The Joy Luck Club: Hidden Intentions Behind Miscommunication

In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, the author, Amy Tan, employs various rhetorical devices at numerous points in the story to achieve a specific purpose, whether the aim is to expand a character’s development, to further the evolution of the plot, or to suggest a certain theme to the reader. In particular, one of the most common rhetorical devices exploited by Tan throughout the story is perhaps the anecdote, which forces the reader to analyze the hidden significance of it as its contents are much longer and more elaborate than other rhetorical devices which typically consist of a mere sentence or two. Each anecdote in the book carries substantial importance and yet, it seems that the fact that there are so many of them in the novel does not undermine each one’s individual magnificence. The most poignant anecdote in the book may in fact be the story of An-Mei’s mother of how she lost herself and became a concubine-against her will-to a notorious mogul named Wu Tsing. An-Mei’s mother ultimately chooses to commit suicide in hopes that it will save her two children from the neglect and wrath of her husband, who initially cares very little about An-Mei and her family but is convinced by Chinese myth to improve their standards of living, “Seeing her this last time, I threw myself on her body. And she opened her eyes slowly… I shut her eyes with my fingers and told her with my heart: I can see the truth too… Because we both knew this: that on the third day after someone dies, the soul comes back to settle scores… He (Wu Tsing) promised her visiting ghost that he would raise

Deborah Tannen and William Lutz both discuss the difficulty of communicating. Their point of views may be different, but their conclusion is the same. Men and women have difficulties of communicating. Not because the two genders want to be complicated but simply because we don’t realize how or what we’re doing when it’s happening.

Relationships, one of the key factors of the advancement of humanity. We all are surrounded by relationships, some may be easier to identify than others. But one relationship which stands out greater than the rest is the one between a married couple. These people are usually from completely different families and unite together to decide to spend the rest of their lives together. But sometimes the relationship does not work out. We can witness this in Sinclair Ross’s short story The Painted Door, in which Ann a farmer’s wife who has cheated on her husband John, which has brought the end of Johns life and ultimately the end of their relationship. It is arguable that the reason behind Ann cheating and bringing the end to their relationship arguably is isolation, neglection and lack of understanding, but what is the root cause of all these problems in their relationship? The answer is simple lack of communication. Thus, it is the lack of communication which has caused isolation, neglection and the lack of understanding of each other in the relationship, resulting in the failure of the relationship.

In the article, Lisa Davis indicates that people can misunderstand each other just because of the position they stand while they communicate. Furthermore, through how people acts, stands and communicates can completely show the cultural differences between different areas, religion, and nations.

“The fact that we have been communicating all of our lives does not mean that we do it well”. (Sole, 2011).

In vignette number three, the Rice Husband, the story is viewed through the daughter’s point of view, Lena. Lena had married a man named Harold. However, she was unhappy in her marriage since they had split their money down the middle to make sure everything was fair. They always had to pay back what was owed to each other. Since Lena and Harold had a poor relationship she was afraid of her mother finding out about their dilapidated relationship when she had come for a visit. After, Lena had shown her mother the house she had thought to herself, “all she sees are the bad parts… everything she’s said is true… She knows what’s going to happen to us. Because I remember something else she saw when I was eight years old “(Tan 151). Lena had remembered the time when her mother would threaten her to eat her rice or she would end up marrying a bad

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

This education, seen from the other side of the cultural gap, is what makes Lena see her mother as a weak person. Lena has a job, an American husband, she lives an American life, unlike her mother, who is attached to weird old disused Chinese traditions. But she herself is not happy, as her mother can see. Her husband is not as good as he might be: he exploits her, paying her a too low wage, never recognizes her contribution to their success as architects,... On the other hand, Ying- Ying marriage, although imperfect, is based on firmer grounds of respect and goodness towards each other than that of Lena.

Misinterpretations are inevitable when people communicate, even if well-meaning messages aren’t guaranteed to be received as intended. People often judge their intentions based on their actions, potentially weakening the bonds they share. In Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club, she highlights the differences in values between mother and daughter, as well as the miscommunications that arise from these differences. Suyuan Woo and Lindo Jong are Chinese immigrants who compare the talents and achievements of their daughters, Jing-Mei and Waverly Jong, in hopes of motivating them to strive for excellence and seize opportunities that they were denied before coming to America.

Mrs. Dietrich often wants to ask Nola questions, but refrains from it. Nola does try to discuss the subject but initially she does not explain her feelings. Then she simply leaves in the middle of the discussion. The chance to communicate is lost. The two still do not understand the other person's side. They never close the gap if they do not recognize that good communication is a result of telling their feelings, listening, and understanding.

In the story the hardships Lena face such as being lonely in the city and having difficulty living as a native person in the city and the line “Nobody wanted them there” shows us that and these challenging experiences helped Lena realise that what she thought of her sense of self as living in the city was completely incorrect and she started to come to terms with that when she came back to the reserve and remising about her life at the reserve. People go through many changes in their life making them change their sense of

Kapasi and Mrs. Das are incapable of reaching a true friendship because they are anxious to openly speak with each other. Mrs. Das’ confession has unrealistic expectations and was not used as a way of mutually exchanging ideas or building a relationship, but rather using Mr. Kapasi to interpret her maladies and gain forgiveness. Communication can become miscommunication if both individuals are not aligned in their expectations of the conversation.

Although this misunderstanding might be rooted from the systematic differences in thinking patterns and generation gap, we will focus specifically on the linguistic aspect of the issue. Throughout the movie, there are many unsuccessful attempts of both the mothers and daughters to communicate their ideas to the other, leading to frustration and a mutual lack of sympathy. To better understand the reasons for this conflict in verbal communication, we have to look closely into the differences in fundamental construct of language in China and America. This difference does not necessarily be the difference in language, since both communicating parties are using English. However, it is

In the same way the language barrier hinders conversation. Mr. Shi knows little English and mostly speaks in Chinese. This hinders true communication between him and Madam, a woman he meets in the park He feels that “sometimes they run out of English” (406). When there are no more English words to be said, both revert to their native language. Neither Mr. Shi nor Madame truly understands what is being said. Mr. Shi wishes at times to communicate to Madam in English: “But he is sure, even before he starts that his English would fail him” (406). This struggle for words indicates the lack of communication between him and Madam, but it also indicates the language barrier between him and his daughter. He speaks primarily in Chinese, and while his daughter knows Chinese, she prefers to speak English: “It’s different Baba. We talk in English, and it’s easier. I don’t talk well in Chinese” (413). His daughter does not like speaking in Chinese, and Mr. Shi struggles to converse in English. This problem undermines their relationship.

She realized that her "mother tongue" has become their "language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk,..."(Tan 61) Her "mother tongue" is the English she uses while she is in her first world, her private world, which is a completely different cultural community.