The Analysis of Cultural Conflicts in The Joy Luck Club

1.Introduction

Culture is a story that we tell ourselves about ourselves. To be more specific， Chinese culture is greatly distinct from western culture. The 1960s witnessed the great change in Chinese American literature. Amy Tan is a famous writer in contemporary Chinese American history. In the year of 1989， she published her first novel The Joy Luck Club， which stayed on the best-selling book list of The New York Times for nine months. The novel presents in the form of eight women`s stories， that is， four mothers who were left China with unfortunate experience and immigrate to US. Their daughters grew up in the US regarded themselves as Americans. Will people with different conflicts live happily or harmoniously together？ How`ll they handle it when conflicts emerging？

2.The Conflicts in Education， Etiquette and Marriage

2.1 The Conflict in Education

Chinese parents will arrange everything for children while American show more concern on the children themselves. People vary from culture to culture and different characters are shaped in different living environments. Suyuan grew up in China， and Chinese culture or traditions exert huge influence on her， while Jine-mei lived in America from birth onwards and regarded herself as an American. In her childhood， she was force to play the piano by her mother. And her debut was a fiasco to her because she played wrong note again and again as bewitched and the sour notes staying with her all the way to the end. Her mother was very disappointed about this in that many members of the joy luck club had come to watch this. Later， there emerged a quarrel. The result was that she decided not to play the piano any more. Jing-mei wanted to be free in her own life. However， her mother had too much expectation on her.

In China， it is always the truth that parents want their child to be outstanding and hope that their child will have a bright future. In traditional Chinese culture， parents believe that the success of children is their pride. They are entitled to arrange life， future and marriage for their kids who must obedient and filial. By individual freedom， Americans means the desire and the ability of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference from the government， a ruling noble class， the church， or any other organized authority.（HUANG Chenxi 2013：215） In some extent， the child may be more meaning to show off than discover herself or himself. Hence， Chinese child always lives in a way she or he does not want， for example， having extra an auxiliary classes required by parents. Suyuan Woo was a typical Chinese parent because she imposed Jing-mei to play the piano. If Jing-mei had grew up in China， there would be a quite different condition. Like the feathers from a thousand li away， though it may look worthless， it came from afar and carried with it all Suyuan`s good intentions.

The story showed in the novel represent the conflict between child and mother in the respect of education. One is born in America， and the other in China and immigrate to America. With such different cultural background， there must be conflicts.

2.2 The Conflicts in Etiquette Based on Waverly`s Family

There is a great difference between Chinese and Western table manner manners. According the novel， when Waverly took her new husband， Rich， to her mother`s house for dinner， many cultural conflicts could be found. First of all， Rich made mistakes of drinking two frosted glasses full while everybody else had a half-inch “just for taste.” Then， he also made a mistakes in using the chopsticks rather than a fork， which he was not accustomed to use ever before. Or maybe he just wanted to show his good understanding of Chinese culture in table manners. The third mistake he made was that he took too much of the dishes for eating without realizing others. The worst thing is that Rich criticism Waverly`s mother， about her cooking and took actions in pouring the soy sauce into the delicious dish when her mother said that the dish was not salty enough. As we all known， Chinese is very modest and it is Chinese cook`s custom to make disparaging remarks about their cooking.

The conflict also consists in Linduo Jong`s mother， Linduo Jong and Waverly Jong. Waverly married a Chinese man first which seems to please her mother who was indeed Chinese because of the conflict in her childhood. In Linduo`s view， once you decided to do one thing but quit it one day. The promise was broken. There is nothing so easy to everybody even though you have the gift. The relationship between her mother and she was strange. Also， in some extent， the relationship between Lindo Jong and her mother was also strange. Lindo thought she had kept her promise with her mother， but her daughter did not keep the promise between them.

3.Conclusion

People with different cultural background could live harmoniously. In The Joy Luck Club， both the daughters and the mothers had a pleased life. It was a process of blending. Once you recognize yourself in marriage， you know clearly what your value is and what you really want. Then you will lead a happy life. As for the conflict in education， it is the fact that mother`s high expectation on their children outweigh children`s own thought and will. In terms of the conflict in etiquette， manners cannot be eliminate but they can be avoid with careful learning beforehand. Another important thing is that the relation between mothers and daughters was very delicate and woven with each other closely. And the relation thereof is also connected between grandmother and granddaughter. It is acknowledged that different countries cultivate different human beings. In the novel， conflicts promote the plots to carry on. Though they are different and there exists conflicts， it can blend mutually.

References

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