Abstract

Literary works are often based on the specific experience of the author, so does Amy Tan. It is her life experience as a Chinese American that makes her first work The Joy Luck Club great success. Chinese Americans are a special group of people who are usually marginalized in America. Unsatisfied with this situation, they try to get themselves noticed. Chinese American literature shows not only Chinese culture and traditions, but also the life of Chinese Americans, especially the cultural collision in it. 

This thesis contains mainly two parts: conflicts and reconciliation between mothers and daughters in The Joy Luck Club. Mothers in the novel represent Chinese culture and their daughters stand for American mainstream culture. The conflicts between mothers and daughters are actually the conflicts between the cultures they represent respectively. Both mothers and daughters are neither purely Chinese nor American, because to a large extent they have been influenced by each other’s culture. So it is no wonder that they would be confused about their cultural identity as marginalized Chinese Americans. At the end of the each story, they choose to be honest with each other and share their thoughts. Through mutual understanding, they reconcile with each other which indicates that one culture may affect and be affected by other cultures. Conflict is not the only result of culture interaction and being respectful and considerate to other cultures can promote harmonious coexistence.

Keywords: mother-daughter relationship, cultures, conflicts, reconciliation

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 A Brief Introduction to The Joy Luck Club and Its Author Amy Tan-1

1.1.1 Introduction to The Joy Luck Club-1

1.1.2 Introduction to Amy Tan-3

1.2 Literary Review on The Joy Luck Club-3

2. Cultural Conflicts-6

2.1 Factors Leading to the Conflicts-6

2.1.1 Different Views on Marriage and Family-6

2.1.2 Different Role Awareness and Sense of Value-7

2.1.3 Different Ways of Expressions-8

2.2 The Cultural Identity of the Two Generations-9

3. Cultural Integration-11

3.1 Mothers and Daughters’ Mutual Efforts to Reconcile-11

3.2 Cultural Integration-13

4. Conclusion-14

References-15