Abstract:Globalization is still a topic that people talk and experience a lot. However, when there is communication, there will be conflicts. Cultural conflicts exist in intercultural communication and become a part of it.

Intercultural communication is used to describe the wide range of communicative problems that naturally appear in communications made up of individuals from different backgrounds. This paper will focus on the cultural conflicts in the intercultural communication, using the example of Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club.

 Conflicts and crashes exist among generations and generations and different cultural backgrounds. Using America as the novel’s background, Tan depicts the conflicts and understanding among four American-born and raised daughters and their Chinese-born mothers. Due to the divergences between the independent and rebellious thoughts of westerners and the traditional and feudal thoughts of easterners, cultural conflicts eventually abrupt. Even though these four mothers got rid of the feudal system, the ideology had been rooted and formed deeply in their minds. However, their daughters were educated in American way, which obviously couldn’t be fused with Chinese education, which caused problems and obstacles between them. Therefore, this paper will present the analysis of American-Chinese cultural conflicts in order to make cultural conflicts be minimized and let cultural fusion be applied to interpersonal communication.

Keywords: The Joy Luck Club; cultural conflicts; mother-daughter relationship

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction.3

1.1 The Thesis3

1.2 The Author of the Joy Luck Club and Her Writing Background.4

1.3 Organization of the Thesis.4

Chapter Two Research Methods and Research Objective.5

2.1 Brief Introduction to Culture.5

2.2The American Culture6

2.3 The Traditional Chinese Culture..6

2.4 Overview of Intercultural Communication..7

Chapter Three Intercultural Conflicts8

3.1 Intercultural Communication Characteristics8

3.2 Cross- cultural Organizational Value Dimensions.8

3.2.1 Individualism-collectivism: The Core Dimension9

3.2.2 The Power Distance Dimension12

3.2.3 The Masculinity and Femininity Dimension.14

3.2.4 Loose and Tight Structures16

Chapter Four Inevitabilities of Cultural Conflicts17

4.1 Reasonable Scientific Basis.18

4.2 The Necessary Condition of Cultural Conflicts.18

Chapter Five Conclusion..19

Bibliography.20

English Acknowledgements ..22

Chinese Acknowledgements .23