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“Five months ago, after a crab dinner celebrating Chinese New Year, my mother gave me my “life’s importance,” a jade pendant on a gold chain… I wonder what it means, because my mother died three months ago, six days before my thirty-sixth birthday. And she’s the only person I could have asked, to tell me about life’s importance, to help me understand my grief.”(p.221)

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Theme: How the past affects a person's values and views

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Theme: How the past affects a person's values and views

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The things you have experienced and cultural identity help shape your present self. The Joy Luck Club explores this through the mothers and daughters. The daughters grow up in San Francisco which gives them a very different perspective on life.

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The mothers in The Joy Luck Club try to pass down their culture but do not talk about their past. Many of them have experienced traumatic things they'd rather leave in the past. It is difficult to hide your past but also want your daughter to follow the same culture as you and have the same views. It is very important when moving to another country to hold onto your culture, traditions, and heritage.

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Based on this quote it is clear that Suyuan and Jing-Mei have a tense relationship. They want each other to be things they are not. This idea that Suyuan presents Jing-Mei that there are only two kinds of daughters is not one as common in Jing-Mei's generation.

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This quote shows that the pressure Suyuan puts on Jing-Mei causes Jing-Mei to resent her mother and everything finally comes to a head after the recital. Jing-Mei seems to think she can never live up to the kind of daughter her mother wants her to be and that sadness could have possibly been why she became aggressive and said really hurtful things. After a while of trying to become a prodigy Jing-Mei gives up and does not think she will ever be a prodigy. It makes her upset that her mother wants her to be one because Jing-Mei views it as unattainable.

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Quote: “Five months ago, after a crab dinner celebrating Chinese New Year, my mother gave me my “life’s importance,” a jade pendant on a gold chain… I wonder what it means, because my mother died three months ago, six days before my thirty-sixth birthday. And she’s the only person I could have asked, to tell me about life’s importance, to help me understand my grief.”(p.221)

Explanation: The meaning of the jade pendant changes throughout the novel. At first Jing-Mei think it represents how different her mother's taste is from her own taste. She thinks the pendant is garish. However, as the story continues and Suyuan dies then Jing-Mei views the pendant as representing her mother's love for her. It shows Jing-Mei coming to a better understanding of her mother.

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Suyuan grew up in China which heavily impacted her views, values, and parenting style. She often does things that Jing-Mei does not understand. This is due to the cultural differences. The mothers in THe Joy Luck Club come across as critical and controlling to their daughters. This is a way they show their concern. This specific quality created rift between Suyuan and Jing-Mei.

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Growing up in San Francisco causes the daughters in The Joy Luck Club to grow up in a very different culture because they are both American and Chinese. Their cultural identity shapes them into who they are. This sometimes causes them to not understand their mothers because of the differences.

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“You want me to be something I’m not!’ I sobbed. ‘I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be!’...’Then I wish I wasn’t your daughter. I wish you weren’t my mother,’ I shouted.” (pg.153)

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"Only two kinds of daughters,' she shouted in Chinese. 'Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!"(p.153)

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Jing-Mei is the main character of The Joy Luck Club. She was born in San Francisco and has a very tense relationship with her other Suyuan. Since Suyuan was born and raised in China it means she has different values than Jing-Mei. This often leads to miscommunication. However, when Jing-Mei comes to learn more about her mother's past she becomes more understanding.

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Suyuan Woo was originally from China and was married to her husband in the military and had twins. During the war she lived in Kweilin with her kids and started the Joy Luck Club to bring hope to her and her friends. When the Japanese invaded she had to leave and walk to another city. She had to leave her kids behind. Suyuan Woo emigrated to America, remarried and had a daughter named Jing Wei “June”. Suyuan and Jing Wei had a very strained and complicated relationship. Suyuan dies and June finds out from Suyuan’s friends at the Joy Luck Club that her kids back in China had survived and Suyuan found their address.

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The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan follows multiple generations of women born in both China and America. Each of the eight main characters narrates different chapters of the novel, which help us gain insight into their past and what shaped their present views on life, relationships with other people, and their core values. The reader learns details about their relationship with their mothers through storytelling and parables. Throughout the novel, Amy Tan explores how the past can impact the present such as parenting styles, views, and values. She also highlights how learning about someone's past can often help you gain insight into their present self. In The Joy Luck Club, the relationship between Suyuan Woo and her daughter Jing-Mei is nuanced and somewhat difficult. However, when Jing-Mei learns more about her mother’s past, she has a new understanding of her mother. Suyuan Woo shows why your past affects who you are and how that affect can impact your values, views, and relationships.