ABOUT THIS BOOK

Introduction/Plot Summary

The Joy Luck Club is a fascinating look into the lives of Chinese women--those who have immigrated to the United States, and Chinese- American women. Written as a collection of vignettes told in the first person, four mothers and their four daughters share memories of the joys and conflicts of their lives.

Each story gives a wonderful glimpse into Chinese culture and heritage including festivals, marriage ceremonies, food dishes, clothing, and raising children. The reader is also introduced to the social rules and expectations for the traditional Chinese woman. However, what is most moving about The Joy Luck Club is that in spite of this upbringing, each woman or girl has a true nature and spirit that enables her to find unique ways to cope with life. These individual spirits are the basis of survival through hard times both emotional and physical.

Many of the experiences that these Chinese women have throughout the book are shared by women universally. The experiences shared by these Chinese families are common familial ones. The reader learns of Chinese customs and can readily identify with the commonalities.

The San Francisco version of the Joy Luck Club is a group of women who have met over the mah jong table regularly since 1949. The first vignette is told by the daughter of the club's founder who has been invited to join after her mother's death. Jing-mei Woo explains how the first club started in China and how it continues to the present.

The stories, while separate, are woven together as we learn of subsequent deaths, divorces, and family reunions in later chapters. Certain details in later vignettes relate back to events earlier in the book. The feelings that mothers have concerning their daughters, how daughters feel about their mothers, and the competition, love and resentment that takes place among various members of the group are skillfully revealed.

One of the major conflicts between the mothers and their daughters is the desire of the young generation to become more Americanized. But as the second generation ages, they become more interested in retaining their unique Chinese heritage. Consequently, as the book ends it becomes evident that the Joy Luck Club will continue and that there is a renewed appreciation for what it means to be Chinese among the newer generation who must now pass this bond on to their own children.


Historical Notes

The first major wave of Chinese immigration to the United States took place around the 1840's. Prompted by the gold rush and westward expansion, Chinese men came to the country to pursue work. Another influx of Chinese immigrants came in the 1860's to work on the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Chinese created booming businesses by taking care of functions such as laundry and cooking. These opportunities were created by the absence of women in mining towns and along the construction sites. Chinese living in San Francisco were artisans and factory workers.

After the completion of the railroad, the mistreatment of Asian immigrants, particularly in California, escalated. Since the Chinese were the first major group of Asians, they suffered the sting of prejudice even more than other Asians. A series of immigration quotas limited the number of new immigrants into the country.

The end of World War II, and the new communist government in China toward the end of the 1940's prompted another major exodus of Chinese as well as a slight reversal of attitude among Euro-Americans. The mothers in The Joy Luck Club all came to the United States during this time period.

As your students read ask them to:
identify the various themes:

mother-daughter conflict

expectations between mother and daughter

striving for excellence and the pressure that this brings

interracial/intercultural marriage

familial responsibility

mending broken relationships

survival

undying love

assimilation into new cultures

searching for the past

keep a running list of passages or items (along with their page numbers) that refer to culture. Examples of items that can be included in the list in more detail are:

·the structure and mandates of social classes
·respect of elders
·arranged marriages
·concubines, their children, and the statuses they hold in the household
·universal human conditions and problems
·cultural differences
·the tragedy that accompanies the loss of children
·the Chinese view of Americans

DISCUSSION AND WRITING

Comprehension Questions

1. What was life like for Suyuan Woo when she lived in Kwelin?

2. How does Jing-mei feel about taking her mother's place in the Joy Luck Club?

3. How did the Hsu's fare on their trip to China three years ago?

4. Describe why An-Mei's mother left her with relatives?

5. What eventually became of An-Mei's mother?

6. Describe the circumstances of Lindo Jong's first marriage.

7. How did Lindo manage to get out of the marriage?

8. What did Ying-Ying discover about the Moon Lady?

9. What was Waverly Jong's talent as a child?

10. What became of her talent?

11. What is Waverly's profession now?

12. What was the relationship between Rose and Ted like?

13. What happened to Rose at the beach?

14. How did Rose's mother deal with the situation?

15. What was Jing-mei's talent?

16. What became of her talent?

17. What was the similarity between Jing-mei and Waverly?

18. How did Lena's husband begin to irritate her?

19. Why was Waverly afraid to tell her mother that she was getting married again?

20. How did her mother react to the news?

21. How did Rose get even with Ted?

22. At the New Year's celebration, Jing-mei's mother served crab. What was the incident that turned Jing-mie off of crabs?

