- “Promise! Promise! Honey-sweetheart, my promise is as good as gold.” Then he pushes her onto the bed. But he doesn’t come back. His gold is like yours, only fourteen carats.”
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23 |
(CL) in China, commitments are of great importance. A man is held responsible for the words he utters from his mouth and is trusted in accordance to how much he fulfills what he says. Therefore in China, it is very rare for a man to say one thing and do another. However, in America, commitment is not of as much importance. From the film they were watching, the soldier promised the lady that he would be back. He even went ahead to say his promise was as good as gold. He however left, never to return. In fact, he went and asked for the hand of another girl. The Chinese say that the gold the soldier referred to weighed fourteen carats which meant it was not real gold. This simply means that he is not a trustworthy man and he lied. From the film, all American men are generalized and believed to be of the same character. |
- “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. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh.”
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22 |
(C) Pain usually shows how much a person treasures something. Ordinarily, anything that one cannot sacrifice for is regarded to be of little or no importance to them. For one to show that they value something, they must be willing to suffer for the sake of that thing. In this case, the mother literally cut off a piece of her flesh for the grandmother. This was in spite of the suffering the grandmother had made them go through in their lives. She was able to show her love by spilling her blood and leaving a permanent mark on her arm because of her mother. This act showed how much the woman loved her mother despite everything she and her daughter had gone through in her hands. The only way to remember the past is if there is a permanent reminder to show you what happened. So since the grandmother was on her deathbed, she had to cut her flesh and drip the blood in order for the memories to remain even as she died. This was a practice done from generation to generation. |
- “Your daughter-in-law was born with enough wood, fire, water, and earth, and she was deficient in metal, which was a good sign. But when she was married, you loaded her down with gold bracelets and decorations and now she has all the elements, including metal. She’s too balanced to have babies.”
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31 |
(Q) A person is supposedly supposed to have the five elements in order to be balanced. The five elements are water, fire, wood, earth, and metal. All these elements symbolize something different in a person’s life and control the different temperaments the people have individually. If these elements are symbolic and are within a person, how then did the bracelets and golden jewelry affects the elements Lindo had? Since the elements one has within are naturally with the person, how can they be altered by adding physical ornaments to the person? Plus, how do the temperaments affect a woman’s ability to bear children? Does it also mean that these elements could be removed from a person even if one has owned them from birth? If this is the case, then life would be so easy because people would get rid of the elements they do not like and embrace the elements that they do like. |
Chapter 2: The twenty six Malignant Gates
- “You must think for yourself, what you must do. If someone tells you, then you are not trying.”
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70 |
(R) For a person to succeed they must believe in themselves. They should not agree to be told everything and be led everywhere. In fact, a person is supposed to have questions which they should ask in every case where they are asked to do something. In many cases, human beings like asking other people what they should do in their lives. Everyone has a different view as to what is right and what is wrong. Therefore not every advice given by people is right. In this case, a marriage is at stake. Rose asks her mother what she should do. Her mother is wise enough and knows that the best advice is that which comes from oneself. She, therefore, allows her daughter to think and figure out how she can solve her marital problem without the mother intruding. In the same way, in regards to other life issues, sometimes it is best to think of what to do on your own instead of involving different people into your life affairs. |
- “I had new thoughts, willful thoughts, or rather thoughts filled with lots of won’ts. I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t be what I’m not. “
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71 |
(R) Influence is everywhere. A people’s way of life can be imposed upon you regardless of your beliefs if you are not strong enough. People have been coarsed to do things they never thought they could do in their normal minds in an attempt to please or be like others. If one is not willing to do things because other people are doing them and does not wish to be influenced, they must make a proclamation to themselves. They must assure themselves that regardless of anything that happens, they will be strong and they must also have the will to keep that promise to themselves. In this case, after seeing a girl with characteristics like hers, she decided she will not be swayed and she will remain to be her true self. She knew without convincing herself to stay focused, she would be easily swayed. |
- “Only two kinds of daughters. Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!”
