Mother Daughter Relationships - Mothers and Daughters in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club :: Joy Luck Club Essays

M separates and Daughters in Joy Luck Club Amy Tans novel, The Joy Luck Club, explores the relationships and experiences of four Chinese mothers and four Chinese-Ameri tail daughters. The difference in upbringing of those women born during the first keister of this century in China, and their daughters born in California, is undeniable. From the beginning of the novel, you hear Suyuan coquette tell the story of The Joy Luck Club, a group started by some Chinese women during World War II, where we feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, we told the silk hat stories. And each week, we could hope to be lucky. That hope was our only joy. (p. 12) Re tout ensembley, this was their only joy. The mothers grew up during perilous times in China. They all were taught to desire nothing, to swallow other peoples misery, to eat their own bitterness. (p. 241) Though not many of them grew up awfully poor, they all had a certain respect for their elders, and for life itself. These Ch inese mothers were all taught to be honorable, to the point of sacrificing their own lives to keep any family members promise. Instead of their daughters, who can promise to come to dinner, but if she wants to watch a favorite video on TV, she no longer has a promise (p. 42), To Chinese people, 14 carats isnt real gold . . . my bracelets must be twenty-four carats, pure internal and out. (p. 42) Towards the end of the book, in that respect is a definite disputation between the differences of the 2 generations. Lindo Jong, whose daughter, Waverly, doesnt even know four Chinese words, describes the complete difference and revulsion of the two worlds she well-tried to connect for her daughter, American circumstances and Chinese character. She explains that there is no lasting shame in being born in America, and that as a minority you are the first in line for scholarships. Most importantly, she notes that In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances someone else gives you. (p. 289) Living in America, it was easy for Waverly to accept American circumstances, to grow up as any other American citizen. As a Chinese mother, though, she also wanted her daughter to learn the importance of Chinese character. She tried to teach her Chinese-American daughter How to obey parents and listen to your mothers mind.