Cornell notes- The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
Title: The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction
Topic: Chapter 2- Great Auntie Du's Funeral (beginning of the book)
| Recall | Record |
|---|---|
| Great Auntie Du's Chinese Funeral proceedings(Culture/Heritage) | '“My mom says it’s like insurance in case you pick up bad vibes here,” says Bao-bao. “You eat the candy for luck. You can buy more luck later with the money.”' (pg. 46)There is a several course meal in front of Great Aunt Du's casket. It is meant to be her last meal. (pg. 47)Incense is burnt to lead the dead to the next world. (pg. 47)A monk and a nun chant throughout the service. They were joined by the guests including Pearl in chanting while holding incense. The ritual was completed by them all circling the casket a handful of times. (pg. 50)A group of Chinese women from Vietnam are paid to mourn loudly as a show of respect. It's an old custom that signifies not wanting the dead person to leave. (pg. 50) |
| Pearl's young life(Past Internal conflict) | Pearl is guilty for not believing in the customs exhibited during the funeral but still participating. (pg. 52)"It’s the same guilt I’ve felt before—when my father baptized me and I did not believe I was saved forever, when I took Communion and did not believe the grape juice was the blood of Christ, when I prayed along with others that a miracle would cure my father, when I already felt he had died long before." (pg. 52)Pearl did not want to mourn her father after his death. She did not believe the sick man in the casket was the same lively, man as her father had been. (pg. 53)The memory of Pearl's father being sick with cancer still haunts her. (pg. 54) |
| The Story of the Kitchen God(Culture/Heritage) | The Kitchen God was originally a rich farmer. He had an affair, leaving his wife who managed all his wealth. He did not appreciate his wife's extensive efforts. He was then left lonely and poor, becoming a beggar man. One day his ex-wife came across him, as he was laying unconscious, and took him in. Upon him finding out it was her who had saved him, he hid as he knew she was coming back soon. In his haste to hide, he did not see that the fireplace was lit and went inside it. All that was left of him was ashes. (pg. 62-63)'“In heaven, the Jade Emperor heard the whole story from his new arrival. ‘For having the courage to admit you were wrong,’ the Emperor declared, ‘I make you Kitchen God, watching over everyone’s behavior. Every year, you let me know who deserves good luck, who deserves bad.’" (pg. 63) |
| The Alter(Internal conflict) | Auntie Du had good intentions for leaving the altar to Pearl even though the Kitchen God's photo was inside. (pg. 64) She wants to see what lucky god her mother will give her in place of the Kitchen God, whose picture Winnie, her mother is taking (pg. 64)Pearl is conflicted about keeping the altar Great Auntie Du gave her in her will. (pg. 65) |
| Reduce: Pearl attends Auntie Du's funeral and participates in many traditions that take place at a Buddhist funeral. She feels the same guilt that ate away at her when she participated in Christian traditions as to when she participates in the Buddhist traditions. Winnie, Pearl's mom told Pearl the story of how the Kitchen God became to be a god. Lastly, Pearl goes through the internal conflict of keeping the Alter Great Auntie Du gave her in her will or not. |
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Title: The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction
Topic: Chapter 5- Ten Thousand Things (beginning of the book)
| Recall | Record |
|---|---|
| Winnie not remembering her mother's true self(Internal conflict) | Winnie was only six when her mother disappeared. (pg. 95)Upon looking at a painting of her mother, Winnie did not recognize her as such. (pg. 95)"And it must be that she has changed ten thousand different ways, each time I recalled her. So maybe my memory of her is not right anymore" (pg. 96)Winnie kept changing how she thought of her mother. (pg. 96) |
| Winnie's mother left(Internal conflict) | The only clue Winnie had as to what happened to her mother was the gossip she heard. (pg. 108)No one ever told Winnie what actually happened because nobody seemed to know. (pg. 108) |
