Author Amy Tan changes the mood of the novel by introducing the American lives of the Joy Luck Club members' children. Lena St. Clair is reintroduced as a woman struggling with power in a stalemate marriage rather than as a fearful child. Lena begins questioning her reasons for staying in the relationship when her mother comes for a visit and sees her daughter's life through very Chinese eyes. Doubt creeps into Lena's mind while her mother questions her lifestyle. Near the end of the chapter, we see Lena stand up to her husband and begin the process of reexamining their reasons for staying together. During her untimely explosion, Lena's husband asks her what is really wrong. She replies with a jumble of thoughts and emotions, "'Everything...the way we account for everything. What we share. What we don't share. I'm so tired of it, adding things up, subtracting, making it come out even. I'm sick of it.'"
Lena's feelings apply to many different relationships, not specifically a marriage. As humans, we find it easy to "keep score" in arguments with friends and family. Often, revenge is our way of making things come out even. Still, "forgive and forget" comes more easily to some people than others. Our minds are constantly calculating the score, sometimes even in the relationships that mean the most to us, with every unkind word or petty reaction. I think that maybe it is a defense mechanism, making sure that we are not getting the raw end of a deal. As the mental tally runs up, so does our emotional reaction saying, "don't get walked all over." In the classic Disney movie of my childhood, characters Buzz Lightyear and Woody of Toy Story deal with a "calculated" struggle of jealousy because of Andy's favoritism. In the end, Buzz and Woody must overcome their differences to get back home to Andy's house. While this is a simple example, I think it provides a lesson for us all in throwing away the mental tally of offenses and moving forward towards a common goal.
I really like how you connected this chapter to Toy Story. It's an interesting twist, but it works! Both Lena and the characters in the movie had to overcome a problem to get to their goals. Opening their minds gave them the ability to go outside the box and do something different. Good job!
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