The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club (1989) is a best-selling novel written by Amy Tan. It focuses on four Chinese American immigrant families 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. There are sixteen chapters divided into four sections, and each woman, both mothers and daughters, sharing stories about their lives in the form of vignettes. Each section comes after a parable.
By the help of the four families’ life, especially the collision between mother and daughter. Amy Tan shows the special type collision of culture collision in a family. We always believe that culture collision is invisible and this kind of collision would exists under some simples and events which we could not understand most of time. But the culture collision which exist between two special generations by Amy Tan is real and toughed. Each story, each sentence and each world could strike a responsive chord in our hearts although we are either generations of them. The collision between mother and daughter is throughout the whole novel. We all have had collision with mother or father, especially when we are in the rebellious phase. The collision caused by culture is similar with the collision caused by rebellious but also different. Both os them are caused by the rebellious children, but it is evitable that the culture collision is more thorny , the trouble is a kind of irreconcilable contradictions. The process of solving these kind of problem is the development of human.
Actually, I think the mothers and the daughters are the same in the novel. First, it is true that daughters would inherit the characteristics with mother. When two generations with different thinking mode but the same characteristics live together, sometimes they could understand each other (each daughter would understand their mothers when they grow up naturally). But sometimes they would quarrel with each other. In fact, it is nature that mothers and daughters are enemies.
Second, they have the similar experience. Murphy's Law defines that If there are two or more ways to do something,and one of those ways can result in a
catastrophe,then someone will do it. We could explain as that what you are afraid of happening would finally happen. So when the mothers try their best to protect their daughter getting far away from the disaster in the life which mothers have had gone through, on the contrary, they act as a role who pull the daughters to these disaster closer and closer.
The last and the important view is that they are all sensitive and vulnerable. As the new type mother in America who come from the foreign country and struggle to set a happiness family, the mothers with sad stories try to start a new life. But no one knows that if it is a new beginning and if the bright future is waiting for their family. In the new and strange environment, the mothers must pretend strong and confident for supporting the family. So, when they face the rebellious daughters ,they are in a loss. Mothers could do nothing but punish. Daughters are the same. Growing under the influence of two culture, they could be lost more easy especially as a child. But no one could help them because they are new type of generation in the world. Mothers could not, friends could not and teachers could not. They could just grow up by their feeling towards the wold. So, actually they are the same with their mother, they are weak but pretend strong, they are sensitive but pretend everything is good.
The successful of Amy Tan not only because that she express the culture collision from a new aspect, family, but also the culture collision is a meaningful topic which could be discussed whenever. Now the same problems still exist in the family. With the development of country, people have more chance to touch and learn different culture. Children who influenced by the foreign view with the parents who still admire tradition is not the same with the daughters and the mothers in the The Joy Luck Club?
Cultural Conflict and Compatibility between Chinese Cultures
and American Cultures
----- Appreciation of the Joy Luck Club
Abstract: This paper analyses psychological estrangement and emotional conflict arising from the difference in values, family concept, explores the mutual compatibility between Chinese culture and American culture.
Key words: The Joy Luck Club; Cultural conflict; Culture compatibility; Chinese culture; American culture.
Ⅰ. Introduction
In the film the Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan describes the conflicts between the mothers and the daughters. The misunderstandings between the mothers and the daughters in the film are caused by the different culture and experiences. Fortunately, through painful efforts, the mothers and the daughters begin to understand and communicate each other at the end of the story, which metaphorically demonstrates the transition of the relationship between Chinese and American culture from conflicts to blending. From this film, we can analyze psychological estrangement and emotional conflict arising from the difference in values, family concept, explores the mutual compatibility between Chinese culture and American culture.
Ⅱ. Cultural Conflicts between Chinese and American Cultures
In film The Joy Lucky Club, there are the conflicts between mothers and daughters and between wives and husbands. Because mothers still have Chinese thoughts for growing up in china. However, children have been an American for growing up in America. On the other hand, children still have some Chinese thought so that they clash with their husbands.
2.1 culture conflicts and values
Firstly, mothers and daughters have some conflicts on educating children for having different values. In America, they believe in equality which emphasize in everything from government (“All men are created equal”) to social relationships given more freedom than China. Furthermore, individualism is the most important pattern which refers to the doctrine that the interest of the individual are or ought to be paramount, and that all values, rights, and duties originate in individuals. It emphasizes individual independence. So in America, children are independence and belong to government. They have equal right with their mothers. However, Chinese think children are the property of parents. They won’t feel anger even when their parents ask them to submit. So Chinese mothers get used to painting blue-prints for their children. What’s more, Mothers like comparing with others to show off their daughters and good educating methods. For example, June mother had a
high expectation on her daughter. She hoped her daughter to be a talent. However, June thought that it’s her own life and her mother couldn’t intervene. So she fought against her mother by failing in matches and thought that her mother won’t ask her to play piano again. But the mother dragged her from the TV to play piano and said that the daughter must submit her mother. So June’s anger erupted: “I’m not your slave. It isn’t in China. You can’t make me. You want me to be someone I’m not. I never can be the kind of daughter you want me to be.” This contradiction is because Chinese parents believe in the old saying, “A strict teacher produces outstanding students”, strictness and criticism are important educating guide lines for Chinese parents, which results in obedience and collectivism, compromise, no psyche and no guts to say no. their duty is to make children successes. On the other hand, Waverly was a talented chess player in her youth, who even won Chess Champion in Chinatown once. But one day, the war between her and her mom broke out,“Why do you use me to show off? I wish you wouldn’t do that telling everyone I’m your daughter. It’s embarrassing.”Little Waverly said to her mom straightforward, and inevitably, the words deeply stabbed and hurt the mother’s heart and pride. This contradiction results from Chinese mother thought that daughter’s pride is mother’s pride. But in America, people think children’ success is their own success.
