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xi ABSTRACT

de Wanna, F Moniqa. 2008. The Influence of Cultural Backgrounds on Mother and Daughter Relationship in Amy Tan’s “The Kitchen God’s Wife”. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis analyzes Amy Tan’s novel, The Kitchen God’s Wife. The novel talks about the influence of distinctive cultural backgrounds between a mother and daughter which affect their relationship.

There are two problems related to the topic of the thesis. (1) How are Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds described in the novel? (2) How do the cultural backgrounds of Winnie and Pearl affect their mother-daughter relationship?

In order to answer the problems, library research is done. There are two sources; the primary source is the deep analysis of the novel itself, while the secondary sources are books, criticisms, and references related to the subject of the study. Moreover, the approach in analyzing the novel is the socio-cultural approach. The socio-cultural approach is used to analyze the influence of the society especially the culture toward the problems of this study. The uses of theory of cultur e and mother-children relationship are necessary. Theory of culture is used to understand culture’s influence toward someone’s social behaviour. While theory of mother-children relationship is used in order to help the writer to understand the importance of mother-daughter relationship. The writer also reviewed Chinese and American cultures to describe the people’s behaviours based on those two cultures.

There are two things that can be concluded from this study. The first one is the description of Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds. Winnie’s Chinese culture views a family as the center of its culture. There are many rituals in China which go off from birth until funeral. In China, women are regarded less important than men. Chinese people are considered very superstitious. On the other hand, Pearl’s American culture views an individualism freedom as the core of its culture. The equality of the position of a husband and a wife in a marriage can be seen in this country. American children may speak with confidence in front of adults. Chinese-American like Pearl is not accustomed to Chinese rituals and usually has modern thoughts. The second one is the analysis of the mother-daughter relationship. Winnie and Pearl’s relationship can be considered as an unharmonious one. Even though both of them love each other very much, the way they think and view problems differ from one another which are affected from each of their cultural backgrounds. The exposure of their secrets makes their relationship become closer and finally brings them to a reconciliation at the end of the story.

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xii ABSTRAK

de Wanna, F Moniqa. 2008. The Influence of Cultural Backgrounds on Mother and Daughter Relationship in Amy Tan’s “The Kitchen God’s Wife”. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini membahas novel karya Amy Tan, The Kitchen God’s Wife. Novel ini bercerita tentang pengaruh perbedaan latar belakang budaya antara ibu dan anak perempuannya yang mempengaruhi hubungan mereka.

Ada dua masalah yang berhubungan dengan topik skripsi ini: 1) Bagaimana latar belakang budaya Winnie dan Pearl digambarkan dalam novel? 2) Bagaimana latar belakang budaya Winnie dan Pearl mempengaruhi hubungan ibu dan anak perempuan mereka?

Dalam menjawab kedua masalah tersebut, metode studi pustaka diterapkan dalam pencarian data-data. Ada dua sumber yang digunakan: sumber utama dan sumber pelengkap. Sumber utama adalah novel itu sendiri dan sumber pelengkap dikumpulkan dari membaca buku-buku, kritik dan referensi yang berhubungan dengan objek studi. Selain itu pendekatan yang digunakan dalam menganalisa novel ini adalah pendekatan sosial budaya. Pendekatan sosial budaya digunakan untuk menganalisa pengaruh lingkungan terutama budaya terhadap permasalahan studi ini. Penggunaan teori budaya dan hubungan ibu dan anak adalah penting. Teori budaya digunakan untuk memahami pengaruh budaya terhadap perilaku social seseorang. Sementara teori hubungan ibu dan anak digunakan untuk memahami pentingnya hubungan tersebut. Penulis juga meninjau budaya Cina dan Amerika untuk menjabarkan perilaku orang-orang berdasarkan kedua budaya tersebut.

Setelah menganalisa novel ini, ada dua hal yang dapat disimpulkan. Hal pertama adalah deskripsi latar belakang budaya Winnie dan Pearl. Winnie yang berbudaya Cina memandang keluarga sebagai pusat budayanya. Terdapat banyak ritual di Cina dimulai dari kelahiran hingga kematian. Di Cina, wanita dipandang kurang penting dibanding pria. Orang Cina dianggap sangat mempercayai takhayul. Sebaliknya, Pearl yang berbudaya Amerika memandang kebebasan individu sebagai inti budayanya. Kesetaraan posisi seorang suami dan istri dapat dilihat di Amerika. Anak-anak berbicara dengan penuh percaya diri di depan orang dewasa. Orang Cina-Amerika seperti Pearl tidak terbiasa pada ritual-ritual Cina dan mempunyai pemikiran yang modern. Hal kedua adalah analisa tentang hubungan ibu dan anak perempuannya. Hubungan Winnie dan Pearl dapat dikatakan kurang harmonis. Meskipun keduanya saling menyayangi namun cara berpikir dan memandang suatu permasalahan di antara mereka berbeda satu dengan yang lainnya terpengaruh oleh latar belakang budaya mereka. Pengungkapan rahasia mereka membuat hubungan keduanya menjadi lebih dekat dan pada akhir cerita mereka berdua rukun kembali.

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THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS

ON MOTHER AND DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP

IN AMY TAN’S

THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Name: Moniqa Friesta de Wanna

Student Number: 03 1214 051

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

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i

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS

ON MOTHER AND DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP

IN AMY TAN’S

THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Name: Moniqa Friesta de Wanna

Student Number: 03 1214 051

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : Moniqa Friesta de Wanna

Nomor Mahasiswa : 03 1214 051

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS ON MOTHER AND DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP IN AMY TAN’S THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE

beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupaun memberikan roya lty kepada saya selamA tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyatan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal : 19 Maret 2008 Yang menyatakan

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iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis which I wrote does not contain the works or part of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and bibliography, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, March 3, 2008 The writer,

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v

I h a ve ta u gh t yo u

th e w ay o f

W isdom

I h a ve le d yo u

in th e p a th o f

Virtue

W h e n yo u w alk, yo u r s te p s w ill n o t falte r,

An d w h e n yo u ru n , yo u r fe e t w ill n o t s tu m ble ,

Ke e p h o ld o f

W i s d o m

An d gu a rd h e r, fo r s h e is

Life

( Ad ap te d fro m Pro ve rbs 4 :11-13 )

I dedicate this thesis

to those who make my life worth living:

My Savior J esus Christ

My Loving Papi

&

Mam i

My Caring Sisters and Brothers

My Dear Cipit

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vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank my savior Jesus Christ for His blessing and love, especially during the hardest time. I have to thank Him for guiding me through every moment in my life and showering me with so much blessing and happiness.

