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The idea of Destiny in The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, and The Natural by Bernard Malamud The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston reflects on the fate on women using multicultural aspect. The women in China were regarded as substandard to men, and were valued in terms of their service, obedience, and the ability to give birth to boys. Chinese culture and religion inspire Chinese men to believe in social meaninglessness of women and this allows Chinese families to sell their girls as slaves, to have polygamous marriages. The protagonist of the book, Kingston, learns the notion of "wife-slave" due to the tales about China told by her mother. The meaning of destiny for Chinese is dominated by their philosophy which states self-denial of ones personal desires for the sake of society. Due to the old traditions and customs of China, the concept of humans life is built upon the following rules: women are inferior to men, there is no privacy, and ones outlook is strictly submitted by social codes.
Consequently, I think, a person becomes a hostage and a victim of social demands. In particular, as The Woman Warrior depicts it, women mostly were victimized in China. "A husband may kill a wife who disobeys him. Confucius said that" (The Woman Warrior, p. 193), - Kingston's father proclaimed. Kingston's mother, in her turn, told the tales of delivering and killing baby girls in their mother land, of stoning a woman just because people suspected her to be a spy of Japan. On the whole, every woman in China is destined to serve the wishes of a man; otherwise she will be severely punished by society. Kingston herself, as she is raised far from her native country, does not share the beliefs and traditions of Chinese concerning womens fate and social roles.
Kingston is partially American and this shift of her cultural background gives her a chance to comprehend and criticise the passiveness of women in China and their inability to fight for their lives and for their rights to make their own decisions. Thus, the images of women-warriors and women-victims were created in Kingston's stories. Brave Orchid and further the idea that shy and obedient people will always suffer and be tortured by stronger ones. The life of No Name Woman illustrates how society can be ruthless and merciless with those who dare to break its rules. On the other hand, the positive colouring of the image of Fa Mu Lan shows that Kingston favours the idea that a person can be strong enough to resist the old beliefs and prejudices and achieve happiness in a society by acting in accordance with his / her own ambitions and desires. This image of a rebellious individual who wants to be a master of his / her destiny is repeated in The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.
Similarly, The Joy Luck Club narrates Chinese women and their conscious or subconscious choices of the ways of their lives. I think that the idea of all the stories of the book by Amy Tan can be expressed in the following way: ones destiny is what one thinks it should be. The last part of this expression may be determined by many conditions: strict social laws and following cultural traditions, ones own beliefs, ones own ambitions, perceiving the conflict between the demands of society and ones own wishes and desires. But, while the characters in The Woman Warrior only can realize the injustice of their destiny, the women described by Amy Tan learn to act notwithstanding any religious, social, or cultural expectations of them. The girl Lindo Jong was taught: [a] girl can never ask, only listen (The Joy Luck Club, p. 30) in order to bring her up as a good wife for her destined husband.
The life of this girl was predetermined by her parents and the parents of Huang Tyan-yu when she was two years old. Following the agreement of the two families, Lindo Jong was to marry Huang Tyan-yu and spend her entire life in the pursuit of his happiness. The girl further decides: I would always remember my parents wishes, but I would never forget myself. (The Joy Luck Club, p. 31) Thus, Lindo Jong opposes the tradition of her nation and obtains her happiness after immigrating to America. However, at the same time, only the understanding of her national traditions enabled Lindo Jong to assert her own power and become free from her destiny. While the destiny as it is depicted in The Woman Warrior seems to be more fatal and only the women from legend, so to say a super-natural creature, manages to alter it, in The Joy Luck Club I think the author stresses the idea that a human being is able to change his / her predestined life by the power of his /her mind and will. In Malamud's view of destiny the idea that social expectations can rule ones life is similar to what has been already observed in The Joy Luck Club and The Woman Warrior.
But the protagonist of The Natural does not face the contradiction between individual and social that sharply. He eventually dies because he can not tell the difference between him as a personality and him as a hero. Roy Hobbs realizes himself only as a hero and has his life focused on this. He abandons his individual wishes, goals and desires for the sake of matching social expectations of his sport achievements. The system of values of Roy Hobbs is built in accordance with what a hero should have: money, fame, and women.
His judgements, for example of experience, are almost devoid of personal features: "Experience makes good people better. " (The Natural, p. 45) Roy Hobbs believes that his experience and his suffering are all intended by bring him to success. This also implies his belief in his destiny, and in his invulnerability. Such belief appeared to be wrong and finally, predestined the downfall of Roy. The story of Roy Hobbs teaches the reader that a man should not be so much self-centred, egoistic and at the same time naive about common things, avoiding comprehension and critical analysis of the society he lives in. On the other hand, the pro-social position of Roy Hobbs is strictly opposed by another character in the story, - by Harriet Bird. She represents the person who underwent much suffering in her past and now she is strong enough to realize the drawbacks and weaknesses of social order and free herself from old codes and prejudices: "I had enough of that [suffering], " he said in disgust. "We have two lives, Roy, the life we learn with and the life we live with after that.
Suffering is what brings us toward happiness All it taught me was to stay aware from it. I am sick of all I have suffered. " (The Natural, p. 45). In the end of the story Harriet Bird kills Roy Hobbs. This episode suggests the idea that Harriet herself decided to become Roy's destiny and judge his life.
Thus, Malamud confirms that ones life can be ruled by the power of ones own mind and will. When this ruling turns into implicit belief and lacks reasoning, the life of such person becomes a destiny that can be predetermined by other person. The belief in destiny makes a person vulnerable and victimizes him / her for the same of others. Summing up, I would like to say, that the analysis of the books The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, and The Natural by Bernard Malamud leads to the idea that every individual is a master of his / her life to the extend he / she believes in. An individual can control his / her life with the power of his / her intellect and will. If, for many reasons cultural, religion, social, philosophical, an individual looses his power over his / her life, he / she is destined to serve the interests of others.
I think, this is the difference between life and destiny. And destiny is important and needed where an individual lacks power over or responsibility for his life. Bibliography: Bernard Malamud. The natural. NY: Harcourt, Brace 1974, 1952. PS 3563.
A 4 N 3 Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior. New York: Random House, 1976. Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1989.
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Research essay sample on Maxine Hong Kingston Joy Luck Club
