The Voice From the Wall: Exploring Isolation in the Joy Luck Club Faith Kukla 12th Grade

Role models influence our understanding of self, perception of reality, and personal growth. Parent’s are biologically programmed to serve as primary role models for their children, however some achieve more success than others. In her short story ‘The Voice From the Wall’ Amy Tan explores a child’s relationship with her mother and how it alters her understanding of the outside world. As Chinese-American citizens the narrator and her mother struggle to place themselves within Western culture. The narrator, Lena, watches her mother confront countless barriers due to her race and grows to resent it. Communication, the largest and most obvious barrier, brings stagnancy to Lena's mother’s life which translates to the narrator's perception and sense of self. Using race as a catalyst, Tan demonstrates isolation and the effect it has on the adolescent psyche.

Tan illustrates a mother who is trapped within the confines of her differences. By leaving China the Lena's mother enters a world that does not attempt to listen to her, and the displacement and fear she demonstrates on her wedding day affirms this. Described as a “Westernized suit jacket” (Tan 308) the mother's wedding dress symbolizes both her marriage and her stagnancy. ‘‘In...