I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my major sponsor, Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum., for her suggestions, guidance, and kindness during

my thesis writing process. I could never finish my thesis without her. I would also like to thank my co-sponsor, Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. for spending her time to read my thesis carefully and give significant suggestions and corrections to my writing. Another appreciation goes to A. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A. for all his friendly supports during my thesis writing. I also have to thank all PBI lecturers for their teachings, support, and help during my study in Sanata Dharma. I also thank PBI’s secretariat staff, especially Mbak Danik and Mbak Tari for always being very nice and patient to me.

My deepest love and greatest gratitude go to my beloved father, papi,

Frans de Wanna, who is always there to give his endless love, attention and

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vii

My sincere love and appreciation also go to my dear sisters and brothers, Vera, Mevia, Chris, Lonna, Tony, Marcia, and Daniel, for their never-ending affection and encouragement all this time, financially and spiritually. Their thoughtfulness reminds me to be optimistic all the time. I am really grateful to have siblings like them.

I give special thanks to my dearest honey, Cipit, Hendra Ang, for his pure love, patience, and understanding. I really appreciate his help and encouragement, as well as the joy and laughter that he brings into my life. I am very blessed to have him in my life.

I’d also like to express my deepest appreciation for my caring best friends, Christine, Jane, Seevi, Fermin, Riri, and Maisye, who always make me smile and feel happy. They also always provide me a place to laugh and release my burdens. I thank them for their loyal and compassionate friendship. Along with all my friends in PBI, I’d like to give special thanks to Dudi, Tia, Meiske, Happy, Niken, Prast, Iphat and Monci, who make my life in PBI so pleasant and alive.

Lastly, for those I cannot mention one by one, I thank them for being there for me and sharing moments with me. God bless us all, amen.

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viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGE ... ii

STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... iv

DEDICATION ... v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii

ABSTRACT... xi

ABSTRAK... xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 3

C. Objectives of the Study ... 4

D. Benefits of the Study ... 4

E. Definition of Terms ... 5

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... 6

A. Review of Related Theories ... 6

1. Theory of Critical Approaches ... 6

2. Theory of Culture ... 8

a. The Definition of Culture ... 8

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ix

Page

3. Theory of Mother-Children Relationship ... 11

a. The Meaning of Mother-Children Relationship ... 11

b. The Importance of Mother-Children Relationship ... 12

B. Review on Cultural Backgrounds... 13

1. Review on Chinese Culture... 13

2. Review on American Culture ... 18

C. Theoretical Framework ... 20

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 22

A. Subject Matter ... 22

B. Approach of the Study ... 24

C. Method of the Study... 24

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 26

A. Winnie’s and Pearl’s Cultures Described in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife ... 26

1. Winnie’s Culture ... 26

2. Pearl’s Culture ... 37

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x

Page

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ... 54

A. Conclusions ... 54

B. Suggestions ... 57

1. Suggestions for Further Study on The Kitchen God’s Wife ... 57

2. Suggestions for Teaching English through Literature ... 57

Teaching Extensive Reading I Using The Kitchen God’s Wife... 58

REFERENCES ... 60

APPENDICES ... 63

Appendix 1: The Author’s Biography... 63

Appendix 2: Amy Tan and Her Works... 67

Appendix 3: Lesson Plan Extensive Reading I ... 68

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xi ABSTRACT

de Wanna, F Moniqa. 2008. The Influence of Cultural Backgrounds on Mother and Daughter Relationship in Amy Tan’s “The Kitchen God’s Wife”. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis analyzes Amy Tan’s novel, The Kitchen God’s Wife. The novel talks about the influence of distinctive cultural backgrounds between a mother and daughter which affect their relationship.

There are two problems related to the topic of the thesis. (1) How are Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds described in the novel? (2) How do the cultural backgrounds of Winnie and Pearl affect their mother-daughter relationship?

In order to answer the problems, library research is done. There are two sources; the primary source is the deep analysis of the novel itself, while the secondary sources are books, criticisms, and references related to the subject of the study. Moreover, the approach in analyzing the novel is the socio-cultural approach. The socio-cultural approach is used to analyze the influence of the society especially the culture toward the problems of this study. The uses of theory of cultur e and mother-children relationship are necessary. Theory of culture is used to understand culture’s influence toward someone’s social behaviour. While theory of mother-children relationship is used in order to help the writer to understand the importance of mother-daughter relationship. The writer also reviewed Chinese and American cultures to describe the people’s behaviours based on those two cultures.

There are two things that can be concluded from this study. The first one is the description of Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds. Winnie’s Chinese culture views a family as the center of its culture. There are many rituals in China which go off from birth until funeral. In China, women are regarded less important than men. Chinese people are considered very superstitious. On the other hand, Pearl’s American culture views an individualism freedom as the core of its culture. The equality of the position of a husband and a wife in a marriage can be seen in this country. American children may speak with confidence in front of adults. Chinese-American like Pearl is not accustomed to Chinese rituals and usually has modern thoughts. The second one is the analysis of the mother-daughter relationship. Winnie and Pearl’s relationship can be considered as an unharmonious one. Even though both of them love each other very much, the way they think and view problems differ from one another which are affected from each of their cultural backgrounds. The exposure of their secrets makes their relationship become closer and finally brings them to a reconciliation at the end of the story.

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xii ABSTRAK

de Wanna, F Moniqa. 2008. The Influence of Cultural Backgrounds on Mother and Daughter Relationship in Amy Tan’s “The Kitchen God’s Wife”. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini membahas novel karya Amy Tan, The Kitchen God’s Wife. Novel ini bercerita tentang pengaruh perbedaan latar belakang budaya antara ibu dan anak perempuannya yang mempengaruhi hubungan mereka.

Ada dua masalah yang berhubungan dengan topik skripsi ini: 1) Bagaimana latar belakang budaya Winnie dan Pearl digambarkan dalam novel? 2) Bagaimana latar belakang budaya Winnie dan Pearl mempengaruhi hubungan ibu dan anak perempuan mereka?

