Literary Analysis 3: The Joy Luck Club

The speakers in The Joy Luck Club are the mothers of the Joy Luck Club and their daughters: Jing-mei "June" Woo, An-mei Hsu, Rose Hsu Jordan, Lindo Jong, Waverly Jong, Ying-ying St. Clair, and Lena St. Clair. The mothers change from being young girls in a male dominated China during World War II to becoming old women in America. Although they had new lives and families now they still carried the pain they endured in China. When the daughters were younger they did not fully understand nor appreciate their mothers ways or customs. As adults the daughters learn of the struggles and adversities their mothers suffered while living in China. This is acknowledged when Jing-mei "June" says "Over the years, she told me the same story, except for the ending, which grew darker, casting long shadows into her life and eventually into mine."(Tan 7) The quote demonstrates how as she grew older June understood fully the oppression her mother suffered.  The daughters realize how little they truly know about their mothers and they gain a deeper understanding and love for them.
The purpose of this novel is so mothers and daughters can better appreciate each other. It is to show that mothers have lives before they are married and have children and sometimes that is easy to forget. However it also shows how children grow up and start lives on their own which can be hard for parents to adjust to. In the following quote Suyuan tells Jing-mei a part of her life that surprises her. "Your father is not my first husband. You are not those babies."(Tan 14) It can be difficult to imagine that your parents had a life before you especially when it involves other children. The novel also shows that even though cultural differences in culture and generation can set you apart the bond between mother and daughter is unbreakable.
 The target audience for The Joy Luck Club is mothers and daughters, especially those who grew up in different countries with different cultural beliefs. Tan relates this book to mothers and daughters of a variety of ages. Mothers of all ages especially those of older children can relate to the struggle of not connecting with their kids. Younger daughters (around their teenage years) can relate to the stories of the daughters when they were growing up and feeling their mother's expectations for them were different from their own. Daughters who are in their adult years can relate to the later stories from the daughters of their mothers trying to control a part of their life that is supposed to be their own. Tan uses the common topic of differences between mother and daughter to entice her target audience.
The tone of the novel is sorrowful yet hopeful. In the early part of the novel each woman experiences a tragic loss, yet each of them survive and come to America with hope for a better life. In the beginning of the novel there is a story about a woman coming to America with her duck who turned into a swan. She says "In America I will have a daughter just like me...And over there she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow! She will know my meaning, because I will give her this swan - a creature that became more than what was hoped for."(Tan 3) The sorrowful tone makes events that happened more dramatic. However the hopeful tone contrasts it and leaves the end on a happier note.