesh and bone symbolize? And what does the winter melon have anything to do with greed? Lastly, was there a specific reason An-Mei’s mother wanted to runaway with her “secret husband”? Was it because of the way Popo may have treated her or did she really just leave her family, forgetting her morals?
4. The relationship between Popo and An-Mei’s mother can be described as unrequited respect. Throughout An-Mei’s description of Popo’s attitude towards her mother, it shows that Popo had no respect for An-Mei’s mother, it even seems like hatred. In An-Mei’s last memory of her mother, Popo had banished her from the home, and forced An-Mei to stay behind. Popo calls her mother a “ghost. Not an honored widow. Just a number three concubine.” Popo threatened that “if [she took her] daughter, she will become like [her]. No face. Never able to lift up her heard (38)”. An-Mei’s mother ended up leaving and not returning until Popo was on her deathbed. When she comes back, she feels entitled to saving her mother. Even though she knew her mother did not love or care for her, she still attempts to save her life with her own flesh and blood—literally. “She opened Popo’s mouth, already too tight from trying to keep her spirit in. She fed her this soup, but that night Popo flew away with her illness (48).” There’s only one reason why An-Mei’s mother would try to save Popo, even after being mistreated. This was her mother’s everlasting respect for Popo. Unfortunately, Popo did not look at An-Mei’s mother the same way.
5. Amy Tan makes really good use of metaphors and similes in this chapter. She compares a “ghost” to someone who is unimportant and shouldn’t be cared for. She compares her Aunt’s way of speaking to “hungry scissors eating silk cloth” or “talking chicken without a head (35).” In the scene where the boiling soup spills on An-Mei’s neck, her pain is compared to “everyone’s anger pouring all over her (29).” By doing so, we are given images of what these plan words mean instead of straightup being told what the characters were feeling. Also in her metaphors and similes, she gives the reader hints of Chinese mentality or the perspective the Chinese use to look at life. Tan purposely uses simple objects in her techniques because in Chinese culture, that’s how people describe something.
6. In this chapter, I’m learning that in the Chinese culture, people were very strict on morals and had no tolerance for the ones that broke rules. It seems like they chose morals over family, and didn’t care about loving each other even if someone did make mistakes. From the way An-Mei describes her family, it gives the impression that most Chinese people can be cold-hearted, harsh, and plain mean about love. Also, concubines were probably common in those days, but obviously they were looked down upon.
A Memory Returned
Scar
1. This chapter revealed a lot about Chinese tradition. In China, respect for elders was a necessity, and whoever did not show it was considered a traitor to their ancestors. At first, when the chapter started with An-mei’s mother leaving, she seemed disrespectful and did not show care towards her family. However, when she returned, she cried for An-Mei, and her mother, and she also cut off a piece of her flesh so that her mother may be able to live, even though her mother had disowned her. This shows that An-mei’s mother had an unspeakable pain, which forced her to leave her family and children, though she still cared greatly for them.
2. An-mei’s mother’s relationship with her Popo is very strained. Popo had disowned An-mei’s mother because she had run off and become a concubine. An-mei’s mother, though disowned, wanted to help her mother, even if it meant cutting off her own flesh. Popo had chased An-mei’s mother off once before, but An-mei’s mother had come back, hoping to help her mother.
3. Amy Tan uses flashback and symbolism in this chapter. She uses flashback to explain how An-mei received her scar, and her memory of her mother. An-mei receives her scar because the pot of boiling hot soup poured over her. The soup can symbolize her family’s rage of having An-mei’s mother under the roof. The scar is a symbol of the lasting affect of her family’s rage.
4. The main conflict of this chapter is between human and human. An-mei’s mother is disowned by her family because she becomes a concubine, but she still strives to be there for her mother on her deathbed. She does all she can in order to help her mother, including cutting a piece of her flesh off to make a soup for her, which, in the end, does not help.
1. The Mother I Never Had
2. Scar
3. I thought this chapter was incredibly depressing. The idea of a child growing up without a mother because the mother did not have enough "face" to keep her child. An-Mei's mother wanted to keep her, but she was not allowed to because Popo thought that her mother should not have the right to take care of a child if she has no face. Even though Popo is watching out for An-Mei by making sure she does not become a concubine like her mother was, it is hard to imagine the pain An-Mei's mother had to do through because she was forced to give up her children. Another part of the chapter that saddened me was when Popo had to trick An-Mei to wake her up and prevent her from dying. I understand that Popo was just being wise and doing that because she knew it would work, but lying to An-Mei seemed unnesscary. The scene where An-Mei's mother cuts off a piece of her own flesh to put into soup for her mother disgusted me while warming my heart. It was really gross because having Popo drink the soup would be like a form of cannibalism. On the other hand, it was warming because An-Mei's mother loved Popo so much that she sacrificed a piece of her flesh in attempt to save Popo from dying.
4. The relationship between An-Mei and Popo seems to be considered as a tough-love relationship. Popo tells stories to scare An-Mei from misbehaving or going against what she says, but her intentions are good and all she wants to do is to protect An-Mei and have her grow up to be a good person. This is shown when Popo tells An-Mei stories about what her mother did to frighten her into being a well-behaved child. Popo also lies to An-Mei because Popo loves her so much that she does not want An-Mei to die from her ingury. Even though lying is something that is normally forbidden in society, Popo uses it for a good cause, and that is the love she has for An-Mei
5. A writing technique Amy Tan uses to enchance the story would be flashbacks. The flashback in this chapter tells us about An-Mei, the relationship she has with her mother, the relationship between An-Mei's mother and Popo, and how An-Mei recieved her scar. The way she uses flashbacks is really exceptional because it flows with the events happening in the chapter.
6. I learned that the Chinese culture is very strict and shows no tolerance or mercy when a person loses their face. It is considered unforgivable how An-Mei's mother became a concubine and she loses respect from everyone in the family. Another thing I learned was that family is incredibly important. An-Mei's mother cut off a piece of her flesh to put into soup because of a tradition. It was considered normal for a child to feed their parents a piece of their flesh to have them feel well again. In China, family is considered so imporant that children sacrifice their own meat to give to their parents.
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“Beneath the Flesh”
2. AN-MEI HSU: “Scar”
3. While I read this chapter, I thought the way Popo told An-Mei Hsu and her brother about their existence was really sad. The way she talked about it made it sound as though she was the only person that cared about them, even though there has to be someone that loves them just as much as she “does”, which is later revealed at the end of the chapter, when An-Mei’s mother comes back. The way Popo said “aloud to all who could hear that [An-Mei’s] brother and [An-Mei] had fallen out of the bowels of a stupid goose, two eggs that nobody wanted, not even good enough to crack over rice porridge (33),” was, to me, really mean, and how she said that, “this was just so that the ghosts would not steal us away (33),” seemed like an excuse to me, an excuse for her spite against their mother.
I also felt that the way Popo decided to teach An-Mei lessons was really harsh and depressing. These lessons – hurtful, melancholy and bruising – were a scar themselves. These were lessons that An-Mei never forgot (as she is still capable of speaking of them today) and the darkness and cruelness of these lessons left a mark on An-Mei, forever lasting. Along with these lessons, Popo talked of An-Mei’s mother as though she was a living sin, like someone that did not love An-Mei or her brother, even though she really did care for them. This seemed to be another cruel scar; An-Mei had even gone as far as to make herself have, “no memory of [her] mother (40),” as she was really hurt by the thought of her mother leaving her cruelly as Popo had “revealed”.
Despite the way this chapter saddened me, I felt extremely touched at the end when An-Mei came to love her mother again, even though her mother, through Popo’s lessons, had “scarred” her so much. Because, in the end, she ignored the, “pain of the flesh (41),” and she “[peeled] off [her] skin, and that of [her] mother, and her mother before her. Until there [was] nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh (41),” forgiving her mother for everything she did, despite how she left her. I was glad that she realized this through her mother, who forgave Popo for the way she talked about her and treated her by coming back to be filial to her mother.
4. From this chapter, I think that Popo and An-Mei’s relationship is harsh, yet loving. Though An-Mei is always taught by Popo in a cruel manner, which is shown through her lessons, such the story “about how a greedy girl whose belly grew fatter and fatter,” and how the “girl poisoned herself after refusing to say whose child she carried (34).” Even though these lessons are somewhat grotesque, Popo only said such things because she cared about An-Mei and wanted her to grow up as a good girl, and eventually a good person, trying to steer her away from being like her mother. Though this may be hard to believe, the actions of Popo all ultimately lead to the well-being of An-Mei. An example of this is the time An-Mei is about to die because of the burn on her neck, for Popo “said something that was worse than the burning on [An-Mei’s] neck. ‘Even your mother has used up her tears and left. If you do not get well soon, she will forget you (39).’” After Popo said that, An-Mei resolved to heal. Additionally, while An-Mei was healing, Popo was the sole person that took care of her wound, pouring water over her neck everyday so that she could sleep, and she also peeled dead membranes off of An-Mei’s.
