Joy Luck Club Cultural Analysis

First of all, the Joy Luck Club had so many conflicts and misunderstandings between almost all of the characters. Most of the conflicts were between Waverly and her mom. Some conflicts were just differences between Waverly and her mother because of the generation gap between the two. Her mom didn’t like the things she would do and she could never see herself doing things that Waverly was doing back when she was a child. There were also cultural and martial conflicts throughout the book also.

Traditions, heritage and culture are three of the most important aspects of Chinese culture. Passed down from mother to daughter, these traditions are expected to carry on for years to come. In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, daughters Waverly, Lena, Rose and June thoughts about their culture are congested by Americanization while on their quests towards self-actualization. Each daughter struggles to find balance between Chinese heritage and American values through marriage and professional careers.

Waverly was going to tell Lindo of her and Rich’s engagement, but whenever she mentioned him, Lindo cut her off and began to talk about something else. Waverly was convinced that her mother did not have any good intentions, and that she never saw good in people. Due to this, she was afraid of what her mother will say when she would meet Rich. According to Waverly, she and Rich shared a “pure love”, which she was afraid her mother would poison. Waverly planned to go to Auntie Suyuan’s house with Rich for dinner, knowing that her mother would then invite the two over for dinner to her house, and this would give her mother a chance to get to know and warm up to Rich. However, when they went for dinner, Rich did everything incorrectly- he didn’t understand Chinese customs and made several mistakes that were seen as

The American society dominates over their Chinese descent. They want to accommodate to America, however, being that their mothers so strongly hold onto their descent, the daughters feel as if they too were born and raised in China. Being the children of immigrants makes them feel as if they are mediocre to everyone else, and “...at times they may wonder, “Can one really assimilate?” (Mohanram 74). As they grow up, they immerse themselves into this new society, yet while still trying to “hide” their Chinese background. When they were children, the girls would try to physically change themselves to appear more American. Lena would walk around her home and open her eyes as wide as she could, if efforts to make them seem more European. Jing-mei denied having any internal Chinese aspects, insisting her Chinese identity was only limited to her external features. Waverly would feel overjoyed if her mother told her she did not look Chinese. They realized that their image was what was ultimately holding them back from feeling accustom to San Franciscan lifestyles: “Furthermore, the daughters experience themselves socially as a recognizable ethnic minority and want to eradicate the sense of "difference" they feel among their peers” (Hamilton 30). By changing their physical presence, the daughters believed it could change who they are as a person. The daughters may have been taking aback by the realities of society, yet they still longed for the opportunities and experiences America

To begin with, The Joy Luck Club centers its content around the lives of eight women of Chinese heritage each with their own stories to tell; yet, all striving to satisfy their aspirations in America. A concisive cross is common between the mothers’ hopes compared to those of the American born daughters. Immigrating to America for various reasons, the four mothers all had one goal in mind, to not only construct themselves a better life, but also ensure the finest future for their daughters. For the mothers in the Joy Luck Club, the American dream was to instill Chinese history, heritage, and habit in their daughters while providing American opportunities of growth, gratification, and gallantry. Carrying heavy pasts, the four original American Joy Luck Club members arrived in The United States to start anew, “America was where

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.

In the article “Being an immigrant in the United States today means..,” an interview from one of the many immigrants here in the United States stated that they “try our best to look American” because of the worry that anytime they might have to prove their citizenship and documentation just for being Indian. Similarly, in the prologue of the book The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, the narrator describes the journey of a woman across the ocean towards America while saying, “Over there nobody will look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English!” Both these scenarios describe how immigrants are not being fully accepted by American society. It shows that different ethnicities and races are still widely separated no matter the country both live in together. The fear of being frowned upon by Americans and fellow Chinese civilians in America by the woman and the fear of getting picked out because of the color of their skin by the interviewees prove that these people have to live with the pressure of perfecting American ways and culture.

In the novel, Joy Luck Club, we see Waverly Jong and June Woo’s competitiveness when Waverly becomes a child chess prodigy and June struggles to master the piano. This rivalry reflects how success and worth are depicted in this novel. A mother’s success would be encouraging or coercing their child to master a particular hobby and to improve constantly. A daughter’s worth would be determined by the daughter’s talents, and whether or not the daughter brings a good reputation for the family. We can tell that Lindo Jong was very proud of her daughter Waverly Jong when she was a chess prodigy, competed in different cities, and would bring home a myriad of trophies. Because Lindo was so proud of Waverly, she would brag excessively about her and

Whether it is wholesome or tough love, the bond of a mother and daughter can never be broken. “The Joy Luck Club” is the epitome of this notion. The anthology contains a series of sixteen vignettes, four of which belonging to one of each of the four members of The Joy Luck Club. These vignettes cover the perspectives of mothers who immigrated to America from China, along with the flip side point of view, taken over by each of their daughters. In the anthology, Tan reflects on her past life and incorporates it into the book, exploring cultural, relationship, and internal conflicts.

The relationship a mother has with her daughter is one of the most significant relationships either person will possess. In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, the stories of four mothers and their respective daughters are established through vignettes, which reveal the relationships between them. Throughout the novel, the mothers and daughters are revealed to be similar, yet different. Lindo and Waverly Jong can be compared and contrasted through their upbringings, marriages, and personalities.

In The Joy Luck Club, language devices such as figurative language, diction, sentence structure, and significant detail are used to characterize the different characters in the book. These language devices capture the characters’ emotions, personality, qualities of mind, and goals. Amy Tan uses a variety of language devices to characterize Ying-ying’s emotions of sorrow, disconnection, shame, love, her passive, careless personality, and her quality of mind of determination.

     The focus of our group project is on Chinese Americans. We studied various aspects of their lives and the preservation of their culture in America. The Chinese American population is continually growing. In fact, in 1990, they were the largest group of Asians in the United States (Min 58). But living in America and adjusting to a new way of life is not easy. Many Chinese Americans have faced and continue to face much conflict between their Chinese and American identities. But many times, as they adapt to this new life, they are also able to preserve their Chinese culture and identity through various ways. We studied these things through the viewing of a movie called Joy Luck Club,

The Joy Luck Club centers around eight individual women who are all of Chinese decent. Four of the women are mothers and the latter four are each individual woman’s child. The mothers are immigrates and the daughter are first generation American Citizens. All four of the mothers

The novel The Joy Luck Club written by Amy Tan influences American culture by providing a glimpse inside the culture of Asian American women with a focus on the honor, obligations, and restrictions imposed. These glimpses allow Americans to understand the history and behavior of Asian Americans, which in my opinion teaches how to overcome, believe in yourself and furthermore, respect and support one another regardless of differences. When I consider additional artifacts that have a similar impact the novel, Wonder by R.J. Palacio comes to mind. This particular novel brings to light the struggles of a child with developmental differences and raises awareness to bullying and the emotions endured by the child and his family. The novels share

From the film The Joy Luck Club, Chinese girls were supposed to act obedient and respectful to their parents and elders. This included the girls having to abide by each and every Chinese tradition that their parents instilled in them. Girls were also expected to be quiet and considerate to their parents and elders. They were only supposed to speak when spoken to at all times. Acting out against anything their parents enforced upon them was completely unacceptable.