Topic > The Mother's Role in "Without Wood" by Amy Tan

In the short story "Without Wood" by Amy Tan, Rose Hsu Jordan feels like she listens to other people more than her mother, and she ends up with a mind full of other people's English thoughts, which left her confused and unreadable to her mother. Rose Hsu Jordan vacillates between hostility, anguish and relief over her impending divorce. Rose's mother, An-mei, believes that Rose's uncertainty stems from the fact that she is "out of wood." “If you bend down to listen to other people, you will become crooked and weak,” An-mei says. Rose is finally able to listen to her mother's advice and listens to it instead of ignoring it. Rose is now able to make a decision about her marriage to Ted and her house, but also comes to accept herself as a "woodless" person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay When Rose was a child, her mother told her people without wood, one of the five elements that make up each person according to Chinese tradition, they spread like weeds in every direction only to be thrown away. Rose tells Ted, "You can't just take me out of your life and throw me away," and in her dreams she extends the same respect to her garden. The weeds in her dream garden run rampant, representing both her control over her circumstances and acceptance of herself exactly as she is. He sees something beautiful in the weeds even if others don't see it. It is no coincidence that his mother appears in the dream, having planted weeds "this morning, some for you, some." for me." Rose is dreaming of the dolls and sandboxes where old Mr. Chou chases her and says, "Look what happens when you don't listen to your mother. And Rose was left paralyzed, too scared to move in any direction." Rose doesn't know where to go with the divorce, she doesn't know what she wants and what to do. Her mother has been trying to tell her what she should do all this time, but Rose won't. 'she listened because she thinks her mother will just tell her to try to save her marriage. An-mei says “I'm not telling you to save your marriage. I'm just saying that you should talk.” bring Rose out of her depression, because they have a bond that goes beyond any other relationship. An-mei wants her daughter to express her fears and not remain silent as past generations of women have been forced to do when Rose listens to her mother and talks to Ted about the divorce, she finally knows what she wants. After listening to her mother, she finally knows where she wants to go and what she wants to do in this divorce of hers. , as she is not used to making her own decisions and opinions. It is clear that Rose also confuses herself. He talks differently to his friends and his psychiatrist about the divorce. When An-mei says "phycheattrics will only make you hulihudu, make you see heimongmom", she is trying to suggest that the only person in her life who can truly make her feel better inside is her mother, because she knows best, and physiatrists they only cheat you to get their money. She eventually realizes her vulnerability to Ted and learns to stand up for herself. Throughout her marriage, Rose never made any decisions, she always let Ted decide. Then, when Ted wants a divorce so he can marry someone else, he says he'll give her some time to find a new place to live. Rose replies that she's already found one and says she'll stay here. Rose finds help from her mother in her time of greatest need. She is going through a divorce and even though she never had a real connection with her mother, her words reached her and helped her fight Ted. Ted was practically throwing her out of the room.