joy luck club 1

The first section of this book was confusing and, dare I say, mildly annoying because of all the symbolism. I honestly do not seethe point in using it ever and think that things should just be described straight up. I do, however, see their references to the game of mah jongg. The colors are all symbolic and more similarities and symbolism lie in that there are four ladies that play the game. In doing so they each represent the four directions north, south, east, and west. The fact that they play this game in midst of all this peril tells me that they play it to escape their worldly troubles and that it is a very popular past time during this period. I also do not understand why the daughter wants to know her mothers life story so badly. This is going to sound really bad, but why does she care so much ? Obviously her mother is withholding information for a specific reason and she should respect that. Who knows? Maybe it is to keep from hurting her. I am sure the book will progress nicely and I might get into it as we move along but right now, I do not really enjoy it.

amy tan

This packet on Amy Tan was really very interesting. In it, she seems to talk a lot about coincidence and fate, and in my opinion, thinks too strongly that these things run her life. She seems to simply accept the “inexplicable” in a way and go along with it. She believes that ghosts talk to her and that she finds a deeper meaning that others do not see. I hate to be so blunt and pessimistic, but I don’t at all feel that the things she says she feels and sees are anything special. People, in my opinion, only see as much as they want, and if they open their eyes to the bigger picture and choose to really take things in, anyone can “see” as much as Amy Tan does. Personally, I do not believe in fate, everyone works to get where they are and controls their own future. As for coincidence, things often happen by accident, but it has nothing to do with fate or sign from a supreme being. It is simply just an occurrence.

Amy Tan

This was a really good packet to read about this woman who points out who has made an impact on her, which would be her mother. She also expresses her life and her imagination that she developed throughout her life, which I think influenced, her writing. I noticed that she likes to write about her experiences, good and bad and include them in her stories. I believe she keeps conscious about fate, especially hers. You can tell that shes been through some hard times in her life and that because she’s been through some tough situations that is the only way she can express herself in the best way she can. I think she simply wants her readers to connect with her and understand where exactly she’s coming from. There are not too many people who are believers in fate and she is trying to prove them that there are people who are believers and she for one is a good example. Although it’s a scary situation, there are people like Amy Tan in the world.

THe Joy Luck CLub Blog 1

Well apparently all they did at the San Francisco version of the Joy Luck Club was play Mah Jongg. They have a refference to the game where the author of the first story says that people came into the city from the East, West, North and South. In Mah Jongg one color or symbol represents all four directions. It seems that for the Joy Luck club for women were needed for four directions or for the number of players that is required fro Mah Jongg. Apparently the Joy Luck club would gather, bring lovely exotic dishes and would not say anything except Chinese phrases when taking a tile. The Joy Luck club will always play mah jongg for which I guess is why they were formed. There are a bunch of references in this story to Mah Jongg. Like the directions East, West, North and South.
I really liked this story because one it was well thought out and the plot was very good. Even though it was about war and how the Japanese tried to take what the Chinese had. It was still a pretty good story. And I am very interested in reading more of the Joy Luck Club.

Joyluck club

There were many references to the Mahjong game in this story of the book. For example, the title: "The Joy luck Club" is where a lot of women gather around and play Mahjong pretty much all day. If i were to write one sentence to explain the theme of the book, i would have to say that the story is about the life story of the mother's life story and trying to re-tell the interesting story of the mother's life. I'm both liking the story and disliking the story. I like the story because of the way that Amy Tan uses her descriptions and she really pulls me into the story when she brings in a this sort of mystical and spiritual sense to it when the women start to play Mahjong. I don't like the story because Amy Tan has a very different style of writing then I'm used to, and i think it's a little bit confusing. I think i would like to see the direction the story goes because i really like the mythical effect Amy Tan adds to the book. I hope the story of the mother's life really helps me like the story, and maybe everything will be explained in better detail later on in the book.

Amy Tan

This packet was really about the different unique experiences Amy Tan had with what she calls the "The unexplainable" or spirits. I feel that Amy Tan feels that fate is a part of everyone's life and that it plays a big role in everybody's life. Amy Tan's take on "unexplainable" events is that she doesn't let them fade her and she just sort of shrugs them off her shoulders and lets things flow on without interruption. My feelings on ghosts are heavily helped by a Discovery Channel show called "A Haunting". I myself have not experienced any encounters with any spirits, but i feel like there has to be some kind of world of the dead because people have been saying that there's a place people go to after death from thousands of years; and i think if there wasn't a place people go to after death then people wouldn't have brought it up randomly into their culture so freely, without any reason other then just to have it there. I believe that there are no coincidences or fate. I believe that God has a line of choices set up for everyone and which ever choices you make personally will effect your life permanently and will shape who you will decide to be as an adult later in life, but i feel like coincidences are very unlikely, because everything has some kind of meaning to it.

I’m not really sure if I like this story yet because it was kind of interesting, but so far it’s really weird and sort of confusing. There were lots of references to the game because the joy luck club is where all these women meet up to play mah jongg. From what I can tell so far if I had to write one sentence about the theme of this story it would be After her mother’s death a young woman takes her place playing mah jongg with her mother’s friends and begins to unravel her mother’s true story. I think I would like to read more of this story because, although I’m not really that interested in it, the story of this woman’s mother has intrigued me enough to want to keep reading to learn the story even if it’s one I don’t like. In order to tell if I really will like this book I will have to know about it and read more of the story.

