1. The Joy Luck Club
English 12 A
Mr. Laird

2. Chinese mother wants to take daughter to America for better life
The Parable
Chinese mother wants to take daughter to America for better life
Brings swan but taken by customs
Left with feather
Doesn’t give to daughter until able to speak in perfect English
(Is she not able to “communicate” with daughter?)

3. Jing Mei Woo (for Suyuan)
“June” joins JLC, replacing mother who died of aneurysm.
June struggles with Chinese
US JLC started in 1949
Original version started in Kweilin, China during war
Hope of being lucky and winning (worthless money) was the only joy they had

4. Jing Mei Woo (for Suyuan) (cont.)
Kweilin
Once a city of hope. Now a mixing pot of “refugees” during the war
Left for Chungking to avoid Japanese (wife of Chinese officer)
“…I had lost everything…”

5. Jing Mei Woo (for Suyuan) (cont.)
Joy Luck Club
Group invests in stocks instead of prize money
Account = $24,825
Eat
Women clear table and play mah jong
Men play cards

6. Jing Mei Woo (for Suyuan) (cont.)
The 5 elements
Suyuan judged friends and family
Fire = too much created temper (father)
Wood = too little means no spine (An-mei)
Water = too much means you flow and never finish what you start (June)
Other two?

7. Jing Mei Woo (for Suyuan) (cont.)
June isn’t first replacement
Ying Ying’s brother replaced dead husband
The ladies compete especially Lindo and Suyuan (in the past, of course)
Mothers want to send June to China to meet the missing daughters and tell them about Suyuan
June worries she doesn’t know her mom

8. An-Mei (Scar) 1923 (9 years old) Lives w/ Aunt, Uncle, and “Popo”
Father is deceased
Mother is a forbidden topic
Shunned for becoming 3rd concubine
Returns to care for dying Popo
Cuts flesh from her arm for soup
Received scar when 4 when mother came for An-Mei and soup spilled on her during fight

9. Lindo (The Red Candle) Marriage arranged at age 2
Promised to Tyan-yu, son of Huang Taitai
Sent to live with new family early when old family had to move due to flood.
Mother gives her “chang” (red jade necklace)
Tyan-yu is a spoiled brat
Treated like servant
Huang Taitai wants grandchild once Lindo turns 16

10. Wedding Lindo (cont.) Week after Japanese invaded Few guests
“I was like the wind.” (Keep promise but stay strong)
Candle finalizes marriage. Lindo blows it out.

11. Huang Taitai takes back wedding gold
Lindo (cont.)
Baby?
Tyan-yu didn’t want to touch her. Lied to mother.
Locked in room
Matchmaker says she is too balanced
Other 2 elements
Earth
Metal – too little causes independent thinking
Huang Taitai takes back wedding gold

12. Lindo sent away with money to go to US
Lindo (cont.)
The Plan (…or Dream)
Ancestors doomed marriage because of candle
Mole will kill Tyan-yu
Teeth will fall out
Secret “imperial” servant pregnant w/grandson
Lindo sent away with money to go to US

13. Ying Ying Isn’t noticed by daughter 4 years old in 1918
Part of wealthy family
Concubines (Step-sisters #2 and #3)
Preparing for Moon Festival
One day a year you make a wish to Moon Lady
Spending day at Lake Tai

14. Isolated from others after getting blood on clothes
Ying Ying (cont.)
“Discovers shadow”
Dark side with same restless spirit
“hide in the comfort of your shadow”
Isolated from others after getting blood on clothes
Falls in water/saved by fishermen/taken to shore

15. Lost innocence (became a shadow?)
Ying Ying (cont.)
Moon Lady
women = yin (darkness within)
Men = yang (bright truth)
Is a man
Lost innocence (became a shadow?)
Wished to be found

16. Parable Mom tells daughter not to ride bike
Predicts fall because of 26 Malignant Gates
Daughter falls

17. Waverly Learned to “bite back your tongue” Grew up in San Franciso
Named after street
Brother receives chess set for Christmas
Learns about life through chess
Have the clearest plan for attacking and getting out of traps
Have foresight and patience
Gather invisible strengths and see endgame
Never reveal “why”

18. Learns chess etiquette from Lau Po
Waverly (cont.)
Learns chess etiquette from Lau Po
Uses reverse psychology to play in tourneys
Becomes chess prodigy
Gets special treatment
Gets embarrassed by mother showing off
Runs away for day…
…but mother wins by not reacting?

19. Lena Grandfather sentenced beggar to death Father is English-Irish
Came back, dragged him “through the wall,” and killed him (or it was the flu)
Terrors devoured Ying Ying
Lena inherited the terrors
Mom constantly warning of unwanted babies
Father is English-Irish
Lack of communication
Father would “translate”
Lena took advantage of mom’s lack of English

20. Ying Ying fails to protect Lena
Lena (cont.)
Ying Ying fails to protect Lena
YY is having a baby…and she isn’t excited
Thinks mother next door is killing daughter (Teresa)…night after night
Girl appears fine
Mom delivers baby but it dies shortly after
Mom reveals she had killed her “other son” and shuts down
Lena takes comfort in feeling neighbors suffer more

21. Lena (cont.)
Teresa comes over to sneak back into her bedroom after getting kicked out
“We do this kind of stuff all the time.”
Happier than Lena’s family
Gives Lean hope

22. Rose Mother keeps Bible under table leg Getting Divorced
Name of brother written inside under Deaths
Getting Divorced
Ted always made decisions until he lost confidence
Thinks mother wants her to save marriage

23. “You must think for yourself.”
Rose (cont.)
Belief in “nengkan”
Brother Bing drowns
All felt responsible
Mother uses spiritual beliefs to find him
Pours tea to repay stolen water
Throws in sapphire ring
Uses lifesaver tube to lead the way
Family loses faith when nothing works
“You must think for yourself.”

