The Joy Luck Club Study Guide
5. Find the sentences in this story which help to connect it to the whole collection of stories by once again referring to one of the characters as a "ghost."
"She became so thin now you cannot see her," says my mother. "She like a ghost, disappear."
2. Define the Chinese words "hulihudu" and "heimongmong." In what ways is Rose both hulihudu and heimongmong?
"confused" and "dark fog". Rose is both because of her feelings and thoughts about Ted.
1. Why does Suyuan begin the first Joy Luck Club in Kweilin?
In order to escape the fear and uncertainty of war
1. What is Lena saying about her mother in the following passage? In what way is Ying-ying similar to An-mei's mother from the story, Scar?
Lena saw her mother become very depressed. Both ying-ying and an-mei were saddened by the loss of family.
6. Why is Lena both jealous of and sorry for the girl in the next apartment?
She is sorry that the girl has a terrible life but jealous that her life was worse than hers
4. List two ways Lena helps Harold to establish his business. In what ways does she share or not share in his success?
She is the one who told him to start his own business and later suggested the more avant-garde thematic restaurant designs. Harold gets about 7x more profit than she does and none of the credit for the ideas.
12. How does Jing-mei react when her Aunts tell her they are going to send her to China so she can tell her half-sisters all about their mother Suyuan? Why does Jing-mei's behavior disturb the old Chinese women?
She knows that the women see their daughters through her
8. In what way is this story connected to the parable at the beginning of Part III.
The parable was about the peach blossom luck, which is something that attracts love, and the story was about the problems Lena and Harold had with their love.
6. One of the themes in this novel is the conflict between the Chinese heritage of the mothers and the American heritage of their daughters. Find an example of this conflict in this story.
The mothers get upset when the daughters have white boyfriends and stuff
What is Lena referring to when she says, "And it's such a simple question"?
The question is why she didn't fix the problems with her and Harold earlier on. Or it could be the question of what she really wants.
1. A parable is a tale which illustrates a lesson or moral. What lesson does the story of the swan teach?
The swan was an unexpected gift, just like the daughter she would soon have.
7. List the three parts of Lindo's dream that convinces Huang Taitai to end Lindo's marriage to her son.
The wind blew out the candle, Tyan-yu got a servant girl pregnant, and the girl had imperial blood
5. What lesson is taught by the parable about the mother who must die the death of a thousand cuts?
You have to experience the worst possible thing in order to appreciate what is yet to come
1. What does Lindo Jong mean when she says her daughter's promise to come to dinner is "only fourteen carats"?
a promise of fourteen carats will not be honored; only a twenty-four carat promise is worth anything
4. Why is An-mei afraid of her father's portrait?
She is scared she won't honor him correctly
Best Quality: Jing-Mei Woo (Daughter) Suyuan Woo (Mother)
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Four Directions: Waverly Jong (Daughter) Lindo Jong (Mother)
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Half and Half: Rose Hsu Jordan (Daughter) An-mei Hsu (Mother)
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PART I: FEATHERS FROM A THOUSAND LI AWAY
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PART II: THE TWENTY-SIX MALIGNANT GATES
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PART III: AMERICAN TRANSLATION
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Rice Husband: Lena St. Clair (Daughter) Ying-ying St. Clair (Mother)
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Rules of the Game: Waverly Jong (Daughter) Lindo Jong (Mother)
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Scar: An-Mei Hsu (Mother) Rose Hsu Jordan (Daughter)
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The Joy Luck Club: Jing-Mei Woo (Daughter) Suyuan Woo (Mother)
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The Moon Lady: Ying-Ying St. Clair (Mother) Lena St. Clair (Daughter)
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The Red Candle: Lindo Jong (Mother) Waverly Jong (Daughter)
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The Voice from the Wall: Lena St. Clair (Daughter) Ying-ying St. Clair (Mother)
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Two Kinds: Jing-Mei Woo (Daughter) Suyuan Woo (Mother)
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Without Wood: Rose Hsu Jordan (Daughter) An-mei Hsu (Mother)
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1. Why does Waverly think she and her mother are incompatible because her mother is a Horse and she is a Rabbit?
1. Why does Waverly think she and her mother are incompatible because her mother is a Horse and she is a Rabbit?
6. List three of the five elements Suyuan believes comprise each person. In what way does too much of each element impact a person's life?
