Jingmei woo, 36, attends her first meeting of the joy luck club, a group of her parents friends who gather regularly to play mah jong, a chinese game. Suyuan woo formed the joy luck club when she and her husband moved to the united states. The joy luck club unabridged the joy luck club unabridged audiobook, by amy tan. The joy luck club describes the lives of four asian women who fled china in the 1940s and their four very americanized daughters. The conflicts are not just between generations, but across cultures and languages, because the mothers and daughters have grown up in different countries with widely different traditions and values.
The twentysix malignant gates a mother cautions her sevenyearold daughter not to ride her bicycle around the corner. She takes it to america, hopeful that it will inspire her future daughter to stretch herself, just like the duck stretched its neck and became a swan, a creature. The joy luck club is four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who is telling the story. Is amy tan showing us that one cant be condemned for too long. The novel focuses on jingmei june woo, a thirtysixyearold daughter, who, after her mothers death, takes her place at the meetings of a social group called the joy luck club. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. It was nominated for the national book award and the national book critics circle award and was a recipient of the commonwealth gold award and the bay area book award. Notes on chapter 2, anmei hsu, scar from the joy luck club. What i liked best about this book is the insight into life in china, and how different it is from life in north america.
The joy luck club explores the importance of understanding ones heritage as a way of affirming identity. Written by amy tan, audiobook narrated by gwendoline yeo. The stories are somewhat entertaining, but overall i think the joy luck club is overrated. At the end of the chapter, the ladies from the joy luck club give jingmei money to travel to china and find her halfsisters and tell them of their mothers life. When june was growing up, suyuan believed that june could be anything she wanted to be, and was determined that june be a genius of some kind. The joy luck club chapters 34 summary and analysis. The joy luck club by amy tan four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on whos saying the stories. That book was the joy luck club, reportedly written by.
Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on litcharts. The joy luck club part 2 chapter 2 summary course hero. See a complete list of the characters in the joy luck club and indepth analyses of jingmei june woo, suyuan woo, anmei hsu, rose hsu jordan, lindo jong, waverly jong, yingying st. You should definitely go check out the chapter summaries to get a better grasp on everything that happens. The joy luck club rice husband summary and analysis.
And i am embarrassed by the endoftheyearbanquet lie my aunties have told to mask their generosity. Over the years, she told me the same story, except for the ending, which grew darker, casting long shadows into her life, and eventually into mine. Get a detailed summary and analysis of every chapter in the book from. A that is how many people are needed to play mah jong. This week, we read two chapters, each about one of the mothers. Amy tan reads the opening pages of her novel the joy luck club chapter one first chapter 1 duration. The joy luck club study guide contains a biography of amy tan, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
The joy luck club by amy tan on free audio book download. Memories of a writing life, and two childrens books, the moon lady and sagwa, which has now been adapted as a pbs production. Tyanyus father was better from being sick and his grandmother thought the ghosts would turn their attention to tyanyu and take him instead. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Kylie zaechelein, rei kitagawa, nick lopez, and eric matteini for mr. Clair summary storytelling struggles of immigration american dream the style of the book is first person. For months the joy luck club was on the new york times. Chapter summary for amy tans the joy luck club, part 2 chapter 2 summary. C the speaker only wanted to include her very best friends. The joy luck club describes the lives of four asian women who fled china in the 1940s and their four very americanised daughters. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis.
Here, we see that this chapter picks up the conflict described in rules of the game that is, waverlys lovehate relationship with her mother. She lived in a large house with her brother, grandmother, uncle and aunt. The club has been maintained for many years and undergone many changes since its inceptionfor instance, the husbands of the women now attend, and they pool their money to buy stock. Although the women in the joy luck club are chinese or chinese american, and their heritage plays an important part in their lives, they also have experiences that all of us face, regardless of culture, even today. Eight different stories mothers suyan woo anmei hsu lindo jong yingying st. The joy luck club part 1 chapter 1 summary course hero.
The joy luck club is a 1989 novel written by amy tan. It was a finalist for the national book award and the national book critics circle award in 1989. By reflecting upon the mother tan tells the story of how she left china during the 1949 revolution and came to america to escape the communists. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
The story was noticed by a book agent who asked her to write an outline for a book. Home literature the joy luck club characters anmei hsu anmei hsu timeline. In 1949 four chinese women, recent immigrants to san francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. Lacking substance, she can but twist in the wind of her husbands decisions and demands. I own all the audiobooks but have yet to listen to any of them. Plot synopsis chapter notes lindo jong the red candle summary. During the 1940s, china power was threatened by japanese invasions and by the rising force of the communists. Chapters 2 4 in chapter 2, anmei hsu tells a childhood memory of her and her mother. The joy luck club part 2 chapter 1 summary course hero. The joy luck club chapter 8, jingmei woo, two kinds. The joy luck club was adapted into a feature film in 1994, for which amy tan was a. Lindo jongs story is about familial obligations and honor.
The joy luck club begins because of a former club that suyan was part of that forms part of the rich mythological heritage that her daughter is brought up with and is told to the reader in the. The joy luck club part 1 prologue summary course hero. Joy luck club her mother, who was of chinese descent, taught her everything she knew. Here is the truetoform enactment of several key scenes and narrations from the book. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the joy luck club. The joy luck club chapters 12 summary and analysis gradesaver. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the joy luck club and what it means. Discussion questions book club recommendationsdiscussion. The main plot starts in the next chapter where one of the mothers died and her daughter is asked to take her place in the joy luck club playing mah jong.
