the mother's expectations and the daughter's responses

Chinese and American conceptions of family obligations

the daughter's attitude as a child and as an adult

the way ideas are stated and the substance of the ideas

the differences between written and spoken language

provide a transition from the mother's point of view to the daughter's

offer additional evidence to support the point made in the previous paragraph

appeal to the emotions of the readers

introduce examples that will illustrate a central point the author is making

analyze an exception to a general belief

metonymy

personification

oxymoron

pun

simile