Analysis of Ghosts in The Bonesetter's Daughter

Ghosts are prevalent throughout many novels and are used to create certain affects on the reader. The writers’ purpose in incorporating these ghosts into their novels constitute to various reasons, some that may be quite obvious, while others remain underlying for the readers to interpret and discover on their own. In the novels The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Yo!, and The Antelope Wife, ghosts and supernatural occurrences are all used by the characters in order to retain their authenticity. Amy Tan uses ghosts in her novel The Bonesetter’s Daughter a medium for withholding the values of the characters’ culture of origin, such as prudence and sacrifice, and how these qualities make a person strong and able to withstand whatever obstacles life has for them. The Bonesetter’s Daughter is laid out into three different parts: Part One begins with a narration through Ruth’s eyes, Part Two is narrated by LuLing, and Part Three is finished once again by Ruth. Throughout part one, Ruth talks about how unhappy LuLing is, for example on page sixteen Tan writes, “Her mother was permanently unhappy with everything and everybody.” In the novel, LuLing’s life is portrayed as a one of dyer struggle and surmised of many misfortunes. Yet, it seems that the main cause of this unhappiness stems from Precious Auntie’s ghost that LuLing claims to be haunted by throughout the novel. The pain (i.e. the ghost) that Luling must deal with is representative of the suppression of her secrets, feelings, and grief that she holds within herself. LuLing has many secrets that she keeps to herself, and refrains from telling anyone (even her own daughter-Ruth). At first glance, a reader might question, “Why does LuLing withhold so many secrets? Why doesn’t LuLing tell Ruth what has happened in her life? What is the point of withholding these secrets that seem to be leading LuLing to an unhappy life?” In order to answer these questions there is a need for outside sources to bring in, in