The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).
-The Joy Luck Club was a collection of stories of Chinese-American mothers and daughters who were struggling with their relationships and with the American world they live in and have to grow accustomed to. The story does focus mostly on Jing Mei trying to find and reunite with her half sisters from China. The book mainly focuses on the mothers trying to uphold their tradition and the daughters trying to adapt to their new American lifestyles while trying to keep a good relationship with each other.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid clichés.
-I would say that the main theme of the novel would be overcoming or conquering cultural differences and finding who you really are and what you represent, not just based on where you were born, but on who you are as a person. The mothers think of China as their home and do not want to take on the American way of life, instead sticking with their old ways and complaining and looking down on the American customs and people. The daughters are struggling with their identity, they feel tied to America because that's where they were raised and it's how they've lived, but they're also tied to their Chinese heritage because that's how their mothers raised them and the culture they've grown up with.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
-The tone changes with the memories of the characters, sometimes it's joyous and wistful and other times it's difficult and somber.
"It was only later that I discovered there was a serious flaw with the American version. There were too many choices, so it was easy to get confused and pick the wrong thing."
“My breath came out like angry smoke. It was cold…The alley was quiet and I could see the yellow lights shining from our flat like two tiger’s eyes in the night.”
“I raced down the street, dashing between people, not looking back as my mother screamed shrilly ‘Meimei! Meimei!’ I fled down an alley, past dark, curtained shops and merchants washing grime off their windows."
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone.
1.) Metaphor:"I see it right away: the marble end table collapsed on top of its spindly black legs... 'Fallen down,' she says simply...'It doesn't matter,' I say and I started to pick up the broken glass shards. 'I knew it would happen.' 'Then why don't stop it?' asks my mother. And it's such a simple question."
2.) Parable: The parable of the Queen Mother of the Western Skies
3.) Rhetorical Questions:"I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?"
4.) Symbols: The coy fish the mother loved, and the goldfish that the daughter loved
5.) Allusion: Mention of the Ed Sullivan Show
6.) Simile:"...she backed out of the room, stunned, as if she were blowing away like a small brown leaf, thin, brittle, lifeless."
7.) Foreshadowing:"'What use for?'" asks my mother, jiggling the table with her hand. 'you put something else on top, everything fall down. Chunwang chihan."
8.) Epiphany: Jing-Mei has an epiphany after her mother's death.
9.) Imagery: When describing memories Amy Tan uses imagery to help us picture what the character is thinking of.
10.) Paradox: The whole idea of being a "Chinese-American" seems like a paradox to me.
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.
-The author uses indirect characterization by telling the story from the points of view of the mothers and daughters. The author uses direct characterization when she compares the characters to objects based on their qualities.
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?
-The author's syntax and diction change when telling the story from the mothers' point of view and the daughters' point of view, the mothers' English is broken and formal while the daughters' is more authentic.
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round?
-Jing-Mei is a dynamic and round character while her mother is a static and flat character. Jing-Mei becomes a dynamic and round character after her mother's death when she finally understands her mother and all she went through to be who she was.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?
-I came away from the book feeling like I'd met people because they shared their deepest, darkest secrets in those pages and I felt for them.
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