Literature that raises issues of self-identity and femininity is significant for modern society. It helps to understand how aspects such as culture and roles within the family affect the formation of a person as a person. In their books, Jade Snow Wong and Julia Alvarez showed how they were affected by the norms and foundations of home conditions and how they were broadcast in their daily lives in another country. Therefore, in Jade Snow Wong’s “Learning to be a Chinese Housewife” and Julia Alvarez’s “Picky Eater,” food and domestic roles mediate how their respective cultures shape their understanding of femininity, identity, and self-worth.
Jade Snow Wong’s book titled “Fifth Chinese Daughter” has a fairly prominent place in twentieth-century American literature. This work describes the growing up of a girl from a traditional Chinese family who lives in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The main problem of Wong’s book is the confrontation and contradictions arising inside a girl from a traditional Chinese household in a completely polar American society. This circumstance causes difficulties with self-determination and the formation of a clear understanding of what she is as a person.
The chapter “Learning to be a Chinese Housewife” is at the center of the analysis of Jade Snow Wong’s book within the framework of this work.” From the very beginning of reading and analyzing this part of the book, it is possible to trace the importance women had in the family and how it could affect the girls growing up in it. So, the chapter begins with the fact that the whole family goes to get acquainted with the owner of the store they wanted to move to. The interaction between the main character’s father and the owner of the premises reflects the traditional views of their culture. So, the father displays that he has a son, and the seller even encourages him with a gift (Wong 49). At the same time, the younger daughters do not receive the same recognition that their brothers receive. The differences between siblings can also be seen in their rooms in the new house. Thus, the girls huddle in one room with simple cream walls while their older brother has his room for which he chooses the color of the walls (Wong 51). This shows that in the family, from an early age, girls were brought up in an environment where they were worth being ignored.
Further, throughout the chapter, the subordination of the female half of the family to the rules and norms set by the father is traced. So, the author says that “daddy’s garment manufacturing operations were so much a part of her that she never gave them conscious thought” (Wong 53). From these words, it can be understood that patriarchy was so normal and traditional for Chinese families, but other members did not even think of any way to resist this.
However, such blind subordinates can have a significant negative effect on the future personality of a girl growing up in such a traditional family. This is due to the fact that in patriarchal relationships, I contribute to a significant decrease in the understanding of what femininity and self-identity really are. For example, little Jade Snow Wong could have formed the perception that the main role of a woman in the family is raising children, taking care of the house, cooking food, and following her husband’s wishes. However, this tradition has long outlived itself, especially in American society. Because of this, when growing up, girls who have come out of such households have difficulty identifying themselves since I do not know what culture they belong to.
The topic of problems of self-identity and value due to the traditions of native culture is also raised in the book by Julia Alvarez entitled “Something to Declare.” In the chapter “Picky Eater,” the author reveals the difficulties she faced due to eating behavior in her family. From the beginning of the narrative, the author shows why she developed a rather picky attitude to food. So, the traditions and cultures of food in her family were reflected in the fact that she stated that “if she was eating out, she didn’t expect food to taste all that good” (Alvarez 76). This is because it was important for Dominicans to cook at home and eat only with other family members. Moreover, all women were proud of their culinary skills, and families went to restaurants only for social reasons (Alvarez 76). This, as in Jade Snow Wong’s story, shows that the woman’s role was to cook and take care of the house since nothing is indicated that men also cooked.
Due to particularly strict customs regarding food, the main character has developed the habit of picky eating. Because of this, she had difficulty meeting her future husband, as she was not used to going to public places and preferred homemade food (Alvarez 83). In the future, she also faced the problem that she felt her own inferiority due to the fact that she did not cook dinner for her husband and his children. This shows the personal crisis that has arisen in a woman due to the confrontation between the culture in which she grew up and the society in which she already functions as an adult.
It is worth noting that the author’s eating habits were influenced not only by her family but also by the culture of the country as a whole. So, the chapter says that in the Dominican Republic, people did not have a tradition or custom of going to restaurants since the quality and safety of food were at a fairly low level (Alvarez 76). This was broadcast on the family’s life after moving to America since even here, they ate only homemade food. The children took her to school, and if they forgot at home, they did not eat until they came home (Alvarez 78). Thus, household norms and rules were reflected in the fact that a woman faced difficulties in adapting to a new culture, which was reflected not only in food habits but also in relationships with people.
In conclusion, the domestic roles of native culture significantly contribute to the formation of femininity, identity, and self-worth of women. Examples of this aspect are the works by Jade Snow Wong named “Learning to be a Chinese Housewife” and Julia Alvarez’s “Picky Eater,” which reflect on how the culture within the family has affected the self-determination of the authors. The established rules and norms in the home environment, such as a man being in charge and a woman cooking and taking care of children, can cause conflicting thoughts when entering a culture with opposite values. Thus, it becomes the result of difficulties in defining the identity and femininity of women.
Works Cited
Alvarez, Julia. Picky Eater. Algonquin Books, 2014.
Wong, Jade Snow. Fifth Chinese Daughter. University of Washington Press, 2019.