The Joy Luck Club Literary Analysis

Amy Tan’s book, “The Joy Luck Club”, is centered on the idea of the difference in generations between a Chinese mother and her American daughter. The plot of the novel is in the perspective of three mothers and their daughters. In “The Joy Luck Club”, Tan uses rice, dreams, legends, and traditions to show one of the main characters, Lena St. Claire, struggles to combine her mother’s Chinese heritage with her American life. In the chapter, “Rice Husband”, Lena St. Clair’s mother, Ying-Ying, in concerned about Lena not eating enough and convinces her that the amount of rice left in her bowl is equivalent to the amount of flaws and faults her future husband will have. As a child, Lena believed that their neighbor, Arnold, was destined to be