I have been having trouble deciding how to start this review so I decided to look for discussion questions to guide me through the process. So many times when I read for pleasure I read quickly and without the proper depth that the book deserves. Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter is pleasurable reading, but it deserves reading with reflection. There are valuable lessons that we can learn from this work. Life experiences, positive and negative, shape who we are.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (from Penguin Reading Guides)
Over the next few days I will attempt to answer each of the following questions.
1. Memory plays an important role in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. How is Ruth’s life affected by her childhood memories? How do LuLing’s memories affect her behavior around Ruth?
Ruth is affected by her mother’s desire to instill the pride of their Chinese heritage and the superstitions she was raised with. Ruth seemed to feel like she lived in the shadow of Precious Auntie and she didn’t know how important this individual was to her mother. Many of Tan’s works deal with the generational gap of immigrant families. There is a desire to preserve the heritage, but the American born child wants to fit in and be Americanized. This creates a rift between parent and child.
LuLing uses guilt to manipulate her daughter. LuLing has lived life in America feeling guilty for Precious Auntie’s death- feeling guilty that she did not appreciate Precious Auntie in her last days. As LuLing was entering a period of self discovery she acted as many teenagers do, believing SHE knew best, not Precious Auntie. Upon finding out the truth the realization of Precious Auntie’s love was powerful on LuLing’s life. LuLing tries to show Ruth her love and devotion in the same way that Precious Auntie did for LuLing. For Ruth, a first generation Chinese-American this was stifling. Ruth was growing up with American values and ideas, and Chinese influence. As such, Ruth and LuLing were at odds with each other, and attempting to manipulate each other with emotional weapons. This is a common theme in Amy Tan’s books.
2. How does LuLing attempt to convey the difficulties of her formative years to Ruth? Does she succeed? Why/why not? In the constant sparring between Ruth and LuLing, who do you think is at fault?
LuLing realizes that her memory is slowly becoming less efficient. She writes about her youth and about Precious Auntie. She does all of this in Chinese and gives it to Ruth. Ruth has difficulty translating Chinese characters and receives the written memories at a time when she is still frustrated with her mother’s attempts to cling to Chinese culture and beliefs Ruth puts the transcript aside. It takes years for her to seek translation, but in the end yes LuLing is successful in revealing the difficulties of her life to Ruth. At first Ruth resists but she begins to realize that China is a part of her as well.
I don’t think either at fault for the constant sparring. It is simply a case of stubbornness. Mothers and daughters clash, sometimes it is frustratingly to no end. As the roles of parent and child begin to shift so the understanding becomes clear for Ruth. Her mother was shaped by her life experiences, just as Ruth was by hers.
3. Much of The Bonesetter’s Daughter revolves around superstition. How does this aspect of Chinese culture affect LuLing’s actions? Is Ruth superstitious? Does she realize that she is manipulating her mother as a child?
4. Why does Ruth try so hard to distance herself from her Chinese heritage?
Ruth wanted to be like everyone else. She wanted to fit in, be American. To embrace her Chinese heritage meant she had to face another aspect of herself, and of her mother that she was many times at odds with.
5. Why does Ruth lose her voice once a year on August 12th? In what way does Ruth “regain” her voice by the end of the novel?
6. How does Ruth use her professional talents to her advantage? In what way does her job stifle her ability to communicate?
Ruth is able to read body language and has an intuitiveness that allows her to anticipate what someone wants to hear. This was how she was able to appease her mother with the sand board. Developing on this talent she is able to communicate the ideas of others and to make something seem even better than it is. However, her own voice is rarely heard. Growing up she translated for her mother. Speaking for her mother, or for others to her mother. In her professional career, she conveys the message of others. She finds it difficult to use her own voice to get, or express, her desires.
7. How is LuLing affected by the family curse? How does she react when she learns of her mother’s true identity? In your opinion, was it wrong for Precious Auntie to keep this secret from her daughter? Why does Precious Auntie keep this information from LuLing for so long?
8. What is the significance of Ruth’s learning the family name at the end of The Bonesetter’s Daughter? What does Ruth learn about her name that helps change her opinion of her mother?
9. How does LuLing rebel against Precious Auntie? Is Ruth similar to LuLing in this respect? What are the consequences of Ruth’s insolence in her teenage years? Whose rebellion causes more lasting results?
10. What does Ruth learn about her mother and about her own cultural heritage that helps to mend her strained relationship with Art, as well as with Fia and Dory?
