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An-mei Hsu
Rose is the narrator of “Half and Half” and “Without Wood.” She has two sisters and three living brothers; her youngest brother Bing drowned when he was four years old while fourteen-year-old Rose was supposed to be watching him. As an adult, Rose is in the midst of a divorce from her husband, Ted Jordan. Their marriage was initially based on his attraction to her passivity, but he later became irritated by her constant indecision and deferral of opinion. Rose eventually learns how powerful her voice can be, following wise anecdotes from her mother, An-mei.
Rose Hsu Jordan Quotes in The Joy Luck Club
The The Joy Luck Club quotes below are all either spoken by Rose Hsu Jordan or refer to Rose Hsu Jordan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Without Wood
Quotes
“A mother is best. A mother knows what is inside you," she said above the singing voices. "A psyche-atricks will only make you hulihudu, make you see heimongmong."
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Over the years, I learned to choose from the best opinions. Chinese people had Chinese opinions. American people had American opinions. And in almost every case, the American version was much better. It was only later that I discovered there was a serious flaw with the American version. There were too many choices, so it was easy to get confused and pick the wrong thing.
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Ted pulled out the divorce papers and stared at them. His x’s were still there, the blanks were still blank. "What do you think you’re doing? Exactly what?" he said.
And the answer, the one that was important above everything else, ran through my body and fell from my lips: "You can’t just pull me out of your life and throw me away."
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Get the entire The Joy Luck Club LitChart as a printable PDF.
Rose Hsu Jordan Quotes in The Joy Luck Club
The The Joy Luck Club quotes below are all either spoken by Rose Hsu Jordan or refer to Rose Hsu Jordan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Without Wood
Quotes
“A mother is best. A mother knows what is inside you," she said above the singing voices. "A psyche-atricks will only make you hulihudu, make you see heimongmong."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Over the years, I learned to choose from the best opinions. Chinese people had Chinese opinions. American people had American opinions. And in almost every case, the American version was much better. It was only later that I discovered there was a serious flaw with the American version. There were too many choices, so it was easy to get confused and pick the wrong thing.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Ted pulled out the divorce papers and stared at them. His x’s were still there, the blanks were still blank. "What do you think you’re doing? Exactly what?" he said.
And the answer, the one that was important above everything else, ran through my body and fell from my lips: "You can’t just pull me out of your life and throw me away."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
