Student Question
What does the following quote from The Joy Luck Club mean?
"I discovered that maybe it was fate all along, that faith was just an illusion that somehow you're in control...things of unquestioned certainty could never be trusted again."
Quick answer:
This quote reflects Waverly's realization that faith, or the belief in control over one's life, is an illusion. It signifies her shift from her parents' beliefs, recognizing that life's unpredictability renders certainty unreliable. Waverly's experiences teach her that fate, rather than faith, governs life, suggesting a lack of control and the necessity of accepting one's destiny. This perspective highlights a tension between personal agency and the inevitability of fate.
The quote you have highlighted comes from one of the sections of this brilliant novel narrated by Waverly, and charts her growing understanding and development of the world and the way that she comes to reject so many of the beliefs and ideas of her parents as she makes her own way in the world. This belief is of course cemented for her by her own life experience and the way that things don't always work out and that sometimes, in spite of what her mother says and believes, faith is not enough to ensure that you have a happy life. Waverly thus comes to believe in fate more in opposition to her parents and their belief system, and that faith is just an "illusion" that we cling to in order to help us believe that we have control over our lives, when in fact, this quote points to the rather depressing belief that we have no control and are cut loose in the world and that we must accept our fate and have no ability to influence or change it.
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