The Joy Luck Club : Post Three

"My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no money down. You could become rich. You could become instantly famous... America was where all my mother's hopes lay. She had come here in 1949 after losing everything in China... But she never looked back with regret. There were so many ways for things to get better." (141).

I've read and seen this quote many times before I started reading this book. This story was on my literature book in 7th grade. Anyways, it's good to know that you can become anything you want to, in America. My parents tell me this all the time, usually as a consequence. If you work hard and have determination, you will be successful, but if you don't want to do anything, and just play, you won't go far in life. I do a combination of both, but my parents think I play too much. They would often lecture me in how my life would be ruined if I don't start doing something, it would disappoint them if I don't do much, when I'm in America.

This quote is similar to my mom's life, after the Vietnam War. She fled the country on a small boat with merely nothing, and starts a life in America. My family grew from nothing, and now has a house, multiple cars, and everything they ever wanted.