Best Quality- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: epigraph

In this chapter, Jing-Mei Woo is the narrator. She tells of her and her mother's adventure to the market. They were having a dinner for friends and brought eleven crabs. One crab had a broken leg, but they couldn't exchange it. The epigraph of this chapter "best quality" relates to the whole chapter in terms of Jing-Mei's perspective. While everyone else wants the best quality, Jing-Mei thinks differently. Jing-Mei's mother says, "'Only you pick that crab. Nobody else take it. I already know this. Everybody else want best quality. You thinking different" (Tan 208). Jing-Mei proves herself as wanting the best quality for others even if it means not having the best for herself.

Without Wood- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: point of view

In this chapter, Rose Hsu Jordan is the narrator. The point of view from this chapter is from Rose's perspective. Rose tells stories of her mother's predictions of Rose's husband, Ted. Rose tells of her difficulties that come along with marrying Ted. Through Rose's point of view, she really shows how hurt she is that Ted found someone else. She says, "And the answer, the one that was important above everything else, ran through my body and fell from my lips: 'You can't just pull me out of your life and throw me away'" ( Tan 196). Through this, Rose has poured her heart out and stood up for herself. She finally comes to terms on what she deserves and expects nothing less. This reminds me of many movies where the main character has been continuously hurt until they stand up for themselves in the end.

Four Directions- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: frame device

In this chapter, Waverly Jong is the narrator. Waverly Jong is trying to tell her mother she is getting married again, but her mother is avoiding any conversation about it. Waverly Jong uses frame device to explain the events that lead to this and her mother's attitude. She tells stories such as her previous marriage to Marvin, her mother's annoying ways of getting under her skin, and Waverly's plan to be invited to her mother's house for dinner with Rich. Waverly says, "My mother knows how to hit a nerve. And the pain I feel is worse than any other kind of misery" (Tan 170). Waverly's mother knew exactly how to get under her skin. I believe many mothers and daughters have this problem these days. The mother and daughter know exactly enough about each other to manipulate them into thinking or doing something else.

Rice Husband- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: foreshadowing

In this chapter, Lena St. Clair is the narrator. Lena foreshadows what will happen between her and her husband at the beginning of the chapter. Her mother also foreshadows that a bad man will come into her life. Lena and her husband, Harold, begin having trouble with equality issues. These issues then escalate to financial issues. Lena's mother comes to visit and quickly realizes something is wrong. "He wouldn't hear of taking any money from me, not as a favor, not as a loan, not as an investment, or even as the down payment on a partnership. He said he valued our relationship too much. He didn't want to contaminate it with money" (Tan 157). Lena and Harold are a lot like couples in today's society. There always seems to be a money issure involved one way or another.

Two Kinds- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: euphemism

In this chapter, Jing-Mei Woo is the narrator. She tells of her mother's obsession with Jing-Mei's becoming a prodigy of any sort. After putting Jing-Mei through countless tests, her mother decides to enroll her in piano lesson. Jing-Mei's piano teacher was deaf, so Jing-Mei found this as an easy way to escape having to actually play. Jing-Mei's mother figured Jing-Mei had progressed enough to perform in a local talent show. By the time the talent show came around, Jing-Mei was so upset with her mother that she just gave up practicing. The euphemism that Jing-Mei does is playing her unpracticed piece of music, which she knows will embarrass her mother. "But my mother's expression was what devestated me: a quiet black look that said she had lost everything" (Tan 140). This can relate to any teenager going through parent's disapproval.

Half and Half- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: anecdote

In this chapter, Rose Hsu Jordan is the narrator. Throughout the chapter, Rose tells anecdotes of her life with Ted, her husband. One anecdote is of Ted's mother pronouncing her disapproval for Rose and her ethnic backgrounds. She also tells anecdotes of all the decision making situations Ted and her have been in. She then tells the anecdote of her little brother's death that caused her mother's belief in God to be destroyed. Rose says, "And after you pick yourself up, you realize you can't trust anybody to save you-- not your husband, not your mother, not God" (Tan 121). Rose's anecdotes relate to many things in today's society. Many divorces today are caused due to attitude changes toward the partner, like Rose and Ted.

