By Amy Tan

Amy Tan was born in Oakland, California, in 1952. Her parents, both Chinese immigrants, lived in various towns in California before eventually settling in Santa Clara. When Tan was in her early teens, her father and one of her brothers each died of a brain tumor within months of each other. During this period, Tan learned that her mother had been married before, in China. Tan’s mother had divorced her first husband, who had been abusive, and had fled China just before the Communist takeover in 1949. She left behind three daughters, whom she would not see again for nearly forty years.

(sparknotes.com)

Tan’s mother was suffering from a serious illness, and Tan resolved to take a trip to China with her mother if she recovered. In 1987, after her mother returned to health, they traveled to China, where Tan’s mother was reunited with her daughters and Tan met her half-sisters. The trip provided Tan with a fresh perspective on her mother, and it served as the key inspiration for her first book, The Joy Luck Club.

The Kitchen God’s Wife (1991)The Hundred Secret Senses (1995)The Bonesetter’s Daughter (2001)Saving Fish from Drowning (2005)Rules for Virgins (2011)The Valley of Amazement (2013)

Suyuan Woo Jing-mei (June) Woo

Founder of the Joy Luck Club

Flees China during war and leaves behind her twin daughters

Revives the club in San Francisco, where she is settled

Takes her mother’s place in the club when she passes away

Wishes to travel to China to be reunited with her sisters

Lindo Jong Waverly Jong

A member of the Joy Luck Club

Fears she has become too assimilated into American culture

Fears that she has undermined her daughter’s Chinese identity

Successful attorney Skilled chess player Fears what her

mother will think of her white fiancée Rich

An-Mei Hsu Rose Hsu

A member of the Joy Luck Club

Fears that she has not taught important life lessons to her daughter

Feels that she has lost most of her faith in God

Married a man named Ted Jordan, despite strong protests from her family

Her marriage is decomposing because she does not know how to assert herself

Ying-ying St. Clair Lena St. Clair

A member of the Joy Luck Club

Allows her American husband Clifford to articulate her thoughts and feelings

Fears that she has passed her passivity on to her daughter

Married to Harold Livotny

Has followed in her mother’s footsteps in regards to her marriage

Please choose one of the following questions to address in 1-3 paragraphs.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Do children eventually turn out like their parents? Why/why not?

Fate plays more of a role in our lives than does individual will and determinism. Why/why not?

Parents are always proud of their children, even if they fail. Why/why not?

Children do not always appreciate the value of their parents’ wisdom and advice. Can you think of any instances where you did not value your own parent’s advice?

There are some experiences that we have at a young age that affect the rest of our lives. Can you think of any examples either in your own life or in the life of someone close to you?