| Second Wife(Cultural) | Winnie's mother was the second wife to her husband (who was also Winnie's father) (pg. 109)"Back then there was no other reason to marry a second, third, or fourth wife, except to use a woman’s prettiness to add to a man’s prestige." (pg. 110) |
| Education(Cultural) | It was common for the sons to have a good and full education whereas the daughters were only educated some (pg. 110)"Old Aunt, on the other hand, did not go to that school, no school whatsoever. She was raised in a feudal family, the traditional way: The girl’s eyes should never be used for reading, only for sewing. The girl’s ears should never be used for listening to ideas, only to orders. The girl’s lips should be small, rarely used, except to express appreciation or ask for approval." (pg. 111)Winnie's mother’s school taught western teachings. Part of this was the idea of women being able to teach and not have to marry. (pg. 111)Winnie's mother was taught against the thinking of Confusious. (pg. 112) |
| Marriage(Culture) | There were marriage customs (pg. 115)Women's husbands were picked for them. They did not have any say as to who they were going to marry. (pg. 115) |
| Different cities, different traits (Culture) | "San Ma, for example, she had a typical Shanghai manner—teasing people if they acted too proud, criticizing everything equally so you didn’t know what she really liked or didn’t like." (pg. 116) |
| Reduce: Winnie's mother left her when she was just six years old. She forgot many things about her mother and mainly went off of educated guesses. Winnie did not know why her mother left but came up with many different theories. Winnie's mother was the second wife to her father. Schooling was a big topic of discussion as Winnie's mother was taught more the western way rather than the traditional Chinese way. Women were allowed no opinion as to who they were marrying. People from certain places had distinct qualities about them. |
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Title: The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction
Topic: Chapter 12-Taonan Money (middle of the book)
| Recall | Record |
|---|---|
| Taonan(External conflict and vocabulary) | The Japanese troops were coming to Nanking, where Winnie and everyone else was staying at the time. (pg. 225)Taonan means danger is ahead. It means you need to escape. (pg. 225) |
| Women's Mistreatment(External conflict) | The portion of money Winnie requested from her own dowry money was taken by Wen Fu, her husband. (pg. 226)All of the furniture Winnie bought was claimed by her husband's family. (pg. 226)The survival money from Wan Betty's (the telegraph operator) late husband would be useful for her and their child she is pregnant with, but her husband's family took it all. (pg. 227)Wan Betty's late husband's family treated her very badly but still expects her to go live with them when she has her baby. (pg. 227)Wen Fu spent Winnies money on a worthless car without as much as consulting her or even telling her beforehand. (pg. 228)"You have to imagine: I was already six months pregnant…“Let’s go, lazy!” he shouted, and then pushed down hard on the gas pedal so that the engine roared loud, making me think he would take off before I got my other leg in." (pg. 228-229) |
| The Marketplace(External conflict) | Japanese planes were fastly approaching the marketplace Winnie and her friend Hulan were at. (pg. 232)'“Japanese government,” I said. “If we do not resist, good treatment will be given to everyone, nothing to fear. If we resist, trouble follows for everyone.”' (pg. 234) |
| Panic(External conflict) | A beggar boy tried to take Winnie’s purse (pg. 234)Many people were panicking after the Japanese plane came through. A lot of damage to the area and other people was caused as a result. (pg. 234)'“Hulan! Hulan!” I shouted. I turned around and people rushed by me, but there was no Hulan. I turned forward again. She was not there either." (pg. 235)Winnie had to use a chair leg to insure nobody would try to steal the pedicab she and Hulan were using. (pg. 236)Hulan had gotten the pedicab by stealing it. (pg. 236) |
| Forethought(Impressing sentence) | "Of course, I was scared enough to forget all about the telegram I sent Peanut. I forgot all about my four hundred yuan, until it was too late." (pg. 237) |