5. The most apparent writing technique Amy Tan uses in this chapter is symbolism. Using symbolism, Tan represents the excruciating pain An-Mei goes through as her mother leaves her as a scar. Literally, the scar is just a sad happening in An-Mei’s life, as hot soup poured across her neck. But symbolically, it is a burn in An-Mei’s life, especially as An-Mei’s mother left her during the period in which An-Mei was still in the process of healing. When An-Mei’s mother left her, she became nothing but a scar, something “pale and shiny and [something An-Mei] had no memory of (40).” Saying the scar was pale and shiny is also referring to An-Mei’s mother, because in An-Mei’s dreams, she “worshipped” her mother, but could not really make her out as she was paled and blurred from her memory. And even though An-Mei forgot about her scar, or mother, she still knew it happened, and the pain would always be embedded within herself.
6. What are you learning about Chinese culture?
Through this chapter, I learned about the importance of a mother in Chinese culture. Despite all your mother may have wronged you, in the end, it is important that you realize that she is “in your bones (41).” This is shown as An-Mei’s mother comes back to Popo, and also does the ancient tradition of cutting her flesh and putting it in soup in order to try to save her mother. I also learned this tradition, along with what was accepted and unaccepted in society, which was expressed in Popo’s bitter remarks and brutal lessons. In Chinese culture, it was shameful to marry a married man, though concubines and such were a social norm, and it was wrong to betray your family, to leave them for another happiness, to be greedy and to not learn from the mistakes of those near you, in addition to many others rules of society.
1. The Corner of My Room
2. Scar
3. I feel sorrow for such a grief-stricken child. I don’t understand how Popo and her Auntie can drop all their resentment onto a child with no clear recollection of her mother. Although they both care about An-mei and her brother, they dispel harsh lecturing words that sound accusatory despite their lack of wrongdoing. The mother to me seems harmless and misinterpreted from the beginning. I felt bad for their constant scrutiny. Because mistakes happen, and most happen unintentionally. But then again, why would one marry into a marriage of prostitution after the death of a husband? I’m still confused of why she would do such a thing in reaction. I was rattled by the cause of the scar on An-mei’s neck. It’s kind of pitiful how An-mei is the one who suffers from the accumulative anger, even though she was only an innocent child. I was disturbed by the scene where An-mei’s mother grotesquely slices her flesh. I understand the sentiment of the pain, but I think that this respect is slightly repulsive and strange.
4. The relationship between An-mei and Popo is very strained and obligatory. An-mei doesn’t feel any comfort within her relationship with Popo, and “all [her] life, Popo scared [her]”. Although Popo’s stories and threats were with good reasons, they only create greater expectations for An-mei, rather than look out for her.
The relationship between An-mei and her mother is very conflicted yet coveting. An-mei follows Popo’s instruction to not acknowledge her mother, but it’s evident how An-mei wants to have her mother and vice versa.
5. Amy Tan uses flashbacks in “Scar” to emphasize the dark past that is delayed until later on. The flashback of An-mei’s scar reveals the whole meaning of the vignette. Tan uses the flashback to stress the importance of the past that affects An-mei’s future. The anger and resentment present at the table where the soup was poured on An-mei explains how her mother is deeply shameful. This technique improves the story because it creates suspense with the use of a flashback within the present conflict.
6. The main conflict of “Scar” is the importance of family honor. An-mei’s mother is disowned by her family when she turns away from them. When she returns, she realizes her mistakes and her lack of respect of her dead husband. But it is within her daughter, An-mei, that she realizes how important respect is. Without respect, there is no family. When Popo dies, it is too late to make mends to the past.
Raymond Yeh
1. Painful Reminders
2. Scar
3. I thought that Popo was a really interesting character. She seems to have a controlling attitude towards An-Mei Hsu but also tries to instill fear inside her. This is probably because Hsu was a descendant of the mother, in which the family despises so much. I was puzzled at why Hsu’s family hated her mother. Popo constantly tells Hsu how her mother was “so thoughtless she had fled north in a big hurry” (35) and calls her a “traitor to the ancestors” (36). When the mother finally arrives, the family also does not seem to welcome her. I was really shocked at the part when Hsu’s mother cuts of flesh from her arm and feeds it the dying Popo. Being Chinese, I know quite a bit of Chinese culture but I never knew that Chinese people would practice cannibalism.
4. Hsu had been taught since she was young to hate her mother. Hsu was told that her mother had abandoned her and married a man who already had a wife. Even so, Hsu still felt a longing for her. She felt that she lived in an unhappy household and dreamed about her mother every night. When Hsu finally met her mother, she saw in her mother her own true nature and her own true self. She saw her mother give the ultimate sacrifice to Popo by cutting off some flesh and blood from her arm and feeding it her. Hsu thought that this was how a daughter honors her mother. At the end of the chapter, Hsu seems to feel more loyalty towards her own mother.
5. Amy Tan uses a lot of symbolism in this chapter. One example is the title of the chapter, “Scar”. I believe that the scar represents the harm that Hsu’s mother has done to Hsu’s life in both literal and symbolic terms. Literally, her mother causes Hsu to reach across the table and spill hot soup on herself causing the scars on her neck. Symbolically, the scar represents the internal conflict Hsu has to go through when her mother had left her. She felt that she did not belong with her family and only truly belonged to her mother.
6. The main theme of this chapter is loyalty. Hsu loves her mother and wants to live with her even though she knows that her family would condemn the act. Hsu is forced to choose her loyalty with either her family or her mother.
1.The Unfortunate Childhood of An-Mei Hsu
2. “Scar”
3.When I first began reading this chapter, I was confused. I originally thought it was a continuation of the previous chapter in Jing-mei’s point of view, but I found out that later that it was actually a whole different short story, told in An-mei Hsu’s point of view. This whole entire chapter describes the unfortunate childhood of An-mei and what she witnessed and felt as a child. In the chapter’s beginning, An-mei begins to speak about how her grandmother, Popo, wanted her to forget about her mother and to look at her as a “ghost.” From this information I concluded that An-mei wasn’t close to her mother, and wasn’t raised by her mother as she lived with at Popo’s home with her aunt and uncle. When I found out that she was in this situation because An-mei’s mother left her, I was shocked because I questioned how a mother could leave her own daughter and son behind. In the chapter, I learned that Popo would tell An-mei many Chinese proverbs, including the one about the greedy girl who had a melon inside of her. At first, I questioned why these stories were so bizarre, but I then realized that they usually reflected An-mei in good way considering that they were told to her to keep her out of trouble and to help raise her to be a woman of good manors and morals. When I later read about how Popo’s home had a large portrait of An-mei’s father, I soon realized that Popo was the mother of An-mei’s father, thus I learned the reason for why they didn’t care about An-mei’s mother so much. Later on though, I read about how Auntie told An-mei that her mother had married a man who had a wife and concubines. Although this was quite shocking, this helped me understand things much more. I then learned that An-mei’s mother cheated on her father, and this was the reason for so much hate from Popo and Auntie. When I read about An-mei’s mother’s return to Popo’s home, I was a bit confused. I wondered why she had returned and wondered if she did care for her daughter at all. Later on, when I read the part that described An-mei’s mother feeling her daughter’s scar, which caused her to cry, I questioned why this was so, but I soon found out. From reading about An-mei’s first encounter from her mother’s return to Popo’s home, I felt very emotional. How awful that must of felt, to see your mother return for you and you cannot see her because you just got pushed down by your evil Auntie and had a large pot of boiling soup poured down on your face! From this part of the chapter, I learned about An-mei’s mothers intentions, that even though she left her children behind, she still loved them dearly. I also felt motionless when I read An-mei describing the soup hurting her, when it cut off her breathing air and when should could not see from “all the tears that poured out to wash the pain away” (47). Confusion hit me later on, when I read about Popo telling An-mei to get better because she would have a meaningless funeral. I questioned this, wondering if this was some kind of cruel intention, or just an example of Chinese love. When An-mei compares her closed scar to her memory of her mother, it made me think very much. Because she described that a closed scar hides what started the pain, I understood how this could compare to her relationship with her mother, how the two had been separated and how her mother could easily be forgotten by Popo’s influence. The final and last event that made me confused and filled with terror was when about An-mei’s mother making a soup for Popo, containing her own flesh. When An-mei described her mother cutting open her arm, I was just so confused. Why would someone do this? This is madness! But I just assumed it was a Chinese custom for unwelcomed family members. Overall, from this chapter, I learned the dark childhood memories of An-mei Hsu and how she had to witness all of them.
