Week 16 Analysis: Close Reading of Joy Luck Club, Last of It

Lindo Jong "Double Face"

"My daughter wanted to go to China for her second honeymoon, but now she is afraid" (Tan, 253).

"'What if I blend in so well they think I'm one of them?'" Waverly asked me. "'What if they don't let me come back to the United States?'" (Tan, 253).

"'When you go to China,'" I told her, "'you don't even need to open your mouth. They already know you are an outsider.'" (Tan, 253).

"'What are you talking about? '" she asked. My daughter likes to speak back. She likes to question what I say.

"'Aii-ya,'" I said. "'Even if you put on their clothes, even if you take off your makeup and hide your fancy jewelry, they know. They know just watching the way you walk, the way your carry your face. They know you do not belong.'" (Tan, 253).

"My daughter did not look pleased when I told her this, that she didn't look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands-hurray!- as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late" (Tan, 254).

"It's my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How would I know these two things do not mix?" (Tan, 254).

I found this piece with the daughter Waverly Jong and her mother very interesting. Waverly is feeling very insecure and at the same time eager to go to China. All these years she wanted to be American and was even embarrassed by her mom and her "Chinese ways" but now she has a change of heart and wants to be Chinese and own it. Unfortunately, it is very difficult now since she is already in her mid 30s. Her mom feels guilty for expected Waverly to grow up in America and not be Americanized. I think this happens to a lot of people whose parents grew up in a different country and migrate to America. I think this is an "aha" moment where Waverly's mom sees things clearly and why Waverly is the way she is. In other words, this is a climax and will lead them to a resolution.


 Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 1-288.

Reading Notes W16: Joy Luck Club, Part B

Ying-Ying ST. Clair, "Waiting Between the Trees"

I was born in the year of the Tiger. It was a very bad year to be born, a very good year to be a Tiger. That was the year a very bad spirit entered the world. People in the countryside died like chickens on a hot summer day. People in the city became shadows, went into their homes and disappeared. Babies were born and did not get fatter. The flesh fell off their bones in days and died (Tan, 248).

The bad spirit stayed in the world for four years. But I came from a spirit even stronger, and I lived. This is what my mother told me when I was old enough to know why I was so heartstrong in my ways (Tan, 248).

Then she told my why a tiger is gold and black. It has two ways. The gold side leaps with its fierce heart. The black side stands still with cunning, hiding its gold between trees, seeing and not being seen, waiting patiently for things to come. I did not learn to use my black side until after the bad man left me (Tan, 248).




Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 197-288.

Reading Notes W16: Joy Luck Club, Part A

An-Mei Hsu "Magpies"

But First Wife turned out to be a living ghost, no threat to Second Wife, who had her strong spirit intact. First Wife looked quite ancient and frail with her rounded body, bound feet, her old-style padded jacket and pants, and plain, lined face (Tan, 232).

But after the first year of marriage, First wife had given birth to a girl with one leg too short. And this misfortune led First Wife to begin a trek to Buddhist temples, to offer alms and tailored silk gowns in honor of Buddha's image, to burn incense and pray to Buddha to lengthen her daughter's leg.

As it happened, Buddha chose instead to bless First Wife with another daughter, this one with two perfect legs, but _alas!__ with a brown tea stain splashed over half her face. With this second misfortune, First Wife began to go on so many pilgrimages to Tsinan, just a half-days's train ride to the south, that Wu Tsing bought her a house near the Thousand Buddha Cliff and Bubbling Springs Bamboo Grove (Tan, 232).

And every year he increased the allowance she needed to manage her own household there (Tan, 233).




 Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 197-288.

Project 3

Laura Reyes

Prof. Joellen Hiltbrand

Engl-205, Sec. 8437

13 April 2019

Project 3: Chinese Culture

There are many cultures around the world as well as here in America. People have different spiritual beliefs. Some people believe in Buddha while others believe in Jesus Christ. Some cultures see big ear lobes as good luck and other cultures see big ear lobes as being unattractive. Some cultures valued females having small feet. Some cultures do not eat beef and others do not eat pork. In some cultures drinking alcohol is looked down upon. Some cultures require women to be covered up while other cultures let the individual women decide what they want to wear. Moving along, the book I chose to read was The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan. This book was about four mothers and their four daughters, who lived in San Francisco, CA. They grew up differently, since the daughters grew up in America. In reading The Joy Luck Club I have learned a lot of things of the Chinese culture and its beliefs and I will discuss these things in my paper.

The belief of the elements in each individual affect the way each individual’s character. Jing-Mei Woo’s mom taught her daughter about these elements. She said that each person is made of five elements. “Too much fire and you had a bad temper. That was like my father, whom my mother always criticized for his cigarette habit and who always shouted back that she should keep her thoughts to herself” (Tan, 31). “Too little wood and you bent too quickly to listen to other people’s ideas, unable to stand on your own” (Tan, 31). Too much water made you flow in many directions. “…Like myself, for having started a degree in biology, then half a degree in art, and then finishing neither when I went off work for a small ad agency as a secretary, later becoming a copywriter (Tan, 31).