5 elements: wood, fire, earth, water, and metal. Too much metal can weigh down someone's spirit, taking away their free-thinking
2. Briefly summarize the parables about the pregnant girl and the girl who refuses to listen. What lessons do the parables teach young An-mei?
A greedy girl whose belly grew fatter and fatter. She poisoned herself so that she wouldn't tell whose child it was. Monks cut her open and found a melon. Girl who refused to listen to the elders. Shook her head to vigorously in refusal that he brain poured out of her ears.
2. In what ways does this parable help to illustrate the following theme from this novel? The generation gap, including age and heritage, between mothers and daughters makes communication between them difficult.
A mother will do whatever it takes to protect her children but they don't always listen and get themselves into more trouble
6. How did An-mei's neck become scarred? What evidence is there in the story that Popo knows how strong An-mei's love is for her mother?
A pot of hot soup spilled on her. She wanted to recover quickly so that her mother would not forget her
2. What is the definition of a secret wish? Why is the Moon Lady special?
A secret wish is something you want but cannot say. The Moon Lady grants the wish.
3. Define anorexia. What does Lena's husband's ignorance of her dislike for ice cream suggest to the reader about the quality of their marriage?
Anorexia is when someone become unnaturally skinny from not eating. He just says "oh well" like he doesn't care about Lena's personal stuff or even the marriage.
5. Why does the San Francisco Joy Luck Club play the stock market?
Because it was the only thing they could do that required pure luck and no skill
6. Why does Huang Taitai remove all of Lindo's gold bracelets? How does Lindo feel without her gold bracelets?
Because she had "too much metal". She feels lighter and can move more freely without them
6. Find a passage in this story in which Waverly finally learns to accept her mother as a person instead of always seeing her as an adversary.
But in the brief instant that I had peer over the barriers I could finally see what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armour, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in.
4. How does the following excerpt from the story relate both to Bing's death and to Rose's impending divorce? What generalization about life does it teach?
In both she saw the signs of danger but didn't do anything about it. You have to pay attention to your life and the life around you.
5. List three important Chinese customs Rich violates at dinner which Waverly believes are insults to her mother.
He brought wine and drank two glasses of it, spilled food on himself when he tried to use chopsticks, got huge servings of food instead of small polite ones, refused to get seconds, and agreed when Lindo said that the food was not salty enough. This guy is a mess.
10. What does the story of Auntie An-mei's trip to China reveal about Communist China?
Her brother's family scrambled to stuff from the Americans because such things like that were not allowed in China.
9. How does Jing-mei Woo know which seat at the mah jong table was her mother's place?
Her mother used to say "The East is where things begin"
3. Why does Ying-Ying love her shadow? What do you think the shadow might represent in this story?
Her shadow is just like her in every way. It represents her being pulled toward obedience
4. In what ways is Lindo like the wind?
Her thoughts are powerful even though they are invisible
5. What is the significance of the red marriage candle? Under what circumstances does Lindo decide to blow out her husband's end of the candle?
If the ends of the candle blow out then the marriage is doomed, but if it doesn't then they shall be wed forever. Obviously she didn't want to marry this guy and blew it out.
4. For what reasons can the story of the Moon Lady be called a myth?
It is a belief of the Chinese culture but is not true. If you believe it that's cool. Do what you want.
3. What do you think the piano might represent in this story?
It represents not being perfect but perfectly contented
3. What does it mean in Chinese to have no shou?
It's how a daughter honors her mother
11. In the following passage from the story Jing-mei Woo is talking about her problems communicating with her mother. She says: "My mother and I never really understood one another. We translated each other's meanings and I seemed to hear less than what was said, while my mother heard more." (Pg. 27) Find an incident from the story, which supports Jing-mei's statement.
Jing-mei was a school dropout and never intended to go back to finish but her mother always wanted her to and told everyone that she did
1. Who is Old Mr. Chou? Why is young Rose afraid to go see him?
Mr Chou was the guardian of a door that opened into dreams. Rose was afraid because he took her to bad places
1. What is the "art of invisible strength" Waverly learns from her mother?
Not asking or being obvious about what you want
2. Briefly state the moral or lesson this parable is teaching. Notice the phrase "twice- used Macy's bag" and compare it to the lush condominium large enough for a fancy armoire.