4. The relationship between An-mei and Popo can be described as a loving family relationship. Although Popo despised An-mei’s mother, she loved her granddaughter dearly. This can be seen when she took care of An-mei by giving her a home to stay in. Popo basically raised An-mei because her mother had left her, and thus her love was shown once more. The closeness of their relationship can be seen when Popo gives An-mei wisdom from her Chinese proverbs, and when she helped take care of An-mei’s neck after the horrible soup accident by pouring cool water on her. Overall, Popo was a typical grandmother who loved her granddaughter, An-mei, with a passion.
5. Once again, I choose Amy Tan’s use of flashback as her greatest writing technique. Althought the whole entire chapter itself was a flashback, her use of flashback was seen more distinctly when An-mei described her mother’s return, which caused the soup accident. By Tan doing this, she let the reader get a more intimate look into An-mei’s life and troubles, thus making the story more intimate and enjoyable. She also uses this method to help us understand An-mei better by describing her pain and emotions during the flashback. Overall, I believe Tan’s use of flashbacks is what helped her to become the great writer she is today.
6.b. The main conflict in the chapter was when An-mei couldn’t see her mother during her return to Popo’s home. This conflict could be described as human vs. society; the “human” was An-mei’s mother, who disagreed with the “society”, which included Popo, Auntie, and Uncle. The conflict was that An-mei’s mother wanted to see her daughter, whom she missed after living without her for so long. Popo and her family were strictly against this as they saw An-mei’s mother as a tramp that abandoned her children and cheated on her husband, and thus she was forbidden from seeing An-mei. This would hurt An-mei emotionally as she really did want to see her mother, who gave her life, and get to know her better. An-mei was also hurt physically during this conflict as the boiling soup pot came down on her, causing a major burn on her neck. An-mei’s injury would “scar” the rest of the family emotionally and thus caused the event to be the main conflict of the chapter.
“What is underneath”
Scar
1.) This girl had definitely had a hard life, her mother is a concubine, father is dead and her family has cast the mother out for being a concubine. It also feels as though the dislike and shame that the family feels for An-Mei’s mother rubs off on An-Mei and her brother. She describes the house as always being unhappy and sad. It might be true, that the Chinese might believe in these kind of ghosts, but I don’t see how you can say that your own grand daughter is worthless if you truly love her. Popo probably does love An-Mei, but I believe that part of Popo’s dislike of An-Mei’s mother rubs onto An-Mei. One of the questions I have about this chapter, I still have no idea what the first story that Popo tells An-Mei means, the one about the girl with the white melon in her stomach. If anyone can explain it to me, that would be very helpful. Also, I thought the analogy with the scab and the way she forgot was pretty neat.
2.) An-Mei and her mother. This relationship is weird. An-Mei is undecided about her mother at the start of the chapter. Everyone tells her that the mother is worthless and shameful. So, An-Mei grows up sort of believing this, but not completely. When the mother comes back, An-Mei remembers her love for her mother, but then loves her mother again because she sees herself in her mother. I dono, I still think this relationship is weird, best I can describe it is painful, a love/hate just like the mother’s relationship with Popo. Shoot, I wish the mother had a name, then I could refer to her like that.
3.) In this chapter, Amy Tam uses flashbacks to show how the mother loved An-Mei, and her family’s rejection of her mother. This helps the story by showing us her mother did care, despite showing nothing like this during the events taking place in the normal setting of the chapter. Like I said earlier, she also uses analogies to help us understand what how the pain and the memory hid themselves, like a scab covering what had happened.
4.) This conflict seems to be human vs. self. An-Mei is definitely conflicted with how she feels about her mother. She is supposed to not speak about her mother, not even think about her mother, but she still does, in some corner of her mind. She could not truly forget the pain she went through when she saw her mother and the soup spilling on her. It could only be hidden, not forgotten. An-Mei is conflicted with herself and her feelings about her mother, whether to hate for what she did or love her because of what she is.
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1. “Forgive but Never Forget”
2. “Scar”
3. I thought that this chapter was very shocking in ways that are both good and bad. I was surprised that An-Mei Hsu forgave her mother so easily. The way that An-Mei’s mother first speaks to her makes me angry. With a small scold in her voice, her mother says, “An-Mei, you know who I am.” In their household, respect towards your family is heavily important but considering that her mother left for five years without any word that she would ever to return, then I think that gives the rest to the family the right to disown her. Instead of pleading for forgiveness, her mother acts as though An-Mei should be paying her respect but I don’t think her mother deserves it especially when she “[sits] down as though [she] had done this everyday” because she hadn’t ever been there for An-Mei. Popo, her grandmother became her mother after her real mother left. I thought that Popo’s character was strange but also wise and complex. Although she hurts An-Mei with her extremely blunt attitude, she is only trying to protect her grand daughter. Her grandmother seems to really love her. She tells An-Mei to think of her mother as a ghost, not a real ghost, but someone that is forbidden to talk about. In this way, she is trying to protect An-Mei but it can also be hurting An-Mei because ignoring her problems will not help in the long-run. The scene where her mother put her own flesh into the soup was really shocking to me. I never heard of this being done before so it was surprising and a little disturbing. After reading that “tears poured from her face” and “blood [spilling] to the floor,” I saw An-Mei’s mother differently. She is finally showing respect and honor. She gave her own flesh in attempt to rid her past.
4. The relationship between Popo and An-Mei’s mother can be described as complicated and temporarily broken. I think that Popo and An-Mei’s mother were once really close but An-Mei’s mother ran into trouble and became a different person. I don’t think Popo would put so much effort into hating her if she didn’t care about An-Mei’s mother. She seems too intelligent for that. An-Mei’s mother comes back for her Popo in her time of need and even sacrifices her own flesh. That says a lot about their relationship because it shows that she deeply cares about her mother and is trying to fix their relationship.
5. The title of this chapter is “Scar” which is also holds a symbolic meaning. This chapter is about forgiveness and family. “Scars” will always hold memories and are there so you never forget. So although An-Mei forgives her mother, she still has that scar to remind her of the day her mother left and the pain she went though both physically and mentally.
6. In the Chinese culture, to be honorable is the most important characteristic that a person should hold. In this chapter, because An-Mei’s mother was a concubine, it brought dishonor to the family which they immediately looked down on and forced them to disown her. An-Mei was even encouraged to treat her mother like a ghost because of the shame she brought to the family. Her auntie never held back on expressing how much of a traitor her mother was to their ancestors. It is difficult to gain any honor back once you have lost it.
“Pain”
Scar
1) My reaction to this chapter was that it was very depressing. The whole chapter seemed to revolve around the depressing aura of the house and the relationship. I found it gross at the part near the end where An-mei’s mother cut off a piece of her flesh for the soup. It was horrifying and disgusting how she could cut off a piece of her flesh and feed the soup to her dying mother that thought she was a disgrace. There seemed to be so much pain in the chapter, how An-mei was struggling with her mother that Popo described as a traitor their ancestors.
2) The relationship between An-mei and her mother is painful. I think they have a very difficult relationship because An-mei was raised to think she was a disgraceful and horrible person. She learned to hate her mother after all the stories Popo had told her, about how she never listened or thought about anyone else. It seems that they’re both in pain at the end, when she tries to ask for her forgiveness and how An-mei learned to love her mother after she cut a piece of her flesh for Popo.
3) Tan uses the technique of flashback to tell the story of An-mei, the transfer was the line “when I was a young girl,” from their she made An-mei told her story about the time her grandmother Popo was dying, and how she came to love her mother after all the disgraceful things she did.
4) I learned that the Chinese culture valued their ancestry highly, and that they had very high respect for their elders. Also, I learned that being a wife to man that was already married was disgraceful too, because you would be considered as a concubine.
-Brendan Nghiem
1. Scar Deep.
2. “Scar”
3. This chapter was about the relationships An-Mei Hsu had as a young kid; her tough love with her grandmother Popo, her harsh and mean Auntie, and her strange love towards her mother. I thought that Amy Tan did a terrific job writing this chapter because for it to only be a few pages long, yet have such a long story behind it with a strong impact upon the story is magnificent. Her choice of words and metaphors played a huge part in the chapter, creating and sad and troubled setting. My first reaction of Popo and An-Mei was that Popo could be so harsh on An-Mei just to take out her anger over her own daughter, An-Mei’s mother. However, further into the chapter, I have come to realize that Popo truly does care for An-Mei as “she would pour cool water over [An-Mei’s] neck” (39-40) until An-Mei was able to sleep. I think because Popo cares so much for An-Mei, she tells her to forget her mother, so that An-Mei would have a fresh beginning, a sinless mother. I feel sorry for An-Mei because a child without a loving mother in their lives is very sad and unfortunate. I do not understand why the An-Mei’s mother is not allowed into the house but I think it is a tragic for An-Mei to not be able to connect with her mother and to simply just talk to one another. Also, Popo calls An-Mei’s mother a “ghost”, not because the mother died, but because Popo does not acknowledge her existence. I think that An-Mei’s scar is symbolic. It represents the burden she carries upon her family and her very own mother. When the soup pot fell upon An-Mei, it was the beginning of the family’s feud. As with a permanent scar, the feud lives upon the scar itself.