Joy Luck Club -- Blog 1

Write 200 words about the first story/chapter in the book, "The Joy Luck Club." Consider what you learned about mah jongg in class. Did you see any references to the game and/or its symbols in the story? If you were to write one sentence explaining a theme of this story, what would it be? Did you like the story? Are you interested in reading more?

Amy Tan

This was a very interesting packet about the author Amy Tan and the strange incidents that have occurred in her life. The author has had many strange things happen to her- unexplained noises, lights turning off, etc. I think of her as a woman who would take in stride her ability to not draw conclusions off the bat. She is the kind of person who keeps an open mind and doesn’t let the mystery of these occurrences really bother her.  She has tried to speak to people about it, but her husband immediately wrote it off and her mother is convinced there are ghosts in her house. I have never had an experience with a ghost or spirit, but I believe that they exist and have the ability to communicate with us. I am a strong believer in fate. I believe that the universe is much too vast and complex for there to be no connection between people and events seeming to be just a coincidence. 

Amy Tan packet 1

Please read the packet you were given in class, then write a 200 word response. What does Amy Tan think about coincidences and fate? What is her take on what she calls "the inexplicable?" And what are your thoughts/experiences with "the inexplicable?" Do you believe in fate?

3 essays blog

I think all of these essays are about women being abused and about them being treated as in superior to men. In the first one her brothers, father, and even her mother and sister viewed the men as superior. They abused her sister and every other woman they met. The brothers were allowed to do anything they wanted and the girls were just expected to serve the men and then be married off. This was like the second one because she was the only daughter and was only sent to school because her father thought she could meet men there and get married. I didn’t like the first one at all, but the other two, even though in both people were sexist they both were happy inspirational stories. I loved how through all the years of her father not realizing her talent and potential for anything other marriage at the end after reading her story you could tell he was proud and finally realized who his daughter was and was amazed at her work and wanted everyone else in the family to see her work. Then in the last one even though she was very frustrated and annoyed that everyone assumed her husband had hit her, at least in this one her husband didn’t beat her and he agreed with her and no matter what other people believed they didn’t let it get to them.

Final Trafficking Article

This article, like all the others, identifies the hidden, frightening truth of human trafficking. Young girls, as early as 5^th and 6^th grade, are traveling dangerously through borders in order to find work. Some young children end up traveling alone, though an adult usually accompanies most. The fact that people are driving themselves to literally become slaves in order to find a way to live is incredibly sad and upsetting. Young girls are being raised to live under extreme living conditions, work long hours, and are subjecting themselves to sexual abuse, neglect, and illegal confinement- among other things. It is also upsetting to read about families who have a full understanding to what is happening to their children, yet do nothing about it and raise no awareness to the rising issue. The rights of these people have been completely stripped away from them and no one seems to care enough to help them out of their misery. This is an alarming neglect to the rights of human beings and a solution to this problem should be the priority of nations around the globe.

Rwanda Article

The fact that women in Rwanda are finally developing a voice in society is a huge feat for the rights of women, although they still have a little way to go until they reach total equality. In order to begin recovering from the genocide, Rwandans realized they needed a radical change in the way their government works. The only way they could exist peacefully and productively is if they tossed all prejudice aside and worked amongst each other as equals. I think this is a great example for other countries to follow by and appreciate. It sounds like this new change in power is having a very good outcome on the people of Rwanda and it seems like positive change should keep coming for them. The men in their country seem to have a few different opinions on the matter. Many men think that this is a great change and are hopeful for the future. Some, however, feel threatened by the new female majority and are afraid that if women get too powerful, they could take advantage of men and oppress them. I find this terribly ironic and have no sympathy for the men who say these things and happen to be the reason why women were and still are so oppressed and looked down upon in so many places in the world.

Togo Article

As I read this article, I continued to become more and more horrified and disgusted at the living situation that these poor people are subjected to. It bothered me even more that these terrible things are happening to many young children, especially girls. It is terrible that these young girls are being kidnapped and smuggled to different countries to do illegal labor work. What seems to be even more terrible, however, is that some families willingly sign their kids up to live through these events, not because they want to but because they must. I think this is such a rampant problem in areas such as the Togo because the poverty levels there are so dramatically high, people are turning to very desperate measures in order to have enough money just to hardly get by. In order to eradicate this domestic service nightmare, I believe that many countries need to start helping out the Togo government and others like them. It would be a lot of hard work and take a lot of energy from people, but I think that we have the power and ability to significantly change the lives of these people in a positive way and we should do the most we can to help.

final trafficing article.

When I started reading this article i was expecting to read about little girls being shipped across the ocean to be in nail salons, the sex trafficking business, and other industries. When i got deep into the article, something caught my eye; and it was that they said girls were forced into marriage without even knowing it. I was shocked, because i didn't know people could do that. Also they were locking fifth and sixth grade girls in cages without food or water. In my opinion this is low, like lower than the nail salon and massage palor's thing. Mabey even the maid thing. When I say the maid "thing" I do not literally mean thing i mean the situaltion where girls are lockin in the basement and forced to clean houses and beaten. in this article the girls are locked in cages and not given any food or water.