Topic Brainstorm

Choice 1:  Choose a reading selection, and write an argument in response to it answering:
How are class differences presented in the work? Are characters aware or unaware of the economic and social forces that affect their lives? 

My views from this choice hasn't changed much  since the first project brainstorm. This topic shakes my heart, and I want to delve into it, not because of bitterness, but because I want to learn how the people of upper classes discriminate people of lower classes, and how it is historically relevant. I believe that a child wouldn’t be so mean towards another child if he/she wasn’t taught of their privileges as part of the upper classes. So, is in nature or is it the way they are nurtured that made them discriminate against the “untouchables” (based on the Indian caste system).

As I read The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, I feel closely related to what the characters experience especially when they went on a tour back to China. If you are also an immigrant from a third world country, the perspective of your relatives about you changes, as if you have won a million dollars just because you are currently living in a first-world country.

Choice 2: Choose a reading. 

In your project, consider the following: 

What does this work reflect about its historical, social, political and/or economic context? You may focus on race, class, power, cultural values and beliefs, historical events, the author’s biography, gender, psychology, etc. 

I would like to examine the Four poems of Angel Island and Chinatown. I think it gives us a glimpse of how Chinese people are treated for almost 4 decades. Historical, social, political and/or economic context are present from these four poems.

This choice is closely related to my first choice except about historical views. I think that The Joy Luck Club and the four poems of Angel Island and Chinatown can be weaved together to give us a glimpse of Chinese-American history.

Choice 3: Think about a theme you see running through your life (failure is the best lesson, love is eternal, etc). Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme (even if it reaches different conclusions about it). Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading.

As I read The Joy Luck Club, I notice that the narrator and I share common theme in our life: failure and mistakes are the best lessons. I would like to compare myself to her as a daughter, a woman, and a human being. I have yet to finish the book, so I don’t know her resolution. But in  at some level, I feel connected to her, as if a reflection, perhaps.

Reading Notes W12: The Joy Lucky Club

For the solo reading, I chose Amy Tan's The Joy Lucky Club. I will jot down direct quotes, build a timeline, or write my thoughts.

Characters:
Mothers and Daughters:
1. Suyuan Woo and Jing-mei "June" Woo
2. An-mei Hsu and Rose Hsu Jordan
3. Lindo Jong and Waverly Jong
4. Ying-ying St. Clair and Lena St. Clair

The doctor said she died of cerebral aneurysm. And her friends at the Joy Luck Club said she died just like a rabbit: quickly and with unfinished business left behind (19).

I can never remember things  I didn't understand in the first place (19).

The Joy Luck Club was founded by the narrator's mother in San Francisco 1949 two years  before she was born.

My mother could sense that the women of these families also had unspeakable tragedies thy had left behind in China and the hopes they couldn't begin to express in their fragile English. Or at least, my mother recognized the numbness in these women's faces. And she saw how quickly their eyes moved when she told them her idea for the Joy Luck Club (20).

The moss metaphor on page 21.

Reading Notes W11: Eldridge Cleaver's Shoot-Out in Oakland

We had noticed that whenever we staged a large fund raising event, the Oakland police would move, first, to try to prevent it from happening; then, failing that, they would arrest a lot of party members and drain off whatever money was raised because we would then have to bail these party members out of jail and there were legal fees. We became very aware of this.

...the Oakland Police Department and the Berkeley Police Department arrested a total of sixteen members of our party, including the notorious incident in which our Chairman, Bobby Seale, and his wife, Artie, were dragged from their bed in the wee hours of the morning and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

But what a lot of people don't understand is that it was very expensive to us. Even though the ridiculous charge was dropped, the real purpose of the cops was achieved successfully: to drain away our funds through exorbitant bails and legal fees.

Project 2: Intransigent

Intransigent

“The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children (Anonymous).” One of the short stories in Sun Sui Far’s anthology, Mrs. Spring Fragrance, tells the tragic story of Lae Choo. Lae Choo is a Chinese immigrant and a wife of a Chinese merchant named Hom Hing. In the story, Hom Hing went back to China to fetch his wife and son. When they are about to board the ship going to California, the custom officers stopped them saying that there are no records indicating that Hom Hing and Lae Choo have a child. Despite the couple's resistance, the custom officers take their Little One and place him in a detention camp in Washington. They promised that the child will be returned to them by morning. Several months pass by and their Little One is not yet returned to them, and the lawyer they acquire is only after their fortune. When their child is returned to them, Lae Choo is filled with delight, but the child dismisses his mother. As the story unravels, we learn that our society has long assumed that women are weak because they act based on their feelings. Yet the story also fortifies women for women endure several hardships that are not tantamount to any man's. Women sift through their various conflicting feelings and create rational decisions and ideas from them. Thus, women are more resilient than men.

Lae Choo is fragile and weak, but these are her attributes that allows her to stay strong and hopeful. We read in the story that Sun Sui Far writes Lae Choo as a typical mother who is seemingly inseparable from her child. However, her son is taken away from her and all the power she once had is drained from her entire being. Sun Sui Far thinks that Lae Choo is hysterical and also hopeful for she writes, “‘Why so long, oh! why so long?’ Then apostrophizing herself: ‘Lae Choo, be happy. The Little One is coming! The Little One is coming!’ Several times she burst into tears and several times she laughed aloud (Hicks et. al., 325).” From this instance, we can observe that with a little ounce of power she has left, she tries to fight the grief of losing her son. Her mixed emotions are messing with her head, yet she sits still, contemplating and convincing herself to stay strong for her son. Women put their feelings under a microscope to examine their discombobulated emotions and from there, women act accordingly, not just what others would think about her, but what she thinks of herself.