| Reduce: Winnie’s husband, Wen Fu was stationed in Nanking. They were not there for not very long before Winnie decided it was best to get money for Taonan. Winnie was treated very badly by Wen Fu when he practically robbed her by taking her dowry money she requested. He also comes to the conclusion of buying a car with this money without consulting Winnie at all. In comes a Japanese plane, flying above the market Winnie and her friend, Hulan are at, inciting fear. Japan and China were at war. Therefore it was not so surprising that in the desperation to get away, people did things they normally would not, creating a chaotic environment. |
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Title: The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction
Topic: Chapter 13-Heaven's Breath (middle of the book)
| Recall | Record |
|---|---|
| Escaping(External conflict) | Anyone who could, was running away from Nanking after they were notified the Japanese were coming (pg. 239)Winnie and everyone with her were concerned they were not leaving fast enough. (pg. 239)"And then that bad boy picked up another rock and threw it at our truck. Although he didn’t hit us, we now heard what he shouted. “Runaways! Cowards!”' (pg. 243)The group had to exchange their truck for an army-style truck so they could get to Kunming successfully. (pg. 243) |
| Village People and Tribal People(Culture) | The village people lived in the poorer side of China. (pg. 245)The village people were mostly nice and friendly. (pg. 245)The tribal people tried to make money by selling their best food and other miscellaneous things. (pg. 246) |
| Eels(Impressive sentence) | "That night we ate plenty, big platters piled high with eels cooked whole, as thick as our fingers." Uses a metaphor comparing fingers to the thickness of the eels. (pg. 247) |
| Kweiyang Hotel(External conflict) | The hotel in Kweiyang was very unsanitary as it did not have a bathroom. (pg. 247)"I went outside and there was no bathroom, no toilet, not even a curtain. When they said outside, that’s what it was, outside!— a dirty spot on the ground where everybody’s business was right in front of your eyes." (pg. 247)The inside of the hotel was dirty and the mattresses were poorly made with terrible materials. (pg. 247)Bugs were able to hide in the bed and bite both Winnie and Wen Fu as well as the rest of the group. (pg. 247) |
| Patterns in the Sky(Culture/Heritage) | Hulan's mother told her of the patterns of the gods and goddesses in the night sky. (pg. 250)The pattern depends on what part of the cycle it is. (pg. 250)"Look there, doesn’t that one seem like a snake with two pretty eyes at the top? And that one there with the big cloudy part going across, I think that’s the Heavenly Cowherd Maiden.”' (pg. 250)Each pattern has a specific name. (pg. 250) |
| Getting to Heavens Breath(External conflict) | The group Winnie was in, would have to go to the top of the mountain, Heavens Breath, soon to not be on the mountain at the same time as another army-style truck was due to be. (pg. 251)On the mountain, clouds, and wind make it very hard to see. (pg. 252)"I looked down and saw no road beneath us." (pg. 252)The men of the group had to take turns directing the driver until everything cleared up and they made it to Heavens Breath. (pg. 253) |
| Tragedy in Nanking(Internal conflict) | Winnie was told by a group of soldiers that the Japanese that invaded Nanking raped any and every woman and girl until they killed them. (pg. 255)"I was hearing this with no danger to myself, yet I had so much terror in my heart I did not want to believe it." (pg. 255)So many people lost their lives in Nanking, even more than the soldiers had said. (pg. 255) |
| Reduce: Most people who could, were running away from Nanking. The group saw different people along their journey leaving Nanking. They had to stay in a terrible hotel, I am sure adding to the stress of getting caught by the Japanese. The patterns seen at night were discussed, giving Winnie and Hulan an escape. Upon going up a slim mountainside going to Heavens Breath, the group had to get through the clouds and wind, which made the already difficult trip, more difficult. Reaching Heavens Breath, Winnie heard the tragic news of what happened in Nanking to all the people who stayed. She later learned, the truth was even worse than what she was originally told and the death count was in fact much higher. |
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Title: The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction
Topic: Chapter 14- Bad Eye (middle of the book)
| Recall | Record |
|---|---|