The Voice from the Wall- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: narrator

In this chapter, Lena St. Clair is the narrator. Lena speaks of terrible stories her mother had told her. She speaks of the girl next door who is "killed" night after night by her own mother. Lena speaks of her mother's obsession with Chinese balance throughout their San Francisco apartment. She speaks of her mother's craziness with it came to the baby. Lena noticed her mother bumping into tables as if there wasn't a baby in her stomach. When the baby came out of her mother's womb dead, it was no surprise to Lena. At the hospital, Lena says, "I could not tell my father what she had said. He was so sad already with this empty crib in his mind. How could I tell him she was crazy" (Tan 112)? I can relate this to everyday life because many people protect their loves ones from the truth. Many of us often lie to keep those close to us from getting hurt.

Rules of the Game- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: round character

In this chapter, Waverly Jong is the narrator. After her brother receives a chess game, Waverly Jong begins to become and avid player. She starts going through plays in her head, quickly becoming one of the best. Her mother's desire for having a prodigy becomes real when Waverly enrolls and wins in countless tournament. Her mother was her biggest fan, as well as her biggest enemy. Waverly says, "'I wish you wouldn't do that, telling everybody I'm your daughter'" (Tan 99). Waverly Jong becomes the round character in this scene. Waverly was once in love with the game of chess and appreciated her mother's support and dedication to her. Next thing Waverly knew, she was running down the street and away from her problems. I can relate this to my life because, like Waverly, I step down from responsibility as pressures rise.

The Moon Lady- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: turning point

In this chapter of Amy Tan's book, Ying-Ying St. Clair is the narrator. All her life, Ying-Ying has heard story after story of the Moon Lady, a nonexistent woman who grants wishes. When the night of Ying-Ying's meeting with the Moon Lady arrives, she gets all fancied up for it. Ying-Ying's whole family prepares the food for the big night of celebration. Everything was going smooth until Ying-Ying got her dress dirty and had to sit out of the celebrations. This is where the turning point began; Ying-Ying's disappearance from the boat and into the boat of another fisherman. She was separated from her family for many hours and felt alone. Ying-ying, comparing herself to the Moon Lady, says, "In one small moment, we had both lost the world and there was no way to get it back" (Tan 81). Ying-Ying feels the same as many other teens: alone and lost in herself. As every teen with this problem, Ying-Ying wishes to be found, by her parents and by herself.

The Red Candle- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: motivation

In this chapter, Lindo Jong is the narrator. She is going through an arranged marriage for the sake of her parents. Through this, her parents became her motivation to proceed through the marriage. Lindo Jong's new parents quickly become very upset with her inability to bore a child. Lindo Jong's mother said, "'Obey your family. Do not disgrace us... Act happy when you arrive. Really, you're very lucky'" (Tan 54). No matter how miserable Lindo was, she would not disobey her parents. This was a major part of Chinese culture. Pride has been a main Chinese element throughout the years. Lindo Jong made sure to proceed through the arranged marriage for the sake of her parents, her motivation.

Scar- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: flashback

In this chapter including An-Mei Hsu, Amy tan uses a flashback to show an important part in Hsu's life. An-Mei Hsu is the narrator explaing the effect her mother had on her life many years ago. An-Mei's mother is known as the ghost of An-Mei's life because she's never supposed to remember her. The scar on An-Mei's neck tells a different story, though. An-Mei and her mother could never forget what happened. An-Mei's mother was fighting with the rest of An-Mei's family. None of them realized the boiling pot of hot soup was rocking back and forth over young An-Mei's head. An-Mei says, "It was as though everyone's anger were pouring all over me" (Tan 46). An-Mei's grandmother relates their incident back to culture by saying if she doesn't become well, her death clothes are ready and prepared for her. Since she is young, her Popo explains the clothes will be plain and without importance. 

The Joy Luck Club- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: eulogy

In The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, Tan speaks of the meetings of four Chinese women. At the first meeting without Jing-Wei Moo's mother, Jing-Mei takes her mother's position at the table. Along with Jing-Mei is three of Jing-Mei's mother's friends of many years. The four women reminisce of Jing-Mei's mother. The eulogy of Jing-Mei's mother brings up all the good memories of her. Her mother's friend, Auntie Ying, says, "'Tell them stories she told you, lessons she taught, what you know about her mind that has become your mind" (Tan 40). The women go on proclaiming all the positives about Jing-Mei's mother. The purpose of this is to make sure Jing-Mei knows who her mother really was. I think it also was emphasized as reassurance to the other mothers at the table so they believe they left and impact on their daughter's lives forever.