Joy Luck Senior Project

Amy Tan’s 1989 novel, Joy Luck Club centers around the intercultural relationships between four Chinese mothers raising their daughters in America. The four families consist of Hsu, Jong, Woo and St. Clair family. The four mothers form a club called Joy Luck Club where they have been sharing stories and playing mahjong over the past years. One of the primary focuses of the novel is the cultural conflicts encountered by the first-generation Chinese-American daughters and the traditional Chinese mothers which are shown through the inabilities to communicate effectively in the mother-daughter relationship. A cultural barrier is created due to the contrasting values as the mothers strive to raise their daughters to have a Chinese character but at the same time allowing them to adapt to the American culture.

In the novel, the daughters symbolize the American culture while the mothers represent the Chinese culture. As a reader, we may have forgotten that most of the conversations are in Chinese as none of the mothers speak fluent English. In the first chapter, Jing-Mei Woo, the daughter of Suyuan Woo who passed away acknowledges the linguistic and cultural barrier in their relationship as she says “These kinds of explanations made me feel like my mother and I spoke two different languages, which we did. I talked to her in English, she answered back in Chinese.”(p. 39). This example not only shows how Jing-Mei and her mother have difficulties communicating due to linguistic differences, but it can also be interpreted as how the mothers and daughters do not understand each other due to different mindsets. In many cases in the book, assumption seems to be a big part of their conversations. The daughters looking for meaning in their mother’s’ words while the mothers assume their daughters’ mindset often leads to conflicts. As scholar Mohamed Samir stated, “this fact also reminds us of how much of the mothers’ intentions are lost to English speakers, including their daughters.”(Samir, 2010), the fact being that they speak different languages. The lack of clear communication portrays the mothers as uneducated when they are deep reservoirs of insight and knowledge for their daughters due to their tragic past. Through the stories exchanged between the four mothers, it is known that the mothers of Rose Hsu, Jing-Mei Woo, Waverly Jong, and Lena St. Clair all have made big sacrifices in order to end up in America. They have a past of having inferiority and female oppression laid upon them from their life in China which they want to educate their daughters about, through storytelling. This causes a cultural conflict as the Chinese mothers attempt to impart their beliefs and values to their daughters who are resistant to the conversations since they find their mothers’ mindset old fashioned. The mothers are faced with a dilemma as they have to choose to raise their daughters according to American culture or Chinese values. They want their daughters to have opportunities of an American as shown through their daughters assimilating into the American society, but on the other hand they wish for their daughters to maintain a Chinese character. An example which supports this claim from the book is found in the monologue of Lindo Jong saying “I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character.” (p.254). Lindo thinks her daughter Waverly has an American character and lacks Chinese values despite looking Chinese.

The cultural difference between mothers and daughters is demonstrated through which values are being prioritized. A key value in Chinese culture is obedience to the elders as hierarchy is an important concept for the Chinese. In a Chinese family, the children are expected to listen to the older generation as they have more knowledge and life experience. Meanwhile, in Western/American culture, children are raised to be independent and be creative in order to form their own ideas and thoughts. The importance of obedience and hierarchy is seen in the relationship between Lindo Jong and Waverly Jong. Lindo wanted Waverly to play chess when she was younger and later discovered that she was a chess talent. Waverly excels in the game which gives “mianzi”, an important sociological concept for Chinese which can most closely be translated to “dignity” or “face”, to the Jong-family. The role of “mianzi” in the Chinese culture is complex and can be demonstrated through Lindo’s pride in Waverly. Waverly excelling in chess gives a sense of prestige and status to her mother which can be viewed as “mianzi” for the family. According to University of California professor, P. Christopher Earley, face “is the way we present ourselves to others, it determines how we are judged and how we want to be perceived by others”(P. Christopher Earley: Face, Harmony and Social Structure: An Analysis of Organizational Behavior across Cultures, 1997, p.42.) . An example of “mianzi” in the Jong-family is the scene where Lindo and Waverly go to the market and Lindo proudly showing off her daughter to shop owners and bypassers since Waverly by that point was nationally recognized for her excellence in chess. On the other hand, Waverly expresses a sense of shame and embarrassment of her mother. She says “I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your daughter.”(p.99). This example not only demonstrates a cultural barrier, but also a linguistic barrier which results in miscommunication between the mother and daughter. Waverly meaning to express discontent with her mother’s obsession over the concept of face is perceived by Lindo as her being ashamed of being her daughter. Waverly later on in the dialogue attempts to explain herself saying “Why do you have to use me to show off?” which shows the distinction between her and her mother’s mindset. While “mianzi” is a key element for Lindo, Waverly wants to stay humble about her chess skills.

The American Dream is also a significant aspect of the book as this is a new concept for the mothers who have great expectations to their daughters. The daughters are born and raised in a country with opportunities they can choose among unlike their mothers who were bound to a tragic fate in China. The American Dream becomes a central belief for the mothers which is shown in Lindo’s explanation of American circumstances saying “If you are born here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship… In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.”(p.254). The American Dream becomes a contrast for the mothers’ lives in China where their parents at an early age determined their future by marrying them away for economic purposes. In the prologue, Suyuan, says “…nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch.” which suggests that in China, women’s worth is determined by her husband. By saying this, the concept of female independence in America is highlighted and set as a contrast to the Chinese culture. The idea that their children can be anything they want appeals to the mothers and exhibits a sense of appreciation for a part of the American culture. Seen from this perspective, one can conclude that the Chinese mothers appreciate the American circumstances but they disapprove of what they refer to as an “American character”. Despite the culture clash, the mothers by maternal instincts want their daughters to be happy by having choices and a voice which the American society allows them to have. They wish to give their daughters what they could not have in China because, in America, girls also have the opportunity to educate themselves instead of relying on their husband.

The daughters all strive to balance between their Chinese heritage and American culture. A linguistic and cultural barrier results in miscommunication of messages. Despite the many conflicts rooted in cultural differences between the two generations, the mothers have a wish for their daughters to avoid a tragic childhood demonstrated by an emphasis on female independence in American culture.

Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club has received critique for perpetuating Asian American stereotypes deemed as racist. Chinese American author and playwright Frank Chin asserts that the novel depicts the Chinese culture as misogynistic and cruel. A major stereotype of Chinese women in the US is the “China Porcelain Doll” stereotype suggesting feminine submissiveness. Critics claim the Joy Luck Club attempts to demonstrate stereotypes like the China Doll as all the mothers were once weak, subservient and docile at one point in their life which results in a tragic youth experience. Critics claim that by perpetuating on overused stereotypes, Tan portrays Asian-American women as weak in their relationship with misogynistic husbands oppressing them.

Despite negative criticism of the novel, Tan also received positive comments from novelist Nancy Williard, saying “Amy Tan’s special accomplishment in this novel is not her ability to show us how mothers and daughters hurt each other, but how they love and ultimately forgive each other.” Four years after the book was published, director Wayne Wang released the movie based on the novel which was praised by American critics and scored a 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. The plot was praised for raising awareness of Asian-American minorities and depicting them outside the narrow range of “typical Asian” generalizations like spelling bee winners and childhood pianists.