Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club"

Paper Summary:

This paper provides a biography of the novelist Amy Tan born on February 19, 1952, in Oakland, California, to Chinese parents. It examines how her novel, "The Joy Luck Club", is, in many ways, a biography of Tan's life. It discusses how like the main character, Tan did not learn that she had half-sisters from her mother's previous marriage until she was older. It evaluates many other parallels between her life and the book such as how she describes her pain from her father and brother's deaths, through Suyuan Woo's loss of her twin daughters and her death. It also shows how like the main character of "The Joy Luck Club", Tan resented her mother when she was younger for being so controlling.

Outline
Introduction
A Biography
The Joy Luck Club
Generation Gaps in the Joy Luck Club
Cultural Differences
Chinese American Life
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"One of the major themes in Tan's " The Joy Luck Club" is a constant quest for identity. Tan's eight main characters all face the challenge of defining themselves while they are undergoing some sort of personal conflict. Lindo Jong's early marriage into an unreceptive family caused her to become a stronger woman and made her vow to never forget her roots. Ying-ying St. Clair became a sort of "ghost" as the result of betrayal and loss in her life. Rose Hsu Jordan repeatedly tried to get her self-confidence back to standup to husband. June Woo narrates much of the story, telling of her quest to China, which was orchestrated by her Joy Luck Club aunties. June tries to understand her mother's tragic past, while realizing her own personal and ethnic identity. "

More papers on Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club":

• Comparison Essay # 32877 : "The Joy Luck Club": Story Comparison"
• Essay # 1254 : "Suyuan and Jing-mei in Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club"
• Book Review # 32509 : "The Joy Luck Club"

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