https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p "The Joy Luck Club" and "In a Grove" en-us 2019-04-07 18:47:04 UTC 2019-06-07 05:02:22 UTC hello@padlet.com heinemanamanda19 https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/349292841 My initial response to this short story is quite positive! I love the writing style of each section being different characters telling their own version of the same event. So far, the main suspect -who is in custody- is a notorious robber. However, the testimony of the Buddhist priest mentions the man's wife also traveling with him which leads to the possibility that she could be the murderer. The interview with the dead man's mother in law reveals that she believes her daughter in no way could have done this. Considering the daughter is indeed missing, I am not sure what to believe. Is the daughter missing because she was killed? kidnapped? or is she in hiding because she murdered her husband?]]> 2019-04-07 20:11:46 UTC https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/349292841 heinemanamanda19 https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/351254327 I've finished the story and wow I still don't know how the man actually died! Essentially, this last portion is three more testimonies, or in this case confessions. There is one each from the robber, the wife, and the man as told through a medium. the robber states he killed the man but not the woman and he doesn't know where she is. the woman confesses that she killed her husband and attempted suicide multiple times but failed and is now forced to live with this. The man's testimony is that he killed himself. So yeah, I'm not sure what to think here other than the fact that this was a well written story that got the reader thinking and I thoroughly enjoyed!!]]> 2019-04-12 17:38:49 UTC https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/351254327 heinemanamanda19 https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/360471353 So far, I am thoroughly enjoying this novel! The first section: "Feathers from a Thousand Li Away", is opened with a parable about a Chinese woman who decides to emigrate to America. 
The narrative opens with Jing-Mei, the daughter of a Chinese immigrant family, who's mother recently passed away. She is asked by her father to take her mothers place at the Joy Luck club. this is a weekly mahjong party attended by four families, all of Chinese immigration. at this meeting, Jing-Mei tells the story her mother always told, but finds she cannot finish it as her mother would always finish it with a fairytale like ending. after this, Jing-Mei feels like she failed her mother and herself as no one, not even she, could take her mother's place. additionally, her mother always compared her to another daughter in the group. I am really excited to see where this book goes. it seems like it could go a lot of different directions, but the mother-daughter relationships seem as though they will be a constant theme throughout the book. ]]> 2019-05-15 17:44:27 UTC https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/360471353 heinemanamanda19 https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/364673865 One thing that really stuck out to me in the chapter "scar" was how An-Mei's mother made a huge sacrifice for her mother even though she was treated horribly by her. When An-Mei's mother became a concubine for another man, her family shamed and exiled her, took her children away and forbade them to discuss or see her for five years. However, when An-mei's grandmother is dying, her mother returns and in hopes of easing her pain, cuts a piece of her own flesh out in accordance to an ancient tradition. This is quite touching to me, because it really shows just how deep respect and love can be for family, even when there is extreme estrangement. some of you may disagree, but if i was faced with a similar situation, no matter what I would absolutely make a sacrifice to help the person I loved, even if I was treated the way An-Mei's mother was. ]]> 2019-05-30 15:46:50 UTC https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/364673865 heinemanamanda19 https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/365361335 Like the past chapter, the next two also deal with the theme of sacrifice but in different ways. in "scar", the sacrifice is that of flesh, and what one might think of when the term sacrifice is used, especially in ancient traditions. In "the red candle", the sacrifice made by Lindo is that she sacrificed her happiness for a long time in order to honor her parents wishes of an arranged marriage. however, later in the story, she also sacrifices her marriage which had ensured her honor and status in order to be truly happy. it is interesting as the first sacrifice made was to do something that she later sacrificed as well. It may not make sense the way I am wording it, but It's hard to explain. In "the moon lady", the sacrifice made by Ying Ying is self sacrifice - keeping with the Chinese tradition of women being quiet and submissive, not speaking their true feelings. due to this, and the fact that she didn't have a mother figure of her own, Ying Ying feels she is an inadequate mother to her daughter and feels shame for that. ]]> 2019-06-03 17:03:38 UTC https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/365361335 heinemanamanda19 https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/365364528 The parable preceding the second section of this book tells the story of an American raised girl's argument with her Chinese born and raised mother. The daughter is riding her bicycle, her mother not wanting her to go around the corner because it is out of sight and she believes her daughter will suffer an accident. she warns her that a book tells of the dangers that a child will encounter when she is away from home but will not say what these dangers are. the girl, frustrated that she cannot read and find out herself as the book is in Chinese rides her bike away, and as her mother warned, falls before she even reaches the corner. due to this, I fell as though this section of the book will deal with the daughter's stories moreso than the mothers, and it is foreshadowed that there will be quite the disconnect and struggle between the mothers and daughters.]]> 2019-06-03 17:15:19 UTC https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/365364528 heinemanamanda19 https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/365613097 The four stories that come in this section of the book do indeed represent the relationship gap between the mothers and their daughters. This gap seems to come from the disconnect between belonging and investing oneself in a traditional Chinese culture and that of growing up in America surrounded by American culture except within their homes where their parents are still practicing and raising their daughters in a traditional chinese culture. ]]> 2019-06-04 15:13:35 UTC https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/365613097 heinemanamanda19 https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/365614739 2019-06-04 15:20:19 UTC https://padlet.com/heinemanamanda19/b2148lf2ad9p/wish/365614739