who are we? novel study
The Joy Luck Club is a book by Amy Tan who was in a band with Stephen King and Dave Barry called The Rock Bottom Remainders. She used to write songs; one of her hit singles was called “These Boots Are Made for Walking” where she wore a short dress and thigh-high boots. Later, her mother died of Alzheimer’s disease, and she was thinking about her rocky relationship between her and her mother. She began to write a story with the main character named Ruth- which is her middle name. With the memories she had, she wrote a book called The Bonesetter’s Daughter. Then both her father and brother died of brain tumors. Her mother then told her that she had three daughters from another marriage. All of Tan’s previous pains and situations all went into her new fiction, The Joy Luck Club. In The Joy Luck Club, the three aspects of the text that make this book appealing are that’s it’s relatable, the different cultures, and how it shows keeping family traditions.
The Joy Luck Club is completely relatable. The whole novel has four families, mostly the mothers and their daughter’s, who go through conflicts and resolutions. The novel gives both the mother’s point of view and the daughter’s point of view. It’s relatable because I am a girl and have a mother I can understand the issues that those women were going through. The mothers thinking that their daughter’s need to be more successful or the mothers not approving of their daughter’s choice in men are issues that most teen and young adult daughters go through with their mother’s. This would be a great novel to read with one’s mother for those exact reason- daughters and mothers would both understand the different conflicts and could debate about it. For example, “And after seeing my mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside of me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations” (Tan 134). Jing-mei’s mother was trying to get her to become a prodigy, so her mother took magazines and forced her to take numerous tests a night to see if she was good enough. After failing so many times and seeing her mother’s disappointed eyes, she began to feel horrible about herself. That is completely relatable. Mothers universally want their daughter’s to excel in life, so they push and push. Sometimes, though, the daughters fail and it’s heart breaking to see the disappointment in their mother’s eyes. It’s a terrible feeling. Then, sometimes, the daughters start to resent their mother’s for putting so much pressure on them, so they decide not to do anything and defy their mother’s. An example of this is “I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t be what I’m not. So now on nights when my mother presented her tests, I performed listlessly, my head propped on one arm.” (Tan 134-135). This quote goes to show that if a mother pushes too hard, the daughters will crack and become hateful and resentful towards their mother’s. There are many more scenarios that are easy to relate to, but those are the most prominent one’s that stood out to me.
Another reason this book was appealing was because of how all of the stories connect. The joy luck club was started by Jing-mei’s mother, Suyuan Woo, during a war. The other women in the group were An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-ying St. Clair. In the novel it says that during the time of the war, these women were all in one closely compacted place, and everyone was depressed and hungry. No one had money, food, or entertainment because the war took everything away. As a result, Suyuan decided to have some fun. She invited the other women to join her in a game of mah-jong, and they all laughed and had a great time. They said that good things are due to luck, so they kept playing and enjoying each other’s company until they met weekly and decided to call it the joy luck club. This club stuck until they had their own children. After Suyuan died, Jing-mei’s father asked her to come and say ‘hi’ to all of the other women. Throughout the novel, the readers learn about every story and learn how each individual came to be the way they are. With this information, the reader’s learn the Suyuan had two twin daughters in China before she ran away. Jing-mei eventually went back to meet her long lost sisters and informs them of the news of their deceased mother. All the stories in the novel connect back to the original story of Suyuan and her three daughters. In the quote “And although we don’t speak, I know we all see it: Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish” (Tan 288). This quote shows that the book started and ended with the Woos’ story, and it all goes back to the mother and her dying wish.
Another aspect of the book that’s appealing is the family traditions and culture. After Suyuan died, June’s father wanted her to come to the joy luck club to see her mother’s old friends. In the quote “I am to replace my mother, whose seat at the mah-jong table has been empty since she died two months ago” (Tan 19), it shows that June is supposed to keep the family tradition her mother started alive, and she is supposed to sit in the fourth corner just like her mother did. The family tradition of the joy luck club couldn’t die just because a member died. It had to continue, and since June replaced her mother it’s implied that all of the other daughters will replace their mother’s when they pass as well. The culture in this book is very appealing also. In every chapter, one of the mothers is always going on about how someone is doing something wrong, and they always bring in a Chinese word to emphasize their point. For example, “She said the two soups were almost the same, chabudwo. Or maybe she said butong, not the same thing at all. It was one of those Chinese expressions that means the better half of mixed intentions” (Tan 19), this quote shows how June’s mother is telling her about two soups that could be the same or not the same. Whenever June’s mother would tell a story, she would incorporate Chinese culture. Also, another interesting fact about Chinese culture found in this book is the way the parents name their children. There’s usually a story behind each name. For example, “His name was Tyan-yu- tyan for “sky,” because he was so important, and yu, meaning “leftovers,” because when he was born his father was very sick and his family thought he might die. Tuan-yu would be the leftover of his father’s spirit” (Tan 51). This quote shows that each name has a story and connection behind it. These examples go to show the culture and tradition put into this book which made it extremely interesting and appealing to read.
In conclusion, this book fits into the “who are we?” unit because each daughter and mother have to figure themselves out and become their own person. With that accompanies hardships, fights, and resolutions. Even though the families have different traditions and cultures, mothers and daughters universally care about family, how they are going to fit into society, and relationships. Daughters care about approval from their mother’s, and mothers want the best for their daughter’s and will try and do anything to get it for them. The theme of this novel is no matter where you live, the bond between mothers and daughters is undeniable and unique.
reflections:
Within
this paper, one strength I had was having an explanation for each quote. I explained what I was trying to say fully
and completely. Also, this paper was
very organized and I stayed on topic.
One weakness I had was that I repeated my sentences a lot. I am a repetitious writer. Another weakness I had was that I could’ve
included more proof for each point in my paragraphs. I should’ve included numerous quotes to make
sure my thoughts were supported and delivered. When writing about literature, I have improved on staying on topic and making the way I introduce each new quote and explanation smoother.