"Double Face"

Explain the title “Double Face”

The story “Double Face” is told through Lindo Jong’s perspective and is a story that revolves around identifying the differences between China and America. Lindo Jong and her daughter, Waverly, are at a beauty parlor where Lindo recognizes certain similarities as well as differences between her and her daughter. When Mr. Rory, the hair-stylist, tells Lindo and Waverly that “[it’s] uncanny how much [they] look alike,” Lindo smiles only to realize that her daughter’s eyes and smile gradually become very narrow. Their physical features are almost identical, and so Lindo begins seeing Waverly’s future, as Lindo’s present. Lindo thinks that their two faces are so much the same; the same happiness, the same sadness, the same good fortune and the same faults. Lindo does not want her daughter to turn out like she had; she wants her to have a better life; one that Lindo could never have. That is what distinguishes Lindo and her daughter because although they may be physically similar they are different on the inside. Lindo was born Chinese, lived in China most of her life until she moved to America and learned about the American ways, yet she always had that part of her that was more Chinese than it was American. Waverly was born an American, raised in an American society with American values and morals and therefore she is more American than she is Chinese. Lindo shows this when she talks about Waverly saying, “[only] her skin and hair are Chinese. Inside – she is all American made” (254). Lindo wants her daughter’s life to differ greatly from her own. She wants her children to grow up with the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character; however, she soon realizes that “these two things do not mix” (254). Here is where we begin to see the difference between China and America and how both Lindo and Waverly possess double faces; their American face and their Chinese face. “In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you” (254). This means that what you are told is not necessarily what you have to do. This is not the case when dealing with Chinese character, which teaches you “[how] to obey your parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, [and] to put your feelings behind your face so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing. How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring” (254). Waverly learned American circumstances but not Chinese character and as a result she is more influenced by the American society and therefore is more American than she is Chinese. A few days ago, I watched a documentary on the differences between China and America and they spoke about how Chinese people do not encourage independence from family, and also discourage free-thought. Chinese expect their children to obey them and their family’s desires. They also tell their children that nothing comes easy in life, and not to expect to get everything that they want, but if they work hard, they will get something. In contrast, the American society is always pressuring young adults to adapt to independence and they send this message that nothing is impossible, everything can be accomplished and you can get anything and everything you want from life. Another interpretation of the title “Double Face” could be thought up similarly to a person who is two-faced, which means they say one thing but do another, “[they’re] looking one way, while following another. [They’re] for one side and also the other” (266). By the end of the story, Lindo realizes that she is more similar to her daughter than different, and just like Waverly is a reflection of her mother; Lindo is also a reflection of her daughter.

Joy Luck Club - Thread #2: "Half and Half"

Explain how the title "Half and Half" fits the story so well.

The story, “Half and Half” is told through Rose Hsu Jordan’s perspective. It is a story that surrounds the concepts of faith as well as fate. The story begins with Rose on the brink of her divorce, where she finds herself not being able to tell her mother that she is separating from Ted, her husband. Rose knows that her mom will only say that she “must save [the marriage]” (116). Rose does not want to save the marriage because she “could feel things changing between [her and Ted]” (120). Ted was changing; he was becoming a different man from the one Rose had married. As Ted and the relationship between Rose and him changes, so does Rose’s view on their marriage as a whole like why they initially got married. I believe that both Rose and Ted did love each other to an extent but realized a greater love for each other when they recognized that their parents disapproved of them. At times, children often do the exact opposite of what their parents tell them to do as a form of rebellion. The children think that they will drive their parents mad if they never do what they are told. I do not necessarily think they wanted to drive their parents mad; however, I do think that because both Rose's and Ted’s parents are trying to control them in every aspect of their lives, they got fed up and needed to stand up for themselves, which eventually led them into a ‘rushed’ marriage. Through the text we realize that the marriage was a complete disaster. This is shown in the conversation between Ted and Rose where Ted says, “How the hell did we ever get married? […] what would you have done with your life if I had never married you” (120)? Rose is shocked describing the incident saying that she “thought [they] were like two people standing apart on separate mountain peaks, recklessly leaning forward to throw stones at one another, unaware of the dangerous chasm that separated [them]” (120). This brings me to my point of how the title “Half and Half” is significant to the story. Firstly, “Half and Half” is generally describing two opposing forces that are linked as one. Just like it is impossible for you to get up without falling, or for you to learn without failing. These opposing forces are linked together in that one must happen in order for the other to occur. Similarly, to the Yin-Yang symbol, which is an ancient Chinese understanding of how things work. The "yin" is a black color that symbolizes darkness, passiveness as well as weakness. The "yang" is the opposite in that it is a white color that symbolizes brightness, activeness and strong will. Because the "yin" and "yang" are exact opposites, this allows them to cancel each other out in a way and become one. Ted and Rose are two people who come from different backgrounds but together, like the Yin-Yang, they are linked as one. I believe that Yin-Yang is another form of displaying the concept of ‘karma’ because just like the Yin-Yang, karma has the similar concept of what goes around comes around. It is the knowledge that whenever something bad happens in your life, there will always be something greater that will sort of counter-balance everything back into tranquility. If one’s life was only full of happy moments, then it would logically be considered an unbalanced life because there are no gloomy events to offset the cheerful instances. Therefore, it is essential that there are two halves that are exact opposites, so that they can become one whole. Like we have been taught, opposites attract and when this occurs, the result is not a “Half and Half,” it is a whole.