| Kunming House(Culture/Vocabulary) | The house was a "yangfang" house, meaning it was foreign-style. (pg. 259)"But inside, it was still Chinese in feeling and thinking." (pg. 259)There was a sink, however, no running water. This meant that the cook and the servant had to follow the Chinese way and carry water from the backyard. (pg. 259)Winnie and Wen Fu had the worst room at the beginning of their stay since it was facing a bad-luck direction. (pg. 260)Winnie had to pay for her own cleaning servant and cook from out of her dowry money. (pg. 262) |
| Baby(External conflict/Culture) | "That’s how it happened: The scissors fell, the baby became very still." (pg. 263)There was bad luck if you dropped scissors. (pg. 263)No matter what Winnie did her baby did not move. (pg. 263)The baby had died before it had even lived. (pg. 263)Winnie named the baby girl so she would have a name in the next world. (pg. 264)She named her Mochou, meaning Sorrowfree. (pg. 264) |
| Scissors(Internal conflict) | Winnie had not used any scissors for a very long time after her baby's death but was finally ready to get a new pair. (pg. 264-265)Hulan told her of a vendor in Yunnan that sells good-quality scissors. (pg. 265)The material of the scissors was of a "foreign ghost truck" which was bad luck. (pg. 267)Winnie finally bought the scissors as the price was too good to pass. (pg. 268)She ended up not leaving with the scissors she paid for because she accidentally dropped 40 pairs of scissors. (pg. 268)"I stared at them, all their bird mouths flung open, all that bad luck pouring out." (pg. 268) |
| Car accident(Internal/External conflict) | Wen Fu got in a very bad car accident. (pg. 268)Winnie believed the car accident was her fault because of her dropping all those scissors and so putting out bad luck. (pg. 269)"That afternoon, Jiaguo told me he might have to dismiss Wen Fu from the air force, maybe even send him to jail." (pg. 270)Wen Fu did not have permission to drive the jeep that he crashed in and he killed a woman during the crash. (pg. 270) |
| Affair(Internal/External conflict) | "That was the first time I heard about my husband seeing other women, although I later found out she was not the first." (pg. 270)Winnie did not want to believe that her husband was having extramarital affairs. (pg. 270) |
| Wen Fu's Fits(External conflict) | Wen Fu became angry and wild after he regained his strength. (pg. 271)He threw fits and sexually assaulted his nurses, all with only one eye. (pg. 271)Wen Fu eventually had to be restrained and no nurses wanted to look after him. (pg. 272) |
| Being Thankful to Hulan(Internal Conflict) | Winnie was very happy with the thought of Wen Fu going to jail soon so she could live a peaceful life. (pg. 272)Hulan had convinced her husband, Jiaguo to not take Wen Fu to jail. (pg. 272)Winnie would have a big debt to pay for Hualns favor. (pg. 272)Though Winnie had to act happy that Wen Fu would not be going to jail, inside she was not happy at all. (pg. 272)Winnie did many things to show her thanks to Hulan. (pg. 272-273) |
| Abused(External conflict) | "Wen Fu waved his stick in the air. “How can you sing that?” he roared. “I am a sick man, you are a healthy woman! I am a hero, you are a whore! Your two eyes see other men!”' (pg. 274)Wen Fu proceeded to make Winnie bow down to him, slapped her, and made her say sorry repeatedly, in front of their guests. (pg. 275)No one helped Winnie when she was being abused by Wen Fu. (pg. 275) |
| Reduce: Winnie, Wen Fu, Hulan, and Jiaguo now lived in a house in Kunming. As she was already very pregnant, Winnie gave birth to her baby who unfortunately died. She partly blamed herself because she dropped a pair of scissors, which is said to cause bad luck. Later, she dropped several more scissors and blamed herself when she learned Wen Fu had been in a car accident. He had used a car he was not supposed to be using, crashed said car, and killed a woman, which he could go to jail for. Winnie also discovered that Wen Fu had been having several affairs. During his recovery process from the near-fatal car crash, Wen Fu was a terrible patient. Because of all of this, Winnie was glad he was soon supposed to be going to jail so she could live a peaceful life. Unfortunately for her, Hulan talked her husband into not taking Wen Fu to jail and so Winnie now owed her a big favor. Wen Fu who had already left the hospital and was now at the house abused and humiliated Winnie in front of all the guests they were hosting. |
