电影《喜福会》所折射中美文化差异探析(3)
III. The Differences Between American and Chinese Cultures Reflected in the Movie
3.1 Different Education Methods
Chinese parents generally placed too much hope on their children, some of whom even attached their own dream to their children. Ignoring the children’s will, Chinese parents will force their children to do anything that they think good or developmental. They believe it’s the way they show their love and help their children to win at the starting line.
While American children have had very strong independence since their childhood. American parents generally pay attention to the inpidualized cultivation, which will help the children to form independent personality. They will not fetter the kids mind but emphasize the importance of cultivating the operational ability. In the United States, the word parents often say to the children is “Just do it. You are the best.” As a result, the children cultivated by this way will think about how to solve the problem when they run it into first. They will never impose their own will on the children, and children also have strong independent consciousnesss and living ability.
In The Joy Luck Club, Jing Mei and Waverly’s mothers are the typical example of Chinese parents. They both want their daughter to be the best. Because of this, Su Yuan forced Jing Mei to learn to play piano and Ying-ying forced her daughter to learn to play chess, which are not their daughter’s interests. What’s more, they never forget to compare with each other and show off the achievements their daughters got. These behaviors give the children a lot of psychological pressure and affect the children’s development.
For example, Lindo, Waverly’s mother, used her daughter’s chess championship to show off in Chinatown, which was seen as an embarrassment by Waverly. In a quarrel with her mother, Waverly also perceived her mother as a force of repression: I’m never gonna play chess again! You can’t make me! You can torture me all you want. I still won’t! ( The Joy Luck Club 1993 )