"Cleopatra"

I am the air you breathe; I am the air that keeps you alive. I am the fire that rages in spirit destroying any enemies that fall in my path. I am Cleopatra. I have already kissed the cold dead lips of my love, Antony. I have already endured the embarrassment of bowing myself down to weep before Caesar. Still, I stand strong before everyone even though I have been betrayed by my own servants, who have lost their loyalty for me. Darkness begins to fall and death creeps closer. Am I now supposed to endure more mortification by walking, in the triumph, as a slave? That is what I am not, I am not a slave; people bow down to me, I do not bow down to them. Through this humiliation, I shall have my neck and head held high just like that of a swan’s. I will make sure to be in tranquility during this animosity. I will not let them belittle me; I walk and bow before no one, I am Cleopatra. Not a soul will take away from me the one thing I still hold; I refuse to give away my dignity. I refuse to let my children be put into chains and shame. I will do what I must. “Nothing remains except to tease this fellow out of mind.” I must end my life before I ruin it. I must take the black snake to my breast as “a parting act of pity.” I would rather face death than see my reputation die.

In this response, I decided to make it as if I was Cleopatra. I spoke the meaning of the poem through what I interpreted as Cleopatra’s point of view. By doing this, I believe that I got a better sense of the message that Akhmatova tried to portray through this poem. Cleopatra is a very strong-willed woman who refuses to be looked down on. She would rather die with her dignity than allow it shatter in front of her.

"Requiem: 1935-1940" – "Dedication"

This poem is a dedication to the victims of Stalin who have fought through countless years of suffering. The poem begins with the lines, “such grief might make the mountains stoop” and “reverse the waters where they flow.” These two quotes are significant because they oppose the nature of life; mountains do not “stoop” but rather are held solid and high furthermore, rivers never change the course or direction they flow. From here, we realize that everything is in turmoil; nothing is how it was. Akhmatova, in the poem, goes on by saying “we cannot burst these ponderous bolts that block us from the prison cells crowded with mortal woe.” This quote shows us that we cannot escape the restrictions in life, we, like prisoners, are captivated in a cage even though we are outside prison walls. Akhmatova continues mentioning that “for some the wind can freshly blow, for some the sunlight fade at ease.” These lines in the poem show us that there are those who are blessed in life with no worries or troubles; however, there are some who watch the sunlight fade at ease. Fading sunlight will eventually turn to night and night is a symbol of death. Therefore, it could be concluded that those who see “sunlight fade at ease” are fading too. The next few lines of the poem portray the extent of damage that the country is in. We realize that “less live than [die].” The Poem, “Dedication” concludes with the final lines describing the pain that overwhelms anyone and everyone that has lost someone, or even themselves in the midst of the war. One woman, who had a “sudden spurt of […] tears,” was described as if she had been “knocked […] to the ground [with her heart wrenched] out of her breast.” Everything around her was unknown, even the people, who were “nameless friends” that she had only met in the two years she spent in hell. She did not know them, and they did not know her, but they were alike in that they suffered through all the hardships they faced, together. This poem stood out to me among the other poems in “Requiem” because this poem, to me, showed the real strength that the victims have during times of trouble. They still find the ability to fight for what the think is right even if they are out of breath. Although they realize that what they do has not affect on anything, they continue to fight hoping for a miracle. This poem shows the true courage that victims obtain when they are faced with any sort of problem, like the loss of a loved one. Therefore, I felt really passionate towards this poem as it was a poem dedicated to the victims, more specifically, Stalin’s victims. This poem appreciates those who suffer, which I believe is crucial; we need to show appreciation to those who are sufferers.

