What does Ying-Ying say about the Moon Lady?
Ying-ying says of the Moon Lady, “I understood her grief. In one small moment, we had both lost the world, and there was no way to get it back.” Ying-ying is too young to understand that the Moon Lady is an actor.
Where does Ying Ying-Ying hide until she hears music?
Ying-ying hides in some bushes until she hears music and an announcement that a play dramatizing the Moon Lady’s story is about to begin. The Moon Lady in silhouette tells her story from behind a screen that represents the moon.
What is the main idea of the Moon Lady?
Summary and Analysis Ying-ying St. Clair: The Moon Lady The drama in which the Moon Lady is a major character concerns the loss and reclamation of cultural and individual identities. Four-year-old Ying-ying, who has fallen overboard, is desperate to be "found" — to once again be reunited with her family — and with herself.
Why does Ying-Ying want to be out of her robes?
If Ying-ying is good, she’ll get the chance to meet the Moon Lady and have a wish granted. When Ying-ying loudly wishes to be out of her robes, Amah calls that a selfish desire because Ying-ying voiced it out loud. Part of the Chinese female identity revolves around silence and secrecy, which is ingrained at an early age.
What is the effect on Ying-ying of listening to the Moon Lady story?
What was the effect on Ying-ying of listening to the Moon Lady's story? The story made Ying-ying cry and shake with despair. What does the Moon Lady represent for Ying-ying? The Moon Lady represented an illusion, a wish granted that could not be trusted.
What is the theme of the Moon Lady?
To be lost is to lose all hope.
What does the Moon festival symbolize in Joy Luck Club?
Ying-ying's amah (nanny) tells her what the Moon Festival is all about: it's the day when you can see the Moon Lady and she will fulfill your "secret wish." But your wish must remain unspoken, because if you speak it, then it's a "selfish desire."
What is the story of the Moon Lady Joy Luck Club?
"The Moon Lady" is an invitation to young readers to attend a long-ago autumn moon festival in China. The reader travels along with 7-year-old Ying-ying, spending a wide-eyed day of pleasure, waiting to encounter Lady Chang-o, who lives on the moon and who once a year fulfills the secret, unspoken wishes of the heart.
How did Ying-Ying lose herself?
On the day of the Moon Festival, Ying-ying “loses herself” not only by becoming temporarily lost from her family but by learning to stifle her own desires.
How does Ying-Ying become a ghost?
St. Clair courted her for four years, and after Ying-ying received word of her husband's death, she consented to marry St. Clair. Upon hearing of her husband's death, however, Ying-ying lost her spirit and became a ghost.
What is the Moon Lady's ability to grant?
Amah tells her about the Moon Lady, who grants secret wishes during the festival but shuns selfish desires. If Ying-ying is good, she'll get the chance to meet the Moon Lady and have a wish granted.
What is the Moon Lady's fate and penance?
What is the Moon Lady's "fate and penance"? Because of her thievery and wantonness, she has to live on the moon while her husband lives on the sun.
What two unexpected things happen to Ying-Ying on the boat at the Moon festival?
In her excitement over looking out for the Moon Lady and watching the fireworks, Ying- Ying lost her balance and fell overboard into the river. She was rescued by some people on a boat and put ashore, but she could not locate her family; she felt lost, both from her parents and from her true self.
How did Ying-Ying feel about her pregnancy?
Several months into the pregnancy, her husband left her for an opera singer, and Ying-ying learned that he had committed infidelities throughout their marriage. In her rage and sorrow, she aborted her unborn son.
What did Ying-Ying wish for?
As she thinks about the distance between the two of them, Ying-ying remembers her forgotten wish: she wanted to be “found.” She now wonders if she and her daughter will ever really find each other.
For what reasons can the story of the Moon Lady be called a myth?
For what reasons can the story of the Moon Lady be called a myth? It is a belief of the Chinese culture but is not true.
What is the conflict between Lena and Ying-Ying?
The relationship between Lena and Ying-Ying consists of a lack of communication due to a language barrier between her parents and her mother who has an illness of depression. However, the relationship between Teresa and her mother consists of constant communication involving altercations.
Why does Waverly especially want to be Chinese?
Why does Waverly Jong want to go to China? She wanted to go to china for her second honeymoon.
What is the Moon Lady's ability to grant?
Amah tells her about the Moon Lady, who grants secret wishes during the festival but shuns selfish desires. If Ying-ying is good, she'll get the chance to meet the Moon Lady and have a wish granted.
What is Ying-ying's zodiac sign?
Ying-ying has a boisterous and inquisitive nature as a child, in line with her identified zodiac sign of the Tiger.
What does Ying-ying remember about her nanny?
It isn’t until Lena is also in pain that Ying-ying is able to access the memories again. On that festival day in China many years ago, Ying-ying remembers how hot it was. Despite the heat, her nanny Amah dresses her in heavy formal clothes and tiger-patterned slippers that make Ying-ying whine.
What does Amah tell her about the Moon Lady?
