Amy Tan, Sandra Cisneros, and Alice Walker are from three different cultures and
very different backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common—they write.
Each woman has written, among other things, short stories which can easily pass
for feminist writing. Through looking at “Two Kinds” and “Half and Half,” by Amy
Tan; “Woman Hollering Creek,” by Sandra Cisneros; and “A Sudden Trip Home in the
Spring,” by Alice Walker, with a feminist lens, common themes, including
parental relationships, marriage, and autobiographical elements can be found.
In order to analyze these stories from a feminist perspective, a definition of
feminist criticism should first be established. Feminist criticism first became
noticeable in the 1970s, when feminist critics noted that most of the “canon” of
literature was written by men, and that most of their women characters were
portrayed in a negative and stereotyped way (Liladhar). Also in this decade,
Elaine Showalter coined the term “gynocritics” for those women who study women
writers (Walker and Weedon). One issue that has been highly discussed by
feminist critics is if and how women’s writing differs from that of men’s
writing (Walker and Weedon). These critics examine “subject, vocabulary, syntax,
style, imagery, narrative structure, characterization, and genre preference” to
determine similarities and differences among those of the same gender (Guerin
201). Currently, the focus of feminist critics tends to be on reading women’s
writing, especially women who have been neglected in the past. Also, feminists
are interested in the balances of power in a society: “Feminist literary critics
try to explain how power imbalances due to gender in a given culture are
reflected in or challenged by literary texts” (Guerin 196).
Amy Tan’s short stories “Two Kinds” and “Half and Half” are part of a larger
collection of stories called The Joy Luck Club. The Joy Luck Club is about four
sets of mothers and daughters and their experiences as Chinese immigrants to the
United States. There are 16 stories, with two told by each woman, except for one
daughter who takes the place of her mother who has died. “Two Kinds” is one of
the stories she tells.
In “Two Kinds,” Tan focuses on mother-daughter relationships, since the
narrator, Jing-mei, constantly learns things about her mother that were unknown
to her before her mother’s death. Parent-child relationships are a feminist
theme in “Two Kinds,” which is also seen through the fact that Jing-mei’s father
is prominently absent. The only times that he is mentioned is in conjunction
with her mother (my parents, my mother and father, etc). Instead, the only male
figure who is given any shape and form is Mr. Chong the piano teacher. He is an
older man who has lost his hearing as well as any credibility. Other than Mr.
Chong, the story focuses completely upon two women—Jing-mei and her mother.
Jing-mei’s mother holds all of the power in the story. This contrasts with the
usual view that society and families are dominated by men.
Also, Tan shows the impact that mothers have upon their daughters. Jing-mei’s
mother tells her that there are “Only two kinds of daughters…Those who are
obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live
in this house. Obedient daughter!” (Tan 142). At first, Jing-mei rebels against
her mother, but when she is older, she realizes that her mother only wanted the
best for her. To a certain extent, this mother-daughter relationship can only be
understood by other women since men do not have this bond. This is illustrated
by a conversation overheard between two female students: “One student said to
another: ‘I love [The Joy Luck Club]; I told my husband he should read it.’ The
other responded: ‘If he ever read the book, do you think he’d get it?’ ‘Probably
not,’ replied the first” (Souris).
“Woman Hollering Creek” differs from “Two Kinds” because instead of having a
strong mother figure, Cleófilas has a strong father figure. “It is her father
rather than her mother who is the source of protection and solace” (Fitts). As
her father says in his parting words: “I am your father, I will never abandon
you” (Cisneros 475). When she escapes from her husband, she is ready to return
to her father, even though she has to work hard for him and her brothers,
because she is confident in his love for her.
As opposed to “Woman Hollering Creek” and its portrayal of a strong father
figure, “A Sudden Trip Home in the Spring” is about failed male relationships.
