Finding Something to Believe in—Joy Luck

Finding Something to Believe in—Joy Luck

  • Submitted By: Sandie
  • Date Submitted: 11/03/2008 1:21 AM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 2967
  • Page: 12
  • Views: 850

The book The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan gives me a unique look at Chinese culture. It addresses issues of culture, identity, and relationships as well as gives the reader insight into how difficult it would be for a stranger in a foreign land. In the early 1900’s the world was at a point where people demanded change. World War II had created turmoil in many counties and as a result many families immigrated to America in the hopes to achieve the “American Dream”. Cultural identity was very important to immigrants because they had just moved to a unfamiliar place. Many had left their possessions in their homeland; they didn’t have any social ties and so practicing their cultural identity was one way that they could stay connected to the way of life that they were born into. Even though America had become known as a melting pot of different cultures, the country was pushing towards creating a unique “American” culture and by doing so pressuring many immigrants to leave their traditional customs behind. In this paper, I am going to be looking at The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan. I first want to give some background on Amy Tan and her struggles with identity because I believe that her own personal experiences helped shape her characters within The Joy Luck Club. The major themes that I would like to look at within this book include mother-daughter relationships, specifically how Suyuan Woo and Jing-Mei Woo’s cultural upbringing affect how they interact with one another. Secondly, I would like to look at Jing-Mei’s struggle for acquiring her own personal identity. The last thing that I would like to explore is Amy Tans usage of the Chinese belief of Feng Shui in purposefully organizing the book.
Much like Suyaun Woo, one of the characters that I am looking at in The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tans’ own parents lived in China during the World War II. After the war ended, Daisy Tan [Tu Ching], Amy Tans’ mother fled an abusive relationship and moved to America hoping to create a...

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