This specific quote comes from The Red Candle (Chapter 3)
“They say this is what happens if you lack metal. You begin to think as an independent person. That day I started to think about how I would escape this marriage without breaking my promise to my family.” - Lindo Jong, pg. 63
This quote says a lot about Lindo as a person because it shows how she wants to honor her family, but is also wanting to be an independent person. It also shows Lindo’s struggle because she was trapped in an arranged marriage that she was mistreated in and it was a triumph for her because she was able to free herself. This quote is very liberating and makes the reader feel a sense of pride for Lindo.
This specific quote comes from Two Kinds (Chapter 8)
"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." - Jing-mei Woo, pg. 132
This quote shows the opportunities that those in America have and possibly the ambition of immigrants that move to America. In this specific quote, Jing-mei Woo's mother, Suyuan, recognizes all of these opportunities and wants to bestow this knowledge upon her daughter. Not only this, but Suyuan also wants June to realize that contrast between other countries and America. This quote personally makes me realize all of the opportunities I've taken for granted and it will make me realize these opportunities in the future in hopes that I can capitalize on them.
This specific quote comes from Rice Husband (Chapter 9)
"'Fallen down,' she says simply. She doesn't apologize.
'It doesn't matter,' I say, and I start to pick up the broken glass shards. 'I knew it would happen.'
'Then why didn't you stop it?' asks my mother.
And it's such a simple question." -Lena St. Clair, Page 165.
At the very beginning of this chapter Lena talks about how her mother could see things before they happened, but never did anything to prevent them. Then throughout the rest of the chapter you see the struggles that Lena faces with her husband. This quote becomes powerful and meaningful because it shows that Lena has the gift too, that she is able to see things before they happen. And just like her mother she lets these terrible misfortunes happen without ever trying to prevent them. I thought it was cool how Tan was able to set up the entire chapter and the ended it with this revelation that Lena St. Clair was probably aware of the bad things that could happen and she too wasn't doing anything to stop them.
This specific quote comes from Magpies (Chapter 13)
""'Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your sorrows. They feed someone else's joy. And that is why you must learn to swallow your own tears.'"
But after my mother finished her story, I looked at her and saw she was crying. And I also began to cry again, that this was our fate, to live like two turtles seeing the watery world together from the bottom of the little pond." - An-Mei Hsu, Page 217
I chose this quote because I think it was the most important line in this chapter. This story the mother chooses to tell about the turtle and the magpies is highly representational of herself, her daughter, and granddaughter. The mother had a depressing life where she was raped, disowned by her family, and forced to be the concubine of the man who dishonored her. It was like because she cried she was doomed a horrible life. An-Mei Hsu believes that she is forced to have this same fate because she is her mothers daughter and wishes to keep her own daughter from following in her footsteps.