The girl sees her father and all other black males as failures, but after a trip
home, realizes the strengths of her grandfather and brother. Before she realizes
their strengths: “She found black men impossible to draw or to paint; she could
not bear to trace defeat onto blank pages. Her women figures were matronly,
massive of arm, with a weary victory showing in their eyes” (Walker 126). “The
defeat that had frightened her in the faces of black men was the defeat of black
forever defined by white” (Walker 135).
Even though Sarah views all black men as failures, as she visits her home, she
realizes that it is only her father who was a defeated failure. He failed in
many ways—he could not keep a job for long, so the family had to keep moving. He
could not control his temper, and as a result Sarah believed that he was
responsible for her mother’s death. She finally realizes, as she stands at his
coffin, that even though he was a failure, her mother still loved him, and that
made his life worthwhile. She gains part of this insight from thinking about
Richard Wright, whose father was not as powerful as Wright had always believed.
Sarah’s brother has become a preacher, and has conquered the temper that he
inherited from his father. She sees him as her connection to her father, as well
as black men in general: “You are the door to all the rooms,” she said. “Don’t
ever close” (Walker 136). He encourages her to continue her education, and gives
her strength to face the white world around her. He “imbued their childhood
Sunday sermons with the reality of fighting for change” (Walker 132).
Sarah’s grandfather is portrayed as the only person in her life who loves her
unconditionally. He is undefeated by the white men around him and stands “like a
rock, outwardly calm, the comfort and support of the Davis family” at his son’s
(Sarah’s father’s) funeral (Walker 135).
One feminist theme in many short stories is that of marriage. The story “Half
and Half” begins with Rose’s description of her failed marriage. Her marriage
failed because originally Ted made all of the decisions and controlled the
relationship. At first, he would ask for her opinion, but eventually he stopped
because they both knew that, no matter her thoughts, the decision would always
be made from his perspective. After Ted is sued for malpractice and loses,
everything changes. He now wants her to make all of the decisions, especially
about trivial, insignificant things such as what they will use to pay for their
purchases. Since she is not used to this role, she becomes frustrated, which
irritates him even further. Their marriage disintegrates, and Rose believes it
cannot be saved.
In “Woman Hollering Creek,” probably the biggest theme is marriage. At the
beginning of the story, Cleófilas has naďve expectations for marriage. She sees
the women and relationships on television soap operas and believes that the
notions she sees there are true in life as well, such as “[love]—that is the
most important thing,” and “to suffer for love is good. The pain all sweet
somehow. In the end” (Cisneros 475-476). In the town in which Cleófilas lives,
married women are dependent upon their husbands: “towns here are built so that
you have to depend on husbands” (Cisneros 479). Cleófilas calls her husband
“this lord, this master” (Cisneros 478). Because she sees her husband as the one
who rules over her, Cleófilas endures his abuse. This endurance is symbolized in
her name, which the women who free her believe means “One of those Mexican
saints, I guess. A martyr or something” (Cisneros 481). Finally, she goes to a
doctor’s office where women who are not dependent upon men arrange for her
escape. Since her naďve expectations have been proven false, Cleófilas gladly
escapes from her marriage.
The creek outside Cleófilas’ house also portrays the theme of marriage through
its name, “Woman Hollering.” The first time Cleófilas hears the name, she
wonders whether the woman had hollered from anger or pain. These are the only
two options that she sees. As she is escaping across the border to Mexico with
Felice, Felice lets out a holler for joy. Cleófilas is shocked to see a woman
who is confident in who she is as a woman, without having to be dependent upon a
man. Felice drives a pickup truck and goes wherever she desires anytime she
feels like it. Cleófilas realizes that there are women out there who are
independent and “are able to imagine a woman whose power does not have to come
from either her virginity or the support of a man” (Fitts).
In “A Sudden Trip Home in the Spring,” marriage is also portrayed in a negative
light. Sarah believes that her mother died because her father kept dragging them
from town to town. She eventually realizes that her mother loved her father,
making the moving less of a hardship. However, she is still saddened by what
marriage has done to her mother.
