The Joy Luck Club (Archive)

The Joy Luck Club actually has 16 stories within the book, each about a Chinese immigrant mother and their American raised daughters.

Plot Summary
The Joy Luck Club tells the stories of four Chinese-immigrant mothers and their four Americanized-Chinese daughters as they live their lives out in America. Jing-Mei’s mother, Suyuan Woo, made a club called the “Joy Luck Club” when she first immigrated to the United States from China. She invited her three new Chinese friends from work (Ying-ying, Lindo, and An-mei) to join the club with her. When Suyuan Woo dies, Jing-Mei discovers that her mother (Suyuan Woo), has two twin daughters (from a previous marriage) living in China. The other members of the club urged her to go and meet her half-sisters in China; they wanted Jing-Mei to tell her half-sisters the story of her mother’s life. The novel is made up of four sections; each of these sections is broken up into four stories, each told by a different narrator from their point of view (either a mother or a daughter). Each story tells of events occurring or that have occurred in each of their lives. The first section of the book is made up of each mother telling their own story of the relationships that they had with their own mothers. The second section has all of the daughters telling each of their own stories of their childhood relationships with their mothers. The third section of the novel has all of the daughters telling of the problems in their current-adult life, such as career or marital problems. Finally, in the last section, the mothers try to offer their daughters advice on how to try and resolve these issues, which, in turn, teaches them more about themselves. Lindo realizes (through her insightful daughter, Waverly) that she has been completely changed by the new American culture that she now lives in. An-mei finally realizes that her daughter, Rose, hasn’t learned from the lessons that she has tried to teach her about hope and faith over the years. Then, Ying-ying finally realizes that her daughter, Lena, has completely followed in her passive-footsteps in her marriage to her husband, Harold. Finally, Jing-Mei makes her journey to China to meet her half-sisters, and then, in doing so, she finally understands her heritage and finds her true identity. This new-found bond that she forms with her new-found half-sisters shows the bonds between Suyuan’s two lives being formed together. This bond allows for her to find closure in her mother’s story, and closure to her own search for her true identity.

The novel mainly is about mother daughter relationships and the ups and downs of being immigrants from China. In 1949, four Chinese women began to gather together in what they called the Joy Luck Club. They all had something in common, their past. When they met up they did things like play mah jong, eat snacks, tell stories, and invest in stocks. All of the mothers are Chinese immigrants with American raised daughters. Suyuan Woo was the founder of the club. Other members were Lindo, Ying-ying, and An-Mei. Nearly forty years later, Suyuan dies and her daughter, Jing-mei takes her place in the club. The mothers push Jing-mei to find her sisters in China and tell them about their mother. Each woman goes through a small journey with their daughters to reach an understanding and almost a new and better relationship with them. Each mother also learns a more about themselves through the journey. Lindo realizes through her daughter Waverly that she has changed by American culture. Ying-yang unfortunately realizes that her daughter Lena has accidentally followed in her footsteps with her marriage. An-mei finds that her daughter Rose doesn’t fully understand her interpretations of faith and hope. Basically, every mother daughter relationships changes in the novel and both the mother and daughter’s point of view is displayed in the book. Leah Crawford 17:39, 9 November 2011 (MST)

Symbols

 * Suyuan’s pendant- Suyuan Woo believes that Jing-Mei is the best leader who deserves the best; contrary to what Jing-Mei herself may believe. She gives Jing-Mei the pendant to give her the confidence that she is the best; because the necklace symbolizes her heritage, which will give her the courage to go after what she really wants in life.


 * Harold’s table- The table in the bedroom where Lena’s mother is staying collapses and breaks the vase on top of it; the table symbolizes Lena’s marriage to Harold. Harold made the table as an architectural student, and, like their marriage, it was poorly designed and rickety; ready to break at any moment.


 * The knife and watermelon- Ying-ying’s first husband made a joke about Ying-ying’s virginity by sinking a knife into a watermelon. The joke was originally about Ying-ying’s virginity; however, it later symbolizes Ying-ying’s abortion of her baby.


 * Suyuan’s pendent was given to her daughter, Jing-Mei, as a present from her mother. Suyaun told Jing-Mei that it was her “life’s importance.”She doesn’t treasure the gift at first, but in time she learns its importance. Leah Crawford 20:47, 9 November 2011 (MST)
 * Lido had a red candle that symbolized marriage. If the candle goes out, that meant the marriage would go wrong.Leah Crawford 20:47, 9 November 2011 (MST)
 * Lena had a vase that she put on a unstable table to symbolize her marriage. It showed that her marriage was not well put together and could fall apart at any given time. Leah Crawford 20:47, 9 November 2011 (MST)

Themes

 * There can be an inability to communicate with someone because of a generation gap. - All of the mothers and daughters showed times when they were in situations where it was sometimes difficult to communicate because of where they were in their lives. Ying-ying St. Clair and Lena St. Clair were especially obvious; Ying-ying said that she had just followed behind Lena (like a shadow) all her life, and now, because of that, they are not very close because Ying-ying never guided her daughter through the tough situations in her life.


