Joy Luck Club: Introduction

Question: What is Amy Tan’s purpose behind the introduction to the second section? What thematic elements, characterization, or plot foreshadowing connect it to the stories that follow, particularly “Rules of the Game” and “Voice from the War”?

            In “The Joy Luck Club”, Amy Tan’s purpose behind the introduction to the second section foreshadows the bond between mothers and daughter. The introduction talks about a mother telling her daughter to listen to her and to stay near her. The mother feared for the daughter’s safety if she is out of her sight. The daughter didn’t listen because she wanted to ride her bike but the mother refused. Even after being told about the Twenty-six Malignant Gates, the daughter still refuses to listen. She rode her bike to the corner, but before even reaching the corner, the daughter is injured.

            This is the theme of the stories that are in the second section. In “Rules of the Game”, Waverly Jong was a chess prodigy who gained fame at a young age. Her mother stood by her side proudly however during their grocery shopping, Waverly told her mother that she is embarrassed. The argument went to the point where Waverly ran and ran:

“I ducked into another dark alley, down another street, up another alley. I ran until it hurt and I realized I had nowhere to go, that I was not running from anything. The alleys contained no escape routes,”(Tan 100).

This relates to the introduction at the beginning of the section because the daughter had an argument with her mother and in the end, the daughter ran. this story of Waverly Jong demonstrates how the mother gave an advice to her daughter, but the daughter, rebelliously disobeys and in the end, an argument erupt from the mother and daughter.

Moreover, “The Voice from the Wall”, also connects to the introduction at the second section. Lena St. Clair told the story and how she had this imagination of what happened to her neighbor next door. One day, however, the neighbor, Teresa, went to her house. She told Lena:

“We had this fight and she pushed me out the door and locked it. So now she thinks I’m going to wait outside the door until I’m sorry enough to apologize. But I’m not going to,”(Tan 114).

This story also ties in with the introduction because it is also about a mother and a daughter arguing with each other about something.