In the short story “Woodless” by Amy Tan, Rose Hsu Jordan feels like she listened to others more than her mother and 'is found with a mind full of the English thoughts of others, leaving her confused and unreadable to her own mother. Rose Hsu Jordan oscillates between hostility, distress and relief in the face of her impending divorce. Rose's mother, An-mei, thinks that Rose's uncertainty comes from being "antlerless." “If you bend over to listen to others, you will become crooked and weak,” An-mei says. Rose can finally hear her mother's advice and listen to it instead of ignoring it. Rose is now able to make a decision about her marriage to Ted and about her home, but she also comes to accept herself as a "woodless" person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay When Rose was a child, her mother told her about the antlerless people, one of the five elements that make up each person according to tradition Chinese, spread like weeds in all directions and eventually get thrown away. Rose tells Ted, "You can't take me out of your life and throw me away," and in her dreams she extends the same respect to her garden. The weeds in her dream garden are rampant, representing both her control over her circumstances and her acceptance of herself as she is. She sees something beautiful in the weeds even if others don't. It is no coincidence that his mother appears in the dream, having planted the weeds "this morning, some for you, others". for me." Rose dreams of the dolls and sandboxes in which old Mr. Chou chases her and says: "See what happens when you don't listen to your mother. And Rose became paralyzed, too afraid to move in any direction.” Rose doesn't know where to go in her divorce, she doesn't know what she wants and what to do. Her mother has been trying to tell her what to do all this time, but Rose hasn't listened to her because she thinks her mother is just going to tell her to try to save her marriage. An-mei says, “I’m not telling you to save your marriage. I’m just saying you should talk.” An-mei is the only one who can pull Rose out of her depression, because they have a bond that goes beyond any other relationship. An-mei wants her daughter to voice her fears and not stay silent like past generations of women were forced to do. When Rose listens to her mother and tells Ted about the divorce, she finally knows what she wants. After listening to her mother, she finally knows where she wants to go and what she wants to do in her divorce. Rose faces a conflict with herself. She struggles with the concept of having "wood", as she is not used to making her own decisions and opinions. It's obvious that Rose is confusing herself. She talks differently about divorce to her friends and to her psychiatrist. When An-mei says "phycheattrics will only make you hulihudu, make you see heimongmom", she is trying to imply that the only person in her life who can truly help her feel better inside is her mother, because 'she knows what's best, and physiatrists. only fool you to get their money. Eventually, she realizes her vulnerability to Ted and learns to defend herself. Throughout her marriage, Rose never made a decision, she always let Ted decide. Then, when Ted wants a divorce so he can marry someone else, he says he'll give her some time to find a new place to live. Rose replies that she already found one and says she will stay here. Rose finds help from her mother when she needs it most..