Give a short note on the grandmother granddaughter relationship in the...
Grandmother-Granddaughter Relationship in the First Chapter
The first chapter of the book “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan introduces us to the character of Jing-mei Woo, a thirty-six-year-old woman who has recently lost her mother. Jing-mei is invited by her father to take her mother's place in the Joy Luck Club, a group of four Chinese women who fled China and settled in San Francisco. The club meets once a week to play mahjong and share stories.
The Introduction of the Grandmother
The chapter starts by introducing Jing-mei's grandmother, who was born in China and married a man chosen by her parents. Her husband was a wealthy man who had a concubine, and Jing-mei's grandmother was forced to accept her as part of the family. When the concubine gave birth to a son, Jing-mei's grandmother was forced to leave her husband's house and live with her own parents.
The Grandmother's Expectations of the Granddaughter
The chapter also highlights the strained relationship between Jing-mei and her mother. Jing-mei's mother had high expectations for her daughter and tried to make her into a prodigy. She enrolled Jing-mei in various lessons, including piano, but Jing-mei failed to meet her mother's expectations.
Despite this, Jing-mei's grandmother sees potential in her granddaughter and encourages her to play the piano. She gives Jing-mei the piano that her mother had bought for her, and tells her that she can be a prodigy if she works hard enough.
The Significance of the Grandmother-Granddaughter Relationship
The grandmother-granddaughter relationship is significant in the first chapter as it shows the contrast between the expectations of the older generation and the younger generation. Jing-mei's mother wants her daughter to be a prodigy, while her grandmother sees potential in her granddaughter without expecting her to be a prodigy. The relationship also highlights the cultural differences between the generations, as Jing-mei's grandmother was born in China and Jing-mei was born in America.
The relationship between the two characters sets the stage for the rest of the book, which explores the relationships between mothers and daughters and the cultural differences between the two generations.