The Joy Luck Club Identity Essay

Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club, displays numerous characters' quests to find their identity. Jing-Mei Woo, who goes by June, believes that she will never live up to her mother’s standards. She lacks confidence and a sense of identity. The cultural and historical settings influence the development of the character Jing-Mei Woo because she identifies with American culture, while her mother wants her to behave more like the Chinese culture. She believes that her mother wants her to be a genius when, in reality, her mother just wants her to try. When June goes to China to find her sisters, she discovers what part of her is Chinese because of her family, highlighting the theme of finding one’s identity. June Identifies with American culture, while her mother wants her to behave more like Chinese culture. June’s mother, Suyan, believed in the “American Dream”. She believed that, “You could be anything you wanted to be in America,” (Tan 142). Suyan saw Shirley Temple on television and believed that June could be like her. She put June into piano

June goes to China with her father to meet her mothers daughters that she left in China when they were babies while she was fleeing war. Before going to China, June didn't know what part of her was Chinese. She says, “Even without makeup, I could never pass for true Chinese. I stand five-foot-six, and my head pokes above the crowd so that I am eye level only with other tourists,” (Tan 310). June identifies with American culture and thinks she is too American to see what part of her is Chinese. After meeting her sisters, she is able to find her Chinese identity. She says, “And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family,” (Tan 329). June has spent her life identifying with American culture and not knowing her Chinese culture. When she visits China, she finds her identity in her