Hey, guys, this is my short answer for Columbia's what meaningful about books. I created 2 versions and wonder which one is better. Can anyone please read it and give me some feedback. I promise to look at yours later :)
The 1st version:
With its Chinese common sense and raised universal parent-child issues, The Joy Luck Club allows me to identify myself with the characters inside and interpret parents' impenetrable behaviors.
Waverly Jong was a chess prodigy, but quit after feeling her mother was bragging about her accomplishments. I excel at my lessons and bring home terrific grades. Since I prefer to keep a low profile, my parents' betray can be a headache. They keep telling me that letting others know my fortes could give me confidence and remind me to keep up the fabulous work. Like Waverly, I went perverse, slacking to protest, but came to realize that parents are just trying to make us aware of the success we can achieve so be more motivated.
Jing Mei feels humiliated because her mother stood on Waverly's side when the two were arguing. She is also mad at herself for failing her mother's hopes, but discovers later that her mother sees her and values her kind nature. It hurts children to witness their parents praising other kids while ignoring them for expectations beyond their reach. Lucky for me to learn that parents worldwide regard their own children as the best; Chinese parents are just being modest and they deem that peer pressure can stimulate their kids' potential.
Overall, I perceive that parents can get tough cultivating their children, so communication at this point is efficacious and that the two sides will reach mutual understanding eventually.
The 2nd version:
Of all the literature involving culture clashes and generation gap, The Joy Luck Club is distinctive for it revealed that parental pressure features Chinese education.
Any Chinese parental pressure can fall into two types. The first type of pressure resulted from compliments. In the book, Waverly Jong was a chess prodigy, but quit after feeling her mother was flaunting her accomplishments. In real life, I protested when my parents disclosed the terrific grades of I tried to keep a low profile. Although it was pure pride rather than mere vanity that led to parents' open appreciation, both Waverly and I felt stressed because once our fortes were made public, we must always achieve so as not to disappoint our parents. Yet for Chinese parents, they believe that their children can be motivated under high pressure.
The second stems from depreciation, and it works paradoxically to the first type. A remarkable scene of the book took place at a New Year gathering when Jing Mei runs into a squabble with Waverly. Jing Mei is humiliated when her mother doubts her ability; she cannot bear being criticized by someone who should be supporting her. Just as things always reverse themselves after reaching an extreme, Chinese parents believe discouraging remarks may have an inspiring effect.
Long-term excessive pressure can be depressing, but it is out of no harmful intention in term of domestic education. Parents and children should communicate to set its amount appropriately.
I personally think the 1st is better since I can relate it to myself, but the 2nd is more specific and it focuses on only one point. so...
Hi :) I actually like the 2nd one better, I think it is easier to relate to the topic you are writing about. It is interesting. There is one thing that you talk about that really relates well to the book. You may want to work on 2 things:
1) This is a major point, so I believe it needs to be re-worded.
In real life, I protested when my parents disclosed the terrific grades of I tried to keep a low profile. Although it was pure pride rather than mere vanity that led to parents' open appreciation, both Waverly and I felt stressed because once our fortes were made public, we must always achieve so as not to disappoint our parents.
Here is another way that you can say the same thing:
"In my own life, I was modest about the terrific grades I had earned. Because my parents were so proud, they exposed me as a stellar student. A similar situation happened to Waverly, and the result of our parents' bragging was more pressure to excel, to not let them down. This pressure made us afraid to ever disappoint our parents."
2) Jing Mei is humiliated when her mother doubts her ability; she cannot bear being criticized by someone who should be supporting her. Just as things always reverse themselves after reaching an extreme, Chinese parents believe discouraging remarks may have an inspiring effect.
This sounds a little confusing. You mean to say something like this:
"Jing Mei felt humiliated when her mother doubted her skills because she couldn't bear being criticized by someone who should be supporting her. Instead of letting her make her own choices, she was made to feel discouraged. In Chinese culture, parents will do this, hoping that in turn, the child will become stronger by dealing with harsh words."
Feel free to re-post your final essay in this thread, I will check it for you :) Good luck in school :)
Thanks, it sounds much better with your revision :) Believe me, I had a hard time trying to relate the story to my own. I just don't want it to sound weird to a native since the writing styles are so different.
I also like the second version better, though I think the last sentence should be made a little clearer, as I think some of what you meant to say is lost with some awkward wording
thanks, I already made some revision. I 've submitted,already.