4. I think Popo and An-Mei’s relationship is a tough love. Even though Popo does not show affection or much love towards An-Mei, she still does truly care for her granddaughter, just like when An-Mei got hurt in the soup pot incident, Popo “would pour cool water over [An-Mei’s] neck” (39-40) until An-Mei was able to sleep. Popo does not show her love to An-Mei through hugs or kisses, but she does come through when An-Mei needs her most. Aside from this, Popo and An-Mei’s relationship is something in which the two of them can truly know and understand. Like when Popo would put down and belittle An-Mei’s mother in front her, instead of getting mad, An-Mei learns to appreciate them and knows that Popo is caring for her and telling her life lessons.
5. Amy Tan choices in words were phenomenal in chapter, as she set the mood and setting of the story to be sad, troubled, and unfortunate. She also blended great similes and metaphors into her writing as she describes the “restless eyes” of the father’s portrait on the wall and the “clear broth” from the brains. Tan gave the reader life-like images and thus, allowed us to connect to story on a higher level.
6. Reading the chapter “Scar”, I learned more things about the Chinese culture. In the Chinese culture, they value morals and dignity. An-Mei’s mother was put down by her mother, Popo, and the family as she became the third concubine. The family does not tolerate this and looks down upon it. I also learn that many folk tales in China, told by elders to young ones, are to teach them about life and its many lessons.
1) Banished But Not Forgotten
2) Scar
3) Wow, this chapter was pretty sad, at least toward the end it was. In the beginning, when An-mei says that her “mother was a ghost,” I thought she was dead. Then I read the next 2 lines and things didn’t make sense anymore. Why wasn’t she allowed to talk about her mother? I still didn’t understand what her mother had done wrong by the end of the chapter but I asked Amy (Wang) and she said in China it’s forbidden for the wife to marry after one’s husband has died. Thing suddenly made sense as it was An-mei’s mother who had eloped with another man. What hurt the most to read in this chapter was not when poor little An-mei gets the scar, but when An-mei’s mother tries to help her mother one last time. However, it was kind of gross to read about how her “Popo would user her sharp fingernails” (40) to peel off the dead skin where her scar was. When An-mei’s mother cuts a piece of her own flesh to try to save her mother, I felt a little piece of me die inside. The last paragraph, made me cry because all this time, growing up, An-mei had been told what a wicked woman her mother was, and now she sees no truth in that. An-mei sees how her mother endures all the things that her family throws at her but is still devoted to them like they never shunned her. To me, that is pain and sacrifice, but at the same time, it’s because of love.
4) I would describe Popo’s relationship with her daughter as “broken”. Popo in constantly reminding An-mei how An-mei’s mother has no shou, because she defied her mother but deep down inside, Popo’s daughter would do anything for her. Through the action that she did for Popo, which is described as “how a daughter honors her mother” (41) by An-mei, it shows that though Popo refuses to love her daughter anymore, her daughter still loves her.
5) One writing technique that really stood out for me was Amy Tan’s use of metaphors. One metaphor that is very powerful is how Tan uses An-mei’s scar to symbolize her relationship with her mother. As the scar healed and she was distanced from what first caused the scar, her relationship with her mother becomes more and more like a dream and not reality anymore. Their relationship dies out and “[closes] in on itself” (40).
6) There was a lot of local color in this chapter, even though it was short. What I learned about Chinese culture is that honor is everything, period! A woman has her place in society and if one doesn’t conform to that status, then she has just dishonored her family, and when her family is shamed, they’ll probably disown her. The cutting of the flesh as a medical cure was something I didn’t know either, though that’s pretty grotesque.
1.Remember the shou that lies within your bones
2.“Scar”
3. Although this chapter was shorter than the previous one, it displays an infinite amount of emotions to the reader. It sometimes popped out specific scenes that surprised me. When I read the line, “… my grandmother told me my mother was a ghost” (33), I really thought that An-mei’s mother was dead! However when I read a bit further, I figured that the association between An-mei’s mother and the ghost, was the idea that her family didn’t want to accept her mother as a part of their family anymore and decided to disown her. I thought the disowning part was a bit harsh and it must have been hard for An-mei’s mother to leave her family behind, especially her daughter, An-mei, whom she loved the most. But, I still don’t understand why An-mei’s mother would steep so low and destroy her respect, dignity, and culture to live a life of a concubine. Why did she do it and for what?
Another scene that surprised me was when An-mei’s mother cut her own meat and cooked it into the soup. This part was really disgusting and it made me want to hurl because at that moment I was eating my lunch. Imagine reading that while you’re eating! Blahhh! However, as I read further, I realized that An-mei’s mother committed a very courageous act to try to cure Popo’s illness. Hat off to An-mei’s mother! The last paragraph of this chapter was very well written and it drew me in. I was touched by Tan’s writing. Despite dishonoring the family’s respect, An-mei’s mother had truly proven that “this [was] how a daughter honor[ed] her mother [and revived the shou that lied with her bones] (41).
4. The relationship between An-mei’s mother and Popo can be described as tough love. Popo doesn’t express her love to her daughter because An-mei’s mother had taken the decision to leave her children behind to become a concubine. Popo and the rest of the family were disgraced by her actions and they never wanted to see her again. Despite all the hatred inflicted onto An-mei’s mother, she comes back when Popo needs her love and care the most. An-mei’s mother even goes to the length to “cut a piece of meat from her arm” (41) to save Popo from dying. This willing sacrifice shows that An-mei’s mother still “remember[ed] what [was] in [her] bones” (41), even after the humiliating shame she brought to her family.
5. I noticed that the main writing technique that Tan uses in this chapter is symbolism. It helps to improve the story by catching the reader’s interest and indirectly involving different meaning to the situation, which provides an enhanced understanding. The “scar” on An-mei’s neck is permanent and it will always remind her of the tragic events that occurred in the past. That “scar” will stay as a memory for the rest of her life and it will never heal or fade away. The “boiling hot soup” that spilled on An-mei symblolizes her family’s profound anger and disappointment towards her mother. When the steaming soup poured onto An-mei, it symbolized that the family’s hatred toward her mother was also being emptied onto her. An-mei states this connotation directly when she says, “it was as though everyone’s anger was pouring all over me” (39). Not only did this leave a scar on An-Mei, it also left one on the whole family. It was there to stay as a horrible memory in their lives and no matter how hard they tried; it would never heal or be erased.
6. In this chapter, I learned that honor and respect are the roots of Chinese culture. After An-mei’s mother became the third concubine, she dishonored her family and they decided to disown her. The family valued their respect more than anything else and if someone tried to stain it, then they wouldn’t hesitate to throw that person out of their house. Another thing I learned about Chinese culture is shou, the respect for elders. It seems to be a very powerful foundation in families and without honor or respect, there is no family.
“Ouch!”
Scar
1. This chapter was very gloomy. I thought it was very sad that a woman who leaves her husband is considered a “ghost.” This is very similar to Indian culture. One reason why Indians have a very low divorce rate is because our culture discourages it, unless in an extreme case such as a husband beating his wife. Also, in Indian culture, if the parents are not able to care for their child, the child’s relatives will step in, as shown in “Scar.” I thought it was heartbreaking that An-Mei’s aunt felt resentment towards her, just because of what her mother had done, which is something she had no control over. I was also very confused when Popo said that An-Mei’s mother was a ghost. At first, I thought that her mother was dead. Later, when I continued to read, I realized that what she meant was that the topic of An-Mei’s mother was forbidden. I thought it was weird that An-Mei’s mother felt that, in order to cure Popo, she had to cut out a piece of her flesh. That scene made me feel sick. Another disgusting scene was where An-Mei describes her scar. What I don’t understand is how An-Mei could forgive her mother so readily. If it was me, I would not be able to forgive a mother that abandoned me. I would feel unwanted. Another thing I didn’t understand was Popo’s stories. I realized they had morals, but I was not able to discern what they were. An additional scene I didn’t understand was when Popo said hurtful things to An-Mei to keep her from dying. Why was she so mean? Wouldn’t it have been kinder, and perhaps more effective, if she was spouted endearments and words of love. If it was me, harsh words would have had an opposite effect, and drive me away. If I felt I was going to be missed, I might be persuaded to remain in the world of the living. Yet another thing I didn’t understand was why An-Mei’s mother would leave an unwanted marriage, only to marry a man with concubines. I feel that is much worse. At least with staying behind, she would be able to stay with her daughter. I thought it was funny how superstitious Chinese people are. When the picture of the dead man in the funeral procession fell to the ground, a woman fainted an An-Mei’s brother was slapped for laughing. I understand that funerals are serious, solemn affairs, but does a little accident warrant such dramatic reactions? It seemed somewhat odd to me, in comparison to our milder, American culture.
