Multiculturalism in "The Joy Luck Club"

In Amy Tan’s bestseller “The Joy Luck Club”, it is key that Tan incorporates various in-depth elements of multiculturalism throughout the book to represent the difference between Chinese and American culture. The five elements of multiculturalism that Tan uses in the novel include respect, accuracy, expertise, purpose and quality. Between these five, the two most important and precise aspects of multiculturalism are respect and accuracy. Respect is a critical piece of multiculturalism in the novel because the elders of the Joy Luck Club want to instill respect for Chinese culture in the younger women, but it can be seen in earlier chapters that the elders didn’t always show respect to their own culture. Also, accuracy is important because Amy Tan was the daughter of two Chinese immigrants and understands the death of June’s mother due to her own experiences with the death of her father and brother as a child. With this experience, she is able to give an accurate representation of June’s experience because they’re both Chinese American.

Throughout “The Joy Luck Club”, Tan purposefully portrays characters that show signs of respect towards Chinese culture. One way that respect is shown is by the elders of the Joy Luck Club teaching the younger generation about Chinese culture. A particular tactic that the older generation of the Joy Luck Club teaches the the younger generation about Chinese culture is by telling stories of their ancestors and their own personal stories from China. By telling their very personal stories from China, the younger generation is able to form a great respect for their culture. A glaring example of this come from the beginning of the book in the chapter called The Joy Luck Club where June retells a story that her mother, Suyuan, told her about the origins of the Joy Luck Club and the reasons she had to leave China. Because of her mother’s death and her special story from China, June joined the Joy Luck Club to not only respect her mother’s legacy, but also to respect the legacy of the club and its deep Chinese origins.

While the elders of the group instill this respect in the younger generation by telling stories of their past, it is blatantly obvious that the elders didn’t always have respect for their culture when they were younger. A great example of this comes from a story told called “The Red Candle” by Lindo Jong. While trapped in an arranged marriage, Jong realized she was being treated with a minimal amount of respect and wanted out of the marriage. On the day of the wedding, a common visual ritual that was incorporated into many Chinese marriages was the lighting of two red candles to represent the couple and their lasting love for each other. After the wedding, a grief stricken Jong attempted to blow out her husband’s candle which would ultimately end their marriage. “But I was hoping - I was praying to Buddha, the goddess of mercy, and the full moon - to make that candle go out. It fluttered a little and the flame bent down low, but still both ends burned strong. My throat filled with so much hope that it finally burst and blew out my husband’s end of the candle” (Tan 60). Though Jong was in an unfair relationship, she still disrespected a popular Chinese cultural practice to attempted to sacrifice her marriage to have a sense of respect for her ownself.

Another aspect of multiculturalism that Tan represents effectively in “The Joy Luck Club” is accuracy. The reason Tan is able to portray such effective accuracy is because she shares two major similarities with one of the main characters, June. The first of the similarities that Tan shares with June is the feeling of the loss of a loved one. In the novel, the reader quickly discovers that June has recently lost her mother. What the reader may not know is that at the age of 15, both Tan’s father and brother both had tragic deaths. What makes this comparison even more chilling and authentic is that both of Tan’s close family members and June’s mother all died of brain related injuries. Due to such similar occurrences, Tan is able to give an exact portrayal of June’s thoughts and feelings. The second parallel between Tan and June is that both individuals are first generation Chinese Americans. Because of this connection, Tan is able to precisely represent June’s understanding of two totally different cultures. As a result of similar experiences of the loss of a loved ones and being first generation Chinese Americans, Tan is able to accurately symbolize June’s similar multicultural experience.

In “The Joy Luck Club”, Tan uses five elements of multiculturalism to give an in-depth representation of the difference between Chinese and American culture. The aspects of multiculturalism that Tan uses in the novel include respect, accuracy, expertise, purpose and quality. Respect is crucial because the elders of The Joy Luck Club work to have the younger generation respect Chinese culture, though the elders didn’t always respect Chinese culture themselves. Accuracy is also valuable because Tan was the daughter of two Chinese immigrants, has experienced loss similar to June’s and is also a first generation Chinese American. While these five are represented thoroughly, the two most important and precise aspects of multiculturalism are respect and accuracy, which Tan portrays brilliantly.

"The Joy Luck Club" Cookbook