Joy Luck Club

In the novel Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, it’s clear to see that throughout the story that the daughters and mothers have different views on everyday things and love. Their generations have a big thing to do with how they all think differently and how they handle the situation. The time difference and also where they grew up is a big factor that contributes to the different perspectives they have.

The generations differ in their ideas on life, love and family because each mother experienced something different and something that their daughters wouldn’t really go through. Most of the mothers just see things as black and white and really think that the judgment of the town is what makes the name for them. They all have that strong willed personality where they won’t change for no one.

 For example, Suyuan Woo doesn’t really like to focus on her hardships and the past, now that she’s dead her daughter Jing-mei (June) Woo really has to fix what was broken and make things right again. I think that Suyuan was like this because of the life she lived. She had to not worry about herself and worry about her two daughters she had in China and think about the life she had to leave for them. With her leaving her daughters and other decisions she made, she doesn’t like to look back on them. June is now taking her mothers place and making things right and doing the opposite of her mother by focusing on her past and fixing it.

Each difference manifests itself by showing how the different generations react to what the situation brings them. For example, Waverly Jong is the star of the family and is the one that gives the family their name. Her mother pushes her and pushes her to make sure the family name is high up. In America having a bug family name and winning chess matches really isn’t such a big deal. This differs from Lindo Jong’s perspective because in her times family names and high ranking is always important.

For marriage and divorce Lena and Ying-ying see things way differently. Lena doesn’t really want to help her marriage and just wants to let it go. Ying-ying feels that a marriage should last forever and if there are problems then Lena should fix it. They both have different views because in Chinese culture there is no such thing as divorce, but in American culture there is. Ying-ying’s generation sees it as an everlasting promise while Lena’s generation sees it as a problem that can either fall apart or magically be mended.

Leopard Man

Questions 9-15:

9. Tom Leppard is called "Leopard Man" because of the tattoos he has on his body and becuase of where he lives and chooses to live like a leopard.

10. The author thinks that people with tattoos and piercings are unimpressive. He has this opinon because he finds that they are desperate for society's attention in a "negative way.

11. Leopard man is different from other tattooed and piecred people becuase he doesn't want to attract attention and only does it for himself and for a chance to potray what he wants to be. Another reason why he is different becuase he went to a great extent by getting tattooed all over his body.

12. Leopard Man lives in a small cabin in the Scottish wilderness. Far from where society can judge him.

13. The people that society fears is the ones they don't understand and those really consists of the one we call freaks.

14. The "world's most common and dangerous psychological disorder" according to Feys is conformity. He says this because the causes of being a conformist is just the suppresion and destruction of ones's self. He's saying that you are practically destroying your own self because you are under the pressure of everyone else.

15. Leopard man is so happy because he's living how he wants to and doesn't care what others think about it. He's reached his true happiness in life and doesn't really seem to care what other people think of him. All that matters to him is that he is happy and is where he wants to be.

Diction Handout

Low or informal diction:

1.jargon- I only climbed on the spare spar. 

Elevated language or formal diction:

2. opaque: not able to be seen through; not transparent.

    enlogated: unusually long in relation to its width.

    phosphorescent: when something glows with light without becoming hot to the touch

    elusive: difficult to remember or recall

    livid:having a discolored, bluish appearance caused by abruise, congestion of blood vessels, strangulation,etc., as the face, flesh, hands, or nails.

The side of the ship made an opaque belt of shadow on the darkling glassy

shimmer of the sea. But I saw at once something elongated and pale

floating very close to the ladder. Before I could form a guess a faint flash of

phosphorescent light, which seemed to issue suddenly from the naked body of

a man, flickered in the sleeping water with the elusive, silent play of summer

lightning in a night sky.With a gasp I saw revealed to my stare a pair of feet,

the long legs, a broad livid back immersed right up to the neck in a greenish

cadaverous glow. One hand, awash, clutched the bottom rung of the ladder.

He was complete but for the head. A headless corpse! The cigar dropped out of

my gaping mouth with a tiny plop and a short hiss quite audible in the absolute

stillness of all things under heaven. At that I suppose he raised up his face, a

dimly pale oval in the shadow of the ship’s side…I only climbed on the spare

spar and leaned over the rail as far as I could, to bring my eyes nearer to that

mystery floating alongside. As he hung by the ladder, like a resting swimmer, the

sea lightning played about his limbs at every stir, and he appeared in it ghastly,

silvery, fishlike.

The sideof the ship made a nontransparent shadow along the dark, shiny sea. But I saw something very long and light colored flosting very close to the ladder. Before I could think of a guess an unclear flash of glowing light, which seemed to come from the naked body of a man, flashed in the calm  water with the subtle, silent play of summer lightening in a night sky. With a gasp, revealed a pair of feet, the long legs, and a broad discolored back immersed right up to the neck in a greenish, corpse glow. One had, awash, clutched the bottom rung of the ladder. He was complete but for the head. A headless corpse! The cigar dropped out of my gaping mouth with a tiny plop and a short hiss quite hearable in the absolute stillness of all things under heaven. At that I suppose he raised up his fave, a dimly light colored oval in the shadow of the ship's side... I only climbed on the spare spar and leaned ober the fail as far as I could, to bring my eyes nearer to that mystery floating alongside. As he hung by the ladder, like a resting swimmer, the sea lightning played about his limbs at every stir, and he appeared in it ghastly silvery, fishlike.

3. The use of elevated language gave the passage a more serious tone and more sophisticated tone to it. With my paraphrasing it, to me gave it more of a calm tone and more something that readers would more understand what they are reading. Rather than struggle with trying to understand it.

Abstract and Concrete Diction:

4. a).saw

b).climbed

c).clutched

d).stare

5. I think that he chose to do this to make the reader wonder and create a certain tone. The readers could also think about names for the captain, ship and crew and see what they can relate to it based on the story.

Denotation and Connotation:

6. What is the denotative meaning of the title The Secret

Sharer?

It would have to be that the denotation of the title would have to be that a stranger is sharing something with the main character of the story.

A close reading of the story reveals the connotative

meaning of the “secret sharer.” Not only does the hidden

guest, Leggatt, share the captain’s cabin, but he shares his

very soul as well. Leggatt seems to represent the captain’s

other self, the dark side of his soul that remains hidden

from view.

Complete the chart below:

Word	Denotation	Connotation
Cadaverous	resembling a corpse in being very pale, thin, or bony	Corpse
Darkling	of or relating to growing darkness.	Darkness
Pale	light in color or having little color.	Being light have hardly any color
Phosphorescence	light emitted by a substance without combustion or perceptible heat.	Glowing, bright
Ghastly	causing great horror or fear; frightful or macabre.	Frightful, scary, terrible
Headless	without a head having the head cut off; beheaded.	Having no head, being thoughtless
Fishlike	To be or act like a fish	Squirmy, active