 * Transformation occurs whenever the time is right. - Transformation is a main theme in this novel; it occurs often throughout the entire novel. From the duck being transformed into a swan in the introduction; to Rose Hsu Jordan leaving her timid side behind her, and becoming a more assertive person when her husband tries to leave her and take their house with him; to Jing-Mei finally finding her true identity when she meets her sisters. Transformation is obviously a very important key in this novel.


 * Make sacrifices when needed to stick to your obligations. – An-mei’s mother made the physical sacrifice of cutting off her own flesh to try to save her dying mother; this sacrifice was made to stick to the obligation of honoring your mother and father above all the rest. Also, Lindo Jong made the emotional sacrifice of marrying Tyan-yu so as not to disgrace the family name; once again, honoring the parents of the family above all the rest.


 * One theme was story telling. Both the daughters and mothers explained their life through small stories from their past memories. All of them are very detailed and help get an understanding of each character. Leah Crawford 20:50, 9 November 2011 (MST)


 * The second theme is that sometimes we don’t always realize what we have until it is taken away. Jing-Mei didn’t really appreciate or get along with her mother when she was living but when she passed away she realized what a great mother she was and how much she missed her. Leah Crawford 20:50, 9 November 2011 (MST)


 * The last theme is that even though things change; don’t ever forget where you came from. All of the mothers were immigrants and they had American raised daughters. The daughters started to lose sight of their culture and didn’t acknowledge their Chinese heritage. Leah Crawford 20:50, 9 November 2011 (MST)

Characters

 * Suyuan Woo
 * She is the founder of the Joy Luck Club. She is an immigrant mother from China that just wants to reunite with her two twin daughters but she dies before she gets the chance.


 * Jing-Mei Woo
 * The daughter of Suyuan Woo. She takes her place in the Joy Luck Club.


 * An-Mei
 * She is Rose's mother. She looses her faith in God.


 * Rose
 * The daughter of An-Mei. She marries a man named Ted Jordan but their marriage isn't going well.


 * Lindo Jong
 * She is in the Joy Luck Club. She has a daughter named Waverly. She is worried that her daughter is forgetting about her Chinese culture.


 * Waverly Jong
 * She doesn't want her mother, Lindo Jong, to find out about Rich.


 * Ying-Ying
 * She has a daughter named Lena. She is nervous that she is following the same path that she did.


 * Lena
 * She is a lot like her mother especially after she gets married.


 * Clifford St. Clair
 * Ying-Ying's second husband. He always spoke for his wife. This made their marriage go bad.


 * Ted Jordan
 * He is the husband of Rose. He is the decision maker in their marriage. He finds another woman and asks to get a divorce. He is surprised when Rose finally stands up for herself.

Leah Crawford 18:07, 8 November 2011 (MST)

Significant Quotes

 * “I’m shaking, trying to hold something inside. The last time I saw them, at the funeral, I had broken down and cried big gulping sobs. They must wonder now how someone like me can take my mother’s place.” Pg.27
 * When Jing-Mei first arrives at the Joy Luck Club for the first time she realizes that the last time she was with these people, it was at her mother’s funeral. She feels uncomfortable because she was sobbing the last time they saw her and she has no idea how she could ever take the place of her mother in the club. They may have looked alike but they were not the same person at all. She wonders if they will accept her presence or not.


 * “See my sisters,” I say numbly. I am awed by this prospect, trying to imagine what I would see. Pg.40
 * In this point of the novel, Auntie Lin has just told Jing-Mei to use the money to go to China to see her sisters. It sets off an alarm in Jing-Mei because she is unprepared and nervous of what would happen if she went to China AND saw her sisters. This information she is given overwhelms her.


 * “When I was a young girl in China, my grandmother told me my mother was a ghost.” Pg.42
 * This is the first sentence when An-Mei Hsu is begging to tell her story. Her Grandmother basically called her mom a ghost because she was forbidden to ever talk about her. She talks about how she was forced to forget her mother’s existence completely.


 * “And even though I know it’s hopeless-there’s absolutely nothing left to save- I’m afraid if I tell her that, she’ll still persuade me to try. Pg.117
 * Rose is getting ready to tell her mother that she is getting a divorce and she already knows what her mother’s reaction will be. She thinks that her mother won’t believe it at first but then try to get Rose to save her marriage.


 * “And although we don’t speak, I know we all see it: Together we look like our mother.” Pg.288
 * This quote comes from the very last paragraph of the book. It is very emotional because Jing-Mei has finally reunited with her sisters and they all are happy to be together. They take a picture together and realize that they all look like their mother who has passed away.


