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Asian American:
Amy Tan
Joy Luck Club
The Hundred Secret Senses
Hispanic American
Jewish American
Native American
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Characters
Jing-Mei (June) Woo is the narrator of the story. She feels inferior to people and feels like she does not have a lot of special things about her. She is the daughter of Suyuan, the founder of the Joy Luck Club. She is 36 years old and was raised with no strong connection to her culture. She uses the name June instead of Jing-Mei.
Suyuan was the founder of the club who went through many hardships in the war and was forced to give up everything, even her babies and her mah-jong table. She continued the club in America and died shortly before the book began.
Vocabulary
chabudwo: soup
dyansyin: food
hong mu: wood
Summary
This is the first chapter of the book Joy Luck Club. It is told by Jing-Mei Woo, the daughter of the founder of the club (Suyuan). Much of the chapter tells the story of how the Joy Luck Club was created. Jing-Mei tells this story: Suyuan lived in Kweilin, China during a war against the Japanese. Each week, to lighten the mood of the wives a little bit, one of four ladies would host a party where they would serve much food, play sixteen rounds of mah-jong, tell stories, and laugh. During those times, they were not allowed to think a bad thought. One day, an officer came to tell Suyuan to run away from Kweilin right away. She took as much as she could from the house and began walking, but soon she had to leave everything behind because she had no strength left to
carry it. Even her babies were left behind. She sailed to America and settled in San Francisco. She started the American version of the Joy Luck Club in 1989 with other Chinese ladies from her church. Jing-Mei is now taking her mother's place in the club because her mother has recently died. They still cook good Chinese food and play mah-jong, but they also invest in the stock market so that the skilled mah-jong players will not win all the money every time. The first time Jing-Mei attends a meeting, the other three ladies tell her that the babies that were left behind in China, her sisters, are alive and well. Her mother had searched for them all her life and they had recently been found. The Joy Luck Club gives Jing-Mei money to visit her sisters. This is the end of the chapter, but only the beginning of the book.
General Critique
The story is told half in a flashback to China during a war and half in the present time (which is probably the 1980s or 1990s). The language used by the aunts is slightly imperfect, which gives a realistic touch to the story. It is very interesting to read a war story from the perspective of another country, because the stories are usually heard from America's side. The fact that the two sisters are still alive is very surprising and ironic, especially because their mom looked for them all her life and they were found right when she died. The story is very real. Other countries' cultures often become lost in the melting pot of American culture. This is seen in Jing-Mei and the daughters of the other Joy Luck Club ladies. Jing-Mei's feelings, especially about how she cannot describe her mother, are also very real. June kind of disregarded the stories her mother told her. The Joy Luck Club didn't really seem to be fun anymore; stocks are very westernized and not as personal. The club members never mention her mom's death.
Style/Literary Technique
This story is told half in flashback and half in the present time. It is told in first person through the eyes of Jing-Mei Woo. The characters in the story talk in imperfect English. Amy Tan makes the dialogue sound realistic by having the characters talk with Chinese accents.
Symbols
1. Food is a symbol of the families' culture.
2. The Joy Luck Club meetings signify a bond to culture.
3. Jing-Mei represents the westernization of Chinese-Americans.
Themes
1. It is important to keep your cultural identity alive.
2. In order to achieve your goals you must continue striving for them.
Thought Questions
1. In the face of hard times, have you ever taken time for yourself just to do something fun? Does this help relieve your suffering?
2. Do you think minorities in America today face the problem of future generations forgetting their heritage?
3. Do you think Suyuan continued the club because she wanted to keep her culture alive?
4. Why do you think Jing-Mei didn't have the same enthusiasm for the club as her mother did?
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