Character Development In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

Lost in Translation For first generation Americans, finding belonging in a new country can feel impossible. They are often caught between the traditions and ideals of the two differing countries. Raising a family in the new home with different values can lead to miscommunications or even a significant disconnect between parents and children. This is modeled well in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, particularly in the relationship between Ying Ying Saint Clair and her daughter Lena.

From the beginning to the end of this book, Rose showed that she was content with being in the cellar. This differed from every other girl in there, which was very strange. She continued to be very calm and exuberant, getting excited about small things like new outfits and yarn to knit with. “We can’t. There is no way out, so you need to get this idea out of your head now” (Preston 59).

Research shows that up to 70% of people who have gone through something traumatic, have shown positive psychological growth in their lives (Gregoire). Life after trauma can be hard to regain due to the instability we experience throughout that hard time in our lives. But having a strong, and satisfying relationship or relationships can help to bring people to peace in a slightly more uncomplicated way. This example of dealing with grief is brought to attention in Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club. Due to the turbulent times in Shanghai, China, and then coming together in San Francisco, California, these four women and their daughters rely on each other to get through it all.

In her novel, The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan focuses on the fact that the bond between a mother and daughter can overcome any ethnic barrier. Despite there being many disagreements and arguments about the ways to live their lives, Tan defies this issue by creating a bond that is unbreakable even though the experienced different upbringings. Certain disagreements keep the novel interesting and create a conflict depicting the problems stemming from this barrier. Through her use of similes, metaphors, and flashbacks, Tan shows how the bond between a mother and daughter can withstand even the strongest cultural differences.

In the story Ashes of Roses written by MJ Auch, point of view contributes to the overarching theme. The story begins with a young girl named Rose immigrating from Ireland, to the U.S., through Ellis Island. During one of the inspections, Rose’s little brother Joseph is denied entry due to the disease Trachoma. Rose, her two younger sisters, and her mother enter N.Y. by themselves. During the entry to N.Y. through Ellis Island, immigrants were required to have relatives in the city to pick them up.

Mother knows best. And yet so many daughters in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club feel slighted by what the matriarchal figures in their lives have in mind for them, or rather, what they believe their mothers have in mind for them. A perfect storm of expectation, true and false, about love, about success, about being Chinese. The souring of mother-daughter relationships in The Joy Luck Club stem from unrealistic or ill conceived expectations that both parties hold for the other.

When you think of roses you think of romance, but Ms. Strangeworth was single and didn’t think of romance. The roses were her children she cared for them like a mother would do a child. They represented something bigger to her, we understand family inheritance is special but the

The roses also lead to a deeper understanding of the theme which is that looks can be deceiving because (as stated

Bi, Zijian Thu. 3/5/2015 English 2B Ms. Freeland 2° WHEN THE DREAM COMES TRUE What is your American Dream? “The Joy Luck Club”, a novel by Amy Tan, talks about how four mother-daughter pairs have fulfilled their American Dreams. Suyuan and Jing-mei was one of the mother-daughter pair who wants to fulfill their dreams in America.

And that’s final” (112). Rose is relentless in pursuing what she wants and is resilient against her adversaries, including her mother.

Joseph Campbell's definition of a hero’s journey can be seen across many characters in the novel, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. In order to meet this definition, one must overcome three stages: the department, the fulfilment, and the return. Tan depicts Jing-mei Woo as a shell of a woman who is forced to take up the footprints of her late mother. She then learns the meaning of family and is able to fulfil her mother’s dying wish by resurrecting her past life in China, which allows her to complete Campbell's definition of a hero’s journey.

When she was young, she could not process the way her father raised and treated her, so she believed everything he said. When she is able to understand, her tone changes and becomes clinical and critical remembering the way he constantly let her

Rose was a wealthy woman aboard the Titanic’s maiden voyage, who was controlled by her unpleasant fiance. As most women were in this era, Rose was restricted by the men in her life and hadn’t felt true happiness, until she met Jack Dawson on the ship. Jack was an outgoing character that saw Rose as the most beautiful woman. After saving her life from suicide, they fell instantly in love with each other. In the short time they spent together, they both knew they found their soulmate.

Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club is an amazing representation of what Chinese immigrants and their families face. The broad spectrum of the mothers’ and daughters’ stories all connect back to a couple of constantly recurring patterns. These patterns are used to show that how the mothers and daughters were so differently raised affected their relationships with each other, for better and for worse.

“Communication is the key to a successful relationship, attentiveness, and consistency. Without it, there is no relationship,” (Bleau). The Joy Luck Club is a novel written by Amy Tan. Set in the twentieth century, this novel depicts the life of four Chinese immigrant women escaping their past and their American-grown daughters. The novel reveals the mothers’ hardship-filled past and motivations alongside with the daughters’ inner conflicts and struggles.