“I Am Not One of Those Who Left the Land…”

This poem shows Akhmatova’s very strong patriotic feelings. From the start, we know that Akhmatova looks down to those who fled Russia at the “mercy of its enemies.” We see this through the words, “my songs are not for them to praise,” which in this case means that the words she outlines through her poems, that speak of the patriotism that she feels for her country, does not associate with those who “left the land” because they chose to run away rather than stay back and fight for what they believe is right. Akhmatova feels a sense of shame for those who left the land saying that “[t]heir flattery leaves me cold.” In addition, Akhmatova also bears pity on those who fled their land because those who choose the path of the wanderer are destined to a dark and infected pathway ahead of them. Akhmatova continues by saying that “in the murk of conflagration” or through the shade of this inferno, there is hardly “a friend that is left to know” because most of them have fled in fear of the growing power of their enemies. She notes that she believes that the people who did not leave the land are the true survivors because they did not “flinch” or drawback from anything. They did not cringe from “a single blow.” These “survivors” stood strong while their worlds slowly fell apart around them. Akhmatova adds that “after the passing of this cloud,” we will all realize the true survivors that still remain. After this cloud, which is a symbol of the hostility of nature, passes, the people who remain are those who are the strongest, those “without tears” and those who are “more proud.” This poem stood out to me among the other four poems because through this poem, we finally see the true colors of Akmatova’s patriotism. She is a woman who knows what she believes and makes sure to stand up for it. She believes that anyone that does not do the same is shameful to themselves, their country as well as to the world around them. Akhmatova is truly a survivor in the eyes of her country as well as her fellow readers.

"The Guest"

It seems as though Akhmatova has just experienced a very life-changing moment in her being. She realizes that nothing has changed around her though she now looks at the world through different eyes. Her new outlook notices that similarly to the physical features all around her, like the snow grains plastered to the window, that are positioned how they began, she lies there changed forever mentally and emotionally but physically, she is what she was. The underlying change that she has made is, as the reader can clearly see, with a man. The man tells her that he wants to be in hell with her after Akhmatova asks, “What do you want?” This shows that perhaps Akhmatova has done something that could send her to hell, the place where sinners are banished to in their after-life. Akhmatova does not seem to be very affected by what the man has to say in that she laughs and says plainly, “[…] you mean to have us both destroyed.” This shows that Akhmatova is hiding something that will destroy her if it slips out. By realizing that no one but the man and Akhmatova know about this “hidden secret” that will have both of them destroyed, we also realize that this man is in a way threatening to take them both down by revealing the secret. The man then takes his hand and “lightly stroke[s] the flowers” this could be interpreted as perhaps that the flowers symbolize hair, more specifically, the hair that covers Akhmatova’s face. He asks her to tell him “how men kiss [her]” and how she kisses. This shows that there is some sort of romantic relationship between Akhmatova and this unidentified man. The man stands with his eyes fixed on the ring that wraps around one of Akhmatova’s fingers, with a very stern “sardonic face” as if somehow he is proud of himself through guilt that is shown through his expressionless face. The man looks at her and realizes that “there’s nothing from [her] he wants,” showing that the man has won and received everything she can offer; however, the poem ends with Akhmatova’s words “I have nothing to refuse.” These final words portray the knowledge that Akmatova has received, which is that the man has won, she is in a sense his “slave.” She has given him all she could and now that he knows she has, he can use it against her. Therefore, she cannot refuse satisfying his needs, which requires her to sin once again. This poem stood out to me between the other two poems because I felt an inner connection with Akhmatova. This does not necessarily mean that I have been through the same experience she has, it just merely means that I could in a sense capture some of the emotions she had clearly felt through this poem. Throughout this poem, I see Akhmatova as a woman who feels entrapped as well as diminished; just two of the many feelings that many of Akhmatova’s readers can relate to.