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Title: The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction
Topic: Chapter 21-Little Yu's Mother (end of the book)
| Recall | Record |
|---|---|
| Wen Fu(external conflict) | Winnie told Jimmie Louie what was happing with Wen Fu. (pg. 377)She plans on getting advice from Peanut, her cousin who had gotten a divorce. (pg. 377)"I have no more strength to fight him. Sometimes I don’t know how I can live another day with him.”' (pg. 377) |
| The New Peanut(Internal conflict/Culture) | "But my second thought was that she looked entirely different, someone I would have passed on the street without recognizing." (pg. 378)Peanut was now a Communist. (pg. 379)Peanut did not open her gifts in private as Chinese custom would expect. (pg. 379)Peanut would not give any polite gift to anyone anymore. (pg. 380)Peanut and Winnie compared their Marriages, both of which were very bad. (pg. 380) |
| Zibuyong Husband(External conflict/Vocabulary) | "I don’t know how you say it in English, but in Shanghainese, zibuyong means something like “hens-chicks-and roosters,” all the male and female ingredients needed to make an egg that turns into a chick." (pg. 381)Zibuyong meant that the person had both organs. (pg. 381) Peanut saw her husband in bed with another male. (pg. 381)Realistically, Peanut’s husband could have been gay. (pg. 382)Peanut was forced into hiding by her mother in law, in a ruse to convince people she was pregnant. (pg. 382)A couple of months after Peanut went into hiding, she was presented with a baby boy that she was meant to act like was hers. (pg. 382) |
| Ending Marriages(External conflict) | It had been revealed to Peanut by Little Yu's Mother, that Little Yu had killed herself in order to leave her marriage. (pg. 384)Little Yu had been very unhappy in her marriage and did not know how to end it so she took her life. (pg. 384-385)Little Yu's mother had then helped Peanut escape her own marriage. (pg. 385) |
| Communists(Cultural) | Peanut had lived in an underground hiding place for Communists. (pg. 385)The house was full of women who had left their marriages and were now Communists. (pg. 385)"…most Communist people did not wear uniforms openly back then. You would be crazy or dead if you told someone you were a revolutionary." (pg. 385)The woman living in this house worked normal jobs. (pg. 386)There were small details that made the woman stand out. (pg. 386) |
| Divorce Dilemma(External Conflict) | '“He will not agree easily to a divorce, then,” said one of the women at the table. “I too came from a rich family. My husband did not want to give me up, because that meant giving up my family’s riches.”' (pg. 386)Winnie wanted to bring her son with her (pg. 387)Winnie only had a bit of money left from her dowry. (pg. 387) |
| Lovers(Internal conflict) | Wen fu had many lovers. (pg. 387)Winnie got angry when asked about having a lover but then got confused when she thought of Jimmie Louie. (pg. 387)Though Jimmie and Winnie were not lovers, they loved each other. (pg. 387)Winnie was very hesitant about making the divorce her fault. 768'“Save your face and keep your miserable marriage! So pretty and proud—it’s women like you who can’t give up the old customs. In that case, you have only yourself to blame.”' (pgWinn8) |
| Winnie’s escape plan(External conflict) | Winnie was told by Little Yu's Mother what to do in preparation for her divorce. (pg. 388)Though Winnie said that she was able to follow the instructions, she was not sure how she was going to do it. (pg. 388) |
| Reduce: Winnie was very tired of her marriage and Wen Fu. She goes to see her cousin, Peanut, who had changed very much and had even become a communist. Peanut tells Winnie about her marriage, more specifically the way her husband was and her recent divorce. Little Yu’s mother had been the one to help Peanut out of her marriage. The place Peanut was living was a house for underground communists. Winnie was ready to get a divorce but it would not be easy. When the topic of Winnie having a lover like her husband came about, Winnie could not help but think about Jimmie Louie. An escape plan for Winnie and Danru to get away from Wen Fu was made. |
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Title: The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction
Topic: Chapter 23-Sincerely Yours (end of the book)
