As I continue on with Amy Chua's, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, I can't help but notice the change between the relationships of Chua and her family. Sophia, the "model child," finally ends up yelling at her mom after a fight over a small rice mess. The relationship between this mother and daughter was always better than the relationship with the other daughter, Lulu. She was the one that listened and followed every single word that came out of her mother's mouth by racing home after-school to get the extra hour of piano practice in or even by doing all the extra credit work her teachers would give out. This mother and daughter has had a steady relationship until this rice spill accident that caused an argument and ruined the streak:
"Do you know what a good daughter I am? Everyone else I know parties all the time, and they drink and do drugs. And do you know what I do? Every day I run straight home from school [..] to practice more piano! You're always talking about gratitude, but you should be grateful to me."
As the book progresses, I feel that Chua's steady relationships are starting to go downhill, and the ones that have already been going down that slope, are only rolling down faster. Chua had always had trouble with her younger daughter Lulu, the "rebellious child," but every other page in the book seems to be describing the fights the two strong-willed people were never giving into. The arguments are also on the same topic, control. As the two fight, nothing good seems to conclude. For example, Lulu cuts off all her hair after her mom refused to take her to the hair salon unless she practiced her violin. The Chinese mother believes her methods for discipline will eventually work on Lulu as it had worked on Sophia, but after each fight, she too also seems to be losing hope. Both the relationships with her daughters seem to be deteriorating because of the lock she holds to their lives. I am excited to read the last 30 pages to find out how her relationships stand by the end of the book.
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