My mother would proudly walk with me, visiting many shops, buying very little. "'This is my daughter Wave-ly Jong,'" she said to whoever looked her way. One day, after we left a shop I said under my breath, "'I wish you wouldn't do that, telling everybody I'm your daughter.'"..."'Aiii-ya. So shame be with other?'" She grasped my hand even tighter as she glared at me..."'Embarrass you be my daughter?'" Her voice was cracking with anger... I knew it was a mistake to say anything more, but I heard my voice speaking. "'Why do you have to use me to show off'? If you want to show off, then why don't you learn how to play chess.'" My mother's eyes turned into dangerous black slits. She had no words for me, just sharp silence (Tan, 99).
Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 1-288.
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