A Respons to The Joy Luck Club essays

A Respons to The Joy Luck Club essays Upon reading The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, I was fascinated by the many ways in which a segmented collection of unrelated stories could weave themselves into a book with all the elements of realistic fiction. First of all, I found a good deal of symbolism carried throughout the book. Some symbols were very clear, like Lindo's red candle and Suyuan's pendant. Others, however, were more subtle. In Lena's story, "Rice Husband", I always took her vase to be a symbol of her marriage. It sits upon a wobbly table, always threatening to fall off, and is finally broken by Ying-ying, who claims it to be an accident. Since Lena's husband, Harold, had built the table himself, perhaps the vase's instability was a symbol of his lack of support in their relationship. Lena, however, was always aware of the vase being in danger, but chose to leave it there anyway. I noticed, while reading, that there were several recurring ideas, although I am not quite sure as to what they may or may not represent. For example, many of the characters mention sexism, in one way or another. While it has been a problem in both China and the United States, many of the stories seem to involve sexism. When An-mei's mother is raped by her future husband, she must marry him in order to keep her pride and honor in society. Men, however, are allowed as many concubines as they want, and never seem to be judged or looked down upon. Ying-ying is also taught to be passive as a young child, being told by her nursemaid to listen and not ask. When Lindo is forced to live with her mother-in-law and husband, she is treated very poorly and is practically abused because they expect her to do what she is told to. Ironically, although all the mothers were searching for new lives in America, their daughters experience sexism, too, showing that many cultures, however different, hav e similar flaws. Waverly is driven away when she asks to play chess with the men in the park because they do ...