The first story of Joy Luck Club is an interesting introduction and in my seminar I focused a lot on the cultural barrier that blocked Jing-Mei Woo and her mother, Suyuan, and made them so distant from each other. The passage I chose magnifies the communication barrier and cultural gap between mother and daughter. The passage tells how Suyuan spoke Chinese to her daughter, amplifying the translation struggle between the two. The link between the languages that each woman spoke brought up some good points, and I thought that a lot of people had really good contributions to the first "Woo" seminar. Liz said that because both women "speak different languages," figuratively and literally, it makes it really difficult for them to understand one another. Also, Charlie added that Jing-Mei would speak to her mother in English but Suyuan would answer in Chinese, which shows a lot about each character and their "failed translations."
I also asked if beginning the book from the perception of one of the Americanized daughters, rather then a mother, was effective in presenting theme and introducing the meaning of the book. Personally, I thought that Amy Tan did a great job of introducing the themes of cultural barrier and power of dreams and expectations. Like Shawn said, it shows the impact of the mother's stories and struggles on their daughters. Amy Tan tells Suyuan's story through Jing-Mei and presents an account of regrets and lost dreams. I thought it served as a really powerful opening, serving as almost a "story within a story" as Ms. Wrede said. I agree with Alyson, that this introduction was subtle and relateable and allowed for an easy transition into the book. Also, the first story shows a lot about the characters, their cultures, and wishes. I thought Kelsey had a good point, she said that Suyuan and Jing-Mei's expectations show that they're actually very similar. Then, Nikki made some effective comments, comparing Jing-Mei and Suyuan's expectations to Pip in Great Expectations.
There were so many other good comments and contributions in the seminar, so I'm really sorry if I missed you. I really liked this introduction into Joy Luck Club, I thought it was effective in introducing theme, characters, symbols, and the plot. Comment, to tell me what you thought of it =]
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2 comments:
I agree with Lisa in that the introduction to the Joy Luck Club was very effective in immediately enticing the reader and, as mentioned, made for an easy transition into a different culture. This is extremely important, because the lives of the four women of the Club are drastically different from ours. If Amy Tan had immeadiately plunged the readers into another world, it would have been hard to understand how this relates to our lives. Basically, I would absolutely agree with Lisa's interpretation of this section.
I think that by having the introduction start off with a more American point of view helps the reader identify more with Jing-Mei. I think as Americans, we view cultures such as the Chinese as something that we dont understand and thus find it strange and don't want to make an effort to bridge the gap. Especially in this mother and daughter relationship, the book shows how hard it is to oveercome this gap even in families. I completely concur with what Lisa said.
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