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78 |
(C) Mothers and daughters will always disagree more often than not. It is a law of nature. That is why daughters are usually closer to their fathers than they are to their mothers. The worst part is that even with the fights, there is no way one can change who their parents are. We have to accept them as they come. Jing-Mei in this passage had had an argument with her mother. Her mother wanted her to play yet she preferred staying indoors and watching TV instead. Her mother did not fancy the attitude and even raised her voice at her telling her that they will not live together if she was disobedient. The threat barely touched her because she was also angry herself. |
Chapter 3: American Translation
- ‘You don’t have to move out right away,’ he said. ‘I know you’ll want to at least a month to find a place.’
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110 |
(R) It takes time for someone to settle permanently in their own place. Meanwhile they will always need help from others, by staying in their place as they prepare to move out. It does not just happen instantly but gradually with time. It may take a month or even more. |
- “You must stand tall and listen to your mother standing next to you. That is the only way to grow strong and straight. But if you bend to listen to other people, you will grow crooked and weak.”
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107 |
(P) A child is brought up by her parents to become what the parents mold her to be. However, it is not always that a child fully follows in the footsteps of her parents. Many times, the people living around the child will have an effect as to how she will turn out. A child is easily influenced and cannot distinguish right from wrong. Therefore a child is like a growing tree, she can grow in either direction. In this case, the child is advised to follow the ways of the mother because the mother knows best. The girl in the passage easily follows what people tell her thus she could easily fall. Like a tree, in order for her to grow straight and be wise and of admirable character, she is advised to follow her mother and live by what the mother tells her. The mother advises her because when she was young she also had the same problem, listening to advice from everybody. |
Chapter 4: Queen mother of the Western Skies.
- “That was the night, in the kitchen that I realized I was no better than who I was…And I no longer felt angry at Waverly. I felt tired and foolish as if I had been running to escape someone chasing me, only to look behind and discover there was no one there.”
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118 |
(R) Many times we get angry and do not wish to forget and move on with our lives. In most instances, whatever gets us angry is not serious. In fact, we could even forget the reason for our anger, but we still hold the grudge against the person who made us angry. Such is the life of a human being. Later, after filling your heart with anger and pain you realize that it was not worth it. From the passage, Waverly had done something to upset Jing-Mei. Jing-Mei would not listen to her or do anything with her because she was angry. However, her aunt Lindo interfered and ended up saving the situation. When Jing-Mei went to the kitchen, she wondered why she was mad at Waverly in the first place. Her anger subsided and she realized there was no need of her getting worked up as she had done. |
- “If I look upon my whole life, I cannot think of another time when I felt more comfortable: when I had no worries, fears, or desires when my life seemed as soft and lovely as lying inside a cocoon of rose silk.”
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128 |
(R) Everyone has a story and no two people have exact the same story. In the different stories, there must be a season of pain and a season of joy. In one’s life, there must be a time where this person was faced with a situation which they can never forget. There is also a time where one knows peace and is not worried by any factor. In this passage, the narrator had reached a point where she felt comfortable like she had never before. She thought of all the problems and difficulties she had gone through before getting to where she was. She felt joy and as comfortable as if she were inside a cocoon of silk. |
- “My mother immediately protested: “This is too much for a small child. She will break it. She will lose it.”
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130 |
(CL) A mother is always very protective of her offspring. She feels like she is the only one who knows how to take care of them. She defends her children whenever she can and believes she knows what is best for them. In this passage, the daughter, An-Mei was being shown her larger family. Her mother, however, did not think that that was the best idea because she was a little girl. She, therefore, tried to stop them from feeding her with so much information because of the harm it would cause her. An-Mei’s mother felt that there was another way her daughter could be introduced to the new family. She was however helpless in the situation and could do nothing but watch as her child was subjected to the psychological torture. |
- “I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?”
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145 |
(C) America has always been viewed as a supernatural land where everything falls into place. The Chinese treasure their heritage. However, when a Chinese raises their child in the American environment, the child is bound to adopt behaviors from the Americans. Even their form of speech is bound to be the same as that of the Americans. Lindo had wished to have her children grow with Chinese character under the good American conditions. When her children grew up, things were different. She was all American. Only her face showed that she was Chinese. Besides, even her child did not fancy the idea of being Chinese. Once a child is raised in America, they do not wish to be associated with their roots because their roots seem old and with no style. They, therefore, prefer being called the American girls, even when they go to their native land because they do not wish to belong to their native homes. |