 * “We were a city of leftovers mixed together. If it hadn’t been for the Japanese, there would have been plenty of reason for fighting to break out among these different people. Can you see it? Shanghai people with north-water peasants, bankers with barbers, rickshaw pullers with Burma refugees. Everybody looked down on someone else. It didn’t matter that everybody shared the same sidewalk to spit on and suffered the same fast-moving diarrhea. We all had the same stink, but everybody complained that someone else smelled the worst.” (Suyuan Woo- page 22)
 * Suyuan Woo tells the story of when she was in Kweilin. Even though people were coming into Kweilin from every part of China, and they all shared the same places to live (rich and poor), everyone still looked down onto someone else. This shows how extreme the social classes were in China.


 * “But everybody just nods to approve the minutes. Even my father’s head bobs up and down routinely. And it seems to me my mother’s life has been shelved for new business.” (Jing-Mei Woo- page 29)
 * Jing-Mei appears to feel as if her mother’s death was not grieved over enough; that it went by too quickly. So when everyone at the meeting acts as if nothing were out of the ordinary, she feels some resentment towards them.


 * “I could see my mother’s face across the table. Between us stood the soup pot on its heavy chimney-pot stand.-rocking slowly, back and forth. And then with one shout this dark boiling soup spilled forward and fell all over my neck. It was as though everyone’s anger were pouring all over me.” (An-mei Hsu- page 46)
 * An-mei felt as if the pain of the soup on her neck was like the anger everyone felt at the moment. And, like the soup pouring out, everyone’s anger came all out at once when they were arguing.


 * “He was scared and turned his face. He had no desire for me, but it was his fear that made me think he had no desire for any woman. He was like a little boy who had never grown up. After a while I was no longer afraid. I even began to think differently toward Tyan-yu. It was not like the way a wife loves a husband, but more like the way a sister protects a younger brother.” (Lindo Jong- page 62)
 * Lindo Jong finally realizes that Tyan-yu doesn’t want to do anything with her, not because she isn’t desirable, but because he is scared has never felt that way towards any woman, and Lindo is no exception.


 * “For all these years I kept my mouth closed so selfish desires would not fall out. And because I remained quiet for so long now my daughter does not hear me. She sits by her fancy swimming pool and hears only her Sony Walkman, her cordless phone…” (Ying-ying St. Clair- page 67)
 * Ying-ying St. Clair is deeply sorrowed that she never got very close to her daughter. She sees now that she just went along with her through life, like a shadow, instead of like a guide.

Leah Crawford 18:44, 8 November 2011 (MST)

Setting
The time and place setting for the novel is a bit complicated. For the mothers, their childhood memories take place in China. However, when they are young adults, their memories either take place in China (before they immigrate to America) or in Oakland or San Francisco after coming to America. The daughters, however, all have childhoods based in either San Francisco or Oakland; with their young-adult lives spent there as well. However, Jing-Mei does travel to China near the end of the novel.

Historical Information About the Setting
The setting of the novel begins in China while the Kuomintang are awaiting a Japanese invasion into the Chinese borders.

Biographical Information About the Author
Amy Tan was born in Oakland, California, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. She received her master’s degree in linguistics from San Jose State University. Tan is the author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and two books for children, The Moon Lady and The Chinese Siamese Cat. Her work has been translated into twenty-five different languages. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Lou Demattei.

Author's Style
Imagery- displaying a picture through words
 * “In her hands, I always become the pawn. I could only run away. And she was the queen, able to move in all directions, relentless in her pursuit, always able to find my weakest spots.” (Waverly Jong- page 180)

Point of view- the perspective from which the author tells the story
 * “I can never remember things I didn’t understand in the first place.” (Jing-Mei Woo- page 19)

Genre
Postmodern Novel

Characteristics of the Genre
Postmodern novels are novels that have every day, family-life type problems; however, postmodern novels also have in-depth problems that involve having to psychoanalyze to really understand the issue.

Background
Book: The Joy Luck Club

Author: Amy Tan

Bibliographical info on the author: Amy Tan was born in 1952 in Oakland, California. Her parents had immigrated to the United States two year prior to her birth. Her parents expected her to be a neurosurgeon or a concert pianist. Instead, she became a consultant to places with disabled children and then later a free-lance writer. The Joy Luck Club is her first book. She married in 1974 to a man named Louis Dernattei. In 1987 she visited China for the first time. She felt Chinese the minute she stepped foot in China.

Date of publication: 1989

Genre: Historical Fiction; Postmodern novel; short story collection

Characteristics of Genre: Postmodern literature describes certain characteristics and events before World War II. Historical fiction tells a story in the past.

Setting: The book takes place in the 1990’s in San Francisco, California. It takes place in different parts of China as well. These Cities in China include Guangzhou, Kweilin, and Shanghai. Also the book takes place at the houses of the members in the Joy Luck Club. History of the setting: San Francisco California: During World War II, San Francisco was the port of embarkation for service people who shipped out to the Pacific Theater. San Francisco is presently the fourth most popular city in the state of California. Shanghai China: It was a town known for its fishing ports as well as textiles. Around the 1930’s, the town flourished in commerce and has became very populated to this day. Guangzhou China: Established during the Qin dynasty, Guangzhou was high in trade with neighboring areas. It is the third biggest city in China.

Leah Crawford 20:53, 9 November 2011 (MST)