Joy Luck Club Essay, Research Paper

Literary Analysis : An-Mei Hsu v.s. Rose Hsu Jordan

Every mother should want to make life easier for their child. This is shown in

Amy Tan?s novel, The Joy Luck Club. It consists of stories about the lives and

relationships between the mothers and daughters of the Joy Luck Club. An-Mei Hsu is

always trying to help her daughter, Rose Hsu Jordan, through the difficulties of life.

Rose?s biggest difficulty in life is her failed marriage with her husband Ted. An-Mei?s

dedication to making life easier for her daughter is portrayed whenever she gives wisdom

that explains the way to live life, shares knowledge that gives a better understanding of

life?s circumstances, and supports or advises in situations of need.

An-Mei has learned the way to live life through her experiences. She gives Rose

this wisdom as they apply to her circumstances. An-Mei tells Rose, ?A girl is like a

young tree, you must stand tall and listen to your mother standing next to you. That is the

only way to grow strong and straight…if you bend to listen to other people, you will grow

crooked and weak? (213). As this was her answer to why Rose was always so confused,

she shows that she does not want her daughter to be confused in situations that life gives.

An-Mei wants Rose to ?grow strong and straight? so that she has a clear and confident

mind. As a result of Rose?s constant confusion, she does not know how to make her own

decisions. To solve this, An-Mei tells her, ?You must think for yourself…if someone tells

you, then you are not trying? (140). She is teaching her daughter to make her own

decisions. She does not want Rose to sit back and have other people tell her what to do

all the time, or she will never learn to stand up for herself. Though it takes time for Rose

to understand, the wisdom she has received helps her in the future.

An-Mei knows many things that are true for her daughter. She shares these facts

to her so that Rose can be aware of her life?s circumstances, and what needs to be

changed. An-Mei explains that, ?(Ted) is doing monkey business with someone else?

(209) to answer the question of Rose?s failed marriage. An-Mei wanted Rose to know

the problem in her marriage because it would answer some of her questions. She did not

want anything like that to hold her back in life. Another one of Rose?s questions is, why

she had lately been confused and in a dark fog. An-Mei explains, ?A (psychiatrist) will

only make you (confused), make you see (dark fog)? (210). She wants Rose to know

why she is feeling this, and how to stop it. She does not want it to affect her life. When

Rose receives this knowledge, she begins to realize many of her problems.

Rose seems to be discouraged easily, and will never step up to a problem.

An-Mei sees this and encourages her with support and advice. She asks Rose, ?Why you

do not speak up for yourself ?? (216). An-Mei is pushing Rose to face her problems. She

wants her daughter to do something about what her problem is. An-Mei not only

encourages Rose through words, but through her thoughts as well. In her thoughts, she

advises Rose, ?You do not need a psychiatrist to (wake up and try to understand what has

already happened)? (272). An-Mei wants Rose to know that she does not need a

psychiatrist to figure out her problem. She needs to understand the problem and solve it.

Rose accepts this advice, and it helps her to step up to her problems.

An-Mei?s desire to make life easier for Rose is proved through the giving of

wisdom that explains the way to live life, knowledge that is shared that gives better

understanding of life?s circumstances, and the constant support and advice in situations

of need. The biggest difficulty in life for Rose was getting a divorce. She uses the

wisdom to find out what the problem is, she uses the knowledge to understand how to

solve the problem, and she uses the support and advice to finally step up to her problem.

In conclusion, An-Mei was successful in her mission to make life easier for her child.

joy luck club – amy tan