confused with scattered conflict, but ultimately composed of deep love and commitment for one another. Because of drastic

differences in the environments in which they were raised and in their life experiences, these two women have some opposing

ideas and beliefs. This, and their lack of communication are responsible for many of the problems they face in their relationship.

These conflicts are only resolved when June learns about her mother's past. The way that their relationship develops, and the

conflicts June and Suyuan face, reveal some of the themes that Amy Tan intends for the readers to learn. These themes concern

such topics as finding our life's importance, making choices, and understanding ourselves and our families.

Most of the conflicts that June and her mother face are based on misunderstandings and negligence concerning each other's

feelings and beliefs. June does not understand or even fully know her mother because she does not know about her tragic past

and the pain she still feels from the memory of it. Because Suyuan lost two daughters in China, and her entire family was killed

The stories of Suyuan and Jing-Mei Woo reveal some of Amy Tan's main themes in the novel. One important theme is that we

question s mostly because I want to know the answers." (p. 320) Suyuan loved her daughter more than her own life, but June

her mother always had for her in all of the ways that she acted. She realizes that her mother was proud of her even though she

destroyed. There are many misunderstandings between these two women that are unfortunately left unresolved until after

and use her talents in order to discover this. After her mother's death, June begins wearing this necklace every day. She also thinks back to her job and decides, "I was very good at what I did, succeeding at something small like that." (p. 233) Because

originate from the strong love she has for her daughter. It is not until much later in her life, after Suyuan's death, that June

the war, she leaves this place behind her and places all of her hopes in America and her family there. She wants the very best

pure, essential, best quality younger sister." Suyuan tells her daughter June that she can be anything she wants to be, and that

was not a great genius at anything. After Waverly humiliated June at the dinner table by stating that the work she had done for

Some common words found in the essay are:
Amy Tan, Amy Tan's, Jing-Mei Woo, June Suyuan, suyuan's death, amy tan, death june, mother's past, life's importance, , suyuan's death june, Suyuan Jing-Mei, suyuan jing-mei woo, learns mother's past, mother proud, long-cherished wish, june begins, conflicts june, importance june, life's importance june,
Approximate Word count = 1089
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)