The Joy Luck Club Chapter 7

Yep. Half and Half.That is what this chapter is called. This is the first thing that shows up when you Google "Half and Half". 

This chapter is all about Rose Hsu Jordan and how she wants to end her marriage and also how she saw her mother lose faith in God. 

Rose describes how she met this American boy named Ted and how the two of them fell in love and needed each other. After a while though, the marriage started falling part because Ted was making all the choices. Ted had one bad experience where he was sued because of the decision he made and afterward, he wanted to have less of the responsibility. He kept asking Rose what they should do, but she never knew how to chose. Ted was angry with her because she couldn't make up her mind, and that was really when the marriage started to fall apart.

After realizing that Ted and she were going to get a divorce, Rose must face her mother. Her mother insists that the marriage must try to be saved, but Rose argues that it is not working out. This prompts Rose to have a FLASHBACK to the day her mother lost her faith.

Rose's mother used to believe that strong faith kept all good things coming their way. This was challenged when her youngest son, Bing, was swept out into the ocean. Everyone in the family took blame for this, but Rose felt most responsible for not watching him. The next day, Rose and her mother returned to the beach where he had disappeared and tried many different things to bring Bing back to them. Finally, after trying and waiting for many hours, Rose's mother came to the realization that Bing was gone and no amount of faith could bring him back. This was when Rose's mother lost her faith.

After this, Rose returns to the present, saying, "I know now that I had never expected to find Bing, just as I know now I will never find a way to save my marriage. My mother tells me, though, that I should still try." 

Seeing the way that Rose's mother still persistently tells her to try to save her marriage convinces me that she was not entirely lost her faith, but rather, she has a different understanding of her faith. As a Catholic, I believe that God will send us challenges that will make us want to question our faith, but those who are true believers in God will always return to Him. It is His way of showing us how strong faith can be. In this way, I feel like Rose's mother was awakened to a different part of her faith. Before, she blindly worshiped God, thinking that she would be rewarded and never have any harm done unto her because of her faith. She was worshiping for the wrong reason. Once this huge horror befell her, she saw that she could not just worship God and expect that everything would be easy from then on. It helped her to see that she still needs faith in God, but for a different reason than she previously believed. She has faith that Rose's marriage can be saved and wants Rose to see that even though there are difficulties, she should never give up.