A Valueable Book

Dinar Mukminia Asokya-0403508020-writing V

The Joy Luck Club is New York Times best seller book written by Amy Tan in 1989. This red cover book, that represents Chinese colour symbol, has been translated into 35 languages. With ISBN 978-0-749-39957-3, The Joy Luck Club is almost used in every multiculturalism class over the world. This book serves good stories with deep conflict between mothers-daughters, add the reader’s knowledge of Chinese culture, and make the reader realize of cultural conflict that exists in immigrant family.

As the first Amy Tan’s work, The Joy Luck Club acts as the picture of her life. The characters are immigrants from china who live in California, as same as Amy Tan is. Suyuan Woo- Jing-Mei "June" Woo, An-Mei Hsu-Rose Hsu Jordan, Lindo Jong-Waverly Jong, Ying-Ying "Betty" St. Clair-Lena St. Clair, through these characters in The Joy Luck Club, she tries to memorize many values that she has gotten during her life as a comer in the new place, especially with a vivid different culture that she and her big family have brought.

The characters that I have mentioned actually are mothers and daughters. The relationship of mother-daughter in this book is not without reason. This is additional information of Chinese culture that really respect to mother. However, a thing that makes this book more interesting to read is the conflict between mothers-daughters, the older and the younger generation, which shows cultural conflict that exists in immigrant family.

At the beginning, I have a shallow meaning of Joy Luck, like what Jing Mei Woo tells in her part. Joy Luck is just a story of her mother, Suyuan Woo, on her first marriage day. On other hand, after I have read for three times, I can conclude that Joy Luck means luck in the real meaning. The Joy Luck Club itself is a club of four mothers who each mother has her own luck story in her life. That is why they gather to share their luck, and named their club as The Joy Luck Club.

As the author, Amy Tan successfully gives the readers information of Chinese cultures by this book. Since the story begins until the book is ended, the reader will be introduced to Chinese culture. One of my favourite part is mah jong game. These four mothers gather to play mah jong every week. For them, mah jong is not a common game. It has much values than everybody has known.

The mah jong table is should made from a very fragrant red wood, or it is called Hong Mu. A bit too much, but in fact they are proud of there are no words in English to call it. The four mothers sit circling the table. Each player represents one of the wind directions, east, west, north, or south. These wind direction also have meanings, like the east that means the sun rises, where things begin, where the wind comes from. They will play very seriously. Nobody can talk during the game except “Pung!” and “Chr!”. After 16 rounds, they will tell a story. They share each other. They tell stories that can make them happy and feel their lucky life.

The other things that really important besides the mah jong are the foods. Very interesting information for the reader, that food has an own meaning in Chinese culture. Dumpling shape like silver money ingots. Long rice noodles for long life. Boiled peanuts for conceiving son. Good-luck oranges for plentiful sweet life. Red bean soup and sesame-seed food that cannot be separated from their life.

The opposite side from the mothers spirit is showed by Jing Mei Woo, a daughter of Suyuan Woo, one of The Joy Luck Club member. In her part, one thing that she can tell is her uninteresting. Especially when she should replace her mother seat, when Suyuan Woo pass away. In fact, she feels bored and sleepy while her other aunties are playing the game very spiritful. When the other aunties say she is really luck because she can replace her mother seat, she thinks that she does not really have to do with the chair. This situation is reinforced by her statement that says,”mother and I never really understood one another. We translated each other’s meanings”.

This mother-daughter conflict can happen because of different culture that they have. The mother represents the older generation that the first immigrant generation. The daughter represents the younger generation or the second generation of immigrant that she has lived with other cultures besides Chinese.

If I can be honest, at the first time, this book successful makes me sleepy because of the backward forward plot that is really slow. However, after I have read it again and again, The Joy Luck Club more successful makes me fall in love because too many values that I can pick from this book. Mother-daughter conflict is really close to everyone in the world, so if everyone read this book, they will get a conclusion that it is all about acceptance. How we accept the difference. In addition, the knowledge of other culture which is Chinese, can open my eyes, that they have so many treasure of respect, discipline, and hard-working to me learn about. The Joy Luck Club is a book that can teach the reader so many things.