Revolts and Conflicts in Silence

【摘要】《喜福會》作為一本影響較大的文學作品，主要探究中國移民者在他國的生存狀況以及東西方文化差異。相比于其他人來講，移民人群中的女性所經受的考驗也要多很多。這其中最為典型的特征就是“失語”現象。一方面，女性沒有很多機會發出她們自己的觀點意見。另一方面，她們由于種種原因無法表明自己的想法。文章立足于“失語”現象，旨在發現“失語”現象，以及分析女性角色對此現象的反應

【關鍵詞】《喜福會》；“失語”現象；文化差異

【Abstract】The Joy Luck Club is one of the most influential literary works to explore the life of immigrants and the differences between Chinese culture and western cultures. The immigrant women belong to a special union as they suffer more problems and difficulties in comparison with others. One of the most distinctive features is the aphasia phenomenon. On the one hand， they have no opportunity to voice their opinions. On the other hand， they cannot convey their ideas properly. Finding the reasons of the aphasia and analyzing women’s reactions are the purposes of the essay.

【Key words】Joy Luck Club； Aphasia； Conflicts； Cultural Differences

【作者簡介】石雅馨，華東師范大學英語專業本科生。

After finishing reading the novel， The Joy Luck Club， written by Amy Tan， I am impressed by the sincere natural affection between two generations and touched by the miserable setbacks they have suffered. Through reading the novel， I can feel the extremely desperate when the mothers and daughters get stuck in the helpless dilemmas； I can hear the scream from the deepest place in their heart， complaining about the unfair fates and swearing not to yield.

Aphasia is the most frequent problem both the mother and the daughter face with in the novel. The identity of theirs plays an important part in this phenomenon. First， as a woman in the society dominated by men， it’s hard to get the deserved right to voice her opinions and thoughts. Second， language also has the significant meaning in communication. When mothers cannot convey their ideas clearly and exactly， the conflicts between two generations will come up and their status in family will be lower and lower. Thirdly， there’s no doubt that the differences between the west and the east bring on the cultural aphasia to the immigrants， since the historical backgrounds and social customs are so different.

It is a pity to be born as a woman in the ancient China， as women do not have a chance to voice their own opinions in the patriarchy society. With time goes by， the statues of women become more and more inferior and their voice becomes weaker and weaker. After raping by the rich， An-Mei’s mother does not dare to justify for herself by revealing the facts since she gets used to being silence. And the idea of women’s inferiority has already been internalized. She knows that all her effort will be in vain as nobody will care her words and sufferings. After knowing the ruthless betrayal of her husband， Ying-Ying determines to have the abortion quietly rather than denouncing the dishonest husband. She resolves to undertake the agony silently instead of speaking it out. Women’s right of speech has been stolen secretly and unconsciously. With time goes by， women acquiesces in the unfair request and gets used to it. At the very beginning， women are gagged by the power of men and then they forget how to voice.

Besides the patriarchy society， the language also becomes one of the reasons that lead to the silence. Language is the not only the symbol of one’s identity， but also is the most essential element in the communication， which carries the intentions and the abundant emotions of the speaker. Ying-Ying’s husband forces her to speak English after migrating the American. When Ying-Ying cannot express her ideas freely and frequently， Ying-Ying’s husband will “ help” her to interpret her thoughts. Therefor， to some extend， her husband removes Ying-Ying’s identity forcibly and gradually because of the forbidden of speaking Chinese. Since she cannot express and convey her ideas freely and directly， the real feelings and original intentions of hers have been distorted and ignored. What’s more， the relationship between mothers and daughters is drifting apart because of the poor understanding of each other’s languages. Both of them are failed to understand each other and express feelings by language in a proper way. Because of the language barrier， many misunderstandings appear and the tough problems emerge. The distance between the two generations becomes further and further.

Apart from the two points I have mentioned above， the differences between two eastern and western cultures also result in the silence of women in this novel. Chinese culture aphasia， namely， incapability to express Chinese culture in any language but the native language has been showed vividly. Tan adopts Pinyin to illustrate this kind of situation that the mothers cannot find the exact words in English to convey the Chinese ideas. The wisdom of Chinese culture is not to tell the wits directly and the messages are always covered by a series of metaphors and images. But， how can the American born Chinese understand the profound meaning without being nourished by Chinese culture？ How can the American husband understand these profound meaning without knowing or learning Chinese culture and Chinese characters？ After making several attempts， “foreigners” get tired of figuring out the complicated sense and mothers give up explaining the long historical culture. Since the two cultures are so different that the value people believe and follow are different too. As the traditional Chinese mothers believe that their daughters’ lives should be totally controlled and arranged by parents. However， the American culture is opposite to this view， as it supports children’s own decisions. Hence， when Chinese values encounter with the western values in the western society， cultural aphasia appears.

What impresses and surprises me most is that Tan does not end the story in the silence； she continues to depict the women and notice the scream from their hearts. Eventually， the women characters in the novel exert all their strengths to fight against the aphasia. Determined to escape from the unfortunate， Lindo makes a clever plan to get rid of the marriage. An-Mei’s mother commits suicide for An-Mei’s happiness and reminds her not to be distracted by others’ words. Rose picks herself up and tries to get the possession of the house after getting devoice with her husband. They use their actions to speak louder and clearer. And， women’s voice reappears in the society and they start to get the right back. Although two generations have different backgrounds， their miseries are similar. Being confused of their identities and values， they are lost， wandering along the American street with Chinese souls. The situation may not be changed immediately， but they have tried and firmly believed their behaviors can make something different. This time， the crashing of the vase awakens not only Lena but also other women.

The scream is the slightest sound stemming from the silence. Only after being injected and followed by more people can it be heard and noticed by others. Finally， the daughters and mothers achieve their purpose to some extent and reshape their identities and dreams. The scream in silence becomes louder and louder， stretching into a melodious song……

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