How To Have Chapters Revealed In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

June wants to learn more about her mother and her culture with the added pressure of meeting Suyuan’s lost daughters in China. She starts to embrace the Chinese culture and is excited to eat a traditional Chinese meal, even though she does not get the chance (page 278). She also asks her father more about Suyuan’s time in China and the meaning of her name (page 280). When June finally meets her sisters, they murmur, “‘Mama, Mama’” (page 287). June finally feels a connection with her mother and with her Chinese background. Therefore, June’s character developed because of her mother’s passing.

Even the hotel she stays in looks like "a grander version of the Hyatt Regency" and the Chinese feast she had envisioned was replaced by "hamburgers, french fries, and apple a la mode." It is not until she finally meets her twin sisters, in modern Shanghai, that she realizes that she is Chinese because of "blood" and not face or place. Within this story, however, is her mother's story, set in another time and place. Fleeing from the Japanese invasion, during World War Two in 1944, Jing-Mei's mother is forced to abandon her twin daughters on the road between Kweilin and Chungking. Upon hearing her mother's story Jing-Mei Woo is able to understand a great deal more about her mother and their relationship, as well as her own past.

As she recalls back on this time by telling her daughter what she calls her Kweilin story, Suyuan describes her feeling during this horrible time as “And inside I was no longer hungry for the cabbage or the turnips of the hanging rock garden. I could only see the dripping bowels of an ancient hill that might collapse on top of me. Can you imagine how it is, to want to be neither inside nor outside, to want to be nowhere and disappear?” (22) At this point in her life Suyuan was separated from her husband who is in the military and eventually is forced to abandon her two young daughters. This aspect of Suyuan’s life parallels the life of Amy Tan’s mother. Daisy tan was also married to a military man during the Chinese Civil War and like Suyuan was forced to abandon her two daughters in Shanghai. This was an experience that would affect her mother for the rest of her life and a story she would continue to tell and never forget. The life of Amy Tan is also a parallel to the life of Jing-Mei Woo of “June”. As a young girl June was forced to play the piano and practice constantly to become the best like Amy Tan was as a child. Along with playing the piano Suyuan also had high expectations for June as far as her future. She wanted her daughter to be the best in her class and go off to medical school to become a well educated doctor, the same expectation’s Amy Tan’s mother had for her. Both daughters decided to follow their dreams and

Our second character is Jing-Mei. Jing- Mei lives with both her mother and father. Her mother wants her to be a child prodigy, "a Chinese Shirley

In order to keep her family safe, Suyuan moved her twin daughters and herself to Kweilin with other refugees where she then created the joy luck club. She created this club in order to deal with the stress of the war. After some time in Kweilin an army officer told Suyuan to take her children and travel to Chungking to be with her husband. During her journey on foot she had to leave things behind along the way and ended up with only three silk dresses and no children.

To me the chapters have changed mostly then I expected. The story turned out worse then I thought it would because at

* Leah and her mother Joan are on a plane to China in search of the origins of a mysterious half a coin that was sent to Joan from her father.

Mostly, Jing-mei 's fears echo those of her peers, the other daughters of the Joy Luck Club members. They have always identified with Americans (Jing-mei also goes by the English name"June") but are beginning to regret having not paid attention to their Chinese history. Her fears also speak to a two-way fear shared by the mothers, who wonder whether, by giving their daughters American opportunities and (the ability to survive with no outside help), they have abandoned them from their Chinese history.

of why she's apprehensive of the books, other than that because the society says she should be.

This connection begins with the comprehension of her name and her sisters’ names. “Jing” means pure and “Mei” means little sister. Instantly Jing-mei feels more Chinese because she sees the connection she as to the language through her name. “Suyuan” means long cherished wish. With the understanding of her mother’s name, her feeling of connection to her Chinese heritage dramatically expands (Norton 190). She begins to piece the puzzle of her heritage together. By understanding the meaning of their names she begins to understand and accept her Chinese heritage. Her connection to her mother’s Chinese past is now much stronger than she had once realized.

China was the homeland of Jing-Mei's parents. They still have some family members there like her aunt and her half-sisters she recently found out about. On

By ignoring their mothers, these daughters do not see the similarities between themselves and their mothers, for their mothers have also rejected Chinese traditions, particularly those that repress women. After witnessing her mother's tragic fate, An-Mei has come to America determined to raise her children to have choices. Lindo's early arranged Chinese marriage has taught her to value America where "nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you" (254). Jing-mei's mother "believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America" (132). Ying-ying belatedly realizes that her lifetime of keeping her mouth closed "so selfish desires would not fall out" (67) has meant that she has lost herself. In all four cases, it is when the daughters recognize these similarities that they start to understand not only their mothers, but also themselves.

She wanted to learn more about how to shoot a gun. She wanted to be like one of the guys. The novel installs all these ideas, but it also allows the reader to use their creativity. It also gives more emphasis on little traits of the character that make the character more unique. Therefore, due to the film's inability to give audiences more information about the characters, their role and their emotions, the novel is much more informative.

             Incorporating her family's own experiences as Chinese immigrants to the United States, Amy Tan tells the story of four Chinese mothers (Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, Ying-ying St. Clair) and their American-born daughters (Jing-mei "June" Woo, Rose Hsu Jordan, Waverly Jong, Lena St. Clair).

Jing-Mei “June” Woo was asked by her father to replace the fourth corner of the Joy Luck Club which was her mothers spot. Her mother “Suyuan Woo” died about two months ago from a cerebral aneurysm. Joy Luck Club was an idea her mother had in Kweilin from her first marriage but when her mother came to the United States she started the San Francisco version in 1949. June started going into a flashback about the story her mom used to tell her of her time in Kweilin. Her mother said she dreamed about Kweilin she thought it was a beautiful place were you cannot have any worries at all but when she arrived there she realized how dilapidated her dreams were. Kweilin had strange but yet beautiful things, however her mother did’t come for that. She was brought there because the man she was married to was part of the Kuomingtan and thought that her and their two children were going to be safe from the Japanese. The city they were staying at was full of people from different places which didn’t even get along. During one very hot summer night she thought about an idea to have four women, each at one of the corners of her mah jong table. Each week they would cook up a feast and eat. After eating they would go to the mah jong table and play but with seriousness, the women found their happiness through winning. They would stay up through the night until the