Dalam menjawab kedua masalah tersebut, metode studi pustaka diterapkan dalam pencarian data-data. Ada dua sumber yang digunakan: sumber utama dan sumber pelengkap. Sumber utama adalah novel itu sendiri dan sumber pelengkap dikumpulkan dari membaca buku-buku, kritik dan referensi yang berhubungan dengan objek studi. Selain itu pendekatan yang digunakan dalam menganalisa novel ini adalah pendekatan sosial budaya. Pendekatan sosial budaya digunakan untuk menganalisa pengaruh lingkungan terutama budaya terhadap permasalahan studi ini. Penggunaan teori budaya dan hubungan ibu dan anak adalah penting. Teori budaya digunakan untuk memahami pengaruh budaya terhadap perilaku social seseorang. Sementara teori hubungan ibu dan anak digunakan untuk memahami pentingnya hubungan tersebut. Penulis juga meninjau budaya Cina dan Amerika untuk menjabarkan perilaku orang-orang berdasarkan kedua budaya tersebut.

Setelah menganalisa novel ini, ada dua hal yang dapat disimpulkan. Hal pertama adalah deskripsi latar belakang budaya Winnie dan Pearl. Winnie yang berbudaya Cina memandang keluarga sebagai pusat budayanya. Terdapat banyak ritual di Cina dimulai dari kelahiran hingga kematian. Di Cina, wanita dipandang kurang penting dibanding pria. Orang Cina dianggap sangat mempercayai takhayul. Sebaliknya, Pearl yang berbudaya Amerika memandang kebebasan individu sebagai inti budayanya. Kesetaraan posisi seorang suami dan istri dapat dilihat di Amerika. Anak-anak berbicara dengan penuh percaya diri di depan orang dewasa. Orang Cina-Amerika seperti Pearl tidak terbiasa pada ritual-ritual Cina dan mempunyai pemikiran yang modern. Hal kedua adalah analisa tentang hubungan ibu dan anak perempuannya. Hubungan Winnie dan Pearl dapat dikatakan kurang harmonis. Meskipun keduanya saling menyayangi namun cara berpikir dan memandang suatu permasalahan di antara mereka berbeda satu dengan yang lainnya terpengaruh oleh latar belakang budaya mereka. Pengungkapan rahasia mereka membuat hubungan keduanya menjadi lebih dekat dan pada akhir cerita mereka berdua rukun kembali.

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1 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents five parts. The first one is the background of the study which gives an explanation about the reasons behind the writer’s decision to choose the novel, while the second one is the problem formulation which notes down the problems that lead to the analysis of the novel. The third part deals with the objectives of the study which mentions the aims of conducting this study, whereas the fourth copes with the benefits of the study which include the theoretical benefits for the sake of the development of the theories. The last sectio n lists the definition of terms which consists of a brief explanation of key words in the title.

A. Background of the Study

Lindgren (1969: 205) states that a culture consists of the overriding systems of values, beliefs, norms, artifacts, and symbols that have been developed by a society and are shared by its members. By understanding what culture is, we will be able to know the relationship patterns among a society and understand its socia l relation with others.

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2 by themselves. They need other people to share their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values, and customs. The necessity of living with other individuals demands people to understand their partner(s).

As the smallest form in the society, family has an important role as the first institution which will influence people’s behavior in deve loping relationships. People will associate with the culture of their family then expand to their society. People’s way of understanding something as the value of life or love can be learned mostly through their behavior or attitude. The society and its culture take an important role in contributing the way of how people understand, develop, and behave in their relationship.

While reading the novel, the readers may possibly find some aspects which can be found in real life such as believing in superstitio ns and practicing various traditional rituals. The aspect of real life of certain cultures will enrich people’s knowledge about the culture. Essentially, human beings are designed to live in a society; similar to characters in the novel. The characters in the novel belong to a particular society and they will be influenced directly or indirectly by their environment.

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Related to the idea above, the writer is interested in exploring Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds as they are the major characters in The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan. Their cultural backgrounds bring a major influence on their mother-daughter relationship. They also prove that some relationships cannot be separated from their surroundings. Later, their differences can teach the readers to accept and respect other cultures. The other reason is that the writer has a deep interest in both Chinese and American cultures presented in the novel. The novel is also expected to enhance the readers’ knowledge about Chinese and American cultures.

The Kitchen God’s Wife was first published in 1991 and reprinted in 1992. The story is about Pearl and her mother Winnie who have never got along well. An argument breaks out between Pearl and Winnie at the wedding of their relatives where they finally reveal each other's secret. The story that Pearl hears from her mother is a story that she has never heard before. It is a secret that Winnie has kept from Pearl for decades because of the fear of hurting Pearl. Pearl herself has a secret, yet it becomes secondary as Winnie's story unfolds.

B. Problem Formulation

Considering the backgrounds of the study above, this study is intended to answer some problems as follows:

1. How are Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds described in the novel? 2. How do the cultural backgrounds of Winnie and Pearl affect their mother and

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4

C. Objectives of the Study

This study aims to answer the questions listed in the problem formulation above. Therefore, it attempts:

1. To reveal Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife.

2. To explain both Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds in influencing their mother and daughter relationship.

D. Benefits of the Study

It is expected that the writer as a researcher may get a better understanding of culture as one of the important parts of literature and how someone’s cultural backgrounds may affect his or her relationship with others from this study. The analysis on the characters’ cultural backgrounds in this study may contribute some significant information for further studies on the novel The Kitchen God’s Wife so that in the future they can make some additions or corrections in order to get a better and relevant understanding and interpretation.

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E. Definition of Terms

In order to obtain a better understanding and to avoid misinterpretation, the writer defines some important terms that are used in the study.

1. Influence

The word ‘influence’ according to Oxford advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2007: 825) is “the power to affect somebody’s actions, character or beliefs especially by providing an example for them to follow, winning their admiration or making them afraid to disagree”. In this study, it is the power of the cultural backgrounds that can give several effects to one’s relationship with others.

2. Culture

Pikunas (1969: 72) states that the word ‘culture’ refers to “the total patterns of people’s way of life seen in terms of artifacts and achievements distinguishing large but similar societies.” Briefly, culture is someone’s way of living in a society.

3. Relationship

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6 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of four parts. The first part is a review of literary theories that consists of the theory of critical approaches, while the second one is the review of related principles such as the theories of culture and the theories of mother-children relationship. The theories of culture are divided into two parts, namely the definition of culture and the culture’s influence on someone’s behavior, while the theories of mother-children relationship are divided into two sections, namely the definition and the importance of mother-children relationship. The third part is the review on cultural background which consists of the separate reviews on Chinese and American cultures, whereas the last part is the theoretical framework which explains the contribution of the theories above in solving the problems of this study.

A. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Critical Approaches

Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 6-15) affirm that there are five approaches which can be used to analyze a novel. They are:

a. The Formalist Approach

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derived from structure and how matters of technique determine structure. This approach is the literary piece without any reference to the facts of the author’s life, the genre or in literary history, and its social milieu.

b. The Biographical Approach

This approach asserts the necessity for an appreciation to the author’s ideas and personality to an understanding of the literary object. The proponents attempt to learn as much as they can about the life and development of the author and then apply this knowledge in their attempt to understand the author’s writings. Biographical material provides useful facts that could put the reader in a better position to understand and appreciate the literary object. It is better to try to figure out what the author did say than to find out what the author’s intended to say. c. The Sociocultural-Historical Approach

This approach insists that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produced it. It is necessary to investigate the social milieu in which a work was created and which it necessarily reflects on. Literature embodies ideas significant to the culture that produced it. The traditional historical approach to literature usually takes as its basis some aspects of the socio cultural frame of reference, combining it with an interest in the biographical as well as knowledge of and interest in literary history. Behind every art form there is also a philosophy of life which can be expressed and viewed in moral terms.

d. The Mythopoeic Approach

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8 thought that they have meaning for all men. The cyclic patterns of withdrawal turn and of death and rebirth, patterns involving guilt and expiation and sacrificial suffering, propitiation rites, fertility rites, initiation rites are common to all people, and that themes concerning them find their way into all significant literature, whether the author makes conscious or unconscious use of them.

e. The Psychological Approach

This approach involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns. Literature works is derived from the psychological point of view drawn from psychological theories. This approach intends to comprehend the patterns of human personality and behavior.

2. Theory of Culture

It is necessary to understand the meaning of culture since the study emphasized the culture’s influence. Therefore, this part contains the definition of culture and its influence towards someone’s social behavior.

a. The Definition of Culture

Light, Keller, and Calhoun (1989: 71) state that culture includes all the learned customs, beliefs, values, knowledge, and symbols that are communicated constantly among a set of people who share a common way of life. While according to Lindgren (1969: 205), culture consists of the overriding systems of values, beliefs, norms, artifacts, and symbols that have been developed by a society and are shared by its members.

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that lay behind people’s behavior, and which are reflected in their behavior. In this theory, culture has a lot of dimension such as abstract values, beliefs, and perceptions, which will be reflected upon the person who lives under that culture. As a result, it can be inferred that culture is a wide dimension which has a close relationship not only with the society but also with the individual who lives in it. The members of the society will reflect the culture of their society through their behavior.

b. The Culture’s Influence toward Someone’s Social Behavior

The elements of culture are developed by the society. Dealing with the cultural backgrounds of the main characters in this novel which are related to the society, the writer will present some theories about the influence of culture toward one’s social behavior.

Light, Keller, and Calhoun (1989: 71-72) state that the relationship between culture and behavior has two sides. On one hand, culture provides traditions and rules that guide how people think, feel, and behave, and how people evaluate others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions. On the other hand, people use, develop, and usually change their culture. They also state that society refers to the network of social relationships among those who share a culture and that culture is used to give meaning to social interactions as well as the result of social interaction.

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10 The first one is the behavior and characteristics of other persons. The importance of one’s position in the society can strongly affect his behavior. For example, an employer will easily influence his servant because his/her position is considered higher than the servant’s.

The second factor is the social cognition (one’s thoughts, attitudes and inferences about other people around him). It is the aspect that affects one’s thoughts, ideas and judgments on other people. If someone has a good judgment on other people, then he/she may follow or imitate their behavior.

The third one is an ecological variable. The term ‘ecological variable’ refers to the social ecological circumstances around an individual such as the condition of the environment, the house, the city, etc. For example, if a person lives in the place where he/she feels comfortable, he/she will likely have an unchanged behavior. On the other hand, if a person lives in the place where he/she feels hard to live, then he/she may have certain behavior that leads him/her to change the condition to be better.

The fourth aspect is the socio cultural context in which a social behavior occurs. Such factors as cultural norms and regulations will affect one’s behavior. Societal standards or values shifting can influence one’s behavior. In this novel, the main characters are mostly influenced by cultural norms that they have which later will affect their relationship.

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Each society has certain cultural life. Culture represents one’s way of thinking and behaving in a society. People differ from society to society because they have learned different cultures. Therefore, it can be inferred that the influence of culture toward one’s social behavior is tremendous.

3. Theory of Mother-Children Relationship

Mother-children relationship is the main issue in the novel The Kitchen God’s Wife. In order to comprehend the relationship described in the novel, this part defines the meaning and the importance of mother-children relationship. a. The Meaning of Mother-Children Relationship

Allers (1953: 245) affirms that the relationship between mother and child is possibly the most intimate of all forms of association between two people, for its closeness cannot be compared even with the greatest love between man and woman. He also implies that the unique nature of mother-child relationship is reflected in the fact that the term “mother- love” is commonly known better than “father- love” which sounds unusual and strange.

Deutsch (1973: 322) explains that a daughter’s identification with her mother is important for her emotional and moral development. A mother will play a role as the source of identification of her daughter, who later will likely develop her mental and moral according to her perceptive toward her mother.

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12 to forget their own rebellions completely. The gap between mother and children becomes wider with the fact that the mother is an immigrant. Children of the immigrants are like the first generation born in a new country. They cannot understand when their parents’ talk about the past because those children have no access to their parents’ past. Therefore, sometimes there are misunderstandings or conflicts between them.

b. The Importance of Mother-Children Relationship

Interactions between mother and child set the stage s for the development of the attachment bond. This bond seems to be crucial in the development of healthy and happy relationships at all stages of the life cycle. In fact, according to Sirjamaki (1953: 6), parents attend not only to the physical needs of their children, but also to the society and culture in which they have their being. In addition, Anshen (1949: 204) states that mother is the first teacher of a child. The child learns to respond to other persons from his/her mother who is the first person to set the child’s cultural patterns.

Noller and Fitzpatrick (1993: 199) say that the attachment bond between mother and child is formed to maintain proximity between mother and infant. The maintenance of proximity is a mutual endeavor of both the mother and the child and is sometimes initiated by one and sometimes by the other.

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B. Review on Cultural Backgrounds

It is important to review the cultural background s of The Kitchen God’s Wife in order to comprehend the story and its cultural context better. This part review Chinese and American culture.

1. Review on Chinese Culture s

Chinese people are famous for their beliefs in superstitions. They believe that everything which happens in their life is affected by supernatural factors. Meyer (1978: 42) says that the Chinese are considered as superstitious people, for supernatural things influence their daily lives. The Chinese has never made the separation between myth and reality as the Westerners do. They believe that everything that happens is the result of their obedience to their ancestors or gods in the past.

