Jorde Thompson

3/5/14
1B

The Joy Luck Club, a small book with a big meaning and a long story to tell. This book
contains many elements that make you want to read it. Writing techniques that are used help
highlight its appeal. The title The Joy Luck Club is very ironic, because of the actual contents in
book. When you read this title you expect a very joyful story to be told, but instead you
encounter a depressing tale. I had many things about this book I liked that made me want to
continue all the way until the end, but there was a dislike I had about this story. (compound)
As many stories only have one hero, this one did not; there were many heroic
characters in this book. Ani-Meis mother made a huge sacrifice; she took her own life for Ani-
Mei to have a better one. Her mothers courage is shown in the quote When the poison struck
her body, she whispered to me that she would rather kill her own weak spirit so she could give
me a stronger one. (page 240 1
st
paragraph). Her mother had an abundance of courage and
bravery to be able to do this to herself, not many people would have enough strength to do this
for their children. In order to insure that Ani-Mei had a secure life her mother took her own,
that to me displays heroism more than any hero in a marvel comic book. Another heroic act
was shown by Rose, Ani-Meis daughter, she was in fact her own hero. Rose finally stood up for
herself, the quote And the answer, the one that was important above everything else, ran
through my body and fell from my lips You cant just pull me out of your life and throw me
away. (page 196 6
th
paragraph) shows this. At last Rose shows her husband how she wants to
be treated, she is not going to settle for the bare minimum. Ted, her husband, has always told
her that she has no mind of her own, that she is incapable of coming to a decision or voicing her
opinion. Now she is modeled as a hero for her own well being because she stood up to him.
(complex)
The main character is the only one whose point of view is shared, yet in The Joy Luck
Club that cycle is broken. The mothers and their daughters all have a turn to share their own
tales and let us see things from their points of view. That is what drew me in, often books and
texts are one sided so we as readers never get to read and connect with other characters in the
book. Each chapter has a different narrator, for example The Voice from the Wall is told in
Lena St. Clairs point of view and the very next chapter which is Half and Half has Rose Hsu
Jordan as the narrator. Having different points of view gives readers a chance to get all sides
and opinions on conflicts from different characters within the text instead of just one.
This piece had many things that appealed to me but, I had one characteristic of the book
that I did not like, the conclusion. The ending made me feel as if nothing was truly resolved, it
left a cliff hanger. I feel that the author could have drawn to a conclusion with a better
resolution. The last sentence in the conclusion which was Together we look like our mother.
Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish. (page
288 final paragraph) served no justice. I understand that it was suppose to help inform us of
Jing- Meis realization of her and her sisters similarities with their mother. There is also this
deeper meaning that she felt no connection with her mother until she seen the photo in the
end but this left me unsatisfied. The stories of each character were not finished, in my opinion
there was more to be told.
Amy Tan constructed a beautiful story. Her various writing techniques and usage of
multiple heroes made me love this book. Every character had the chance to contribute to the
story giving their points of view. This gave me a chance to learn and connect with each and
every character. Though these factors all had a positive impact on my feeling towards the story
I did not care for the conclusion. The conclusion felt unresolved, as if it were a cliff hanger.
Overall this was an amazing, strong, and powerful story.