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The Joy Luck Club Essay

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Marriage is what we picture as a lovely thing in which a couple is usually bonded by love and mutual support, but in The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan marriage is deemed a problem and a difficulty to the couples. The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan, is about four ladies that are together to play Mah Jong. The ladies tell each other stories about their lives and it shapes the life of the youngest lady, Jin-Mei Woo, who is there because her mother, who was in the club, passed away. Amy Tan develops the theme of marriage in The Joy Luck Club using flashbacks. Marriage in Chinese culture is based on traditions. A matchmaker is brought into the house to bond two toddlers for life. These two kids do not have a choice in whom they are able to marry. …show more content…

Ying Ying St. Clair had a hard marriage, and she had to have an abortion, because her husband divorced her. In “Waiting Between the Trees” Ying Ying talks about her miscarriage, and she says that she, “took this baby from my womb before it could be born. This was not a bad thing to do in China back then, to kill a baby before it was born. But even then, I thought it was bad, because my body flowed with terrible revenge as the juices of this man's firstborn son poured from me” (Tan 248). This is showing how she did not want to kill the baby, but because of divorce, she had to and it shaped her life and her aspect of love. Rose Hsu Jordan tried to avoid her divorce with Ted in order to kept her house. “Ted pulled out the divorce papers and stared at them. His x’s were still there, the blanks were still blank… And the answer, the one that was important above everything else, ran through my body and fell from my lips: ‘You can’t just pull me out of your life and throw me away” (Tan 196). Rose tried to talk to Ted, but she got into a divorce and it changed her view of herself. Divorce is is a big aspect in both marriage and the book, and it develops the plot by shaping the lives of the

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The oldest piece of jewelry discovered dates back 150,000 years (ArtNet News), proving its undying influence on cultures throughout the world. Over time, jewelry has served various purposes, for instance, to signify status, to demonstrate religious devotion, as a demonstration of wealth, and most commonly: the enhancement of natural beauty. However, no matter the country or time period, jewelry holds a sort of significance for the owner, as seen through the history behind the piece. The Joy Luck Club, a novel written by Amy Tan, describes the generational struggle between Chinese-American immigrant parents and their daughters as they attempt to preserve their cultural identity in the face of adapting to American society. Tan uses jewelry in

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Thesis Statement about theme of literary work- In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, expressions of love and hatred are shown in multiple mother-daughter relationships resulting in negative impacts such as pain, bitterness, and regret because of their differing opinions. Support Point #1- Suyuan Woo guiltily leaves her twin daughters on the ground in China as she walks away in tears.

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In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, mother and daughter relationships are put to the test. Four women meet to play a game of Chinese mahjong, keeping a tradition alive. Suyuan Woo, founder of the club, had a daughter named Jing Mei June Woo. Suyuan had two daughters which she expected both to succeed to her standards.

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Rose had felt lost, no one wanted to help her, and her life was falling apart. After her mother calls her, Lena thinks that her mother wants to save the marriage, but she was surprised when she said “I am not telling you to save your marriage [...] I only say you should speak up” (Tan 193). Finally liberated, Rose decides to skip her appointment with her psychiatrist and divorce Ted right there.

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His wife, Joan meanwhile, discovers a literary talent of her own and has recently begun publishing her own work, which only increases the growing tension between them. It is interesting to note that the two of them are completely different from each other in terms of their personalities and it left me wondering what made them hold on for so long! There is evidence of fierce competition between the couple which is obvious from the

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Incompatible Interracial relationships are difficult to maintain in the United States because of differences in cultural upbringing as well as racism and xenophobia. The book The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan focuses on four Chinese mothers who describe their past hardships and adjustment to the United States as well as their relationships with their American born daughters. The mothers try to save their children from experiencing the same things that they have been through. In the book, there are a few interracial couples such as Rose Hsu and Ted, Waverly Jong and Rich, and Ying Ying St.Clair and her husband Clifford. They all have trouble loving and understanding each other.

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Divorce in the 1920s was an uncommon occurrence and carried with it a heavy stigma. Since divorce was so uncommon, many spouses did not have a way out of their marriages, leading to impetuous decisions and often dire consequences. F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the consequences of this social norm in the novel, The Great Gatsby, with the marriages of Tom and Daisy; and Myrtle and George. Fitzgerald uses Tom and Daisy’s marriage to depict how the stigma of divorce can lead to problems between spouses. One such problem that arises from this norm—people end up feeling jealous of others—leads to many arguments and disagreements.

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“Communication is the key to a successful relationship, attentiveness, and consistency. Without it, there is no relationship,” (Bleau). The Joy Luck Club is a novel written by Amy Tan. Set in the twentieth century, this novel depicts the life of four Chinese immigrant women escaping their past and their American-grown daughters. The novel reveals the mothers’ hardship-filled past and motivations alongside with the daughters’ inner conflicts and struggles.

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