Best Quality

Her Jade

Focusing on: Best Quality

This chapter was filled with funny and meaningful memories that June had of her deceased mother, which made me feel both heartsick and slightly lighthearted. The scene in which June's mother says satisfyingly, " ' I not from Fukien,' " in response to her neighbor calling her the, "worst Fukien landlady," was hilarious yet saddening because though her ignorance was able to make me laugh, I realized that her fiery and confident spirit was gone forever. I was able to sympathize with June's sorrow through scenes that like this. One scene that really made me want to curse was the scene in which Waverly chose the crabs with the "best quality" for Shoshana, Rich, and herself. I felt that she was being extremely selfish, despite the fact that this was something everyone else would have probably done if they had, had the chance. Waverly's irritating actions continued on and on, until I burst into anger. When she said, " 'the firm decided it was unacceptable,' " in response to June's questioning of her late payment, I wanted to punch her egotistical mouth. I believed that Waverly had gone too far, even if she was simply trying to win her word "battle" against June. Another scene that caused me to explode was when June's mother "supported" Waverly's cruel comments by saying, " ' June not sophisticate like you. Must be born this way,' " when she was at the dinner table, and said contrastingly "Why you listen to her? Why you want to follow behind her, chasing her words?" when she and June were alone. When I read this I wondered, "Why couldn't she stand up for her in front of Waverly and say this at the dinner table?" One question that I have about one part in this chapter is, what is the special meaning behind the young jade turning dark green? What is this change supposed to symbolize?

One adjective to describe the relationship between June and her mother is "reflective." I chose this adjective because of the scene in which June realized why her the neighbors and the cat that had continuously been a burden to her mom. She began to see, hear, and understand her mother, and thus became in a sense a "blurry" reflection of her. Also, just like how her mom fought with Waverly's mom, June fights with Waverly often, showing a more distinct resemblance between the two.

One writing technique that Amy Tan used in this chapter was flashback. Her choice to go back and forth from the time June's mom was alive, and when she was dead helped improve the story in that the things that her mother had said in the past, helped explain the events that June went through in the present. For example, there wouldn't have been any meaning, message behind June's anger towards the neighbor's cat if it hadn't been explained that her mother had also hated that cat; Tan smoothly inserted this fact through her use of flashback, which enabled her to add more meaning and understanding to particular events in this chapter.

One thing that I learned about Chinese culture was that most people owned a jade necklace; a jade necklace that had different carvings, shapes, and colors that held varied, sometimes individual meanings. I also learned that these necklaces were passed down from their mothers, and in this case, turned darker as they aged.