2.2 culture conflicts and family concept
Secondly, wives and husbands conflict on the role of wives for family concept. The family is the primary or basic institution of any society.” In American, many people accept such life creed,“Everybody is for oneself. God is for everybody; each person is his or her own destiny architect.” Wife and husband are equal. They have their own idea and hope each other to express their opinions. And they like discrete type of family. However, in China, affected by the feudalism, people are tending to dominate the husband; the wife just need help her husband. What’s more, the close geography and the Confucianism result in the Chinese collective type of family. Four daughters still have Chinese thought--- stand and dominate husband. For example, Lena married to her boss Harold who paid himself seven and a half times more than he paid Lena, but sarcastically, they paid everything 50/50. If Harold ordered three courses and Lena only ask for a salad, they still split it into half and half. Magazines, ice-creams and that stuff that Lena would not touch also need to share the money in half. That was what they called——equal. This equality on the surface was definitely unequal in real. But Lena dared not protest. She felt sick of the so-called equal, but didn’t bold enough to change it, because she was accustomed to submit, to give in, and to swallow the pain in order to avoid conflict and keep in harmony. Another example is Roes who married Ted, a white man, whose dad was on publishing empire, and mom’s family had wineries. Though gigantic
differences in social status and wealth they had, Rose and Ted married happily and had a lovely daughter. But good time did not last long. For years, Rose endeavored to look after the family and take care of all the chores perfectly, but Ted just took all the things for granted and became bored to her. He talked to her less and less, and finally got an affair. Evaluating the role of being a wife, Rose was a qualified one beyond doubt, while assessing being Rose herself, she should get a low mark, because her smartness, wit, confidence and youth gradually elapsed. She desired nothing for herself, like comfort from Ted and acclaim for a delicate arrangement. In a word, she lost herself. On the verge of divorce, her mother A Mei said to her,“What are you going to ask for? What is your worth?”These words sobered Rose who used to think that her love was less worth than her husband’s. After the change, she soon won her husband back.
Ⅲ. Cultural Compatibility between Chinese Cultures and American Cultures
At the last of this film, all mothers had a good relationship with their daughters. This ending is happy and stands for the compatibility between Chinese cultures and American cultures. But why the mothers and the daughters’ relationship turn good. That result from communication and love. For example, Waverly tries her best to please
Lin Duo in everything. Whether her mother approves or not becomes the master of all her choice. Even Waverly marries a Chinese man because Lin Duo likes Chinese, while she doesn’t love. Waverly doesn’t understand why Lin Duo disapproves or criticizes whatever she has done. On the other side, Lin Duo thinks that her daughter is ashamed of her, which is her continual internal injury after Waverly’s winning that chess contest, when Waverly shouted to Lin Duo if Lin Duo wanted to show off, won the chest by herself. Every time, Lin Duo’s disagreement with or indifference to Waverly directly results from the thought that Waverly feels it shameful to be her daughter. Both of them deeply love each other, but in the meantime, they hostile and hurt one another. This is the way them get along with each other. Fortunately, they clear up their misunderstandings and discover themselves by communicating. Waverly says to Lindo, sobbing, “You don't know, you don't know the power you have over me. One word from you, one look, and I are four years old again, crying myself to sleep, because nothing I do can ever, ever please you.” And after a short period of silence, Lindo smiles to Waverly with tears in her eyes, “Now, you make me happy.” Then they laugh heartily, teary-eyed with happiness. At last, they knew each other and didn’t misunderstand each other.
Ⅳ. Conclusion
The cultural conflict and the cultural compatibility exist in every place. In the conflict period, there are many conflicts for many reasons, but we should communicate with each other and handle these conflicts with love.
Bibliography
1. Amy Tan. The Joy Luck Club. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons Inc,
1989.
2. 唐德根,《跨文化交际学》,长沙:中南大学出版社,2008.8
ABriefIntroductionoftheAuthorAmyTanisanAmericanwriterwhoseworksexploremothe…
大家懂的这个论文我自己写的一共分成了五个部分另外配套的文献翻译和开题报告也可以在我上传的文档里下载Ananalysisofthei…
ReflectionofthejoyluckclubThemoveThejoyluckclubadaptedfromthenovelofthesame…
MyAppreciationoftheJoyLuckClubThefirsttimeIsawthetitleofthefilmtheJoyLuckCl…
TheJoyLuckClubAfterseeingTheJoyLuckClubthatbasedonthebestsellingnovebyAmyTa…