2. The relationship between An-Mei and Popo can be described as tough love. Although Popo loves An-Mei very much, she does not treat her kindly. She is trying to toughen An-Mei up, so that she can face the harshness of reality. This is shown in the scene where An-Mei almost dies. Even though the girl she loves is dying, Popo says cruel words to her in order to save her. This shows that, to show her love, Popo uses brutal methods. In her view, this is the only way she can truly prepare her for the world.
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a lot of imagery. She uses this when describing An-Mei’s scar, and when detailing the ritual An-Mei’s mother when through to try to save Popo. This enhances the story because it really gives the reader a sense of what is happening and how that looks like. Through imagery, Tan allows the reader to feel as if they are a part of the story and really there with An-Mei as this is all happening.
4. I think that the theme of this chapter is that one must look deep inside themselves to remember his ancestors and heritage. This is shown where An-Mei realizes that in order to remember her heritage, she must “peel off [her] skin, and that of [her] mother, and her mother before her. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh” (41). What she means is that, she must look past herself, her mother, her grandmother, and so on and so forth, to get to the root of her heritage. Only then will she truly understand bother her ancestors and herself.
Trung Tran
Period 6
Beneath my skin
“Scar”
1) The chapter was both confusing and shocking at the same time. I wouldn’t know what An-mei was talking about for the first couple pages and yet what she said gave me chills. An-mei’s grandmother dislikes the mom so much, she would tell An-Mei to “never say her name” because it would be like “[spitting] on your father’s grave (34)”. Another thing that surprised me was when An-mei’s mom sliced a piece of her own meat from her arm to make soup for Popo. This shows how much she still loves her mom even after her mom kicked her out of the house.
2) Popo and her relationship with her daughter could be described as disturbing and saddening. Hating her daughter was one thing, but to hate her so much that she would tell stories to convince her daughter’s daughter that her own mom was a horrible person, who left her, Is just outrageous. Every time the children would do something rebellious, she would scold at them and at the same time, scold at her daughter, telling the brother he had no respect for his ancestors or family “just like [his] mother”. The whole chapter seemed as though Popo was shoving all her hatred for her daughter towards the An-mei.
3) Amy Tang’s uses symbolism in the title of the chapter which foreshadows what is going to happen and gives a literal and symbolic meaning. The title “Scar” portrays An-mei’s mother literally cutting a piece of her, leaving a scar, which symbolic means a part of her died when her mother was severely ill. She will forever regret that she has put her mother in so much pain. Now that her mother is dying, she can never mend what she broke.
4) The theme of the story is to forgive and forget. Family members fight all the time but it has to end sooner or later. If one carries a grudge, pretty soon, the person will regret it when it is too late. The only thing left behind is a “scar”.
The Dishonored Mother’s Sacrifice
“Scar”
At first, I thought it was cruel that the grandmother had described An-mei and her brother as “two eggs that nobody wanted” (33). I also thought that it was the grandmother who had a bad temper for children, however, when I read it again, I found out it was the aunt. It was devastating to find out that An-mei, as a young child, had boiling soup spilt on her. When I read it was dark, I thought that this dark color could represent the negative emotions the people had of her mother and it was then spilt on her as a symbol for An-mei’s heritage. Now, it just scared me of how the mother took the pain of cutting of a piece of her meat. It sounded horrible and gruesome, that I don’t believe I would have had the guts to actually attempt to cut it. Despite her attempt, it was saddening that she was not able to heal her mother. I absolutely loved the ending, because I felt that the mother, whom people considered was horrible and disrespectful, truly honored her mother by sacrificing her meat.
An-mei and Popo was a precious relationship, despite the negative perspective of what An-mei had of her grandmother. To Popo, however, she loved her and didn’t want her to become like her mother. Popo gives wisdom to An-mei and helps her to become different and more understanding than her mother. As a young child, anyone can relate that she’d be afraid of Popo, but when she grows up, she realizes that Popo was trying to teach her the mistakes her mother has made. Popo helps save her life when An-mei’s life when she is in a “coma.” An-mei’s mother and Popo was an everlasting relationship. An-mei’s mother had a great deal of courage for she cuts a piece of her own flesh and blood into the soup to present to her mother. Even though that Popo disliked her mother for abandoning her children in search of a better life, she suffers the pain of her sacrifice. Her mothers knows that, even when Popo has made her mother a taboo to be talked about in the family, Popo cannot erase their connection and how their heritage lies deep within their bones.
Amy Tan uses foreshadowing in the chapter to explain about Auntie An-mei’s past. However, as we explore the past, we also see the family heritage. We discover more about Auntie’s mother leaving and why she left. Amy Tan also used another flashback in a flashback to explore the scar of An-mei. Perhaps the chapter “Scar” was named after Auntie An-mei’s scar caused from the soup. My Tan uses a bit of symbolism to represent the anger of people as a bowl of soup. S the soup rocked back and forth, people grew more angry thoughts and it finally all spilled. It left a mark on Auntie An-mei that the scar would symbolize the pain and suffering people felt when her mother leaves. When it is described that the wound “[protects] what is hurting so much,” (40) it can be implied that as An-mei forgot about her mother and kept it inside, the wound eventually cleared away. The scar is always there and even so, her painful memories also within herself.
I believe the theme is directly noted in the chapter and I also think it is one of the wisdom sayings that her grandmother told An-mei. “If you are greedy, what is inside you is what makes you always hungry” (34). I believe it means that whenever you gain something you want, you will always have the hunger for more and more. Her grandmother tells An-mei as a reference to her mother’s own selfish action for leaving the family looking for a better life.
1.“Ma Ma Black Sheep”
2.Scar
3.In the beginning of the chapter, I thought it was really cute that An-Mei called her grandma Popo. I thought it was sort of cute in a twisted way that Popo scared An-Mei. It’s like when adults try to scare some sense into their children. And I find it ironic that her grandmother had such a non-threatening and sweet nickname when she had scared An-Mei “all [her] life” (33).
When I read this chapter, I also drew some connections between the Chinese and Mormon wives. Just like An-Mei’s mother, some second or third Mormon wives are treated lower that the first wives. Though it is not always the case these days, many second or third wives are cast off by the Mormon husband; singling them out to do all of the manual work.
The scene where Popo consumes the flesh of An-Mei’s mother scared me. I was intimidated my An-Mei’s mother at that point. The fact she would inflict “pain of the flesh” to save her mother put me to shame. I was depressed that I’ve never done anything like that for my own mom. I’ve never sacrificed myself for her. What An-Mei’s mother did made me re-evaluate my own relationship with my mom.
4.An-Mei’s relationship with her mother seems like idol worship. Amidst her cruel relatives, her mother was probably the only one who showed her kindness (besides Popo perhaps). When her mother left, it broke her and scarred her. She kept that moment with her for the rest of her life. Because An-Mei was so young when her mother left her, An-Mei’s memory of her began to blur over time. She became influenced by her relatives’ negativity towards her mother and started to forget who her mother really was and why she had loved her so much. When her mother first returned, her memory of her was still fogged. But as her mother started rubbing that scar, the mark left by that memory, I think that’s when An-Mei’s love for her mother truly returned.
5.In this chapter, Amy Tan introduces many symbols. The title symbol, the scar on An-Mei, represents the memory of her mother leaving. It left a permanent mark on An-Mei; signifying the impact that incident had on her and showing how important her mother was to her. An-Mei’s mom’s flesh represented her mortal or earthly sacrifice for her mother. She was literally and symbolically giving herself to her mother. You are what you eat therefore, she wanted her mother to become her.
6.I learned that honor and pride is an important aspect in Chinese culture. It’s so important that it even overshadows family bonds. I learned that the later you marry a married man, the lower your rank. I also realized what a concubine was. I was always puzzled as to what they were in Mulan. Being as naïve and innocent as I was at the time, I thought they were sexy model like servants the emperor would keep around. Now I understand that concubines were used as tools to expand a man’s family and do extra housework.
Memory Lane
Scar
1) I thought that the chapter turned out to be sad instead of just a plain flashback.. In this chapter, it tells how An-Mei went through a tough time through not only physically but with her awful memories that she grew up with. I felt really sad that her family despised her mother so much and that her aunt was unfriendly towards An-Mei and her brother while having to endure a painful scar. The part where An-Mei mother cuts her flesh to feed to her mother was a bit gruesome but I think it showed that her mother did care about her grandmother to cut herself. Even though her grandmother showed to hate her mother, I still wonder why An-Mei’s grandmother would act this way towards her own daughter.
