The Voice from the Wall: Lena St. Clair

"I could not tell my father what she had said. He was so sad already with this empty crib in his mind. How could I tell him she was crazy?"(112, Lena St. Clair).

This is an example of a dilemma. After a miscarriage and communication failure, Lena wonders how she can tell her father something that will give him hope and still convey the pain of her mother. Lena's mother soon falls into a depression and she wonders what she can do. She clings to the thought that her neighbor has it worse than she until she finds out that she doesn't. I can relate this to real life and a lot of people's own experiences. I have found in my own life that the old saying "misery wants company" is completely true. I've found that some people are so negative that they try to bring others down with them, and that it makes them feel better if everyone else is suffering. Lena feels this way until she finds out that she is is alone in her misery.

Rules of the Game: Waverly Jong

"I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games"(89, Waverly Jong).

From the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer: Josh playing in the park with his 1st mentor.

This quote is an example of aphorism because it revels a truth about life. In this chapter Waverly tells the reader about how she became a chess prodigy at a young age. Her mother was so proud of her and pressured her to work harder and to succeed. Waverly gets in an argument with her mother because she can not take all the pressure she puts on her and hates how her mother brags about her all the time. I can relate this to the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. In the movie, the main character, a little boy who starts playing chess just like Waverly did; he starts playing men in the park, and is taught by one of the patrons. Josh's father sees his talent and potential, and begins to pressure him into working harder and winning more. Josh begins to fear losing, and thinks if he loses the game, he loses his father's love. Like Josh, Waverly thinks her mother wants this future for her for the wrong reasons and eventually buckles under the pressure.

The Moon Lady: Ying-ying St. Clair

(about who the Moon Lady is)"She lives on the moon and today is the only day you can see her and have a secret wish fulfilled"(70, Amah).

This quote displays a legend by explaining the tradition of the Moon Lady. In this chapter Ying-ying tells the reader about an experience when she gets lost. She falls off the back of a boat during a family outing on a holiday, and wishes to the Moon Lady. She only remembers the wish years later. She had wished to be found. I can relate to this in one of my own past experiences. When I was 6 I got lost at Holiday World while my family was there on vacation. I remember that everything looks so much more scary and big when you have no clue where you are. Like Ying-ying, I was also got help from a nice group people, and eventually found my family again. I can remember thinking and praying that I would do anything to be found.

I feel this poor little boy's pain. It's one of the scariest moments when you are completely lost.

The Red Candle: Lindo Jong

"I watched this same movie when you did not come. The American soldier promises to come back and marry the girl"(49, Lindo Jong).

This quote is part of an anecdote that shows her feelings on how people should get engaged to be married. In this chapter Lindo Jong tells the reader about when she was in an arranged marriage and how she got out of it. She obeyed her mothers wishes and married her snooty cousin and lived with the family for years. Because she was unhappy, Lindo fakes a nightmare in which she tells her mother-in-law that if she did not leave the family and get a divorce, their ancient ancestors would start the "cycle of destruction". Out of their deep reverence and fear of their ancestors, Lindo's will was done. I can relate this to the ancestors in the movie Mulan. In the movie, the family shows great respect for the ancestors and to their memory. Mulan goes on her adventure to honor her family and ancestors, much like Lindo respected her mother's wishes for her.

Mulan's ancestors

Scar: An-Mei Hsu

"She looked strange, too, like the missionary ladies at our school who were insolent and bossy  in their too-tall shoes, foreign clothes, and short hair"(45, An-Mei Hsu).

By the way that is not me and my mom!

This quote displays a simile by using "like" to compare two things. This chapter is about An-Mei and her relationship with her mother. She thought that her mother had left her, but in reality she was forced to leave her. When her mother comes back and shows a great love and respect for her own mother, An-Mei's grandmother, she realizes that she loves her mother and she always will. I can relate this to my own life and to a lot of other peoples. Everyone fights with their mothers and gets angry with them. Sometimes we convince ourselves that the things they do aren't out of love, but they are just trying to make our lives miserable. But I know for certain in my own life, after we stop fighting, I always know that I love my mom and that she does everything out of love for me.

The Joy Luck Club: Jing-Mei Woo

 "And that's why you can understand why a mother like this can never forget her other daughters. She knew they were alive, and before she died she wanted to find her daughters in China"(39, Ying-ying St.Clair).

Harry and Dumbledore.

This quote displays foreshadowing, because after Jing-Mei finds this out her life is altered forever, and the reader will most likely see this happen in the book. After her mother dies, Jing-Mei is asked to fill her spot at The Joy Luck Club. While she is there she remembers her mother, her childhood, and the things about her culture that she has forgot. She realizes that she doesn't know her mother as well as she thought she did. I can relate this to Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows when Harry himself wonders how much he didn't know about Dumbledore. He feels that he could have been mislead about him for their whole relationship, and is greatly disillusioned. Harry is experiencing a flood of emotions while he decides if he was being lied to or protected. In the same way, Jing-Mei starts to see different aspects of her mother and wonders how she could have misjudged her in such huge way.