They believe in a type of superstition to bring luck. When Rose Hsu Jordan was a young girl, she lost her youngest brother at the Ocean. Her mom believed that the reason her youngest son, Bing fell into the ocean was because of what one of her ancestors did. Rose’s mother, An-mei Hsu said the following to Rose. “’An ancestor of ours once stole water from a sacred well. Now the water is trying to steal back. We must sweeten the temper of the Coiling Dragon who lives in the sea. And then we must make him loosen his coils from Bing by giving him another treasure he can hide’” (Tan, 129).  An-mei believed she can bring Bing back safe and sound. “My mother poured out tea sweetened with sugar into the teacup, and threw it into the sea. And then she opened her fist. In her palm was a ring of watery blue sapphire, a gift from her mother, who had died many years before. This ring, she told me, drew coveting stares from women and made them inattentive to the children they guarded so jealously. This would make the Coiling Dragon forgetful of Bing. She threw the ring into the water” (Tan, 129). Unfortunately, she was not able to bring Bing back. I was hoping that he would appear, but they never even found his body.

They believe that a missing leg will bring bad luck on Chinese New Year. “I poked the crabs with a pencil to see how feisty they were. If a crab grabbed on, I lifted it out and into a plastic sack. I lifted one crab this way, only to find one of its legs had been clamped onto by another crab. In the brief tug-of-war, my crab lost a limb” (Tan, 200). This was when Jing-Mei Woo was a kid and helping her mother, Suyuan Woo do the shopping for Chinese New Year. “’Put it back,’” whispered my mother. “’A missing leg is a bad sign on Chinese New Year’” (Tan, 200).

They believe in Chinese astrology. “I was born in the year of the Tiger. It was a very bad year to be born, a very good year to be a Tiger” (Tan, 248). Ying-Ying St. Clair, one of the mothers was sharing this with her daughter, Lena St. Clair. “Then she told me why a tiger is gold and black. It has two ways. The gold side leaps with its fierce heart. The black side stands still with cunning, hiding its gold between trees, seeing and not being seen, waiting patiently for things to come. I did not learn to use my black side until after the bad man left me” (Tan, 248). The Chinese astrology has 12 signs like western astrology, only that it is changes yearly.

They believe that certain face characteristics mean something. Lindo Jong, read her daughter face, Wavery Jong. “’You are lucky,’” she said. “’You have my ears, a big thick lobe, lots of meat at the bottom, full of blessings. Some people are born so poor. Their ears are so thin, so close to their head, they can’t ever hear luck calling to them…You have my nose. The hole is not too big, so your money will not be running out. The nose is straight and smooth, a good sign. A girl with a cricked nose is bound for misfortune…’”She tapped my chin and then hers. ”’Not too short, not too long. Our longevity will be adequate, not cut off too soon, not so long we become a burden.’” She pushed my hair away from my forehead…”’Perhaps your forehead is wider, so you will be even more clever. And your hair is thick, the hairline is low on your forehead. This means you will have some hardships early in life’” (Tan, 256-257). This part was very interesting to me that every detail of our face means something.

In conclusion, I have learned a lot about the Chinese culture and its beliefs. This is what amazes me about the Chinese culture. It is very complex and full of mystery and fortunes. It is very unique compared to modern western culture and that is what makes it interesting to me. I really enjoyed reading The Joy Luck Club.  

Work Cited

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 17-288.

Week 15 Analysis: Literary Analysis of Waverly Jong

My book of choice, The Joy Luck Club is about four Chinese mothers and their daughters. The mothers grew up in China and the daughters in San Francisco, so there is clashes between them. This book has chapters for each mother and each daughter. I have not finished the book just yet, but for this analysis I will focus on the literary device of characterization, specifically for Waverly Jong, who is one of the daughters.

As I peered into the sack, I quickly fingered the remaining presents, testing their weight, imagining what they contained. I chose a heavy, compact one that was wrapped in shiny silver foil and a red satin ribbon (Tan, 92). This is when Waverly was a young child. You can tell her that she chooses wisely. She takes her time and calculates in her head and does not rush to make a decision. The author portrays Waverly as a smart girl.

A small weekend crowd of Chinese people and tourists would gather as I played and defeated my opponents one by one (Tan, 96). This is another way the author portrays Waverly as being smart. She is winning in the game of chess.

I no longer played in the alley of Waverly Place. I never visited the playground where the pigeons and old men gathered. I went to school, then directly home to learn new chess secrets, cleverly concealed advantages, more escape routes (Tan, 98). Here the author shows that Waverly is diligent. She is a little girl here and already serious about her duties to get where she wants to be as a chess player.

"'Why do you have to use me to show off? If you want to show off, then why don't you learn to play chess.'" My mother's eye turned into dangerous black slits. She had no words for me, just sharp silence (Tan, 99). This interaction that Waverly had with her mother, shows that Waverly was tough and not scared to stand up for herself. She had a mind of her own. You can tell that Waverly's mom did not like this one bit and took it as disrespect and I think her feelings where hurt.

