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Stella Rea
Mrs. Schwartz
English
27 February 2014
Bittersweet
Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your
tears do not wash away your sorrows. They feed someone else's joy. And that is why you must
learn to swallow your own tears. This quote can be described as being bittersweet in its
meaning. Just like this quote, The Joy Luck Club expresses pain, heartbreak, and revived hope. I
cannot accurately express how much I have enjoyed this novel. It showed me the true
evanescence of life. Life is full of hardships, and lost hope. But the fact that life is full of so
much pain, it allows us to learn to value the beauty of our lives.
Readers would love this novel, because of the authors fascinating story line up, and the
dynamic characters. Amy Tan writes the stories of four daughters and four mothers. Who have
each experienced their own heartfelt stories, and overcome pain. This overcoming of pain allows
the readers to relate to the stories, because of the reality that with life comes hardships. As well
as the writers style of writing makes the readers crave more. The Joy Luck Club is full of
descriptive language, such as, similies, metaphors, tone, imagery, etc. This allows the story to
become easier to interpret and relate to. Her wisdom is like a bottomless pond. You throw
stones in and they sink into the darkness and dissolve. Her eyes looking back do not reflect
anything. I think this to myself even though I love my daughter. She and I have shared the same
body. . . . But when she was born, she sprang from me like a slippery fish, and has been
swimming away ever since. All her life, I have watched her as though from another shore. And

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now I must tell her everything about my past. It is the only way to . . . pull her to where she can
be saved. This is an example of the many used similies to describe the lives of the women. This
quote shows the relations between the mother and their daughters as being loving and no later
have become disconnected.
While reading the story the readers get a glimpse of the Chinese culture. Many of the
stories express the Chinese culture in aspects relating to concubines, how to endure hardships,
and the language. Throughout the novel, the readers learn phrases of the Chinese language such
as Ching Ching which translates to Please Eat. We also learn of the views on concubines.
An- mei is pushed away from her family for becoming a concubine. She is pushed away from her
kids and forced away from her parents. Like the story of the turtle the daughters are taught how
to endure pain rather than show it.
Who are we? This is the question that we all ask ourselves at one point or another. We
are who the world makes us out to be. We are stronger than we believe we are, and this novel
helps to prove that. The Joy Luck Club was made by a group of women to make light in their
own darkness, and to bring a glimpse of happiness when surrounding them was sadness. This is
life, we have to make the best of it when we feel there is no hope left.