In the novel “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan, the ignorance, the =
disregard of, and the necessity of love are all introduced as the =
characters tell their life stories and memories. The characters in “The =
Joy Luck Club” take love for granted.=20
By ignoring love, concentrating more on material possessions, and =
hiding their true identities, the characters don’t realize loves =
importance. One character that takes love for granted is Harold, Lena =
St. Clair’s husband. This occurs when Lena leans over to him in their =
car and states “I love you.” He responds by asking Lena a question about =
his car, which seems to be more important to him than his relationship =
with her. Harold does not realize the importance of love. He only thinks =
about material possessions. By Harold not revealing his true nature, he =
reveals that he has a lack of love for himself as an individual. The =
love of yourself is a necessity in life because it provides =
self-respect; if one respects oneself, one will respect and love others. =
The story of Lindo Jong provides insight into the concept of revealing =
your true nature. To “keep everything inside” as does Lindo Jong, =
provides for not being able to experience love to its fullest. Lindo =
Jong hides “under a red!
marriage scarf” in attempt to shield herself from the outside world. By =
hiding under the scarf, she demonstrates that to be able to love, you =
must be able to first reveal your true nature. Ying-Ying St. Clair =
stands as an example of the desire to remain hidden as she says, “All =
these years I kept my true nature hidden, running along like a small =
shadow so nobody could catch me.” The image of the shadow relates =
directly to the red marriage scarf. They both attempt to provide the =
concealment of their true natures, because the result of revealing your =
true self may be that of “pain”. The importance of love goes unnoticed =
as the characters take love for granted and expect it to naturally come =
to them. The ceasing of taking love for granted does occur later and has =
its results and consequences.=20
The characters realize that they are taking love for granted when they =
feel meaningless and uncomfortable, and stop doing so by either ending =
the relationship or confronting the problem. By not taking love for =
granted and realizing “there’s absolutely nothing left to save” in her =
marriage, Rose Hsu Jordan recognizes that she must divorce her husband. =
Rose Hsu Jordan does not feel comfortable with her life and feels that =
she is living under false pretences. She comprehends that she is not =
what she continually pretends to be. Therefore, she stops taking love =
for granted and ignoring it, and instead moves on to a better, more =
comfortable life with a feeling of being needed. Lindo Jong compares =
love to a hill and as to heaven. This hill symbolizes the steps that she =
must take to truly attain love and enter heaven, her comparison to =
happiness and a comfortable lifestyle. Love proves hard to attain but =
Lindo Jong learns to embrace it and accept it as best she can.=20
The “pained feeling” at the “beginning of love” provides insight into =
the revelation of the true nature of the character. This pained feeling, =
the lifting of the scarf or the shadow, opens the door to the true =
nature of the character. This love provides better understanding and a =
better love of your own character. It makes the people more comfortable =
with themselves and makes them feel important, needed, and loved. =20
In the novel “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan, the ignorance, the =
disregard of, and the necessity of love are all introduced as the =
characters tell their life stories and memories. The characters in “The =
Joy Luck Club” take love for granted.=20
By ignoring love, concentrating more on material possessions, and =
hiding their true identities, the characters don’t realize loves =
importance. One character that takes love for granted is Harold, Lena =
St. Clair’s husband. This occurs when Lena leans over to him in their =
car and states “I love you.” He responds by asking Lena a question about =
his car, which seems to be more important to him than his relationship =
with her. Harold does not realize the importance of love. He only thinks =
about material possessions. By Harold not revealing his true nature, he =
reveals that he has a lack of love for himself as an individual. The =
love of yourself is a necessity in life because it provides =
self-respect; if one respects oneself, one will respect and love others. =
The story of Lindo Jong provides insight into the concept of revealing =
your true nature. To “keep everything inside” as does Lindo Jong, =
provides for not being able to experience love to its fullest. Lindo =
Jong hides “under a red!
marriage scarf” in attempt to shield herself from the outside world. By =
hiding under the scarf, she demonstrates that to be able to love, you =
must be able to first reveal your true nature. Ying-Ying St. Clair =
stands as an example of the desire to remain hidden as she says, “All =
these years I kept my true nature hidden, running along like a small =
shadow so nobody could catch me.” The image of the shadow relates =
directly to the red marriage scarf. They both attempt to provide the =
concealment of their true natures, because the result of revealing your =
true self may be that of “pain”. The importance of love goes unnoticed =
as the characters take love for granted and expect it to naturally come =
to them. The ceasing of taking love for granted does occur later and has =
its results and consequences.=20
The characters realize that they are taking love for granted when they =
feel meaningless and uncomfortable, and stop doing so by either ending =
the relationship or confronting the problem. By not taking love for =
granted and realizing “there’s absolutely nothing left to save” in her =
marriage, Rose Hsu Jordan recognizes that she must divorce her husband. =
Rose Hsu Jordan does not feel comfortable with her life and feels that =
she is living under false pretences. She comprehends that she is not =
what she continually pretends to be. Therefore, she stops taking love =
for granted and ignoring it, and instead moves on to a better, more =
comfortable life with a feeling of being needed. Lindo Jong compares =
love to a hill and as to heaven. This hill symbolizes the steps that she =
must take to truly attain love and enter heaven, her comparison to =
happiness and a comfortable lifestyle. Love proves hard to attain but =
Lindo Jong learns to embrace it and accept it as best she can.=20
The “pained feeling” at the “beginning of love” provides insight into =
the revelation of the true nature of the character. This pained feeling, =
the lifting of the scarf or the shadow, opens the door to the true =
nature of the character. This love provides better understanding and a =
better love of your own character. It makes the people more comfortable =
with themselves and makes them feel important, needed, and loved. =20