Not only the poor have problems but the rich do also
6. In what way is An-mei correct when she wants Rose to listen to her mother?
Of course Anmei wants Rose to listen to her mother because she is her mother
1. Define Chunwang chilhan. What kinds of things can Ying-ying predict? Why is Lena worried about her mother's opinion of their new home?
One thing is always a result of another. Ying-ying predicts bad things that affect the family. She doesn't want to hear her mother's criticism because she doesn't want to think there will be a problem in her marriage, even though there is.
6. Why does Ying-ying refer to the small bedroom table as Chunwang chihan? What does this small table represent in this story?
Putting something on the table will result in it falling. It represents the marriage and how it can easily collapse.
5. At the end of the story, why do you think Rose dreams that her mother is in the garden planting weeds? What does the garden represent in this story?
Rose has taken root like the weeds and will survive through life's blows. The garden represents Rose's life.
2. List three ways, Ying-ying behaves like an unbalanced woman.
She changed her name, lost her year of the tiger, and never expressed her feelings. Plus she was preggo.
7. What does Popo's daughter (An-mei's mother) do to illustrate the great bond between a mother and a daughter?
She cuts a chunk of flesh from her arm to try and save her mother
3. After her fight with her mother, why do you think young Waverly is unable to regain her earlier success at chess?
She didn't know it at the time, but she really only did well to please her mother, and now that she doesn't care, her subconscious mind doesn't see the need to do well anymore
2. Why does young Lindo's mother refer to her daughter as Huang Taitai's daughter?
She does not want to refer to her as her own child because she feels she would be stealing something she cannot have back
2. What is the main reason Ted wants to divorce Rose?
She doesn't make any decisions
4. Suyuan tells her daughter that "...to despair was to wish back for something already lost." What is the "something" Suyuan lost during the Japanese invasion of China? Why do you think she decides to finally reveal this painful part of her past to her daughter?
She lost her other children. She finally reveals this because she knows that her doughter is old enough to understand
3. What does An-mei mean when she tells Rose she is without wood? What does Anmei think Rose can do so she has wood?
She means that Rose listens to too many people. She has to stand tall and only listen to her mother.
4. Why is it significant that the song Jing-Mei refuses to memorize has two parts, one called "Pleading Child" and the other called "Perfectly Contented"?
She thought her mother wanted her to be perfect but she really wanted her to be perfectly contented
1. List the ways Suyuan tries to make her daughter into a prodigy. Why does she settle on Jing-Mei becoming a great pianist?
She tried to make her a Chinese Shirley Temple and have her memorize a bunch of random facts. She settles on the piano because she saw a girl on tv with Jing's characteristics.
2. For what reasons does Waverly want her mother to see her apartment?
She wanted her to see that she and Rich were living together
4. It is clear that Rose's husband wants a divorce. Why then does An-mei tell her daughter to stop talking to a psychiatrist and talk to her husband?
She wanted her to speak up
2. Why does Lena, as a young school girl, begin leaving food on her plate?
She wanted the snotty boy Arnold to die
5. For what reasons do you think Popo continually tries to scare An-mei with parables and stories about her father's painting?
She wants An-mei to obey authority
3. What is Lindo's first impression of the Huangs' home? Why does Lindo work very hard learning to sew and cook in the Huangs' servant's quarters?
She was in awe of the magnificent mansion. She became a servant to honor her parents' wishes for her to be a good wife
3. Briefly describe the importance the book The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates has for Anmei.
She would find a way to protect her children from all twenty six of the dangers
2. Find two incidents in this chapter where Lindo demonstrates her fierce Chinese pride.
She would show off her daughter in public and gave her special treatment
2. In what ways does Jing-Mei fail her mother by falling short of her mother's expectations and asserting her own will?
She wouldn't try very hard and promised herself that she wouldn't become something she wasn't.
1. Why do you think Amah makes up the story of the five evils when Ying-Ying asks about the stink from the burning incense?
So that she would think she was safe from the evils
1. What is peach-blossom luck?
Something that attracts love
1. What lesson or moral is taught by the parable at the beginning of Part II?
Sometimes there are perils you cannot see
7. One of the themes in this novel is the inability of the Americanized daughters to understand their Chinese mothers. Find an example of this conflict between Suyuan and her daughter.