Chinese people believe in astrology. It is the most well-known element in Chinese traditional culture. According to the Chinese astrological system, a person’s character is determined by the year of his or her birth. Personality traits are categorized according to the 12 year calendar cycle in accordance with the Chinese zodiacs. Each year of the cycle is associated with different animals, as a story when Buddha invited all the animals in creation to come to him, but only twelve showed up: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, cock, dog and pig. Buddha rewarded each animal with a year bearing its personality traits (Giles, 2001: 10-19).

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14 to any event or venture that may involve an element of risk – from selecting an auspicious date for a wedding to sitting a new building. From the client’s point of view, the interpreters’ primary task is to guard against any disaster.

Hsu (1948: 30) writes that the life in Chinese community is full of rituals starting from their birth until their death. Chinese people have to obey the rituals and traditions in their religion properly. According to Smith (1994: 112), birth for Chinese is important, especially when the baby is male. Sons are very important in carrying on the family line and in maintaining the honors to ancestors. That is why it is considered sinful for a man not to have any son. Latourette (1956: 679) states that girls have been generally considered much less valuable than boys and sayings in common circulation appraise sons as infinitely preferable to daughters. Chinese man was viewed higher than Chinese woman in the past, yet the discrimination may still happen in today’s Chinese culture.

The most important element in the Chinese cosmological system is the yin-yang dichotomy. Yin represents all forces in the universe that emanate from darkness, while yang is the representation of light. The yin-yang dichotomy is derived from human’s experience, which often conceptualized as the following opposites; good-evil, life-death, and male- female. According to yin-yang dichotomy, it is obvious that women inferior to men. Yin represents women, which are believed as dark, destructive and in characteristics believed as weak, emotional untrustworthy being, whereas yang represents men, which in nature and characteristically believed as the opposite side of women. (Loewe, 1990: 105)

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1994: 154). It is called an ideal marriage if both families know each other well. If a marriage happens between two families which are not familiar to one another, they need a go-between (matchmaker) to arrange the matters. The matchmaker is usually a woman who knows both families. She must carry the proposal to the girl’s family and ask both the girl and the boy about all the things needed, such as the year, month, and date of their birth. Based on the conclusion taken, she will decide whether the boy and the girl are a perfect match (Hsu, 1948: 32). Succeeded in matching the couple, the matchmaker intercedes in the negotiation of exchanging gifts between both families. The family of the bride has to decide on the proper dowry and trousseau to send along for the exhibition at the groom’s home. After they get married, the couple will live in the groom’s residence.

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16 Nanquin and Rawski (1987: 81), affirm that the ritual of a funeral is very important for the Chinese. The children have to manage a burial ritual. After death, the spirits of deceased relatives (represented by wooden tablets) are cared by their descendants on a daily basis supplemented by offering at the grave at regular intervals, and given special attention on the anniversaries of the death.

Bloomfield (1989: 30-36) asserts that the Chinese provide the gods their place on an altar. They try to keep the spirits of the ancestors happy. The living has a responsibility of sustaining the spirit of the ancestors and protecting their graves, as long as the reciprocal relationship is maintained both the living and the dead are benefited. Abandoned ancestors will become ‘hungry ghosts’, a general term for the spirits of dead people who do not have any reciprocal relationship with the living. Another great fear, apart from keeping the ancestors happy, is the fear of ghosts and spirits. These are not necessarily the spirits of dead people; they also could be the spirits of a place, trees, rocks, even the earth spirit of a village.

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Chinese people have a much stronger tendency to identify their home and place than any other ethnics in the world, for they are highly rooted to their culture and their place of birth (Smith, 1994: 56). It is known best as the Chinatown which usually exists in every big city or country all around the world. The Chinese live together with the other Chinese in a community in which they maintain their customs, beliefs, and culture.

There are several basic features observed in Chinese families’ houses. Firstly, the old parents usually live in one of the wings, commonly the west one, the same part of the main house occupied by the eldest son. Secondly, in the normal cause of events, some rooms are found overcrowded, while larger sections of the house are intentionally left unoccupied. Thirdly, except for children and married couples, the two sexes are generally separated. Fourthly, the members of each individual family within the household usually occupy some rooms in the same wing or in two wings adjacent to each other. The characteristic of the dwellings shows that the division of rooms for each family is determined by the rules of social appropriateness, not by personal preference, comfort, or hygiene (Hsu, 1948: 56-57).

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18 anger, contempt, and hatred. They rather suffer in silence than resolve the situation by an active and overt approach.

2. Review on American Culture

Individualism in America seems to be the core of American culture. Glazer (1988: 227) writes that the positive image of individualism has emphasized the American as a pioneer, moving out into wilderness among savages and making his way alone with riffle and axe. In relation to that, Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines individualism as a doctrine that the interest of the individual are or ought to be ethically paramount; and refers to a conception that all values, rights, and duties originate in individuals. It gives freedom to people to make their own decision, based on their thoughts even though it has to oppose those of the society where they live. According to Kearny (1984: 20), individual freedom is believed as the most important values of all American beliefs. American history notes that America is the land to which people escaped from their old country to seek freedom and get away from the control of governments, churches, noblemen, and aristocrats. They came to America to establish the new colonies with freedom as the basis of their living values.

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their right to make a decision on their own. Other family members may give some opinions and suggestions, but still they do not have any right to decide anything for them. In education, the principles of freedom can also be found in American schools. Sex education is being taught among children or teenagers nowadays.

The Chinese in America can be classified into two categories: immigrants from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia are considered as the first generation and American-born Chinese are the second and third generations. Most of the first generation Chinese still use Chinese as their first language. Their descendants who were born in America use English as their first language (http://www.camla.org.history.html accessed on July 19, 2007).

In America, To Thi Anh observed, children speak with confidence in front of adults. They are not inhibited by shyness or fear. They enjoy much choice in their work, leisure, and relationships because they are brought up in liberal ways. They are not morally bound to behave in order to please other people. They are simply given permission to be themselves, and to develop their own characters. They are equal in their relationships with people, regardless of their age, wealth, or social position.

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20

C. Theoretical Framework

There were some theories applied to answer the problems formulated in this study. First, the theory of critical approach is used to analyze the problem. There are five approaches and the emphasis of the approach used is the socio-cultural approach.

In analyzing the characters’ cultural aspects, the writer used the theories from Light, Keller, Calhoun, Lindgren, Haviland, and Baron and Byrne. The important factor in this novel is each character’s cultural background in their relationship. As a result, the backgrounds and definition of culture become essential in understanding the novel.

