Why should you read “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan? - Sheila Marie Orfano
-
0:07 - 0:09In her Auntie An-mei’s home,
-
0:09 - 0:13Jing-Mei reluctantly takes her seat at
the eastern corner of the mahjong table. -
0:13 - 0:16At the north, south, and west
corners are her aunties, -
0:16 - 0:19long-time members of the Joy Luck Club.
-
0:19 - 0:23This group of immigrant families comes
together weekly to trade gossip, -
0:23 - 0:27feast on wonton and sweet chaswei,
and play mahjong. -
0:27 - 0:32However, the club’s founder, Jing-Mei’s
mother Suyuan, has recently passed away. -
0:32 - 0:36At first, Jing-Mei struggles to fill her
place at the table. -
0:36 - 0:40But when her aunties reveal a deeply
buried secret about Suyuan’s life, -
0:40 - 0:45Jing-Mei realizes she still has a lot to
learn about her mother, and herself. -
0:45 - 0:50In Amy Tan’s 1989 debut novel,
"The Joy Luck Club," -
0:50 - 0:53this gathering at the mahjong table
is the point of departure -
0:53 - 0:56for a series of interconnected vignettes.
-
0:56 - 1:01The book itself is loosely structured
to imitate the format of the Chinese game. -
1:01 - 1:05Just as mahjong is played over four
rounds with at least four hands each, -
1:05 - 1:09the book is divided into four parts,
each with four chapters. -
1:09 - 1:11Alternately set in China
or San Francisco, -
1:11 - 1:15each chapter narrates a single
story from one of the four matriarchs -
1:15 - 1:18of the Joy Luck Club or their
American-born daughters. -
1:18 - 1:22These stories take the reader through
war zones and villages of rural China, -
1:22 - 1:26and into modern marriages and tense
gatherings around the dinner table. -
1:26 - 1:31They touch upon themes of survival
and loss, love and the lack of it, -
1:31 - 1:33ambitions and their unsatisfied reality.
-
1:33 - 1:37In one, Auntie Lin plots an escape
from the hostile family -
1:37 - 1:39of her promised husband,
-
1:39 - 1:41ultimately leading to her
arrival in America. -
1:41 - 1:46In another, the Hsu family’s all-American
day at the beach turns dire -
1:46 - 1:50when Rose is overwhelmed by the
responsibility her mother assigns to her. -
1:50 - 1:54The resulting tragedy traumatizes
the family for years to come. -
1:54 - 1:57These tales illustrate the common
divides that can form -
1:57 - 2:01between generations and cultures,
especially in immigrant families. -
2:01 - 2:05The mothers have all experienced great
hardships during their lives in China, -
2:05 - 2:08and they’ve worked tirelessly
to give their children -
2:08 - 2:09better opportunities in America.
-
2:09 - 2:13But their daughters feel weighed down
by their parent’s unfulfilled hopes -
2:13 - 2:15and high expectations.
-
2:15 - 2:19Jing-Mei feels this pressure as she plays
mahjong with her mother’s friends. -
2:19 - 2:24She worries, “In me, they see their
own daughters, just as ignorant, -
2:24 - 2:29just as unmindful of all the truths
and hopes they have brought to America.” -
2:29 - 2:30Time and again,
-
2:30 - 2:33the mothers strive to remind their
daughters of their history and heritage. -
2:33 - 2:36Meanwhile, their daughters
struggle to reconcile -
2:36 - 2:39their mothers’ perception of them
with who they really are. -
2:39 - 2:42"Does my daughter know me?"
some of the stories ask. -
2:42 - 2:46"Why doesn’t my mother understand?"
others respond. -
2:46 - 2:49In her interrogation of these questions,
-
2:49 - 2:52Tan speaks to anxieties that
plague many immigrants, -
2:52 - 2:55who often feel both alienated
from their homeland -
2:55 - 2:57and disconnected from their
adopted country. -
2:57 - 3:01But by weaving the tales of these
four mothers and daughters together, -
3:01 - 3:05Tan makes it clear that Jing-Mei and
her peers find strength to tackle -
3:05 - 3:09their present-day problems through the
values their mothers passed on to them. -
3:09 - 3:12When "The Joy Luck Club"
was first published, -
3:12 - 3:13Tan expected minimal success.
-
3:13 - 3:16But against her predictions,
the book was a massive critical -
3:16 - 3:18and commercial achievement.
-
3:18 - 3:22Today, these characters still
captivate readers worldwide. -
3:22 - 3:24Not only for the way they speak
to Chinese American -
3:24 - 3:26and immigrant experiences,
-
3:26 - 3:29but also for uncovering a deeper truth:
-
3:29 - 3:32the need to be seen and understood
by the ones you love.
- Title:
- Why should you read “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan? - Sheila Marie Orfano
- Speaker:
- Sheila Marie Orfano
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-should-you-read-the-joy-luck-club-by-amy-tan-sheila-marie-orfano
In her Auntie An-mei’s home, Jing-Mei reluctantly takes her seat at the eastern corner of the mahjong table. At the north, south and west corners are her aunties, long-time members of the Joy Luck Club. This gathering is the point of departure for a series of interconnected vignettes in Amy Tan’s debut novel. Sheila Marie Orfano explores why the novel still captivates readers worldwide.
Lesson by Sheila Marie Orfano, directed by Kayu Leung & Alo Trusz.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 03:33
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for Why should you read "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan? | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for Why should you read "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan? | ||
Elise Haadsma approved English subtitles for Why should you read "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan? | ||
Elise Haadsma accepted English subtitles for Why should you read "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan? | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for Why should you read "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan? |