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.