2) An-Mei and her mother had a very distant relationship but her mother always cared for her. An-Mei’s family detested her mother and even when An-Mei had the scar, they would not allow her to see her. An-Mei’s mother showed she cared for her child a lot. “She did not need to explain that Popo chased her out of the house when I was dying.” Even though An-Mei and her mother did not talk much, An-Mei’s mother always cared for her.
3) In this chapter, I noticed Amy tan uses a lot of metaphors and similes. When she describes her Aunt, she describes her having “a tongue like scissors eating silk cloth” or “was a talking chicken with a head”. The metaphors and simile she uses help improve her writing by allowing visualizing her aunt in a way.
4) In this chapter, I learn about the Chinese culture by how men in china have a lot of concubines. I also learn that cannibalism was used back in China.
Dan Truong
Period 06
A Wound Best Left Open
(On "Scar")
3) There were parts in the chapter “Scar” that left me confused and parts that left me crying and reaching for a box of tissues (not really). I was puzzled by one of the stories that An-mei Hsu’s Popo (her grandmother) tells her; the one about the greedy girl who, when cut open, was found to have a white winter melon inside her instead of a baby. Popo told An-mei that if you are greedy, “what is inside you is what makes you always hungry” (34). I agree with her proverb, but I don’t understand how the story can relate to that. I also thought the story about the brain pouring out of the disobedient little girl’s ear was nasty. I believe children at this age would rather be watching Sesame Street or Teletubbies and be learning their values from that rather than disturbing stories like the ones that Popo told An-mei and her little brother. I thought that Popo and An-mei’s auntie were too harsh towards An-mei and her brother, but I suppose they thought that was the only way to prevent the two from becoming like their mother, showing no shou (respect) for their family.
I felt pity for An-mei Hsu’s mother because she is practically disowned by her entire family (though perhaps not entirely by her children) and she is seen as an unspeakable subject. She does not seem like such a bad person when she comes back to care for Popo. I do understand Popo’s and Auntie’s reasons for doing so, though, because it was fairly common in China to disown your child if he had no respect for family or ancestors.
4) The relationship between An-Mei and Popo is something that is probably familiar to a lot of people. There is almost always someone who treats you unkindly and strictly, yet does so in order to teach you. Popo seems to think she is doing An-mei some good by not allowing her to speak of her mother, but it may only cause An-mei to question it and disobey even further. I think it is strange how Popo tries to teach An-mei by scaring her or lying to her. Popo scares An-mei by telling her about her death clothes being made impromptu and so they are plain, and how her funeral will be small and short. Popo does this only because she wants An-mei to overcome her pain and come back, but it shows that she really does love An-mei.
5) I saw that Amy Tan used symbolism as a writing technique in this chapter, most noticeable in the title “Scar”. The title holds both a literal and a symbolic meaning. The literal meaning is that An-mei is wounded when the boiling pot of soup is splashed all over her neck, becoming a “smooth-neck” scar under her chin. The symbolic meaning of “Scar” is that her mother and Popo’s rage were poured all over her, leaving her scarred with the memory forever. A scar may be forgotten because it does not cause any pain, but upon seeing the scar all memories of it will rush back to you. An-mei’s memories of her mother come back to her when her mother touches her scar, reminding her of the pain she had to go through to forget it.
6c) I learned a few things about disgrace and disowning in China. I learned that a disowned person would be called a ghost and was not to be spoken about, ever. Respect is a big thing in China and much of the lessons taught to the children were about respect for others. I learned that a man could have a wife and several mistresses, called concubines.
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Thanks for reading! Bye =D
1. No Blood no Love
2. Scar
3. This chapter was short but I believed it contained many memorable scenes. An-mei’s grandmother told her to “never speak her name”(34) in which she refers to An-mei’s mother. To be an outcast of your own family and to be hated by your own family must have been difficult for An-mei’s mother. It is so sad how An-mei isn’t allowed to speak to her own mother let alone see her. Another memorable yet morbid scene was An-mei’s mother’s attempt for a final chance to cure her mother. She cut a piece of her own flesh off and mixed it in with the soup. Although it has this horrifying vibe to the scene, it also reveals the bond between mother and daughter. Neglected and being the ghost of the family, An-mei’s mother still sacrifices herself in order to cure her mother. Even if An-mei’s mother may have hated her own mother, but “this is how daughters honor their mother”(41).
4. An-mei’s mother and Popo have a one-sided relationship. Casting An-mei’s mother aside, they were to never speak to her again. Although this distance grew and they began to neglect An-mei’s mother, she never quit on this relationship. An-mei’s mother still loves her family dearly, even with them closing her off. When “[her] mother cut a piece of meat from her arm,” it showed the position An-mei’s mother was in, in the relationship. Honor and love is what her mother still gave, yet Popo may not have been willing to receive which is why their relationship is one-sided.
5. The writing technique I noticed used in this chapter a lot is the perfect dark setting created by the use of word choice. As I read this chapter, I noticed how these words like tears, blood, and wound created scenery in which sadness grew and pain was at large. Without this technique in the chapter, the effect would have been lost. These words create the scene and set the mood for this chapter as forlorn and depressing.
6. I thought I knew my share of Chinese culture, but I’ve never heard about the medicinal practice of using one’s own flesh as a cure. I’ve talked about it a lot, but a picture seems to have been burned into my head. I’ve heard of stories and seen pictures of feet bindings and all were terrifying but the flesh really shocked me. It shows that the Chinese must have very different, yet unique sorts of medicinal work.
1. “Pain in the Soup”
2. “Scar”
3. When I first read “my mother was a ghost” (33) I automatically thought her An-Mei’s mother was dead. But I found out right after that her family just chooses to view her mother as a ghost, as if she doesn’t exist at all. I found that sad that her family could act like her mother never walked the earth at all. When she talked about Popo’s stories, I thought they were a little strange. Why was there a large white winter melon inside the girl? And what was the little white ball that fell from her ear? I also found it a little creepy how she says her father’s “restless eyes” (34) in his painting followed her everywhere around the house, always being watched. When the boiling soup poured on An-Mei, I felt so sorry for her. She had to go through all that pain. Lastly, I found it disturbing how An-Mei’s mother cut a piece of her flesh and put it into the soup and then fed it to Popo.
4. From this chapter, you can tell that Popo and An-Mei have a love-hate relationship. Popo always tries to scare her, but that’s just her way of showing that she cares. Popo told her those stories to make sure that she grows up to be a good person, unlike her mother. Also, after the soup spilled on An-Mei, “next to [her] bed sat Popo” taking care of her until she would fall asleep. In addition, Popo told An-Mei that “if [she does] not get well soon, [her mother] will forget her” (39) which shows how she uses harsh ways to get her to get well sooner.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a lot of symbolism. Her use of symbolism expresses how much pain An-Mei goes through as she gets her scar. Physically, the scar is what she gets after the boiling soup spills on her. Symbolically, the scar is the pain left after her mother leaves her. She also uses the dark boiling soup spilling on her as a symbol for her family’s anger overpowering her.
6. I learned that honor and respect is an important part in Chinese culture. If you marry a man that already has a wife, therefore becoming a concubine, you are dishonoring your family. Even though many women did it, it caused your family to look down upon you, and even go as far as disowning, like what happened to An-Mei’s mother. And respect was what was strongly taught to the children at a young age, because it was so important.
Michelle Vu
Period.07
1. More Than Just Flesh and Bones
2. Scar
3. This chapter was even more confusing than the last. The whole thing with An-Mei's mother being a "ghost" was weird. Also, I didn't really understand what the stories Popo told were suppose to teach. I mean, I guess I kind of understood the lesson, but I don't know what it has to do with anything. The first story was probably suppose to teach An-Mei not to be greedy, like her mother, but the second story I'm not too sure. I was pretty surprised when the mother came back because Popo was sick. I don't know what kind of sickness it was, but apparently she "blew up." I thought the memory An-Mei had of her mother and of how she got the scar on her neck was pretty intense. It was kind of sad that the memory was so vague it seemed like a dream. She almost completely forgot her mother, like her grandmother wanted. The part where An-Mei's mother cut part of her arm and put it in the soup totally made me gag. It was SO disgusting, and if you think about it, it made Popo a cannibal right before she died. But, An-Mei's mother was only trying to help; it was an ancient tradition that was suppose to work.
4. The relationship between An-Mei and her grandmother can be described as stern. Her grandma often told her what to do, but they were never that close. She forbid An-Mei to say her mother's name, and really wanted An-Mei to forget her mother completely. Although "Popo" was strict, she just didn't want An-Mei to turn out like her mother. She wanted what she thought was best for An-Mei, or at least for An-Mei not to shame the family further.