In analyzing the mother-children relationship, the writer used some theories proposed by Allers, Deutsch, Warga, Noller and Fitzpatrick, Sirjamaki, and Anshen. The novel, The Kitchen God’s Wife, is about a relationship of mother and daughter so that it is important to know the basic theories of this relationship in order to get a better understanding of the story.

In making a review on Chinese culture, the writer applied several theories from Latourette, Loewe, Hook, Giles, Bloomfield, Nanquin and Rawski, To Thi Anh, Hsu, Smith, and Meyer. This cultural review is expected to help the readers understand the no vel because Winnie’s character is influenced greatly by her Chinese background. Moreover, the review might help the writer to analyze the characters of Winnie in developing her relationship with Pearl.

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22 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter covers three main parts; Subject Matter which is about the subject of the study, the novel The Kitchen God’s Wife itself, Approach of the Study which explains the use of the socio-cultural approach to analyze the influence of society especially the culture toward the problems of this study, and Method of the Study which clarifies the steps taken in doing the analysis.

A. Subject Matter

Amy Tan wrote The Kitchen God’s Wife (1991) as her second bestseller novel after succeeding with her first novel, The Joy Luck Club (1989). She also wrote other novels such as The Moon Lady (1992), The Hundred Secret Senses (1995), The Bonesetter's Daughter (2001), The Opposite of Fate (2003), and Saving Fish from Drowning (2005). The Kitchen God’s Wife (1991) received many appreciations from the publisher itself, the critics and the cus tomers. New York Times proclaimed it as ‘A notable book of the year’ and Chicago Tribune affirmed it as "The kind of novel that can be read and reread with enormous pleasure."

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chapter 4 until chapter 24 tells about Winnie’s past life in China. The story is being told from Winnie’s point of view. She describes her life in China from her childhood until she gets married and the reason why she immigrates to America. This part reveals the differences of cultural background that later influence her mother-daughter relationship with Pearl which are very important for this study.

The last part containing Chapter 25 and 26 sets the end of the story signified by the reconciliation between Winnie and Pearl after revealing the secrets which they have hide for a long time and for the compensation is their relationship becomes better.

There are many characters in this novel; Winnie Louie, Pearl Louie Brandt, Helen Kwong, Auntie Du, Jimmy Louie, Wen Fu, Phil Brandt, Cleo Brandt, Tessa Brandt, Samuel Louie, Henry Kwong, Bao-nao, San Ma, New Aunt, Old Aunt, and Peanut. However, the major characters are Winnie Louie and Pearl Louie Brandt who are also the narrators of the novel. The other minor characters are presented to support the analysis.

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24 Nevertheless, at the end of the novel, after revealing her past in China, Winnie gets Pearl appreciation and understanding and their relationship becomes better.

B. Approach of the Study

This study aims to reveal Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds and to explain both Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds in influencing their mother and daughter relationship. Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultural backgrounds need to be analyzed thoroughly from the cultural point of view. Their cultural backgrounds cannot be separated from socio-cultural approach. Therefore, the writer applies the socio-cultural approach to analyze the problems formulated in Chapter 1.

Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 9) point out that socio-cultural approach’s critics insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produces it. By using this approach, the writer can discover the civilization’s influence toward the literary work under discussion. The influence of the civilization, especially the behavior that is affected by the cultural background of each character become the major problem of this study. The writer expects it to be used as a good reference in studying the novel.

C. Method of the Study

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The writer collected the primary source from the deep analysis of the novel itself, while the secondary sources were gathered by reading books, articles, criticisms, and references related to the object of the study. Some of the important sources were books written by Haviland, Latourette, Hsu, and Sirjamaki.

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26 CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter is the analysis of the novel The Kitchen God’s Wife. In this part, the writer tries to analyze the questions formulated in the problem formulation section. There are two steps done in analyzing the problems. The first one is the analysis of Winnie’s and Pearl’s cultures described in the novel, while the second one is the analysis of the mother and daughter relationship which is affected by their cultural backgrounds.

A. Winnie’s and Pearl’s Cultures Described in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s

Wife

1. Winnie’s Culture

The Kitchen God’s Wife is dominated by Winnie’s Chinese culture. The past life of Winnie describes the culture. Winnie also brings the Chinese culture to America and which later affects her life, way of thinking and relationship with others especially with her daughter, Pearl.

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them. Chinese families consider special occasions as the time to gather with the whole big family and relatives. It is the time to tighten their bond as a Chinese family. The occasions are sometimes not very important to be attended. Nevertheless, the obligation to respect the relatives forces Chinese family to be present.

As seen in the first chapter, Pearl’s cousin, Bao-bao hold an engagement party which demands Pearl to attend. Winnie invites Pearl and insists that she joins the party. In accordance with Winnie’s point of view, such a big occasion must be attended by all relatives because it is a way to show the family bond among them. However, Pearl who grew up in American culture and married to a non-Chinese man thinks that there is no obligation for the relatives to come to such an event. Nevertheless, Pearl considers her presence at the party as her duty as part of Chinese family which has to be fulfilled.

”Pearl-ah, have to go, no choice,” (3).

Over the years that we’ve been married, we’ve learned to sidestep the subject of my family, my duty. Phil used to say that I was driven by blind devotion to fear and guilt. And then he would say the only reason we had to go was that I had been manipulated into thinking I had no choice, and that I was doing the same thing to him (8-9).

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28 New Aunt because she is the one who is responsible for Peanut’s behavior; bad or good, it is Winnie who takes all the responsibilities.

Of course, you probably don’t understand this kind of thinking, how I could be in trouble for Peanut, why I was scared. In China back then, you were always responsible to somebody else. You did not get a reward for being good, that was expected. But if you were bad—your family could do anything to you, no reason needed (162).

Among many rituals in Chinese culture, funeral is the one which is considered important to the people. Grand Auntie’s funeral is held in traditional way. It is common in Chinese culture that every time their relative dies, the family will hold a ceremony in order to respect the dead person. Funeral ritual is full with overwhelming things. The ceremony is believed to bring a happy after- life for the dead.

And then I see it too—God!—Grand Auntie Du lying in her casket, with glasses perched on her emotionless waxy face. In front of the casket is a long, low table overflowing with food—what looks like a nine-course Chinese dinner, as well as an odd assortment of mangoes, oranges, and a carved watermelon. This must be Grand Auntie’s farewell provisions for trudging off to heaven. The smoke of a dozen burning incense sticks overlaps and swirls up around the casket, her ethereal stairway to the next world (41).

