The Joy Luck Club Critical Essay

12/9/13 Period 12

Amy Tan's critically acclaimed novel The Joy Luck Club is a collection of narratives about eight women-four pairs of mothers and daughters-that demonstrate the impact of the past on the present, reinforcing the notion that personal history shapes an individual's cultural identity and attitudes about the world. Each mother's Chinese past influences her American present; each daughter feels the impact of her own childhood on her adult life; and each mother's past affects her daughter's present. The mother's stories have a number of common elements: dramatic recollections of girlhood in China, bewildered accounts of attempts to raise daughters in America, and high expectations for their daughters. Likewise, the daughters' narratives display similarities: descriptions of their inability to meet their mothers' expectations, questions about the place of Chinese culture in American lives, and ignorance of the personal forces and private demons that drive their mothers.

Lindo Jong, Waverly's mother, was forced into a loveless, arranged marriage as a young girl. She eventually tricked the other family and left the marriage with her dignity in-tact. Lindo then later had a daughter named Waverly. Waverly is a really smart child chess prodigy and Lindo wants her to be the best in the country. Because of Lindo always forcing Waverly to play chess, Waverly starts to learn how to stand up for herself.

Waverly Jong, as a child, was very stubborn and always wanted to be the best. She liked to think that she was in charge of herself. For example she said "Don't be so old fashioned ma... I'm my own person." As a result of her trying to be independent as child, now she likes being the "leader" in her relationship with rich. She also started to fear her mother's criticism on her husband Rich. Waverly desperately wanted her mother's approval on Rich but doesn't show it. Because of how hard Lindo was on Waverly as a child, with her playing chess, Waverly thinks that her mother isn't going to approve her husband.

An-Mei Hsu was very young when she was taught by her mother to swallow her tears and conceal her pain.