The Joy Luck Club Chapter 2

A different kind of Scar

The title of this lovely chapter is "Scar".

While the previous chapter took place in the present with Jing-Mei Woo as the narrator, this chapter is narrated by An-Mei Hsu, one of the Joy Luck Club "aunties". In this chapter, An-Mei reminisces about her childhood back in China, where she lived with her grandmother, Popo, her aunt, her uncle, and her brother.

An-Mei was told her entire life that her mother was a terrible person and she left the family shamefully. Popo called her a "ghost", as An-Mei and her brother were not to speak of her or acknowledge her existence. Popo told An-Mei stories to keep her from making the same mistakes as her mother, and the looming picture of her father made her remorseful for her misdoings, as Popo told her that he was always watching. After a while, Popo grows ill and An-Mei's mother comes to visit. While she is there, An-Mei realizes the significance of Popo's stories, but doesn't seem to remember this woman at all. That is, of course, until she touches An-Mei's scar on her neck. (Chapter title namesake!)

An-Mei has a bit of a flashback in which she remembers the circumstances surrounding the scar, realizes that she loves her mother, and realizes why her mother did what she did. After this, An-Mei's mother makes a special soup in which she puts some of her own flesh in order to save Popo, which shows her deep respect and love for her mother. However, it is to no avail and Popo passes away.

The term I have chosen for this chapter is EPIPHANY.Once An-Mei's mother touches her scar, she has a sudden epiphany where she realizes the past and sees the person in front of her for who she is and the reasoning behind all of her actions. Despite what Popo has beat into her head about how her mother is even lower than the devil, An-Mei is able to see the good in her and love her anyway.

A noteworthy quote from this chapter is when An-Mei is discussing the presence of her father from the picture on the wall, saying, "So sometimes, when I had thrown pebbles at other children at school, or had lost a book through carelessness, I would quickly walk by my father with a know-nothing look and hide in a corner of my room where he could not see my face."

This quote made me think of experiences where you are doing something that is not exactly bad, but it somewhat frowned upon. You feel somewhat guilty for participating in the act and it feels like the whole world is watching you. An-Mei tries to keep her cool, but eventually succumbs to all-powerful force of her father and hides in shame. I sometimes feel like I am going to get caught doing something "bad" when it is not really even that bad, like looking up funny youtube videos when I am supposed to be working on homework, and I start getting nervous and people can tell from my tone of voice and my reactions that I was up to something. I feel like An-Mei and try to act nonchalant, but the guilt eats away and eventually shows through.