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4.1.2 The Relationship between ‘Bone’ and Ruth Luyi Young
Related to the connection of the symbol of bone and Ruth Young, there is one main point that makes Ruth also have a close relationship with ‘the bone’ itself. Even
though she lives in the present time and is not directly connected with her mother’s past life, but still there is a link which starts her acknowledgement with the bone. It is
when she is six years old. In fact, Ruth has a problem in her childhood because of her dual identity,
Chinese-American. Her mother, LuLing, always instructs her about what she can do and cannot do. LuLing is also over-protective of Ruth. She decides with whom Ruth
must befriend, what food she must eat and what activity she must do. This fact makes Ruth confused and rebel against her mother.
One day, when Ruth climbs the slide, her mother monitors her and forbids her to tumble down. She even yells to Ruth and asks her to stop her activity. LuLing’s
reaction creates a shameful atmosphere toward Ruth for she is not a kindergarten student anymore who needs a mother’s control every time. In addition, her mother’s
language, which is Chinese English, sounds ridiculous in her friends’ ears. Ruth stood at the top of the slide, frozen with shame. Her mother was the
busybody watcher of kindergartners, whereas Ruth was in the first grade Some of the other first-graders were laughing down below. “Is that your
mother?” they shouted. “What’s that gobbledy-gook-gook she’s saying?” “She’s not my mother” Ruth shouted back. “I don’t know who she is” 77.
The feeling of humiliation and her rejection toward her mother’s existence
cause Ruth to fall. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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She threw herself down the slide, head first, arms straight out – the position that only the bravest and wildest boy would take – fast, fast, fast into the sand.
And then she crashed face first, with such force that she bit her lip, bumped her nose, bent her glasses, and broke her arm 77.
The breaking-her-arm accident in her six-year-old causes a big change in
Ruth’s life. In class, Ruth is considered as a brave girl because she can stand the pain. Ruth becomes popular and everybody wants to be her best friends since then. Her
mother soon shifts her attitude toward her and becomes well-loved and blameless 80 to her. Her mother also creates a sand tray for her as a substitution for paper and
pen to write.
… LuLing presented Ruth with a large tea tray with smooth wet sand gathered from the playground at school. “Here”, she said, “you practice, use this.” She
held a chopstick in her left hand, then scratched the word “study” on the miniature beach. When she finished, she swept the sand clean and smooth
with the long end of the chopstick. Ruth followed suit and found that it was easier to write this way, also fun. The sand-and-chopstick method did not
require the delicate, light-handed technique of the brush 83. This new method of writing comforts Ruth. She turns out to be ‘a star’ in her
class. Her friends treat her as though she is Helen Keller, a genius who did not let injury keep her from showing how smart she was 84. Her mother also uses her
ability “to speak with the dead” to communicate with Precious Auntie. Ruth’s mother believes that Ruth can communicate with the spirit and write all the conversation in
her sand tray. There are some points to underline regarding those findings. First is the fact
that Ruth breaks her arm in an accident in her childhood. It is interesting because she PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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breaks “the bone” of her arm. She does not break her nose or her leg. The author, Amy Tan, chooses “broken arm” to indicate that there must be something about “the
bone” and the process of breaking the bone itself. According to Chevalier, Alain, John Buchanan-Brown, bones are the symbol of resoluteness,
strength and virtue. It is also believed that the most important ‘soul’ is contained within the bones 109. It can be connected to Ruth’s broken arm that she is breaking
the strong connection between herself, her mother, and her grandmother by rejecting her mother’s existence: “She’s not my mother” Ruth shouted back. “I don’t know
who she is” 77 .
Second, the problem of “bone” becomes more interesting when this accident brings Ruth to the new change. Since she cannot do anything with her broken arm,
she receives love and care from her mother, she happens to be popular in class, and for more important is her acquaintance with the spirit of Precious Auntie via the
medium of sand tray. Her mother put the chopstick in Ruth’s hand. “Here, do this. Close your eyes,
turn your face to heaven, and speak to her. Wait for her answers, then write it down. Hurry, close your eyes.” […] “Ask her if she understood everything I
just said,” LuLing ordered. “Ask her if my luck has changed. Is the curse over? Are we safe? Write down her answer.” 86
Here, “the bone” connects Ruth with her mother’s past life and her own
grandmother whom she has never known before, Precious Auntie. It is significant for Ruth because she weaves the missing link between her mother, LuLing and her
grandmother, Precious Auntie. By her “broken bones”, Ruth gains her own strength and rearranges the missing piece of the puzzle between her mother and her
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grandmother. Thus, “the bones” become the sign for Ruth to rearrange the “missing bones” in her ‘”family body” since bones are the framework of the body.
4.1.3 The Relationship between ‘Bone’ and Precious Auntie
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