"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.