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In The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, one examines the story of four Chinese families throughout the generations. By examining specific examples of sacrifice within each of the four families, sacrifice will be proved to be one of the main themes of the story. Ying-Ying St Clair made quite a precious sacrifice while she was in China. The sacrifice was 14 years of her life. That which adds to this sacrifice is that the years make up the time from which she was age 18 - 32, which most people consider to be their prime years.
These lost years of loneliness were what she unknowingly sacrificed for having killed her first unborn child. She punished herself by moving into a small and shabby house that was occupied by three families and was infested by mice and flies. She chose to live here despite the fact that she came from a wealthy family and could have returned to them whenever she wanted to. Of the place she chose to live, she said It was not a comfort to be there, and that is what I wanted. (P. 249).
Thus, one can see that as a result of a selfish act, Ying-Ying ends up sacrificing a large piece of her life, and herself. Suyan Woo also sacrifices a piece of her self, yet it was out of love. After she had been fleeing the Japanese for three days on foot, she was no longer able to carry her two babies. She left them by the roadside in hopes that someone would find them.
That which shows that she was abandoning herself rather than her babies is the fact that she left all of her valuables and a note with them. (P. 282). Suyan obviously wasnt leaving them in onder to increase hopes of her own survival. Thus, one can see that in the Woo family, the theme of sacrifice is quite apparent, not to mention dramatic. The Jong family too, makes many sacrifices.
Lindos mother promised her into marriage at a young age in order to give her a better life. Ever since then, her mother had referred to her as Huang Tai Tais daughter. It is evident that giving her daughter to Huang Tai Tais was not a selfish act, like unloading a burden, but it was a loving sacrifice. One can see this when Lindo says; My mother did not treat me this way because she didnt love me.
She would say this biting back her tongue, so she wouldnt wish for something that was no longer hers. (P. 51). The first sentence of the third chapter is Lindo saying; I once sacrificed myself to keep my parents promise. (P. 49). Although by this she does not mean that she literally died for her parents. Rather she means that she sacrificed herself on the inside. This can be said because she gave up her dignity, and became like a slave while convincing herself that she was happy. This truly is a huge sacrifice because becoming a slave who has her mind warped into seeing her husband as a God while possessing no dignity can be called a fate worse than death.
Lindo sacrificed her gentile spirit in order to preserve her family's honor. Thus, one can see that the theme of sacrifice is not only very prominent in the Jong family, but it is tempered with another prominent themelongsuffering. The Hsu family has perhaps the strongest illustrations of the theme of sacrifice than any other family. An-Mei Hsu once watched as her mother tried to cure her dying grandmother. The grandmother had previously kicked An-Mei's mom out of the house, not believing that she had been the victim of a rape.
Yet when the grandmother is dying, An-Mei's mother comes to her bedside, and following an ancient tradition, She cut a piece of flesh from her own arm, and cooked it in hopes of curing her. (P. 48). Cutting a piece of flesh from your own arm in order to save the life of someone who feels that you yourself are better off dead is a truly strong act of sacrifice. It is not the strongest example though. An-Mei's mother saves her daughter from living out her life as nothing more than the daughter of a third concubine, at the cost of her very life. By killing herself two days before the lunar new-year, she manipulated Wu-Tsing (the man who raped her and made her his concubine) into submission. Because of the significance of the date, Wu-Tsing feared that the ghost of An-Mei's mother would seek revenge for what he had done, so he promised that he would raise An-Mei as his honored child. (P. 240).
This sacrifice however, had another act of love concealed within it. The final thing that An-Mei's mother whispers to her as she dies, was that She would rather kill her own weak spirit so she could give me (An-Mei) a stronger one. (P. 240). The theme of sacrifice is again shown, as is the theme of motherly-love. In conclusion, one can see that by examining each of the four families, that the theme of sacrifice is developed and maintained throughout the story. The frequency of the examples as well as their emotional impact proves this to be true.
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