Amah tells her about the Moon Lady, who grant s secret wishes during the festival but shuns selfish desires. If Ying-ying is good, she’ll get the chance to meet the Moon Lady and have a wish granted. When Ying-ying loudly wishes to be out of her robes, Amah calls that a selfish desire because Ying-ying voiced it out loud.
What does Ying-ying regret?
Ying-ying regrets that she kept her true nature hidden while raising her daughter, Lena, and instead acted so meek and quiet that Lena stopped noticing her. For many years, Ying-ying forgot the source of her silence, but suddenly remembers the central event when watching Lena go through a divorce: the Moon festival when Ying-ying was four.
Why is Ying-ying unable to be an active mother to Lena?
Ying-ying was unable to be an active mother to Lena because she never had a maternal figure to give her wisdom as a child, and thus built a wall of silence between them.
Why does Ying-ying bury her stories?
Ying-ying buried her stories deep in her memory as a child, to the point that she cannot connect to her daughter. Stories are necessary to building a maternal bond, but also contain a great deal of pain that Ying-ying struggles to reveal. It isn’t until Lena is also in pain that Ying-ying is able to access the memories again.
What is the Chinese female identity?
Part of the Chinese female identity revolves around silence and secrecy, which is ingrained at an early age. To desire something out loud is considered “selfish.”
What does Ying-ying mean in the Moon Lady?
Out of balance, they bring misery, as the story of the Moon Lady and Master Archer suggests. Ying-ying’s name, which means “clear reflection, ” represents an amalgam of the two concepts. She illustrates problems occurring when life is not in balance.
What does Ying-Ying's name mean?
Ying-ying’s name, which means “clear reflection, ” represents an amalgam of the two concepts. She illustrates problems occurring when life is not in balance. Her fascination with her shadow represents her yin, her undisciplined emotions. Her fall into the lake immerses her in yin and separates her from the yang, the structure and order, of her family. She is too young to handle so much chaos. Her response, suggested in the opening paragraphs, is to go too far the other way, hiding her yin and living entirely in yang. The reader will see the consequences of such an approach in future stories.
What is the secret wish of Chang-o?
Part of the ceremony is when Chang-o, the Moon Lady, grants a secret wish. Ying-ying chases a dragonfly. Amah becomes upset that Ying-ying’s clothes and hair are a mess. Her mother tells her that boys can be active and run, but girls must be still, so the dragonfly will seek their shadow.
What is the yin principle?
The yin, or female principle, refers to emotion, passivity, chaos, wetness, and the body; the yang, or male principle, is logic, action, discipline, dryness, and the mind. Combined, they produce life. Out of balance, they bring misery, as the story of the Moon Lady and Master Archer suggests.
What is the play Ying-ying watches from the bushes about?
In it she sees a statement of Chinese belief about the true nature of women and men. Taking action has caused Ying-ying to ruin her clothes and to fall off the boat. Taking action also causes the Moon Lady’s woes.
What does Ying-ying chase?
Ying-ying chases a dragonfly. Amah becomes upset that Ying-ying’s clothes and hair are a mess. Her mother tells her that boys can be active and run, but girls must be still, so the dragonfly will seek their shadow. Ying-ying had not noticed her shadow before; captivated, she plays with it until the family leaves for the lake.
Why doesn't Lena see Ying-ying?
Ying-ying, the narrator, speaks of her daughter, Lena, who does not hear or see Ying-ying because Ying-ying has kept her “true nature” hidden, “running along like a small shadow so nobody could catch me.”. She says that both she and Lena are lost, “unseen and not seeing, unheard and not hearing, unknown by others.”.
What is Ying-ying's zodiac sign?
Though outwardly appearing as the quietest and most meek of the Joy Luck Club members, Ying-ying identifies as a Tiger in the Chinese Zodiac, meaning she has a fierce and cunning nature.
What is Ying-ying's nanny's name?
On that festival day in China many years ago, Ying-ying remembers how hot it was. Despite the heat, her nanny Amah dresses her in heavy... (full context)
What does Ying-ying hope Amah will do?
Hours pass, and Ying-ying hopes Amah will come retrieve her as night falls. Instead, fireworks launch off the other... (full context)
What do the colored dots and icons mean in the book Joy Luck Club?
The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Part 1, Chapter 1: The Joy Luck Club. ...1949 with new participants, after immigrating to California and meeting An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-ying St. Clair at the San Francisco Refugee Welcome Center.
What does Lena show Ying-ying around the new house?
Lena shows Ying-ying around the new house, pointing out the architectural highlights, but her mother can “only see... (full context) ...that Arnold had died from an unusually severe measles. Lena is terrified, and thinks that Ying-ying can see through her and tell that she caused Arnold’s death.
Who gets annoyed by Ying-ying?
Driving back to their new house, Lena’s husband Harold gets annoyed by Ying-ying ’s constant criticism of his driving. Lena is secretly glad that her mother reprimands his aggressive... (full context)
Is Ying-ying's premonition true?
Ying-ying ’s premonition comes true, and the baby boy is stillborn, missing part of his brain. After... (full context)
