Chapter Three, Dilemma, Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club

The Red Candle

"I made the Huangs think it was their idea to get rid of me, that they would be the ones to say the marriage contract was invalid".

-Page 63

In this next chapter "Auntie" Lindo Jong tells her story of being forced into a marriage at the age of sixteen. She speaks of the great sacrifices she made in order to keep her parents' promise. The village matchmaker put Lindo and the arrogant Tyan-yu together at a very young age. When Lindo was twelve her home was destroyed in a flood and her family was forced to move to another city. She had absolutely no desire to marry Tyan-yu and feared living with his big-headed family. She only went so she could fulfill her parents end of the bargain. Lindo became a slave to her husband and his family even though he showed no desire in the marriage either. The quote describes the solution Lindo came up with to the dilemma. She decided that if the Huangs thought that they were the ones ending the marriage then her parents would not have to lose face and she would be free again.

I was very impressed by Lindo's cunning. Promises are not to be taken lightly. The word promise to me is like the word love. It is of such importance that it is not said often, but only when the meaning is truly behind it. Lindo put up with the Huangs for years out of respect for her own parents. She was clever enough to get the outcome she wanted without dishonoring her parents.

Lindo went to great lengths to hold up her family's reputation. This is similar to how our soldiers fight for our nation. They do it out of respect to our citizens. They protect our nation's reputation. Soldiers go through troubles and hardships to protect our name, just as Lindo did to protect her parent's name.

The main literary term to sum up this chapter is DILEMMA. Lindo had to make the hard decision of living in misery or dishonoring her parents. Luckily she was clever enough to evade these choices by tricking the Huangs. 
 -" I missed my family and my stomach felt bad, knowing I had arrived where my life said I belonged. But I was also determined to honor my parents' words, so Huang Taitai could never accuse my mother of losing face"(55).