The Recurrence of the Traditional Chinese Features In the Joy Luck Club
Contents
Acknowledgements i
Abstract in English ii
Abstract in Chinese iii
Ⅰ. Introduction 1
1.1 Introduction to Amy Tan 1
1.2 Introduction to the Joy Luck Club 2
1.2.1 Mother-Daughter Relationship 2
1.2.2 Potential Misinterpretation of the Novel 2
Ⅱ. The Traditional Chinese Elements in the Joy Luck Club and Their Functions 4
2.1 The Joy Luck Club: Bringing Hope and Joy to Life 4
2.2 A Horse in the Chinese Zodiac: Wrestling with Destiny 5
2.3 A Traditional Chinese Woman: Being Immersed in Feng Shui Beliefs 7
2.4 The Five Elements Theory: Creating the Characters 9
Ⅲ. Recurrent Chinese Culture through the Theories of Orientalism 11
3.1 The Theories of Edward Said’s Orientalism 11
3.2 Chinese Culture Presented through Orientalism 12
Ⅳ. The Reasons behind the Conflicts between Mothers and Daughters 14
4.1 Fragile Language and Easy Misunderstanding 14
4.2 Different Mode of Thoughts and Mentality 15
Ⅴ. Conclusion 16
Bibliography 17
Abstract
Amy Tan is a pioneer in the field of contemporary Chinese American Literature, and has a legitimate claim for special attention in the relevant research. Her maiden work, the Joy Luck Club, made a great coup once published and enjoyed worldwide prestige. It explored the traditional theme of mother-daughter relationship in the Chinese literature, yet from a brand-new perspective. Behind the seemingly impersonal description of the harmonious and pleasant family life lay the totally dissimilar views toward living in America of the new immigrants and their predecessors and conveyed the in-depth message of cultural conflicts and clashes. Theme of Mother and daughter transcended time, space, the boundaries of countries and culture, symbolizing the ictus of the theme in the novel. As for those mothers and daughters cracked in the crevice of races and cultures, clashes manifested themselves not merely in their blood relationship, but in the construction of gender, race and culture. In the depth of the spiritual inheritage and conflicts lay the succession and confrontation of culture. To a great extent, the image of mothers presented the metaphor of our Chinese culture; the image of daughters, the epitome of American culture.
Many Chinese elements in the Joy Luck Club, such as mahjong, the Five Elements, Chinese Zodiac and Feng Shui are vividly depicted through various stories of the characters and give impetus to the development of the plot as well as characterization. In my thesis, I would like to take advantage of the theories of Edward Said’s Orientalism and the quintessence in the traditional Chinese culture to elaborate on my viewpoint. The thesis consists of five parts, starting from a brief introduction of the author, Amy Tan and the novel concerned. Following the introduction come the detailed descriptions of the Joy Luck Club, Feng Shui, the Five Elements, the Chinese Zodiac in the novel, and the functions of them to give impetus to the story and create the major characters. Later the theories of Edward Said’s Orientalism will be introduced to give the readers a global picture of the theoretical foundation upon which the thesis is based. With the combination of his theories and those elements in the real Chinese context, the fourth part makes an attempt to reveal the reasons lying behind the clashes and conflicts between those mothers and daughters. Based on the aforementioned analysis, the fifth part will arrive at a conclusion and give the readers a clear picture of the excellent story-telling capability of Amy Tan and her remarkable contribution to the Asian American Literature.
Key Words: the Joy Luck Club; traditional Chinese elements; orientalism; cultural conflicts and clashes; mothers and daughters