Fears And Feelings Of A Mother example essay topic
Lena says "My mother saw danger in everything,' and earlier in the story she admits to seeing "terrible things' almost everywhere through her "Chinese eyes, the part of [her] she got through mother. ' These "Chinese eyes' in "The Voice's eem to symbolize the fear that Betty passed along to Lena. Whenever she is frightened it is through or due to her "Chinese eyes. ' Immediately before she begins seeing these "terrible things', her mother scolds her for going in the basement and tells her a false story of a "bad man who lived in the basement' who would have "planted five babies in [her] and eaten them all in a six-course meal.
' This fantasy causes the mother's fear of rape to be transferred to Lena and makes her see these fantastic visions. Amy Tan shows that a mother's instincts cause her to fight to the death to keep what is hers, putting her under extreme pressure. That is shown almost completely by her almost absolute control of her daughter, Lena. When telling Lena not to go anywhere except to school and home, she responds to her daughter's question of why this was happening with "Because I haven t put them in your mind yet', illustrating that the mother believes that if she lets Lena formulate her own opinions, she may be in danger of loosing her.
After she is frightened by the strange man, she "clutched [Lena s] hand so tightly it hurt'. Willingness to cause her daughter discomfort, both physically and mentally, to save her from the dangers she sees show that she loves her daughter and would risk her life for her daughter's. The symbolism and excellent dialogue in "The Voice From the Wall' illustrate how a mother's huge fears of a strangely foreign society are implanted in her daughter and cause the mother to battle fiercely to keep what is hers.