Suyuan would always want her daughter to understand the Chinese way and culture, but Jing-mei was never interested and lived an American lifestyle
5. Why is it significant that Bing's name is written in the Bible in erasable pencil?
That Bing is now with the others on the list in heaven and An-mei will always remember
2. It is important for a woman to develop her individual identity so she has the strength to survive hard times. In what ways does the parable at the beginning of this chapter help to support the theme above?
The lady had to become independent in order to travel to America on her own
6. One of the themes in this novel is the idea that appearances are often different from reality. Find an incident from this chapter that helps to illustrate this theme.
The Moon Lady was a dude
1. What does the white Bible under the table leg in An-mei's home represent in this story?
The bible represents An-mei's faith, which is isn't consistent but is there for her when she needs it.
3. What might the book, The Twenty-six Malignant Gates represent in this story?
The book represents trust because the daughter can't read it and has to believe what her mothers says
7. State a theme of this novel from the following passage: "The three of us, leaving our differences behind, stepping on the plane together, sitting side by side, lifting off, moving West to reach the East." Pg. 205
The daughter will accept the Chinese heritage of the mother and the mother will accept the American culture of the daughter
3. Some critics believe the swan feather stands for something larger than itself. What do you think the swan feather might represent in this story?
The feather represents something to hold on to for luck
4. In what way does the wind mentioned in the following selection from the story relate back to the wind mentioned in the story about the red candle?
The wind is strong even though it is invisible. Her thoughts and stuff ya know.
8. Why does Lindo buy another gold bracelet for herself every time she gets some extra money? For what reasons does she remove all of her gold on the day of the Festival of Pure Brightness?
They are a symbol of her own purity. She takes them off once a year to remember the day she became true to herself
1. Why is An-mei taught that her mother is a ghost?
They don't want her mother to ever be mentioned again
3. State a generalization about life Lindo is trying to teach Waverly in the following passage from this chapter. "This American rules," she concluded at last. "Every time people come out from foreign country, must know rules. You not know, judge say, Too bad, go back. They not telling you why so you can use their way go forward. They say, Don't know why, you find our yourself. But they knowing all the time. Better you take it, find out why yourself." (Pg. 95)
They think you need to find out things on your own instead of asking
8. Define the Chinese word chaswei. To
To go after with the intent to catch
4. How does Waverly trick her mother into inviting Rich over for dinner?
Waverly wrote to Suyuan that Rich said she had made the best Chinese food he had ever tasted. Lindo would then have to one-up Suyuan and cook a better meal for them.
5. When Waverly returns home after running away, her mother says with a triumphant smile. "Strongest wind cannot be seen." (Pg. 103) For what reasons do you agree or disagree with Lindo's belief that she is the victor in her battle with Waverly? Cite incidents from the story to support your answer.
Well Waverly had that dream or something that had her mom beating her in chess. So clearly the mom won.
4. How does Lena define the "worst possible thing that could happen" in her life? In what way is Ying-ying's decline into insanity an example of the "worst possible thing that could happen"?
When her mother lost the baby she experience the worst possible thing, but her experiencing this means that things can only improve over time
5. Use the following passage from the story to illustrate how the story of the Moon Lady can also be considered to be a parable: "For woman is yin," she cried sadly, "the darkness within, where untempered passions lie. And man is yang, bright truth lighting our minds." (Pg. 82)
her mistake banished her to the moon
13. What is the significance of the last line in this story: "And I am sitting, at my mother's place at the mah jong table, on the East, where things begin"? (Pg. 32)
she is starting a new life in her mother's place
2. Briefly describe a typical Club meeting. (Note: Mah jong is an ancient Chinese game played with dice, tiles, and racks.)
they cooked feasts, played mahjong, and traded stories into the night
3. Why do the women name their parties "Joy Luck"?
they could hope to be lucky, and that hope was their only joy
7. Another theme in this novel is the inability of the Chinese mothers to communicate with their Americanized daughters. What do the following lines from the beginning of this chapter tell the reader about Ying-Ying's relationship to her daughter? In what ways are Ying-Ying and her daughter alike? "And I want to tell her this: We are lost, she and I, unseen and not seeing, unheard and not hearing, unknown by others." (Pg. 64)
they don't see each other clearly; they don't have the same understanding