Joy Luck Club Essay Choice #9

Face of Conformity & Non-Conformity

“I think about our two faces. I think about my intentions. Which is better? If you show one, you must always sacrifice the other.” Lindo Jong the mother of Waverly Jong says this after realizing that her daughter has lost all the cultural values that she tried so hard to instill into her. Upon looking at her daughter’s face and her own she notices the obvious similarities and while they are almost identical she can see the subtle differences etched, by the American culture. Lindo Jong only briefly elaborates on the two faces that she can portray. One is her “American face.” This is the face that Americans think is Chinese, the one they cannot understand. On the other hand is her “Chinese face” the one that her daughter despises. Each of these faces represents either conformity or non-conformity.

Her “American face” represents the times she chooses to conform and play the oblivious foreigner. This face is blank and child-like for it must come off as ignorant. Her “Chinese face” is the face that she chooses when she stands firm in her beliefs and doesn’t care what others think. This face is battle hardened, prepared, and cultured for it is put into use when Lindo will not take no for an answer. We all use our own versions of these faces but they are our face of conformity or non-conformity.

Lindo also says, “One always sacrifices part of oneself by putting on one’s ‘American face’ or one’s ‘Chinese face.’” This is the same when one conforms and doesn’t conform to the societal standards. The wearer of the Chinese face is someone who is standing firm in their beliefs because they find the standards set forth by society to be unessential to their well-being. By doing this they gain a sense of pride for they did not need society to tell them what to do. The wearer of the American face is someone who decided to allow the pressures of society to overcome them and conform. However the wearer of the American face also gains something. They gain the reverence of society and fit in to the culture they live in just fine. However, donning one face means sacrificing something from the other. The wearer of the American face is sacrificing all of their beliefs, ethics, and morals. When they put on the American face they conform to the standards set forth by society and do not think for themselves. The wearer of the Chinese face also is at a loss for they sacrifice all relevance to society, will be shunned, and condemned to a life of scrutiny and ridicule.

Inside all of us is a face we wear when we conform to the pressures of society and another face we wear when we decide to put our foot down and stand strong. While each has its benefits it also comes with sacrificing part of oneself. We are constantly faced with a choice and must decide to pick a face that will benefit us the most. However, wearing one face for too long can mean that you have sacrificed the other face or part of yourself.