Joy Luck Club: In depth behind Tan and her Writing :: essays research papers fc

The Joy Luck Club was her first big success and was translated into seventeen languages and stood at New York Times best-seller list for nine months. The plot follows the lives of four Chinese Immigrant mothers and their American born daughters. Tan weaves an intricate story as the the four families intertwine and reveal their own secrets forming and strengthening the mother daughter bond.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story begins on one daughter, Jing-mei, who takes the place of her mother at the Joy Luck Club table in place of her mother (Suyan Woo) who had died. This club was created by the four mothers of the story, Suyan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-ying St. Clair during the war. The mothers met and played Mah-Jong, ate good dinners, and gambled. All to escape the cruelties of their lives, to brighten their spirits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jing-mei learns of her mother's past, of her difficult decisions such as leaving behind two daughters in China on the side of the road. The club learns of the location of those two daughters and are saving to send Jing-mei to meet them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the date nears each mother recalls in vivid detail their own pasts in China.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An-mei (mother of Rose Hsu) as a child was forbidden to speak her mother's name. She was told her mother dishonered the family by remarrying after her husbands death. Her mother ends up killing herself to give An-mei a better position in life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lindo (mother of Waverly Jong) had her marriage arranged when she was very young. The young man she was destined to wed was spoiled and immature. Lindo fabricated a an elaborate story about an angry ancestor who would kill her husband should they stay married. She was given money and pushed off to America and was told to not speak of the curse to anyone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ying-ying (mother of Lena St. Clair) discovered as a child that the magic and wonder of many things she believed in such as a favorite Moon Festival was only an elaborate act. As an adult Ying is a strong character, not letting things in general affect her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The daughters also remember their own lives growing up in California with their Chinese mothers. Many of the daughters grew up, like Tan, feeling they belonged neither in China nor in America and began to reject and question their own background.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Waverly was a chess champion, she quit when she and her friend