24. Jing Mei Mother came to US in 1949
Mother wanted her to be a prodigy in something
Shirley Temple? Capitals? Card Tricks? Gymnastics? Prediction? Memorization?
“Ni kan” = “you watch” ….always watching others
Disappointing her deflated her
Wanted to achieve despite mom

25. Jing Mei Piano! Mom traded lessons for cleaning with Mr. Chong
Deaf with poor eyesight
Faked practice/rebelled
Suyuan and Lindo competed
Embarrassed at talent show
mom says nothing
Mentions lost daughters in one final argument
Offered the piano for 30th birthday
“Pleading Child” and “Perfectly Contented”

26. Lena (Part Two)
“Chunwang chihan” – One thing is always the result of another.
Ying Ying always sees the negative and knows why
Coming to stay with Lena
Told as child to clear plate or future husband will be pock marked
Feared marrying bully Arnold
Went opposite direction to make him die
He died

27. Lena (Part Two) Married Harold Rose tries to teach her to have a spine
Met at same architectural firm
Split everything equally
Encouraged him to start own firm
Doesn’t get paid what she’s worth
Table and vase become metaphor for their marriage
Rose tries to teach her to have a spine

28. Waverly (Part Two) Meeting Lindo to announce engagement to Rich
Has 4 year old daughter (Shoshana) from previous marriage (Marvin)
Thinks Lindo poisoned marriage
Almost aborted Shoshana
Lindo ignores Rich (and his gifts)
Quit playing chess to spite mom
Lost confidence after starting again (“It is not so easy anymore.”)
Quit for good at age 14

29. Waverly (Part Two) Played off of Lindo’s rivalry with Suyuan
Rich screws up and doesn’t know it
Tells Lindo she is engaged. She already knows.
Postpones wedding to have better weather for honeymoon in China
Lindo coming with them?

30. Rose (Part Two)
Listen to An-Mei or “ear would bend” (An-Mei’s problem?)
Old Mr. Chou – guardian of dreams (not the piano teacher)
An-Mei suspects Ted is cheating on Rose
Ted sends check for 10K with divorce papers
What does it mean?
Ted wants to get remarried
Proof he was cheating?
Emboldens Rose – wants the house

31. Jing Mei (Part Two) Suyuan gave her “life’s importance” (jade pendant)
Not sure what it means nor do others with same pendant
Will darken with use
Suyuan has Chinese New Year dinner
Complains about tenants in building (landlord?)
Accused of killing their cat

32. Jing Mei (Part Two) Tries to take bad crab but mom says no
Waverly still snotty
Sounds the same 25 years later
“…probably charges more than you’re used to”
Gets back at Waverly
Reminds her of unpaid invoice from work
Waverly’s work didn’t want the work
Mom says Jing Mei isn’t sophisticated like Waverly (“cannot teach style”)
Lindo advocates for Jing Mei

33. Jing Mei (Part Two) The talk Chases away cat just like mom
Only Jing Mei offered to take bad crab
“Everybody else want best quality. You thinking different.” Compliment?
“Why you want to follow behind her (Waverly)?”
Chases away cat just like mom

34. An-Mei (Part Two) Can relate to Rose’s failure to speak up
An-mei’s exiled mom teaches that misery makes others happy through turtle story. Moral: Keep it bottled up
Mom takes An-Mei but leaves son

35. An-Mei (Part Two) Life in Tientsin
Western style mansion (made money from foreigners)
Yan Chang – mom’s personal maid
Learns to ignore clock (or meaningless things calling to her)
Wu Tsing brings home 5th wife (only a few years older than An-Mei)
Wu Tsing uses mom in the middle of the night after 5th wife
“fourth wife is less than a fifth wife.”
“fourth” sounds like “die” when said angrily

36. An-Mei (Part Two) 2nd and 3rd wife return home First Wife
2nd wife = Big Mother with suspiciously young son
Gives An-Mei a pearl necklace
Mom believes she is manipulative and crushes necklace as proof
Blue sapphire is “true”
3rd wife has 3 shy daughters
First Wife
Wu Tsing’s age
2 daughters each with “defect”
Allowed to live separate life at different estate
Returns twice a year to pay respects
An-mei’s mom hopes to have same arrangment

37. An-Mei (Part Two) 2nd wife manipulates Wu-Tsing and others
Threatens suicide. Wu-Tsing fears vengeful ghosts.
Arranged for 3rd wife to provide son (3 girls)
Tricked An-mei’s mom to stay over where she is raped
2nd wife’s son is hers
Spreads lies about mom’s reputation forcing her to accept marriage
Keeps first wife drugged

38. An-Mei (Part Two) Mom commits suicide (with a purpose)
Dies when Wu-Tsing would fear vengeful ghost the most (lunar new year)
Wu-Tsing raises kids as “honored children”
An-Mei crushes necklace in front of 2nd wife
An-mei learns to shout

39. Ying Ying (Part Two)
Ying Ying = Clear Reflection (just like mom)