I really enjoyed reading about Waverly. She was the character who stood out to me the most.



Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 17-288.

Reading Notes W15: Joy Luck Club, Part B

An-Mei Hsu Magpies

"'Do you see how shameful my life is?'" she cried.  "Do you see how I have no position?'" He brought home a new wife, low-class girl, dark-skinned, no manners! Bought her for a few dollars from a poor village family that makes mud-brick tiles. And at night when he can no longer use her, he comes to me, smelling of her mud'"(Tan, 229).

She was crying now, rambling like a crazy woman: "'You can see now, a fourth wife is less than a fifth wife. An-Mei, you must not forget. I was a first wife, yi tai, the wife of a scholar.Your mother was not always Fourth Wife, Sz Tai!'"

And I remembered Popo once telling me four is a very unlucky number because if you say it in an angry way, it always comes out wrong(Tan, 229).

The Cold dew came. It became chilly, and Second Wife and Third Wife, their children and servants returned to Tientsin. There was a big commotion when they arrived. Wu Tsing had allowed the new motor car to be sent to the railway station, but of course that was not enough to carry them all back  (Tan, 229).

"'This is Third Wife and her three daughters,'" said my mother. Those three girls were even more shy than I. They crowded around their mother with bowed heads and did not speak. But I continued to stare. They were as plain as their mother, with big teeth, thick lips, and eyebrows as bushy as a caterpillar. Third Wife welcomed me warmly and allowed me to carry one of her packages.

He wore a cap made out of the same dark fur and was winding his little finger around Second Wife's long pearl necklace.

And then Second Wife walked toward me, smiling, her fur coat gleaming with every step...And then with a swift, graceful movement of her small hands, she removed her long pearly strand and put it around my neck(Tan, 230).







 Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 197-288.

Reading Notes W15: Joy Luck Club, Part A

An-Mei Hsu "Magpies"

My mother seemed to regain her pleasant nature. She put her old clothes back on, long Chinese gowns and skirts now with white mourning bands sewn at the bottoms (Tan, 226).

I looked up at my mother looking down from her window, watching everything. So in this clumsy way, my mother found out that Wu Tsing had taken his fourth concubine, who was actually just  and afterthought, a foolish bit of decoration for his new motorcar.

My mother was not jealous of this young girl who would now be called Fifth Wife. Why should she be? My mother did not love Wu Tsing. A girl in China did not marry for love. She married for position, and my mother's position, I later learned, was the worst (Tan, 228).



 Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 197-288.

W14 Project Action Plan: Joy Luck Club

For my third and final project the topic I chose is:

 Choose a reading and considering the following:
What does this work reflect about its historical, social, political and/or economic context? You may focus on race, class, power, cultural values and beliefs, historical events, the author's biography, gender, psychology, etc.

This topic interest me because the book I chose, The Joy Luck Club is about a Chinese family that lives in San Francisco, CA. I will be able to focus on the Chinese cultural values and beliefs. There are many Chinese cultural beliefs throughout this book.

 One off the top of my head that I can think of is when the character, Jing-Mei Woo is given a jade pendant by her mother. Jade is known to bring good luck in the Chinese culture.

The following are quotes I can use to discuss the Chinese Culture and jade:

" I now wear the pendant every day. I think the carvings mean something, because shapes and details, which I never seem to notice until after they're pointed out to me, always mean something to Chinese people" (Tan, 197).

I also noticed that on Chinese New Year, a crab with a missing leg is a bad sign.

"'Put it back,'" whispered my mother. "'A missing leg is a bad sign on the Chinese New Year'" ( Tan, 200).

Also, that if a crab is put on the stove to cook after it is already dead it is no good.

"'That crab die. Even a beggar don't want it.'"..."'Why'd you cook it if you knew it was already dead?'" "'I thought...maybe only just die. Maybe taste not too bad. But I can smell, dead taste, not firm.'" (Tan, 207).

Chinese mothers show their love to their children by feeding them.

"'That's the way Chinese mothers show they love their children, not through hugs and kisses but with stern offerings of steamed dumplings, duck's gizzards, and crab" (Tan, 202).




Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 2014, pp. 17-288.

Reading Notes W14: Flanner, Part X

12 O'Clock Freight

And then by palmy drives and boulevards
Where stucco gleams beside the carob-tree,
And Spanish patios in vain enclose
Lone hearts from Iowa and Kankakee.

And past Anita's wealthy meadows where
Her smouldering pea-cocks doze among her hounds
With sapphire laces folded in the dark
That daily trail and twitch about the grounds.

On by the oaks whose forest stoops upon
The listing hills where once the drift of deer
Drew down with winter's waters green,
A herd of dreams in glassy atmosphere.

Hicks, Jack, et al. “12 O'Clock Freight.” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 517–517.