The Joy Luck Club

4 Pages 1067 Words

Amy Tan’s the Joy Luck Club is a prime example of
real mother and daughter relationships that are
strengthened over time. Through four Chinese pairs of
mothers and daughters, Tan shows the true bond that gets
stronger as the woman grow up together. The mother’s
come from different backgrounds and have all experienced
different childhoods than their daughters growing up in
America. These cultural differences make it hard for
Waverly Jong and Jing Mei Woo, two of the daughters
growing up in America, to accept their mother’s advice.
Throughout the text, Tan uncovers Chinese culture that
Waverly and Jing Mei’s mothers are trying to instill in
the girls. From their love of food, to their love for
one another to succeed, Amy Tan exposes the realities
between mother and daughter relationships and the
importance of understanding each other and each other’s
true culture.

Both Waverly and Jing Mei Woo are especially
close in character, growing up in America with Chinese
mother’s guiding their way. Both mother’s wish for their
daughters to be successful and happy, and eventually try
and make them both into prodigies using their skills
acquired during their childhood to fuel the desire to be
happy. Through these failures in childhood, and
achievements later in life, both mother and daughter
accept one another for the women that they are and the
culture they grew up in.

Lindo Jong, Waverly’s mother, is seen through
her story “The Red Candle”, which describes mother’s
expectations for their daughter’s future. In China,
where Lindo was raised, she was forced into marriage
around age 12 to save her family and was told to “obey
your family. Do not disgrace us…” (54) She was forced to
follow what her mother in law said to do and she said
she once “sacrificed my life to keep my parent’s
promise.” (49) Lindo muted her feelings about the
relationship to save fa...