Using your face as a shield

2. Double Face

3. This chapter puzzled me, so I had to go back and read it again. I thought it was sad how Americanized Waverly was. Lindo spent so much effort and energy into making her American, but it seems that all that work went to waste because Lindo regrets it. Waverly seemed very inconsiderate when she told the hairstylist what Lindo wanted. Although, I understand that if Lindo tried to explain it herself, the hairstylist wouldn’t understand, Waverly should’ve at least consulted her mother first. I don’t understand a lot of the things that the girl told Lindo when she first came to America. I don’t understand why she had to pretend all these complicated things. I felt so sad when Lindo said she worked in a factory. When I first read that, I though that she was abused and treated badly because I thought that factories in San Francisco were cruel like that during the Industrialization period. Although the work seemed harsh, there was nothing commenting on the treatment from the owner. This relieved me and I didn’t think about her factory job for the rest of the chapter. The way Lindo used the fortune cookie to get her a husband was extremely cute. It saddened me when Lindo went back to China and they considered her a foreigner. She spent a majority of her life there and only moved to America because there was no choice. Treating her as a foreigner doesn’t seem right.

4. The relationship between Lindo and An-Mei is one of true friendship. Lindo and An-Mei got off to a good start, even from the beginning. Lindo needed a friend and An-Mei kept her company. Later, An-Mei introduced Lindo to a husband. Not only did she do that, but she helped Lindo get a husband. They worked together and laughed together. If this isn’t true friendship, I’m not sure what is.

5. Imagery was a technique that Tan uses well in this chapter. When Tan described the fortune cookie factory, I felt like I was a worker there too. I felt this feeling again when Lindo’s mother described her face to me. I saw all the features and according to the description, I imagined her to be very pretty.

6. I learned a lot about Chinese culture in this chapter. I learned that it’s not traditional for a daughter to talk back to their mother. I learned about all the superstitions regarding the features of a person’s face. Other Chinese traditions are keeping one’s emotions hidden and keeping one’s worth quietly tucked away. I also learned abut the hardships that some Chinese immigrants had to go through when they first came to America.