23. According to Jing-mei, how did Chinese mothers show their love for their children?

24. How did Ying-Ying feel about her daughter's marriage?

25. What was Lindo's reaction to her daughter wanting to go to China?

26. Why was Waverly going to China?

27. How did Lindo meet An-Mei?

28. How did Jing-mei fulfill her mother's dream?

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Activities

1. Divide the class into four groups and assign each group one section of the book. Each group will prepare a report on its section to present to the class. Each report should include the following:

A. summaries of each vignette including the person who is telling the story.

B. the main characters in the vignette.

C. where the story takes place--in China or California.

D. the conflicts that occur in each vignette.

E. the customs that are apparent.

F. the aspects of Chinese culture that are identified.

G. a description of the relationships between the main characters in the story.

As each group reports, the remainder of the class should take notes. This information will serve as background for the other sections of the book.

2. Ask students to go to the library to research China during the 20th century. What were the social conditions? Identify some of the political changes. Who were some of the major Chinese people in the headlines?

3. As students to investigate the various policies toward Asian immigrants in the United States. Ask them to construct a timeline of major events and laws concerning the treatment of Asians in the United States during the 20th century.

4. Instruct students to write an essay about a time when they felt pressured to live up to the expectations of their parents. What was the expectation? Why did they feel pressured? What was the outcome? How did they feel about the outcome? How did their parents feel about the outcome?

5. Mothers and daughters have unique relationships. If you are a daughter, describe your relationship with your mother. If you are a son, describe your sister's relationship to your mother. If you don't have a sister, pick a relative or a friend and describe that daughter's relationship with her mother.

6. The Chinese use a lunar calendar which is divided into 12 months of either 29 or 30 days. This calendar runs on a sixty year cycle. Each year in the zodiac is assigned an animal. Instruct your students to find an almanac. Have them look up the animal year in which they were born. Point out that the Chinese and the Vietnamese both have New Year's celebrations based on the ancient lunar calendar. Ask them to find out the names of the two celebrations. (Chinese is Hsin Nien; Vietnamese is Tet).

7. As students read the descriptions of various delicacies ask them to jot down the ones they would like to sample and why. If possible, have a feast of Chinese food in the class as a culminating activity.

8. Firecrackers, all time celebration favorites, are a Chinese invention. Ask students to look up the history of the firecracker.

9. Ask students to write an essay on what they learned about Chinese culture by reading The Joy Luck Club. How does Chinese culture differ from American culture? If you have Chinese students in your class, ask them to write about how The Joy Luck Club compares to their experiences as Chinese Americans. If you have students from other cultures, ask them to note similarities in their cultures to Chinese as well as the similarities or differences in the immigrant experience.

10. Ask students to look at news articles in magazines or newspapers to find out current events in China for the past year.

VOCABULARY

Vocabulary

As students to define these terms before beginning the book. Advise them to keep the list handy as they read.

·admonish
·apparition
·arpeggio
·bougainvillea
·brigands
·camphor
·cerebral aneurysm
·community property
·concubine
·discordant
·embezzlement
·fiasco
·insidiously
·lacquer
·lapis
·mah jong
·malignant
·malodorous
·obstinate
·nesting instinct
·palanquin
·phlegmy
·pre-nuptial
·prodigy
·saffron-colored
·snifters
·staccato
·tactlessness
·teakwood
·tether boil
·transister radio


Chinese Expressions

Each of these expressions is defined in the sentence where it occurs.

·butong
·chabudwo
·chaswa
·chi
·chunwan chihan
·dim sum
·heimongmong
·hong mu
·houlu
·hulihudu
·kai gwa
·kechi
·lihai
·nengkan
·ni kan
·shemma yisz
·tounau
·tyandi
·waigoren
·ying yang
·ywansyau
·zong zi


Locations

Identify each of these places on a map of Asia.

·Beijing
·Canton
·Chungking or Chongqing
·Fukien
·Quangzhou
·Hangzhou
·Hawaii
·Hongkong
·Kweilin or Guilin
·Kuomintang
·Nanking
·Ningpo
·Peking
·Philippines
·Shanghai
·Shansi
·Swanle
·Taiyuan
·Tientsin
·Tolshan
·Vietnam
·Wushi

OTHER TITLES OF INTEREST

Background Sources

Chan, Suchen. Asian Americans: An Interpretative History. (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991).

Clayre, Alasdair. The Heart of the Dragon. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985).

McLenighan, Valjean. China: A History of 1949. (Chicago: Children's Press, 1983).

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

Teacher's Guide by Rosalyn McPherson Andrews. Ms. Andrews is founder of McPherson Andrews Marketing, an educational marketing consultant firm. In addition to researching and developing school materials, she has taught at the junior high and college levels.