The Relationship the Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club all the character's names were: Lina St. Clair, Ying Ying, An Mei, Rose, Waverly, Lindo, Suyuan and Jing Mei (June). The first relationship is between June and Suyuan, June is Suyuan's daughter, Suyuan recently died 6 months ago, in the film the Joy Luck Club found Suyuan's daughters that of which she left on the side of the rode during the war and wanted them to repair their relationship. The next relationship is between Lindo and Waverly, Waverly is Lindo's daughter, Waverly being generally successful (even when playing chess when younger) and married to Rich.

Then there is An Mei and Rose, Rose is An Mei's daughter, Rose is married to Ted Jordan. Then there is Ying Ying and Lena, Lena is Ying Ying's daughter, Ying Ying married a cheating man and felt lost she then killed her first child in the bathtub to take the only thing that she had over him. Lena is married to Harold, Harold makes Lena pay for most things that of which she later finds unfair, Lena finds that he doesn't respect her and she ends up demanding respect.

The relationship that I chose to closely analyse is between Ying Ying and Lena. This relationship is special or stands out to me because of the fact that Ying Ying killed her own child in China to spite the man she loved but grew to hate, as well as because she expects her daughter to demand what she could not. Lena being Ying Ying's daughter, Ying Ying having married a man that she thought was in love with her and had his kid, soon late found out that he was a disgusting cheating man that had no respect for her. With hate in Ying Ying's heart she decided to drown her first baby in order to make her husband feel pain.

Ying Ying then left her Chinese husband and came to America where she married Clifford and had her daughter Lena. Clifford speaks fluent english but not chinese and Ying ying speaks fluent chinese but not english so in the movie, it's found that Clifford often puts words into Ying Ying's mouth. After losing her child and her marriage though, Ying ying found herself most times lost and an deep dark spells. Ying Ying puts the traits of not speaking up for herself and not demanding respect onto her daughter, Lena. In Lena's marriage she is married to a man named Harold, Harold making 7x as much as she does, makes has them go half on everything they buy even things that he buys for her or that he buys only for himself. Ying Ying then explains to Lena that she is lacking a demand for mutual respect in her relationship, the same as she did back in China. Ying Ying wishes for her daughter to take charge for what she wants and needs before it is too late, she wants her to find herself and not to accept anyone who doesn't accept who she is.

Love between Ying Ying and Lena was expressed by Lena often comforting Ying Ying when she falls into a deep sorrow spell and Ying Ying by explaining her story and that she wants better for her daughter (forcing Lena to break free from her unhappy marriage). In the movie, unlike Waverly and June's parents, Lena didn't have her mother push her to do any skill, throughout the movie it even seemed as if Ying Ying began to give up trust in the idea that she could be a good mother to her daughter until she explains her story.

With Lena's Chinese and American identities she seems to be more intact with her American side, she has an big American style house that Ying Ying addresses as lopsided and her mother doesn't like the way that her house is set up because of Chinese customs, Lena also accepts the idea of ?fair' in her relationship before her mother addressed it. Two examples in the movie that reflect these customs is when the Ying Ying went into the room and began to touch things almost tipping over the table, she insults the table and labels it as useless, while Lena calls it a gift. Another example is when Ying Ying was first introduced to Lena's home and Ying Ying looked unpleased by the style, especially when seeing the list of money, Ying Ying sees it as disrespectful and looks down on it, while Lena accepted it also.

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