Although Lae Choo seems to be a submissive and inferior type of person, I believe that her inferiority is a key she holds to open the door of hopefulness. In a foreign land where the laws she is accustomed to is massively different, Lae Choo and her husband, Hom Hing, have no other option but to follow the rules. Hom Hing says, “there is no need to grief so; he will sonn gladden you again. There cannot be any law that would keep a child from its mother! (Hicks, et. al., 324).” This statement paves way to Lae Choo’s hopefulness for after he states this, Lae Choo “arose and stepped about the apartment, setting things to right (Hicks, et. al., 324).” We can see that the couple is being submissive, especially since they are immigrants. But since Hom Hing is a merchant, he seems to be accustomed with what the law dictates and provides. His instinct kicks in and to some extent, he treats the detention of his child as a bargain. Lae Choo, however, is being obedient. She succumbs to the law of the American people in fear that she or worst, her son, will be punished for her own misconduct. In a way, her inferiority is a stepping stone for her to attain self-actualization; this circumstance of being away from her son has made her resilient and relentless.

            Lae Choo is resilient and relentless. Experiencing this separation, Hom Hing thinks that Lae Choo is too dependent, distant, and lamentable. He says, “She seems less every day. Her food she takes only when I bid her, and her tears fall continually. She finds no pleasure in dress or flowers and cares not to see her friends. Her eyes stare all night. I think before another moon she will pass into the land of spirits ((Hicks, et. al., 326).” James Clancy, the white lawyer they acquired to somehow help them retrieve their son, thinks of Lae Choo as someone who is insane for chasing after her son who will never remember her anymore. Yet Clancy takes them for granted when he proposes that he will retrieve their son from Washington as long as they fund his journey. His greed leads him to underestimate Lae Choo, but their thoughts about her changes when she surrenders all her jewelries for Clancy to take and sell as long as he delivers the papers that will release their son from the custody of the Americans (Hicks, et. al., 328). We realize that Lae Choo’s desperation is her ticket to claiming her son back to her arms.

            Lae Choo is an optimist. She looks forward to having her son back into her arms and tries to convert her tears into smiles. She thinks of herself as someone who is resilient having to endure this unspeakable damage of losing her own child. She may have not been the best mother, but still she tries her best to bring her child back to her embrace. Sun Sui Far writes, “She fell on her knees and stretched her hungry arms toward her son (Hicks, et. al., 329).” Although she has the suspicion that her son will no longer remember her, she still believes that being with her is her son’s best interest. She may have lost him for five months, but slowly, she will rebuild the lost time and close the huge gap between them.

Week 9 Project Action Plan: Her

Our society has long assumed that women are weak because they act based on their feelings. Women endure several hardships that are not tantamount to any man's. Women sift through their various conflicting feelings and create rational decisions and ideas from them.

Choice 1: From a piece of fiction (short story, section of novel, or a play) choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project that discusses some of the following questions: 
• What is the author’s attitude towards her? (how can you tell?)
• What is your attitude towards her? 
• How do (at least 2) other characters view her? 
• How does she view herself? 

I was taught to learn about the protagonists in the stories that I read, and frankly, most protagonists are male characters. There is very little credit given to female characters especially if she was not related to the male character, or if she was not given any romantic interests in the story. I believe that every minor character plays her/his role to help the major characters attain development. I want to learn more about the roles of women in history, and how they were represented. As a female myself, I think I would be able to provide insights involving female emotions. I want to focus on Lae Choo, the Chinese mother from Sun Sui Far's Mrs. Spring Fragrance collection.

-What the author thinks of her:
The author writes Lae Choo as a fragile woman, defenseless and reckless. But she also writes a selfless, loving and hopeful mother.

-What I think of Lae Choo:
At first, it may seem that Lae Choo is like a typical mother that we see on television drama: submissive to her husband. But as I read her story, I realize that she was the one who made the fortified decision that will lead her son back to her arms.

Two other characters' views on Lae Choo:
Her husband, Hom Hing, tries to overpower her somehow by blocking her decision to give up her jewelry to fund James Clancy's journey to Washington to retrieve their son.
James Clancy thinks that she is hysterical for chasing a son that will he knew will never remember her.

How Lae Choo thinks of herself:
Lae Choo is an optimist. She looks forward to having her son back into her arms, and tries to convert her tears into smiles. She thinks of herself as someone who is resilient having to endure this unspeakable damage of losing her own child.


WORK CITED:

Hicks, Jack et al.  From an excerpt of Sun Sui Far's Mrs. Spring Fragrance. The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 321-329

Week 9 Progress

1. Review. How do you feel about your progress so far?  What are the class assignments that you enjoy the most? Are you using any of the extra credit options?

I feel like that my progress is slow. I tend to do my works at the last minute because I attend to my other classes first. I seem to forget the importance of this class as well. I enjoy doing the projects for it is an accumulation of all the reading notes, research, and literary analysis we do each week. I don't do extra credits, but I might as well do for the next half of the semester for I missed several reading notes and analysis assignments.

2. Look forward. Are there any changes you want to make for the second half of the semester, in terms of your participation in the course? Any mistakes or possible challenges in finishing you want to avoid? Something new you want to try?

I will try to read ahead and do the required readings. I hate to say that I do almost all the assignments perfunctorily, so I have no time to enjoy it. I expect that there will be a lot of reading in a literature class, but we have so much too read, it's gotten difficult to retain information.