We had watched the movie Joy Luck Club, and I really enjoy watching it. The Joy Luck club is a story that about four Chinese friends and their daughters, and it shows the story of the mother’s straggle in China and their acceptance in America, and the daughter’s straggles of finding themselves as Chinese-Americans. The Joy Luck club was a weekly meeting of the best friends, they were talked about their hopes for their daughters and their stories of the past. Also, several mothers in this film have something like damaged or empty spirits.
The daughter that come the first is June Woo. All the friends were at a party. Suyuan , which is June’s mother has just past away about four months ago, and her mother’s friends have found her long lost daughters. But it is too late for her to go see them so they tell June about it and they arrange a meeting for her in China. This is a going away party for June’s trip to China, and indeed, the swan feather in the beginning was a symbol of all the hopes and dreams that the mother wanted to give to her daughter.
In the story of June and her mother Suyuan, in the kitchen, June stands out trongly, because of her mother’s intention in giving her the pendant is unclear, it spurs her to the question that the gift was given in the context of their discussion of quality, and may show in specific way her mother was valuing her, not just for being her daughter, but because she was finally, best at something. This was the night that Suyuan recognized her daughter is different, but Best Quality. Suyuan wanted the best for her daughter.
Suyuan knew that her daughter was the best but never really said it to her. June always thought that she wasn’t enough for her mother that he never measured up to her expectations, and everything that her mother hoped for that she couldn’t meet, she was very disappoint. Her mother noticed that she had all the qualities that she hoped for in a daughter, she told this to her daughter when she noticed that she always took the worst crab so that the best crab was served to the guest. June had the best heart. This was something that Suyuan wanted to give to her daughter.
June now realizes this, and she realizes that she has met her mother’s hopes. The pendant is her mother’s recognition that, if nothing else, June is true o her own nature, is the best. June finds herself performing the same kitchen-rituals that her mother did, June truly begins to understand and honor her. June takes on her mother’s spirit as she sits down at the East of the Mahjong table in the Joy Luck Club. You can also see this when she arrives in China to greet her sisters, with the swan feather at hand.
The mother and daughter that come the second are Ying-ying St. Clair and Lena St. Clair. It starts out by telling the story of Ying- Ying’s past in China and how she recognizes the indirect way that her mother instilled in er a fear of unforeseen and disastrous consequences of her actions. The balance sheet on the refrigerator is the sign that makes it possible for Ying-Ying to redeem herself to her daughter. To show her daughter what a marriage is suppose to be made out of. Her marriage is very poor.
Like the table that Harold built, the marriage is showy without being functional. Ying-Ying demonstrates to her daughter that surface balance is useless and that Lena’s conception of herself and Harold being equal is flawed. When the table falls it illustrates the breaking of the marriage, and the reeing of the spirit of the mother. This spirit gives Lena the strength to decide what she wants out of the marriage. The third mother that comes is Lindo Jong. Her daughter is Waverly Jong. The way that Lindo grew up in China reflects the way that she is in America.
Lindo was sold to a matchmaker when she was in China, her mother told she how to act or how to be an obedient wife in her new family. Lindo realized that this is not the kind of life that she wanted and she gets a rail ticket to Shanghai. Waverly on the other hand was grown up in America here the American customs have influenced her way of thinking. Waverly wanted to please her mother and she even married a Chinese Man. But still this didn’t please her. When Waverly divorced him she thought that her mother blamed her.
Waverly was scared to introduce her fiance to her mother, because she thought that her mother wouldn’t approver of her decision. The conflict between the two shows the conflict between the Chinese Culture and the American Culture and how it collides together. Lindo thinks that Waverly is ashamed to be her daughter. She thinks this ecause of the way that Waverly acts and communicated to her mother. When Lindo tells Waverly about her mother and her memories, Lindo finally tells her that she only wants the best for her.
Waverly tells Lindo that she has so much power over her, and that anything that she does never pleases her. And from this moment it seems like the two cultures have found a common ground, so that both mother and daughter are happy. In all the stories, all the mothers want is the best and happiness for their daughters. In China Ying- Ying was married to a bad man who was what she dreamed for, ut ended up to be very bad. Ying- Ying had realized that her husband was happiest when he was cruel.
But it is hard to get out of a marriage especially when there is a son involved. She knew that if she killed him that she would loose something that she loved her son. He had taken away her innocence and so she took from him the only thing that she could she took from him, his son. When she lost her son her spirit was lost also. This haunted her all the way to America, and so when she had a daughter in America she had no spirit cause she had none to give to her. The way that Ying-Ying grew up in China is different than the way that Lena grows up in America.
But since Ying-Ying brought Lena up not knowing her worth she didn’t know how to choose the right husband for her. She didn’t know her value. In China marriage is based upon the husband and in America the marriage is based upon both. The struggle between the two cultures and the acceptance of mother and daughter are also present in the movie. By looking at the different stories of mother and daughter one could see the differences in the culture and the gap that they had to overcome. This movie is really emotional, and really touches me deeply.