5. A strong writing technique Amy Tan used in this chapter was metaphor/symbolism. The scar on An-Mei's neck can also be compared to her emotional scarring. An-Mei's thoughts concluded that like the memory of her mother, the scar faded over time and eventually became barely noticeable."The wound begins to close in on itself, to protect what it hurting so much. And once it is closed, you no longer see what is underneath, what started the pain" (40).
6. (b) One of the conflicts in this chapter is the conflict between An-Mei's mother and An-Mei's grandmother. This conflict is an external human vs. human conflict. An-Mei's mother and An-Mei's grandmother, whom she calls Popo, are not on good terms because An-Mei's mother became a concubine. After she left the house Popo never allowed her to return and didn't let An-Mei talk about her. Although the conflict is human vs. human, it is mostly one-sided because An-Mei's mother still cares about and honors her mother.
“What’s in Your Bones”
Scar
3. After reading “Scar,” I truly felt touched. I experienced the sadness that Tan was trying to express through An-mei and her life without a mother. An-mei and her brother’s mother had left them long ago, and their only family was now practically telling them that their birth was a mistake, a sin, something that shouldn’t have happened. I was disgusted with their Popo. How could she just so easily put down her own daughter and hurt her granddaughter’s feelings? The fact that Popo could do that without expressing any emotions just goes against my definition of family. I was also shocked when An-mei’s mother “cut a piece of meat from her arm” and “put it in the soup” (48). It shows the true power of family. An-mei’s mother, despite Popo treating her like a disgrace, honors her mother. I also felt a sort of pity towards An-mei when she became scarred at the age of four. It was An-mei that had to suffer her family’s anger even though she was innocent and had nothing to do with it. And even though she was hurt, her mother was forbidden from seeing her. That is what I feel is pitiful.
4. An-Mei and Popo seem to have a very caring relationship. Although Popo degrades An-mei’s existence, Popo cares for An-mei as a grandmother would care for their granddaughter. For example, when An-mei was dying, Popo took care of her and tended to her wound. If An-mei forgot her mom, then An-mei would not make the same mistakes that she did. And so, Popo, for the sake of An-mei, did everything that she could to care for her. Despite her ways of showing her emotions, Popo truly cares for An-mei.
5. I noticed that Amy Tan uses a lot of symbolism in this vignette. The scar that An-mei receives serves as a memory “that begins to close itself, to protect what is hurting so much” (47). An-mei’s scar is a memory of her mother. The soup pot that was “rocking slowly, back and forth” was a symbol of the anger between her family members and how they were throwing insults back at one another, their anger teetering over the edge. The “dark, boiling soup” that eventually spills onto An-mei represents the anger that An-mei feels like everyone is dumping onto her because somehow, she seems to be caught in the middle of the situation. The pain from the piece of meat that An-mei’s mother cut from her own arm represented the honor for family members because the pain in reality is worthless compared to family. Using symbols, Tan is able to reveal the underlying meaning of her vignette.
6. Amy Tan reveals much about Chinese culture in “Scar.” In the early 1920s, men held countless concubines and concubines were a disgrace to any family. Families would often disown their child if she ever became a disgrace to the family. In the Chinese culture, Tan also reveals that family is one of the most important factors. It seems that one must always honor their elder generations. I also learned that when a family member is dying, they shut their mouth tightly to keep the spirit for escaping and a concoction is brewed using herbs, medicines, and a piece of flesh from a different family member.
Your Honor Runs as Deep as your Blood
Scar
My first reaction was awe. I did not realize how important honor is to the Chinese. Although I had been sure that it played a great role in their lives, I didn’t that realize the depth of which honor affected their lives. One example of this is how Popo exclaims harshly that An-Mei’s mother was “Not an honored widow,” but was “just a number three concubine,” (38). However, they have true honor, the type of honor that is instilled into them. Even though she is insulted, ridiculed, and put down, An-Mei’s mother is still willing to cut and cook a piece of her own flesh into a broth that she believed would heal her mother. This chapter was short, but sweet, but I wonder what “unhappiness” the mother had “exchanged [it] for another,” (40). What was the first unhappiness, and what was the second? I can only guess that one of these is the fact that she cannot come to the house and see her daughter. After reading this, I could understand a little bit of Chinese culture, through Tan’s nice description of the local color. She also uses language that allows an easier connection to the story and to the characters. As I read the chapter, I was reminded of J.K. Rowling, for both Tan’s and Rowling’s writing style are able to make me feel, see, and imagine what it would be like to be in the characters shoes. Tan is very good with imagery, a skill that is reflected in her writing style. Tan uses combinations of words to present the mood or connotation that she is trying to send across. She uses this imagery to develop a relationship between An-Mei and Popo. From this chapter, we can see that the family is very harsh on An-Mei and her brother, simply because of who they are; the children of their mother, whose name is unknown. From what Tan provides us with, we can only see hatred and animosity radiating off their figures, for their mother had dishonored the family. However, I think Popo really does love them, and maybe sees them as a chance to redeem the families honor. It is a strange relationship, but it’s a relationship with caring for each other. I think that Popo tries to scare An-Mei constantly, for she believes that by scaring An-Mei, that An-Mei will be taught virtues. She believes that by showing An-Mei examples of those people with the wrong intents, their actions, and their punishments, that An-Mei will not make the same mistakes as them. I believe that the life lesson of this chapter is that one must always have respect for others, and have respect for one’s self as well. I think this is demonstrated in various ways. One example is when the Aunt slaps An-Mei’s brother for disrespecting others, which he thoroughly deserved. By doing this, the brother shames the family by representing the family badly. In my opinion, the aunt, who already doesn’t like them, sees this as another attack on the families honor. One part of the chapter the represents my opinion of honoring one’s self is when Popo asks, with a slandering tone, “Who is this ghost? Not an honored widow. Just a number 3 concubine,” (38). I think this represents the fact that the Chinese believed that if you were a concubine, yet not the first wife, you were low class, lower class than the first wife at any rate. By accepting this position, she degraded and dishonored herself and the family.
“Shou”
Scar
1. This vignette was very unpredictable. It was sad to hear that An-Mei and her younger brother were orphans, with a father that had past away and a mother that had never cared for them. To find out that their grandmother took care of An-Mei and her brother was familiar to read since many grandmother’s take care of their grandchildren when something happens to the parents. It was surprising to find out that the grandmother told An-Mei to never say her mother’s name because “to say her name is to spit on [her] father’s grave” (34). I would think that even if a mother did something wrong, one should still respect her because she is after all a mother to a child. It was odd to find that An-Mei’s mother returned home after so many years and pretended to fit in when many did not welcome her though. It was pretty disturbing at near the end of the chapter when she was making soup for the grandma and cut her own flesh to put in the soup.
2. An-Mei and Popo’s relationship is bonded. Popo is like a mother to An-Mei. An-Mei grows to care for Popo very much so because she mentions that she is always scared for her. The two are like mother and daughter. Popo would tell An-Mei numerous stories even though she was extremely sick.
3. Throughout the chapter, I’ve noticed that Amy Tan uses many similies. This helps enhance her writing by giving readers a more precise idea of what she would like to portray.
4. In this chapter, I have learned that the Chinese have many interesting concepts as to healing sicknesses or wounds. How Popo poured water over An-Mei’s neck from a “hollowed cup of a large grapefruit” use her fingernails to “peal off the dead membranes” was unusual to read (40). What was more unusual to read was how An-Mei’s mother “cut a piece of meat from her arm , took the flesh and put it in the soup” for Pope to drink for her sickness (41).
Margaret Trask (per. 7)
1. “Lies to Protect Me”
2. Scar
3. I thought that it was very sad how Popo used fear to control her granddaughter. It kind of seemed as if she didn’t want the little girl to remember her mother because she wanted her to love her fully, or as if she wanted (selflessly) to let the little girl shed painful memories. The fact that her mother had disgraced the family obviously pained her grandmother, and it was as though through letting An-Mei forget her mother, Popo could forget her too. These kinds of estrangements always sadden me because it seems that although they happen over trivial things, the ways of these people is engraved in their very souls and to go against that is to go against all that makes them who they are. They therefore cannot betray their traditions, but the heart wrenching pain that sometimes results can also lead to regret and hopeless sadness in reflection of events that follow. I think that it is forgivable that An-Mei’s mother left her, because she was forbidden from her family until her mother became sick. The fact that she is willing to sacrifice flesh (figuratively?) is somehow miraculous to me, but it is proven in this vignette that the mother-daughter bond is eternal and unbending.
4. The relationship between An-Mei and her mother is one of loss and reunion. I would use “longing” and “unbreakable” to describe their relationship, because even though she had been gone for so long, An-Mei never stopped missing her mother, and she was still loved when they were finally reunited.
5. Symbolism is used where Amy Tan uses a scar to represent the painful memories of An-Mei’s mother/grandmother conflict and how the loss of her mother scarred her permanently, fading but never fully disappearing.
