Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club Review

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

The love between mothers and daughters is a sacred sort of love that will never become surpassed on the same type of intimate level. Cardinal Mermillod, Swiss Catholic Priest of the mid-1800s said, “A mother’s love can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” This quote has precise relevancy to the key theme of Barriers existing between generations, in Amy Tan’s captivating novel, The Joy Luck Club. As a litterateur, Ms. Tan evokes further realization that a mother’s love is an unsurpassed and eternal sentiment; through this, the mothers improve their relationships with their daughters.

Firstly, the story An-Mei Hsu demonstrates that even the tiniest of motherly/daughterly acts can greatly alter perception. At a very young age, little An-Mei has been taught to deny her mother the slightest bit of kindest and shows great hostility towards her. The young child lives with a grandmother, Popo. The elderly woman eventually becomes very ill, and one-morning An-Mei’s mother return’s to Popo’s deathbed. The young woman gives an offering to her dying mother; this one act of sacrifice and forgiveness impacts An-Mei forever. For the first time, she understands the power of a mother/daughter relationship. When An-Mei grows old and has a daughter of her own, the reader realizes that they too have tensions in their relationship. Rose Hsu, An-Mei’s daughter, feels opposed to her mother, and in essence afraid of her. It is only when Rose receives support and encouragement from her mother that their relationship begins the strain in their relationship disintegrates. (Wynter, B1) As an outcome of reduced tensions, Rose begins to feel closer to her mother; she realizes that An-Mei loves her unconditionally. An-Mei, who is inarguably a strong woman, learned at a young age the value of maternal love. (Tibbets, N1).

Throughout the story, she offers guidance, yet at the same time gives her space to shape as an individual, a prospect the other three daughters in the novel would have embellished upon, but inevitably Rose is not as much of an individual as the others, “My mother once told me why I was so confused all the time. She said I was born without wood so that I listened to too many people. She knew this because once she had almost become this way.” In this quote, Tan uses Old Chinese Symbolism to explain how a lack of inner strength equates to an inadequate supply of wood in a person, making them “crooked and weak”. Eventually, Rose reaches a central imperative period in her life where she bares some crucial decisions and looks for support and guidance from her mother. Although An-Mei would be pleased to make the proper choices for her daughter, she is aware that Rose needs to triumph this obstacle on her own and offers an exact amount of support, the young woman needs to find her inner might. (Weinraub, H7) An-Mei has shown she wants the best for her daughter; she wants Rose to be strong.

Secondly, the story of Lindo and Waverly Jong is of two strong individual women eventually finding a common understanding, when observing life from the other side of the looking glass. As a child, Waverly felt as if she was competing with her mother as if her mother was taking credit for her success, “Why do you have to use me to show off? If you want to show off, then why don’t you learn to play chess?” The child does not yet realize that her mother is so overwhelmingly proud of her she cannot help but brag. Though Lindo has only good intentions, she has trouble communicating positively with her daughter; in frustration, Lindo uses vindictive, cunning remarks in her last attempts to put Waverly in her place. (Mielke, 68-75) As Waverly grows up into a successful and powerful woman, she still feels helpless against Lindo. Lindo loves her daughter very much and does not realize how her comments influence Waverly greatly. The relationship reaches a turning point when Lindo gives up her obstinate ways and puts her trust in Waverly. As a result of Lindo’s revelation, they find similarities in each other:

“What is this word, ‘devious,’ ” I ask.”It means we’re looking one way, while following another. We’re for one side and also the other. We mean what we say but our intentions are different.” “People can see this in our face?” My daughter laughs. “Well not everything were thinking.”

This quote is valuable evidence that Waverly is aware of how much her mother loves her; she is aware of the contradicting meanings between what Lindo says- and what is intended. Lindo and Waverly realize that along with their appearance, their inner spirits are bound together with an everlasting bond. The ambiance in their relationship has jumped greatly due to Waverly’s recognition of her mother’s love and support.

Lastly, the story of Suyuan and Jing-mei Woo is of a misunderstood mother and isolated daughter, who never had a chance to make amends in living form, but through faith have reached a harmonious understanding. Jing-Mei (June) always felt as if she was a disappointment to her mother. Like Lindo, Suyuan knows how to hurt June. Suyuan often tells June allegorical tales of her past, June does not understand. Just when June is certain that her mother does not care about her at all, Suyuan shows her true colors and feeling towards her daughter, “My mother looked at me and smiled.’only you pick that crab. Nobody else take it. I already know this. Everybody else wants best quality. You think different.’

Suyuan is proud of her daughter; June is beginning to realize this. She gives her beautiful young woman a pendant of jade to signify ‘Life’s Importance’. As An-Mei’s mother did with her, Suyuan is creating a bond with her daughter that lasts long after she dies. When Suyuan does die, June is found wearing her mother’s pendant more and more, as a sense of security. Once June is informed by the Ladies of the Joy Luck Club that the once fantasy stories are a reality, she begins to see her mother in a different light, “One of the tenants upstairs must be taking a shower. I remember my mother complaining: ‘Even you don’t want them, you stuck.’ And now I know what she meant.” June is beginning to understand. The desolate daughter begins to see her mother in herself, at one point in time acknowledging her mother was a part of her was abysmal, now June embraces the qualities of her mother she acquired. ( Smith, A12).

Suyuan made sure of showing June all how she loved her before she died, incidentally June did not understand until after her death. Though Suyuan is dead, she and June have come together in spirit and reconcile their past differences. Throughout, each of the three stories in Amy Tan’s novel a common idea of a Mothers love, and caring coming together with a mutual understanding makes a perpetual friendship, between Mothers and Daughters.

Works Cited

Mielke, Robert. “‘American Translation’: The Joy Luck Club as Film.” Paintbrush, vol. 22 1995, pp: 68-75.

Smith, Craig S. “A Rare Shot at Screen Stardom for Asians.” (Casting for ‘The Joy Luck Club’) Wall Street Journal (1992):A12 (W), A12 (E), col 1.

Tibbets, John C. “A Delicate Balance: An Interview with Wayne Wang about ‘The Joy Luck Club.’” Literature-Film Quarterly v22, N1 (1994):2 (5 pages).

Weinraub, Bernard. “‘I Didn’t Want to Do Another Chinese Movie.’” (Amy Tan’s ‘The Joy Luck Club’ into a motion picture) New York Times, sec2 (1993):H7 (N), p H7 (L), col 1.

Wynter, Leon E. “‘Joy Luck’s’ Good Luck Bypassed Ethnicity.” (‘The Joy Luck Club,’ not limited to Asian Americans) (Column) Wall Street Journal (1993):B1 (W), B1 (E), col 2.

Click Here To Order Now!

Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club Review

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)