The Struggle In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

Throughout all three books read over the summer, there is a consistent theme of struggle but also being able to confront your problems makes the struggle less of a struggle. In The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, the narratives switch back and forth between 3 mothers and 4 daughters. The book conveys a theme of struggle by forming new lives in America from China but now facing more problems within their families and with themselves. In Handle With Care by Jodi Piccoult it follows the lives of the O’Keefes and their struggles derived from their daughter having osteogenesis imperfecta, or OI, for short. Each family member faces problems with its center in miscommunication, having a child with a disability, and avoiding confrontation. In The Fault in Our Stars

Hazel Grace had already been facing multiple obstacles before she had met Augustus. One of them being cancer spreading from her thyroid to her lungs. After the whole love story happens of young love unfolding before our eyes, Gus reveals that he was no longer in remission. Gus reveals that before they left for Amsterdam, on their quest to find Hazel’s favorite author, his PET scan had “lit up like a Christmas tree.” This a huge huge dilemma and obstacle for Hazel because she knows she is about to lose the one she loves. Hazel overcomes this obstacle with acceptance and not living in denial. Obviously this was a very difficult thing for her to come and face, but when she confronted her problems head on, it was slightly easier. Gus wanted to attend his own funeral because Hazel saw that funerals were for the living, not the dead. Hazel had had some sort of closure when she read the letter given to her from Van Houten that Gus wrote to him. I can relate this to my life because I have realized that confronting problems instead of avoiding them is better in the long run. Being able to not be in denial leaves to have less hurt