The Red Candle

From The Joy Luck Club

I'm choosing to skip this one if only because there's a recent post about self-awareness, which is also the major thematic idea of this particular short story. I do want to point out the similarities between Lindo and Danny (The Chosen). One, they found themselves in silence: Danny in the silent relationship with his father and Lindo in following the orders of her new family. Additionally, they realized the importance of what their parents asked them to do but did not allow the obedience they were obliged to give to their parents, whether because of the Commandments or because of honor, overwhelm their own sense of self. That's huge. That's saying, I can do what my parents ask of me and still have space left over to be who I am and no one can take that away from me no matter what.

Scar

From The Joy Luck Club

I'm sure I mentioned before that The Joy Luck Club is separated into four sections, each with four stories. The first four stories are the stories of the mothers from when they were children in China. In the second story, "Scar," An-mei learns the importance of honor to a family. (I'm not going to summarize what happens this time, and I'm going to make an effort to discontinue that practice.)

My comments for this short story are to do with the fact that I wonder if there is honor in families anymore. I used to be afraid to get into trouble in school because it would reflect poorly upon my mother and I'd get it when I got home. But I see so many people boast about the trouble their kinsmen find themselves in. There was a time when airing ones dirty laundry was a bad thing. But now we have high schoolers boasting that they're pregnant and their future is put on hold to begin a life of child rearing. Where is the honor in that? Why don't we hear about the kids who went out and did something good and brought honor to their family name? Why don't we hear people say, "That's my brother who just got into law school," or "That's my sister who just got her nursing license"?

Maybe honor has a different value for people in the east. Maybe because the United States is such a melting pot or salad or whatever you choose to call it, the eastern ideals, like honor, got lost in the mix.

The Joy Luck Club

From The Joy Luck Club

There is one particular passage I wanted to look at from this story. Jing-mei is telling the reader about her Auntie An-mei's trip to China to visit her brother. With her she took a suitcase of goodies (M&Ms and such) and a suitcase of clothes. She was warned by Suyuan that all her family wanted was money, but An-mei paid her no heed.

As my mother told it, "Auntie An-mei had cried before she left for China, thinking she would make her brother very rich an happy by communist standards. But when she got home, she cried to me that everyone had a palm out and she was the only one who left with an empty hand. (36)

This is about appreciation. This is about being grateful for what others are willing to sacrifice for you. This is another one about my students. They're like baby birds that refuse to grow up and attempt to use their wings. Mama has always put the food directly in their mouths, so why should teachers be any different. Except that tabula rasa is a myth and the banking method doesn't work. But they've got their hands out. Give me food; give me paper; give me a pencil. All of these things and expect no consequence. I give you nothing in return.

Give me the answers.

It is not in procuring the answers that learning occurs. It is in the process of finding the answer that we become smarter.

You know Thomas Edison tried and failed nearly 2,000 times to develop the carbonized cotton thread filament for the incandescent light bulb... When asked about it he said "I didn't fail. I found out 2,000 ways how not to make a light bulb." (National Treasure)

That's what I'm talking about.


National Treasure. Dir. Jon Turteltaub. Perf. Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean. 2004. DVD. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2005.

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1989.

Feathers from a Thousand Li Away

Before the stories of the first part begin, there is an anecdote about a woman and a swan and their travels from China to America. She wants to give the swan to her American-born daughter and with it "all [her] good intentions" (18). Her daughter will speak perfect American English and will not be looked down upon and measured by the worth of the man she's attached to.

With "all my good intentions" (18) comes a hope that her child will have a better life than the one she had. I grew up with my father telling me the same thing. Yes, you have to work twice as hard to get half as much, but I want your life to be better than mine. That's what all parents should want for their children.

Unfortunately, such is not the case. During the school year I see so many children whose parents couldn't care less about them. Or I see children who view their parents' lives as satisfactory, so they place no value in their education. These are the children who say that they're only in school because "it's the law." It pains me that there is no hope of better in these children. That's what's hard at the end of the day. The parents who have given up on their children, the parents who have not instilled a want for better in their children, the parents who allow their children to settle for what's already in front of them rather than striving to be something more.

To these children I give my hope. It has come from afar and with it comes all my good intentions. May it be a light to one in darkness who wants to find their way.


Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1989.

Introduction to the Joy Luck Club

Disclaimer: If this post seems a little out of sorts with my other posts it is because I'm going to use it to teach my class about previewing text. Hopefully they'll learn that there are a number of things one can learn about a text before it is actually read.


Before I can even get started with this one, I have to mention that I hear Joy Luck Club and I automatically think Ming Na. How many actors play characters with the same name? I remember watching this movie with my mother multiple times, and never from the beginning long before I found out it was a book. I think I finally made the connection in college; we read either "Two Kinds" or "Rules of the Game" in one of my many literature classes. More than likely it was "Rules of the Game"; I remember something about Waverly and chess. These stories take me back.

In previewing the text (or looking at the table of contents), we find that it's broken up into four parts, each having four stories told by four different people. On the title page we find that there are four mothers and four daughters who are telling these stories, but one name is missing from the narrative. Suyuan Woo doesn't tell any of the stories. Instead, we find that Jing-mei tells stories in all four parts, whereas each of the others (both mothers and daughters) tell two stories each. I can infer from there that something has happened to Jing-mei's mother that caused Jing-mei to take her place.

I wonder in what way Jing-mei has to take the place of her mother.
What is the Joy Luck Club?
What happened to Jing-mei's mom that required Jing-mei to take her place?