| Recall | Record |
|---|---|
| Lawyer(External conflict) | Winnie had used some of her gold ingots to find a good lawyer. (pg. 399)"The day after this came out in the newspaper, two men went to the lawyer’s office and smashed everything to pieces and tore up my divorce papers. The lawyer was scared, mad too. “Is your husband some kind of gangster?” (pg. 399)After the incident, the lawyer would not help Winnie. (pg. 399) |
| Death(External/Internal conflict) | Winnie sent Danru to Harbin to stay with Hulan, Jiaguo, and Aunti Du and planned to follow soon after. (pg. 400)Danru did not want to go and was very unhappy about leaving his mother. (pg. 400)Auntie Du came and told Winnie that Danru had died. (pg. 401)Both Danru and Jiaguo had died to an epidemic of disease ridden rats and fleas. (pg. 401)"I wanted to rush to Harbin to hold my little son one more time, to make sure they had not made a mistake." (pg. 401)Hulan took both deaths very hard back as she was still back in Harbin. (pg. 402)"I should have been happy, but I was still very sad, because of Danru. I was still blaming myself." (pg. 402) |
| Winnie gets Arrested(External conflict) | Winnie was taken to jail, not knowing what she did. (pg. 403)Winnie believed her imprisonment was a mistake. (pg. 403)The conditions of the prison were very poor. (pg. 403)Winnie was in the prison for a night, before being transported to a court building the next morning. (pg. 404) |
| Trial(External/Internal Conflict) | "The judge told me what my crime was. I was being sued for stealing my husband’s son and letting him die, for stealing valuables from my husband’s family, for deserting my Chinese husband to run off with an American soldier I had met during the war." (pg. 404)Winnie denied all of the claims with justified reason. (pg. 404)Wen Fu tried to spin the narrative that Winnie was just mistaken and that he did force her to divorce him a while ago. (pg. 405)Wen Fu had destroyed the divorce papers therefore there was nothing to give the judge that solidified that a divorce took place. (pg. 405)"'And with no divorce, a husband has the right to sue a wife for taking his property and his son. The wife does not deny she took both. Therefore, I sentence Jiang Weili to two years in jail.”' (pg. 405-406) Wen Fu tried to get Winnie to beg her forgiveness to him and he would not press charges (meaning she would not go to jail). (pg. 406)Winnie did not want to go back with Wen Fu as he made her miserable and so she said she would rather go to prison. (pg. 406) |
| Jimmy Louies' Departure(External/Internal Conflict) | Jimmy Louie had gone back to America after Wen Fu reported him to the American Consulate. (pg. 408)Jimmy sent letters to Winnie and money to Auntie Du so she would stay in Shanghai to take care of Winnie. (pg. 409)Jimmy sent Winnie letters saying how much he loved her and also letters saying he was praying for her. (pg. 409)One day Winnie received a letter for Jimmy saying he was attending dance lessons. (pg. 411)After the letter, Winnie began to doubt Jimmy's loyalty. (pg. 411) |
| Winnie's Father Dies(Internal Conflict) | San Ma and Wu Ma both visit Winnie in prison, wearing white. (pg. 412) Winnie guessed that her father's wives had come to inform her that her father died and she was right. (pg. 412)Winnie's father died very clearly and even tricked Wen Fu. (pg. 412/415)"I had so many feelings running through me: grief that my father had died, anger at Wen Fu, sadness that San Ma and Wu Ma were leaving—all of us helpless, hopeless." (pg. 415) |
| Reduce: Winnie went to a lawyer to help her divorce Wen Fu. Unfortunately, Wen Fu caught wind of this and ordered people to destroy the lawyers office and Winnie and his divorce papers. Winnie now had no lawyer. A bit after, Winnie sent Danru to Harbin. Auntie Du came to Shanghai, baring the bad news that both Danru and Jiaguo had died of an epidemic. Both Winnie and Hulan were very distraught. Walking out of a salon? Winnie was arrested. It was not until she was taken to court that she found out Wne Fu was suing her. After much back and forth, Winnie was sentenced to 2 years in prison. During this time, Jimmy Louie had to leave back to the US after Wen Fu had lied to the American Consulate about him. While Winnie was still in prison, her father's wives visit, telling her that her father has died. His last act was tricking Wen Fu. |
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