Joy Luck Club Response

A detailed Summary of Joy Luck Club Response

Of the many stories involving the many characters of "The Joy Luck Club", I believe the central theme connecting them all is the inability of the mothers and their daughters to communicate effectively. The mothers all have stories of past struggles and hard times yet do not believe their daughters truly appreciate this fact. The mothers of the story all want their daughters to never have to go through the struggles they themselves had to go through, yet they are disappointed when their daughters grow up and do not exhibit the respect or strength of their mothers.

The Chinese mothers came to the United States to escape the difficult they led in China and to start fresh in the United States. They did not want their children to grow up as they had. The short story in the beginning of the book describes this feeling. "Then the woman and the swan sailed across an ocean many thousands of li wide, stretching their necks toward America. On her journey she cooed to the swan: "In America I will have a daughter just like me. But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband's belch. Over there nobody will look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English. And over the

One of the most interesting things about the book is the page after the acknowledgments. It simply reads, "To my mother and the memory of her mother. You asked me once what I would remember. This, and much more.

might believe it accurately describes all the mothers' feelings about their daughters. They wanted their daughters to live an American life in that they would not be discriminated against or have any sorrow in their lives. In short, they wanted their daughters to avoid the sorrow and tribulations they had themselves experienced in life.

In the first chapter we are introduced to the actual Joy Luck Club. It is here that the horrors of the mothers that their daughters do not really know them is best illustrated. It is when June learns of her twin sisters and is told to travel to China to see them by her aunts. The passage reads, "You must see your sisters and tell them about your mother's death," says Auntie Ying. "But most important, you must tell them about her life. The mother they did not know, they must now know." "See my sisters, tell them about my mother," I say nodding. "What will I say? What can I tell them about my mother? I don't know anything. She was my mother." The aunties are looking at me as if I had became crazy right before their eyes. "Not know your own mother?" cries Auntie An-mei with disbelief. "How can you say? Your mother is in your bones!" "Tell them stories of your family here. How she became success," offers Auntie Lin. "Tell them stories she told you, lessons she ta!

Unfortunately, the wishes of the mothers had a catch to it. They wanted their daughters to exhibit the wisdom, strength, and respect that they themselves possessed but without the pain they had experienced themselves. But to gain the enormous strength and wisdom of life they wanted the daughters to have, the daughters would have to go through the same trials and tribulations that their mothers had. It seemed as if the mothers expected the children to have the same strength and wisdom about life that they did but with none of the struggle and pain.

, the passage goes on to read; "This is not so good," she said at last. "It is just leftover strips. And the fur is too short, no long hairs" (186). The story ends with, "My mother knows how to hit a nerve. And the pain I feel is worse than any kind of misery. Because what she does always comes as a shock, exactly like an electric jolt, that grounds itself permanently in my memory" (186,187).

In closing, the communication and overall relationships between the daughters and mothers did improve as the book progressed. However, this does not mean that they now have a perfect mother-daughter relationship now. The fact that the mothers and daughters do not share life experiences contributes to their different personalities and traits. Added to that is the different countries that they grew up in. The American born daughters are obviously going to take some things for granted that their mothers

Some common words found in the essay are:
American English, Lindo Jong, Luck Club, Waverly Waverly, Scar An-mei's, Suyuan Woo, American English34, Auntie Ying, Rich Despite, An-mei Hsu, mothers daughters, fur coat, short story, daughters mothers, chinese mothers, joy luck club, own mother, mothers story, strength wisdom, luck club, wisdom life, strength wisdom life,

Approximate Word count = 2024
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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