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"I know this, because I was raised the 

Chinese way: I was taught to desire 

nothing, to swallow other people’s misery, 

to eat my own bitterness"

(Tan 215).          

The Chinese Way

The Chinese way may seem very bitter, but to 

some it is just being real with them. Chinese 

children are raised that they are not entitled to 

anything when they are born. Their life is based 

on their success and not on their family’s 

achievements. The general state of being Chinese 

is that you show no feelings because it is seen as 

a sign of weakness. The idea of the Chinese way 

is that, “punishingly hard work, enforced by 

parents, yields excellence; excellence, in turn, 

yields satisfaction” (NPR.org). 

Scar (An-Mei Hsu)

In this chapter An-Mei Hsu is a witness of 

the Chinese way. Her mother left An-Mei 

when she was young. She dishonored the 

family by becoming a concubine to a rich 

man. When she returned back home she was 

considered to be a “ghost” and her family 

did not acknowledge her presence. 

Rules of the Game (Waverly Jong)

At a young age Waverly Jong became a skilled 

chess player. Due to her ability, her mother 

always tried to display her. Whenever they were 

out in public she would always speak highly of her 

daughter. Waverly became embarrassed by her 

mother and ran away. When she came back, 

nobody looked at her or had concern for her 

because she disrespected her mother. 

Two Kinds (Jing-Mei Woo)

Jing Mei Woo’s mother always wanted her 

daughter to be a child prodigy so that her life had 

worth. She believed that you could be whatever 

you wanted to be in America. When all other 

attempts failed, she took up piano. Since her piano 

teacher was deaf, she didn’t put forth a full 

effort to learn how to play. During her recital, 

she was not able to play her piece and her mother 

was ashamed. After the performance, her mother 

still made her go to her lessons in hopes that she 

would improve.  

The Red Candle (Lingo Jong)

Lindo Jong was matched to a man when she was 

just two years old. There was a horrible flood 

and she was forced to live with the Haungs and 

act like a servant for the family. She 

eventually was married and unhappy but she 

made a promise to her family’s wishes, but 

would never forget herself. She had to find a 

way to get out of the marriage without 

dishonoring her family.    

Effect of Writing

The style of writing had a great 

effect on the book’s purpose because 

of the comparing and contrasting 

between the two different ways of 

living. While half of the chapters 

were about the mothers and how it 

was for them to grow up in China, 

the other half was about daughters’ 

lives in America. This is a great way 

to express the differences and 

similarities in the two places while 

being relevant to the story.

Theme

One of the major themes of Joy Luck Club is the difference 

in the heritage between mother and daughter due to being 

raised in different countries. The mothers wanted their 

daughters to appreciate their Chinese heritage the way they 

did. The daughters all accepted “the American dream.” If 

the daughters accepted the Chinese way it was only because 

they thought it was fashionable. Even though they were 

afraid to go back to China and be seen as foreigners, they 

still had a desire to experience China. For Jing Mei, it took 

her mother’s death for her to return to China and meet the 

half sisters she never knew. She then realized what her 

mother saw in China and why her mother wanted Jing Mei to 

be Chinese.  

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