Sarah’s grandmother, on the other hand, believes that a woman’s sole purpose is
to get married and have babies. She does not understand Sarah’s ambitions to
become a great artist. At the end of the story, Sarah realizes that she does not
have to be married to become a woman. She has already done so by conquering her
past and realizing the strengths of her male relatives.
A final feminist theme comes from the autobiographical elements in many of these
short stories. Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club is partially autobiographical
(Heung). Amy Tan, like the girls in The Joy Luck Club, was a second-generation
American (Huntley 2). Amy’s parents also had “tremendously high expectations”
for her, just as Jing-mei’s mother does (Huntley 4).
All of Sandra Cisneros’ short stories contain autobiographical elements (Michael
2287). She says that “All fiction is non-fiction. Every piece of fiction is
based on something that really happened” (qtd. in Michael 2287). The world that
she grew up in was slightly different from the world of Cleófilas, but she was
raised as a Mexican-American, and spent time with her father’s family in Mexico
City (Michael 2287).
“A Sudden Trip Home in the Spring” is also autobiographical. Walker portrayed
Sarah’s relationship with her father based upon her own relationship with her
father (Winchell 8). Both Sarah and Walker’s fathers were violent at times
(Winchell 8). Both Sarah and Walker were supported by their brothers (Winchell
9). Sarah’s brother encouraged her to pursue her studies, while Walker’s oldest
brother comforted her at her father’s funeral, at which they alone did not cry
(Winchell 9).
“Two Kinds,” “Half and Half,” “Woman Hollering Creek,” and “A Sudden Trip Home
in the Spring” are all written by feminist authors and contain many of the same
themes. One of these themes is parent-child relationships, since “Two Kinds”
contains a strong mother, while “Women Hollering Creek” contains a strong
father, and “A Sudden Trip Home in the Spring” contains a weak father. Another
theme is that of marriage. In “Half and Half,” Rose’s marriage disintegrates and
she believes that it cannot be saved. In “Women Hollering Creek,” the husband is
seen as the authority who must be obeyed at all costs, but Cleófilas discovers
that she can escape from him and still be a woman. In “A Sudden Trip Home in the
Spring,” Sarah views her parents’ marriage as negative and realizes that she can
be a woman without being married. A final theme is autobiographical elements
that each of the stories contain. Amy Tan’s life was very similar to that of the
girls in her stories. Sandra Cisneros’ life was also very similar, even while
there were some differences. Alice Walker portrayed Sarah’s relationship with
her father based upon her own relationship with her father. Because of these
common themes, Amy Tan, Sandra Cisneros, and Alice Walker can be seen as
feminist writers.
Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. “Woman Hollering Creek.” Literature and the Writing
Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 4th
ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Fitts, Alexandra. “Sandra Cisneros’s Modern Malinche: A Reconsideration of
Feminine Archetypes in Woman Hollering Creek.” International Fiction
Review. Jan. 2002. 23 Nov. 2002 <http://web1.infotrac.galegroup.com...>
Guerin, Wilfred L., et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 4th
ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Heung, Marina. “Daughter-Text/Mother-Text: Matrilineage in Amy Tan’s Joy
Luck Club.” Feminist Studies. 19 (1993). 21 Nov. 2002
<http://web24.epnet.com...>
Huntley, E. D. Amy Tan: A Critical Companion. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Liladhar, Janine. “Feminist Criticism.” The Encyclopedia of Literary Critics and
Criticism. Ed. Chris Murray. 2 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn
Publishers, 1999.
Michael, George M., ed. Anthology of American Literature: Volume II: Realism to
the Present. 6th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997.
Souris, Stephen. “’Only Two Kinds of Daughters:’ Inter-Monologue Dialogicity in
The Joy Luck Club.” MELUS. 19.2 (1994). 21 Nov. 2002
<http:web24.epnet.com…>
Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1989.
Walker, Alice. You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down: Short Stories. New York:
Harcourt Brace & Company, 1971.
Walker, Victoria, and Chris Weedon. “Feminist criticism, Anglo-American.” The
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, Terms. Ed.
Irena R. Makaryk. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1993.
Winchell, Donna Haisty. Alice Walker. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992.
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