6. Heritage is found in this chapter both in the heritage of flesh and the heritage of traditions. An-Mei’s mother is remembered and is constantly a part of her, showing how she feels she is lost without that portion of her heritage. The traditional heritage, however, contradicts this because it is the very thing that keeps mother and daughter apart for so long. The conflict that this causes shows us that despite tradition or rules, it is the heritage of our bond with those that we love that we come by through natural instinct.
1. “You can’t undo what you already did.”
2. “Scar”
3. When Popo said that An-mei should “Never say her name,” (P. 34), I was very surprised. Popo must have had a good reason to hate An-nei’s mother for a good reason and I kept reading to try and find out. I was actually surprised to find that An-mei’s mother would actually return to find An-mei, as told when An-mei “was sitting at the top of the stairs when she arrived,” (P.36). I thought she was a really bad mother when I read the previous parts, but then she came back, which made me think she might be a kind mother. Then, I was disgusted when An-mei watched her mother “cut a piece of meat from her arm”(P.40) and “put it in the soup”(P.40). It terrified me because I’ve never heard of such an insane way of trying to save someone’s life.
4. An-mei and her mother have a quiet but understanding relationship. They can understand each other without much speech, as showed when they “sat down as though we had done this every day.” (P. 37). Her mother also had a kind of telepathy with her because she mused aloud “An-mei, you know who I am.” (P.38). They seem to be connected like any other mother and her daughter, but maybe because of their separation, they could understand each other better without much speech needed because much was implied and not explained, and they were never used to talking much so they could adapt to a speechless relationship much easier.
5. The imagery employed by Amy Tan is mind tingly and horrific at the same time. The description about her mother’s unfaithfulness towards the family she married into and left was explained with great detail by Popo to paint an image into your mind. Also, in the end of the chapter where An-mei’s mother has to make the special “soup” for Popo in a desperate attempt to save her life was very descriptive, and the mood she set through using imagery and the simple description of An-mei’s mother’s action was ghastly and strangely powerful, leaving me with a dark memory of the ending of the chapter, which was what Amy Tan intended to do to the reader.
6. I learned about Chinese culture in this chapter. I learned that pride was a major part of the Chinese culture. If a daughter in law runs away from the family she married into, she would never be allowed in and it’s a shame for her to even be seen by that family, thereby An-mei’s mother being called a ghost. I also discovered that in some areas of China, when the mother is about to die, her daughter or daughter in law has to cut off a piece of her flesh, cook it with herbs and medicines, and then feed it to her dying mother in a desperate attempt to save her life.
The Forgotten Mother
This chapter is Scar
Laurie Jeng
1. I found it sort of ironic the way Popo would say that An-Mei and her little brother were such bad children and worthless, even though she really treasured them. I guess it’s just her way of showing them that she cares, but I do not think that the children understood that until much later. When An-Mei described how her grandmother got sick, I was a little grossed out because she said, “her flesh had gone soft and rotten with a bad smell” (42). It is just a very gross image to picture. I also cannot imagine what it feels like to be An-Mei and ashamed of your mom. All my life I have been taught to love, respect, and obey my parents, but An-Mei has been told to look down upon and forget her own mother. I wonder if she ever felt very lost and confused because she never really had a mother to look up to and learn from.
2. I think the relationship between An-Mei and her mom is a forbidden relationship. An-Mei is basically ordered to forget about her mother, and her mother is banned from the household. However, the mother desperately wants to take her children to live with her, and An-Mei adores her mother and wants to live with her instead of her relatives. An-Mei shows the reader how much Popo wanted An-Mei to forget her mother by recounting what Popo had told her, “To say [your mother’s name] is to spit on your father’s grave” (43). An-Mei’s mother had tried to retrieve An-Mei and “shouted for [An-Mei] to come” even though everyone yelled and tried to kick the mom out of the house (46).
3. In this chapter I really appreciated Amy Tan’s use of symbolism. She used An-Mei’s scar to represent the memories of her mother and how she left. When An-Mei first got her scar, she everyone did not think that she would survive. However, as time went by, the scar slowly, and painfully healed, leaving only a small scar from the injury. Amy Tan uses the way the scar healed and compared it to how when An-Mei’s mother first left, An-Mei was devastated, but as time went on, she forgot most of her memories of her mother, and therefore, her mother leaving was not as painful. Just like the scar hid the hurt underneath An-Mei’s skin, so did An-Mei’s forgotten memories of her mother hide the hurt feelings of An-Mei.
4. The main conflict in this chapter is human verses society. An-Mei and her mother desperately want to be together, but their family forbids them to even contact each other. The conflict is not internal because it is not their doubts or fears that is preventing them from being together, but the anger that the family feels against the mother who deserted her children and family.
Secret Ingredient
Chapter “Scar”
This chapter talks about the faith and loyalty of an outcast daughter. Because she became the third concubine of a rich man, Popo banished her from the household. How sad that is! Her own daughter is left behind. Not even her father is left to comfort her. All she has to remember him is a large painting in the hallway. Popo constantly reminds her of the evils her mother committed. I think she says these things because she is terrible disappointed at the choices her very own daughter has made. Because of Chinese traditions and family pride, Popo was forced to cast her out. Although she is constantly berating her there is nothing she can do. Perhaps this constant brooding over An- Mei’s mother is because she feels she has done something wrong? Mayhap she is actually thinking that if only she taught her better this would not have happened. The bitterness probably arose because of Popo’s disappointment in herself also.
The relationship between Popo and her daughter can be described as forgiving on the daughters part. Popo feels deeply disappointed and displeased with her daughter’s marriage to Wu Tsing. She reacts by banishing her from the house.Although Popo cast her own daughter out and said many horrid things to her, the daughter still loves her mother. She came back when she learned of the terrible illness that has taken Popo. Although Popo would have pushed her out if she had been well, the mother still does not care. This is the women that gave birth to me and I will honor her no matter what she seems to say.
I found the use of flashbacks quite interesting. In the beginning we have no clue to what An-Mei’s mother was truly like. We only hear the threats and curses of Popo. Then, When An-Mei thinks back to when her mother was leaving we can see the picture of what occurred. How, actually her mother did not leave while An-Mei was dying, but was chased out. With flashback, Amy Tan gives us the true version of the story, giving a twist to all the things said beforehand. As if she pulls back a curtain and exclaims “ hah! This is what truly happened. I fooled you with all with the things Popo has said”. We see that An-Mei’s mother is actually caring and not only a disobedient, shameful woman.
Throughout her life An-Mei is reminded continuously of the shame her mother has brought to the family name. she is not to speak of her mother. “To say here name is to spit on the grave of your father’s grave” Popo would say. An-Mei searches her memories for the face of this forbidden woman. She recalls her mother crying out for her to follow, but the pot of boiling hot soup splashed across her neck before she could. With all the pain, she lost all memory of her mother. She imagines that her mother is a thoughtless women that has escaped her family, and she feels jealous at her freedom. When they finally meet again it is surprising how all the bad things slip away and she sees her mother true nature. All the bad things said about her did not mean anything as she came to realize what really happened. How her mother was chased away, and only exchanged unhappiness in marrying Wu Tsing. Though all the things Popo shouted at An-Mei’s mother were horrible the daughter still loved her. An-Mei’s mother loves her own mother so much; she cut a chunk of her own flesh out in an attempt to save Popo.
1. “Sacrifice to Your Mother”
2. “Scar”
3. My first reaction to An-Mei receiving the scar on her neck was panicked. I was even more amazed at her popo’s reaction. Telling a child who is in great pain that they are preparing a funeral for her, and that they will not mourn for her very long is the strangest way to tell them to get better. It’s even more mean telling them that their mother will not care about them if they do not get well. Yet at the same time, I know she cares about An-Mei because despite her cruel words, she poured cold water on An-Mei’s neck all night. When An-Mei’s mother cut out a piece of her arm for the soup, I shuddered. That is one of the most disgusting emo-sounding actions that I have ever heard of. If I were the mother, I would definitely not want my daughter to do such a thing. It makes me wonder, do daughters traditionally do such a thing for their sick mothers? Does the arm heal back?
4. The relationship between An-Mei and her popo is affectionate, yet strict and severe. The scene in which her popo said to her that “‘even [her] mother used up her tears and left’” (39) when she was hurt, was a really cruel thing to say. At the same time, she was caring for An-Mei and was pouring cool water on her neck to ease the pain of her burn.
5. The writing technique that I noticed Amy Tan used was flashback. An-Mei flashbacked to when she was four, and received the scar on her neck from a burn. It is how she recalled the only memories she had of her mother.
6. c. From this chapter, I learned a little bit about Chinese funerals. The younger the person, the shorter the mourning time is. I also learned that for Chinese people, white is a mourning color, contrary to the black color used in the US.
I accidentally posted this under the first chapter before. Sorry
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