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that they fear of. That is the reason why Grand Auntie’s funeral is taken care of with great respect and carefulness.

She frowns. “Not friends, maybe Chinese people from Vietnam. They came early, later saw we didn’t have too many people to mourn Grand Auntie. So they talked to Auntie Helen, she gave them a few dollars. And now they’re doing the old custom, crying out loud and acting like they don’t want the dead person to leave so fast. This is how you show respect.” (45-46).

Another great fear besides the fear of ‘angry ancestors’ is the fear of ghosts. Tan explains this in an incident when Pearl gets up at night screaming because of fearing a carved pumpkin. Here she tells that Winnie believes in the existence of ghosts. She does not act like any other common mothers who usually convince their daughter that there is no ghost and it is just her imagination.

My mother had come rushing into the room when I screamed. I was babbling tearfully that I had seen a ghost. And instead of comforting me, or pooh-poohing that it was just my imagination, she had said, “Where?” and then searched the room (43).

The Chinese are very superstitious people. Their daily lives are affected by supernatural things. They have faith in myth and believe in good and bad luck. Winnie also believes that many bad things happen because of her or somebody’s fault or bad action in the past. Therefore, she cautiously avoids bad signs that later may bring unlucky events. For instance, she decides to cook a few dishes with lucky-sounding names in order to avoid bad luck for the pilots who go to war even though the prices of those meals take all the fortune.

Even though Helen is not smart, even though she was born poor, even though she has never been pretty, she has always had luck pour onto her plate... I am not the same way. I was born with good luck. But over the years, my luck—just like my prettiness—dried out… (68).

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30 down, those men might not return for the next meal... And then I decided also to include a few dishes with names that sounded lucky (247).

And then I remembered what Old Aunt had once said about the bad luck of dropping scissors (247).

If you think I am only being superstitious saying this, then why did I drop all those scissors that day? Why did some thing terrible happen right after that? (312).

Chinese New Year is also believed as the perfect time to change someone’s luck in the future. That is why the celebration of New Year in China is very lively and done carefully in the expectation that it may avoid bad luck. They usually celebrate the New Year with joyous celebrations.

The New Year was a time when you could change your luck (135).

”Stupid girl! They must curl up into a lucky ball when cooked. The way you’ve done it, they’ll look like leftover strips of cloth. Bad luck.” (137). For one week I had been doing this, mending anything that showed unlucky signs of prosperity coming apart-a loose thread, a little hole, a torn spot, a missing clasp or button (137).

Astrology is the most well-known element in Chinese traditional culture. Personality traits are categorized based on 12- year calendar associated with different animals. Chinese calendar identifies months by the year of an animal. Winnie is more accustomed to Chinese calendar rather than Western calendar.

This was 4638 by the Chinese calendar, a Horse year, when people stamped their feet and became reckless. By the Western calendar, I don’t know. Maybe it was 1929, maybe 1930 or 1931, in any case, before I met Helen (79).

Another thing which is common in China at Winnie’s time is the existence of servants. It is another Chinese culture which shows one’s social class at that time. Rich and respected families commonly have servants in their house. The servant’s job is to serve their masters in ho usehold duties.

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sides of porcelain bowls, an announcement that servants were entering rooms to bring in the morning meal (107).

We also had a sink with a drain, but no running water, only running servants. That was the Chinese way. The cook and the servant had to go to the pump in the backyard and carry in the big, heavy buckets. Maybe they had to carry these upstairs as well (300).

Concubinage is common in China. Concubine’s status or position in social class is usually lower than the first wife. Otherwise, there is another reason why the husband is allowed to take another wife. In the novel, Tan represents many cases about concubinage that happens to Winnie’s aunties, Winnie’s mother, Helen first husband’s and Winnie herself.

Maybe one week later, maybe sooner than that, I was sent to live on Tsuming Island with my father’s younger brother and his two wives, Old Aunt and New aunt (117).

Worse than that, when my mother arrived, she found there was already a third, fourth, even fifth wife (127).

She begged the pilot to marry her. He would not. She promised his baby would be a son. He said he did not care. She said she could take her as a concubine, marry a real wife later. He refused again (229).

So that was how I let a concubine come into our house. Of course, I did not introduce her that way to Hulan and Jiaguo. I said she was a guest, the sister of a pilot, the same lie Wen Fu told (344).

Chinese people have a stronger tendency to identify their home and place compared to that of other ethnics in the world. The house where Winnie spent her childhood is divided into two parts; west and east. Each part has its own function.

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32 selection of an auspicious date for holding a wedding to sitting a new building. A fortune teller is assumed to be able to predict what will happen in the future and tell the clients so that they can be ready for any situation. They believe that the fortune teller also has the power to prevent the disaster or unwanted situation and protect the clients. Moreover, the fortune teller can change bad fates into good

ones if given some merit money. And of course, a reading by the fortune-teller to determine what good

things lay ahead for the next year (142).

And then Peanut found a fortune-teller she liked, a fat woman with a big smile who promised she knew everything—love, marriage, wealth. A sign in front of her stall bragged that she had the luckiest fortune sticks, knew all the lucky numbers, the right lucky marriage combinations, the best days of making lucky business decisions, remedies for changing bad luck into fantastic luck. Everything guaranteed (147).

And she pointed to the mole just above my eye, below my eyebrow. “I can fix this,” she said quickly. “It is not easy, of course, to find charm to fix bad fate. But I can do this for you, remedy this before the New Year. Your decision.” She wrote down a number, the amount I should pay her (149).

In China, if a marriage happens between two families which do not know each other, they need a matchmaker to arrange the matters. She must carry the proposal to the girl’s family and ask both the girl and the boy about all the things needed. The matchmaker in this novel is called Auntie Miao. She knows both Winnie’s and Wen Fu’s families well so that later she decides they are a perfect

match. The matchmaker he found was an old lady we called Auntie Miao. She

was famous for matching the right girl to the right boy so that they would both produce the highest number of sons. She had helped arrange marriages for Old Aunt’s two daughters several years before (164).

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In China, children do not have the freedom to choose their own spouse. Their marriage is arranged by their parents or families. The children’s feelings are not counted as a big issue for the marriage. The parents believe that their choice is the best for the children. “I did not say yes. I did not say no. Nobody asked for my answer because it was not my choice to make.” (166).

