Joy Luck Club
Cast of Characters
Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is a historical fiction novel that highlights mother-daughter interactions between American born daughters and first-generation immigrant mothers. The novel depicts cultural barriers, language miscommunication, and tense relationships as the American daughters and Chinese immigrant mothers can not come to common conclusions. However, Joy Luck Club portrays the essence of a mother-daughter relationship: a mother giving her daughter a life she did not have.
Suyuan Woo 吳宿願
Mother of Jing-Mei Woo
Suyuan is a powerful, willful woman that can focus on the positive even in dire situations. During the Japanese invasions in Kweilin, she formed the Joy Luck Club to celebrate good fortune and happiness at the mahjong table in order to maintain a positive outlook on life. Her name, meaning “long-cherished wish,” symbolizes her determination and persistence to fulfill her wishes no matter in her generation or in her legacy. The Chinese character bai 白 (white) appears twice in Suyuan’s name, reflecting the metal element's qualities of inner strength and determination.
An-Mei Hsu 許安梅
Mother of Rose Hsu Jordan
An-Mei Hsu was taught by her family to swallow her tears, conceal her pain, and subject to the whims of others. She has a vulnerable character, described as without wood. As a adult, An-Mei is still subject to the requests of her family, treated with no respect even when she brings her family gifts from America. Within her Chinese name, one of her Chinese characters is mei 梅, which possesses the character wood on the left side. The second character an 安 symbolizes earth. According to the cycle of harm, earth harms wood; as a result, An-Mei’s earth element characteristics reflect her patience and passivity upon the whims of her family.
Lindo Jong 龔琳達
Mother of Waverly Jong
Lindo Jong believes in invisible strength, revealing her power only at the perfect moment. Her strong, unbreakable personality is shown through the character lin 琳, which is made of metal on the left and two woods on the right. Both her character and her name are filled with strong elements, displaying her unbreakable inner force. Wood symbolizes Lindo’s loyalty and selflessness shown towards her family. Within Lindo’s narrative from The Red Candle, Lindo sacrifices her own happiness in order to keep her parent’s promise and marry into Huang Taitai’s household. While she also stayed loyal to her family, she still held onto her inner strength, displaying the metal element and her skills of problem-solving.
Ying Ying St. Clair 顧映映
Mother of Lena St. Clair
Ying-Ying St. Clair transformed from an outspoken, lively women to a “ghost” with no voice. Her superstitious nature has the ability to predict her inevitable future, yet she constantly keeps her past identity hidden. The character ying 映 possesses the fire element within the left component, reflecting Ying Ying’s energetic and adventurous personality as a child. However, Ying Ying’s identity was completely changed when she immigrated to America. Even her zodiac sign changed from tiger to dragon, making her now associated with the earth element, a symbol for reliability and passivity.