Gender Roles In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

Published in 1989, the novel The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan captures the past and present lives of multiple Chinese American women. The women that tell their stories are either mothers that immigrated to the United States from China or their daughters. Throughout the novel, the point of view switches between a different mother or daughter that narrates each chapter. The daughters who tell their story are named Jing-Mei “June” Woo, Waverly Jong, Lena St. Claire and Rose Hsu Jordan. The names of the mothers are Lindo Jong , Ying-Ying St. Claire and An-Mei Hsu. Each woman tells stories of the past and share how their experiences have shaped them and their lives. Other than the past, the women talk about current conflicts dealing with their family relationships and internal struggles.

In following chapters told from her point of view, June recalls childhood memories of when her mother is tried to make her into a young prodigy. Despite her mother’s efforts, June becomes defiant and refuses to follow orders. Later on, June fulfills her mother’s lifelong dreams to find her long lost sisters that her mother had to leave back in China. Waverly Jong was a chess champion as a child who always felt embarrassed by her mother’s pride. It is later revealed that she the fear she has for her mother’s sharp tongue follows her into adulthood. Lena St. Claire feels lonely in her own home when she is a child because of her inability to really connect to her mother. In adulthood, Lena is stuck in an unhappy marriage just as her mother had predicted. Rose Hsu Jordan tells the story of her youngest brother's disappearance that she feels responsible for. As an adult, Rose goes through a divorce because her husband cannot tolerate her passive