Children’s obligation for their parents is always comes first in China. Before the arrangement, Winnie and her aunties go to Shanghai to see Winnie’s father and ask his permission for her marriage. They also talk about the business matters of the marriage which include the negotiation of exchanging gifts between both families.

“How big a gift is the Wen family offering?” Old Aunt handed over the envelope. My father quickly counted out four thousand Yuan, then nodded. I was relieved. This was a large sum, a respectable amount, the same as two thousand dollars in U.S. money, maybe worth forty or fifty thousand today. A middle-class Chinese person would have to work more than ten years to earn that sum of money. But it did not mean the Wen family was really giving my father that money. He was supposed to hand back the money on my wedding day, give it to the Wen family, saying, “You are sharing a lifetime of your family’s wealth with my daughter. That is already enough.” And my father was then expected to give me a money dowry that was the same size as their gift (174-175).

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34 “How big a dowry does the Wen family expect?” Old Aunt had to be very careful how she answered. If she said the Wens did not want very much, it would appear that they were not a family worthy of joining. If she said they wanted a lot, it would sound as if I were not worthy of them (175). The most important element in Chinese cosmological system is the yin-yang dichotomy which is believed by many Chinese and applied in their everyday life. It is known that Yin represents all forces in the universe that emanate from darkness, while yang is the representation of light. The yin-yang dichotomy is essentially derived from human’s experience, which often conceptualized as opposites such as good-evil, life-death, and male-female. According to yin-yang dichotomy, it is obvious that women are inferior to men. Yin represents women, which are believed as dark, destructive and in characteristics are believed as weak, emotionally untrustworthy being. Conversely, yang represents men, which are characteristically believed as the opposite side of women. In chapter eight there is a story about yin and yang. The title itself, ‘Too much Yin’, has already explained

everything. ”That girl had been too strong. She had too much yin, the woman

essence…

”What is this word ‘semen’?’ I asked. “Anh! You don’t even know this!” Peanut exclaimed. “It is a male essence, his yang... That’s why a man is a man, because of this yang potion.” “Then why would a woman want his yang?” “This is because—“ and then Peanut frowned. “Be frank,” I said. “It’s this way. If a woman can get enough yang inside her, she can make sons. Not enough, then she only has daughters. So you can see, if a woman has too much yin, she draws a lot more yang from her husband.” (199).

My mother patted my hand. “Oh I know what you are thinking,” she said quietly. “Of course, every baby is born with yin and yang. The yin comes from the woman. The yang comes from the man. When you were born I tried to see whose yang you had. I tried to see your daddy.” (511).

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are the number one necessities for wives. Even though the wives are suffering and unhappy, they must always keep their husbands satisfied. Wen Fu’s mother teaches Winnie to be a good wife by sacrificing her happiness over Wen Fu’s contentment. The more pain and suffer Winnie experience, the more love Winnie shows to Wen Fu. Winnie has no right to complain or show her anger in any situation.

So this is my mother-in- law taught me: To protect my husband so he would protect me. To fear him and think this was respect. To make him a proper hot soup, which was ready to serve only when I had scalded my little finger testing it. “Doesn’t hurt!” my mother- in- law would exclaim if I shouted in pain. “That kind of sacrifice for a husband never hurts.” (207).

“A woman always had to feel pain, suffer and cry, before she could feel love.” (207).

This was China. A woman had no right to be angry. But I was unhappy, knowing my husband was still dissatisfied with me, and that I would have to go through more suffering to show him I was a good wife (210).

A wife in China could not divorce a husband. Even though many women find marriage life are intolerable and some of them receive bad treatment from their husbands. They cannot and have no right to divorce their husbands so they decide whether to run away or commit suicide, but alas, many families do not want to receive their daughters who return to them. Divorced wives are disgrace issues for their family. They give their families bad names and in the end will get nothing.

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36 ”You see, you are divorced,” he said in a strange tone. “Worth nothing. You have no husband. You have no home. You have no son.” (393). What if Peanut had become one of those roadside wives? Wasn’t this what happened to women who lost their husbands and their families? How else could a woman support herself when she had no husband, no family? (443).

Another proof signifying that Chinese culture views women as less important than men is seen when Winnie miscarries a daughter. Instead of feeling sad, he comforts Winnie. Wen Fu patted my hand, “At least it was not a boy.” (305).

Chinese people are very modest and polite. They want to live in a good relationship with all the family, relatives, and neighbors. They sometimes are willing to give up their rights in order to preserve harmony among people. They cannot even blame someone for something that happens even though it is not their own fault. Servants are more courteous because they are aware that their position is lower than their masters. They tend to speak cautiously in order not to make their masters sad or angry.

We didn’t complain too much. Chinese people know how to adapt to almost anything (260).

That was the Chinese way, to use yourself as an excuse, to say you are unworthy, when really you mean you are worth more (326).

She nodded again, more tears. And then she told me who. “Tai-tai, he is not well, very sick. I know this. So I am not blaming your husband.” (327).

When servants tell you there’s a ghost, it means something is wrong and they are not in the position to tell you why (340).

The custom of politeness is also common in China. Women are expected to behave in appropriate manners. Winnie teaches Min, Wen Fu’s concubine, how to speak in good manners and behave properly.

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next time she asks, you smile and say, ‘In this matter, you should not trouble yourself for my sake’. This is the same meaning as ‘Not your business,’ maybe even stronger.”(351).

“And when you laugh,” I said, “put your hand over your mouth like this, so your teeth don’t show. Laughing like a monkey doesn’t look good, everything on the inside of your mouth showing.” (351).

Another polite way in Chinese custom is the way in opening gifts. It is a polite thing if you open your gifts in private. Chinese people do this so that if they do not like the gift, they may not show their face of disappointment in front of the person who gives them the gift.

I did not know what to say, so I gave her the gifts, both of them covered in paper. She looked annoyed, then sighed and took them. I thought she would put them away and open them in private. That was the polite thing to do. Chinese people always do that, so if you don’t like the gift, nobody has to see the disappointment on your face. But she didn’t wait (445). There are some terms that the Chinese use to describe some things or

events. They are in Chinese and only Chinese who can understand them. This word, taonan? Oh, there is no American word I can think of that

means the same thing. But in Chinese, we have lots different words to describe all kinds of troubles. No, “refugee” is not the meaning, not exactly. Refugee is what you are after you have been taonan and are still alive. And if you are alive, you would never want to talk about what made you taonan (260).

That same morning, Hulan and I went into town. I put on my long green coat and everyday shoes, because it was three or four li to get to the middle of the city. A li? That’s maybe a half of one of your American miles (266).

2. Pearl’s Culture

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