The joy luck club is a series of vignettes, or short sketches, that are related through the theme of motherdaughter conflict and resolution. The prologues at the beginning of each section of the joy luck club are all parables, or simple stories used to illustrate moral lessons. The title of the book, the joy luck club, is taken from suyuan woos establishment of a gathering between women, first in china, and later in san francisco. Saint took me to america, where i lived in houses smaller than the one in the country. Chapter 8, jingmei woo, two kinds notes from the joy luck. She is a highly successful tax attorney in a highpowered position. The first chapter for example feathers from a thousand li away deals with how. The stories set in the present andor america are not that interesting, but the histories of the mothers when they were still in china provide some insight into womens history in china. The voice from the wall in amy tans the joy luck club. Feathers from a thousand li away the joy luck club part 1, chapter 2 the red candle the moon lady the twentysix malignant gates rules of the game the voice from the wall half and half two kinds american translation rice husband four directions without wood best quality queen mother of the western skies magpies waiting between the trees double. The joy luck club was adapted into a feature film in 1994, for which amy tan was a coscreenwriter with ron bass and a coproducer with bass and wayne wang. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Free chapter 2, anmei hsu, scar summary of the joy luck club by amy tan.
The joy luck club summary and analysis of chapters 34. In 1949 four chinese womendrawn together by the shadow of their past begin meeting in san francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and say stories. Joy luck club amy tan page 9 but you cant stay in the dark for so long. Something inside of you starts to fade and you become like a starving person, crazyhungry for light. Joy luck club chapter 12 best quality audiobook youtube. The joy luck club has been translated into many different languages. The joy luck club was the first book i ever read by amy tan, and while ive read a couple of her other books, i came back to this one. From the moment i first started reading it, i knew it was going to be incredible. Teach your students to analyze literature like litcharts does. Why did the author specifically elaborate on this subject. When it matters, the joy luck club will step up to take care of its own. Nearly 40 years later, one of the members has died, and her daughter has come to take her place, only.
Instant downloads of all 1291 litchart pdfs including the joy luck club. Joy luck club chapter 12 best quality audiobook duration. Auntie, uncle, i say, repeatedly, nodding to each person there. The joy luck club by amy tan overdrive rakuten overdrive. A stunning literary achievement, the joy luck club explores the tender and tenacious bond between four daughters and their mothers. The first one is about a chinese woman who buys a swan that used to be a duck. About the joy luck club the joy luck club summary character list glossary themes chapters 1 2 chapters 34 chapters 56 chapters 78 chapters 910 chapters 1112 chapters 14 chapters 1516 asianamerican women writers related links essay questions quiz 1 quiz 2 quiz 3 quiz 4 quiz 5 citations. Sometimes its hard to keep track of what anmei hsu is up to during the joy luck club.
Following ancient chinese custom, lindos parents promised their daughter, when she was only two years old, to eventually marry a boy named tyanyu. My mother started the san francisco version of the joy luck club in 1949, two years before i was born. Amy tan effortlessly mixes tenderness and bitter irony, sorrow and slicing wit. The joy luck club study guide contains a biography of amy tan, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full. Most of the female characters in the joy luck club struggle with oppressive societal structures, often in the form of patriarchy and attendant sexism. Jingmei, who goes by the american name june, is taking the place of her mother, suyuan, who died two months before. Popo got very sick and told anmei fables she could not understand. In 1949, four chinese women drawn together by the shadow of their past begin meeting in san francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and say stories. Clair daughters jingmei june woo rose hsu jordan waverly jong lena st. The joy luck club questions and answers the question and answer sections of our study guides are a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss literature. When the daughter protests, her mother explains that the child will fall, will cry out and will be out of earshot. Her mothers ability to see danger in everything kept lena shelt.
Welcome to the 6th weekly recap of the joy luck club readalong. For me, it was one of those onceinalifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. The joy luck club is a novel by amy tan that was first published in 1989. B the speaker wanted one player for each corner of her mah jong table. The joy luck club is about the bond between mother and daughter, in particular chinese immigrant mothers and their american born and raised daughters in san francisco. Amy tan is the author of the joy luck club, the kitchen gods wife, the hundred secret senses, the bonesetters daughter, the opposite of fate.
Chapter summary for amy tans the joy luck club, part 2 chapter 1 summary. The purpose of the club, the joy luck club in america is to bring good fortune to suyuan woos family and. They struggle with raising their children, contend with unhappy marriages, cope with difficult financial circumstances, and are disheartened by bad luck. Amy tan is the author of the joy luck club, the kitchen gods wife, the hundred secret senses, the bonesetters daughter, the opposite of fate, saving fish from drowning, and two childrens books, the moon lady and the chinese siamese cat, which has been adapted as sagwa, a pbs series for children. As a young girl in china, anmei was forbidden to talk about her mother. This was the year my mother and father left china with. Many of the characters respond to this suppression simply by becoming passive, silent, and indecisive. It focuses on four chinese american immigrant families in san francisco who start a club known as the joy luck club, playing the chinese game of mahjong for money while feasting on a variety of foods. But in america as well, the women characters fall victim to sexist structures. There were four members of the joy luck club because.