The Joy Luck Club is a novel written by Amy Tan, an American writer who was born to Chinese immigrant parents in Oakland, California, in 1989. In her work, Tan often explores the mother-daughter relationship and the misunderstandings between Chinese and American culture. The Joy Luck Club is Tan’s best-selling novel. It was a novel popular enough to be adapted into a film release. In the story, Tan focuses on four Chinese immigrant families who joined the San Francisco version of the Joy Luck Club started by Suyuan. The story is structured with four parts each divided into four chapters. In each of the chapters, Tan portrays a loving but conflicting relationship between the Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters. In The
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Lindo wanted her children to have the best combination: “American circumstances and Chinese character”. (Tan 254) To Lindo, having her children living under American circumstances was more favorable since “nobody says [people] have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives [them]” in America. (Tan 254). In contrast, instead of having American character, Lindo believed that Waverly should keep her Chinese character, a character she was born with. However, Waverly feared that the two qualities could not mix. Moreover, she failed to learn the Chinese character of obeying parents, putting personal feelings behind, not showing personal thoughts, and taking advantage of hidden opportunities while her mother failed to teach it. Tan portrays how Lindo was discouraged as her Chinese thinking did not stick to her daughter. “No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuck.” (Tan 254) Waverly believed that her mother’s thinking was old-fashioned and she wanted to be her own
Lindo wanted her children to have the best combination: “American circumstances and Chinese character”. (Tan 254) To Lindo, having her children living under American circumstances was more favorable since “nobody says [people] have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives [them]” in America. (Tan 254). In contrast, instead of having American character, Lindo believed that Waverly should keep her Chinese character, a character she was born with. However, Waverly feared that the two qualities could not mix. Moreover, she failed to learn the Chinese character of obeying parents, putting personal feelings behind, not showing personal thoughts, and taking advantage of hidden opportunities while her mother failed to teach it. Tan portrays how Lindo was discouraged as her Chinese thinking did not stick to her daughter. “No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuck.” (Tan 254) Waverly believed that her mother’s thinking was old-fashioned and she wanted to be her own