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IDENTITY PROBLEMS IN THE JOY LUCK CLUB
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Methodology
The object of the research is the novel Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.. The methodology in this qualitative descriptive research will be used to answer the question of the research:
Identity Problems In The Joy Luck Club Who Am I: A Chinese American Or An American Chinese?
Based on the main problem of the research, the identity, and culture change will be analyzed based on the following questions:
1.Finding mothers‘ identity loss and change 2.Finding daughters‘ identity loss and change 3.Conducting a coclusion on the
In order to be able to answr the questions, some basic theories are presented. Dahl (2001) argues that culture is ―a collectively held set of attributes, which is dynamic and changing over time‖ and the idea that societies develop mechanisms for the transmission of cultural signs, symbols and meanings from one generation to the next.
There are two dimensions of culture:
Material culture consists of the physical and non-material culture.
The idea of identity will be determined based on these three basic questions; Who am I? – how, for example, do I define myself; Who are you? – how do ―I‖ define other people?;
and how are my beliefs about my identity affected by my beliefs about your identity?
(Mazrui, 1996). To answer these questions, Mazrui (1996) has, in this respect, identifies seven functions of culture: Communication;
Perception; Value systems; Motivation;
Stratification; Production and consumption.
One of the causes of cultural change is acculturation. It refers to the changes that occur when different cultural groups come into intensive contact. Acculturation processes vary considerably depending upon the wishes of the more powerful society, the attitudes of the less powerful, and whether there is any choice (Henslin, 2007)
Analysis
After years of emigrating to America, the mothers (Suyuan, Lindo, Ying-ying, and An- Mei) question their identity. Reflecting their lives from their daughters, they keep these questions in their minds; ‗Who am I?‘ and
‗Who are you?‘
Suyuan is the founder of Joy Luck Club, both in China and in America. Like other mother in the Joy Luck Club, she believes and holds China tradition well and teaches her daughter about Chinese culture as her identity. Suyuan believes that Jing-mei will manifest an inner prodigy if only she and her daughter work hard enough to discover and cultivate Jing- mei‘s talent. However, her teaching seems to be wasted. Jing-mei turns out to be a loser. In some point, she wonders if her fierce love for her daughter, often expressed as criticism, has become the cause of her daughter‘s failure, or her emigrating to America as the cause of her daughter‘s wrong culture assimilation of Chinese and America. It seems that culture lose its function as a mean of communication and build similar perception.
An Mei has a bitter memory of her mother‘s sacrifice and her grandma‘s misconception and suffer. The sacrifice of An Mei‘s mother by cutting her flesh to her mother and her suicide to guarantee An Mei‘s good life have become An Mei‘s principles to swallow her tears, to conceal her pain, and to distrust others. However, An Mei fails to understand why her daughter, Rose Hsu, insists to marry a strong-willed American, who stirred her life. An Mei‘s disability to plant American style of freedom and equality puts her daughter into a situation of being a Chinese victim in American surroundings.
Lindo Jong is a victim of her Chinese culture.
She has her marriage arranged with somebody since she was a kid and
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She knows exactly how to survive by maintaining her ―invisible strength‖—of hiding one‘s thoughts until the time is ripe to reveal them, and of believing in one‘s inner force even when one finds oneself at a disadvantage. Her strategies of concealing inner powers and knowledge may be related to her ability to maintain what Waverly characterizes as a type of ―two-facedness‖—
an ability to switch between a ―Chinese‖ and an ―American‖ face depending with whom she spends her time..
Ying-ying‘s birth year is Tiger, a creature of force and stealth. However, her nanny, Ammah, always brainstorms her attitudes as an honored lady by being meek and passive that she finally loses her sense of autonomous will. Always listening to omens and signs, she never paid attention to her inner feelings. Although she married to an American, Clifford St. Clair, Ying-ying thinks that she fails to bring up her daughter in as an American like her dad, because her daughter shows her passivity like her in her marriage. She doubts her identity as a wife of an American and a mother of a half American-Chinese daughter.
Every society has a culture, no matter how simple this culture may be, and every human being is cultured, in the sense of participating in some culture or other. The mothers in Joy Luck Club experiences series of culture frictions as they move from China to America. Chinese culture as a part of Eastern cultures is different from Western culture.
They are like two opposite poles. China culture is more silent, passive, and conversional, whereas American culture tends to be more opened, active, and modern.
Culture is the set of learned behaviors and ideas (including beliefs, attitudes, values, and ideals) that are characteristic of a particular society or other social group. These basic learned beliefs, values, and experiences do not disappear although they have moved to
America. These beliefs and values have rooted in their hearts and minds. They learn the new American cultures without forgetting their Chinese culture. The blend of two cultures sometimes makes them asking themselves of their true colors, or their identity.
People come to share behaviors and ideas because they communicate with and observe each other. The daughters in Joy Luck Club are American-raised daughters. At home, they are educated with their Chinese beliefs and traditions, but outside they learn American ways and culture. The American society has taught these daughters to live a different life, with different beliefs and values, from their mothers.
Jing-mei Woo or June is the main character of The Joy Luck Club. June often finds her mother full of criticism, who pushes herself to things she does not like doing, like playing piano. Only when her mother passes away and wishes her to take her journey to visit China and tells her half twin sisters about her, she realizes how deep her mother‘s love to her and how deep Chinese essence within herself. She is confused to define her identity, as a Chinese American or an American Chinese.
Rose Hsu Jordan is An Mei‘s daughter.. As somebody who is raised in America society, she is brave enough to hold her decision to marry his American husband, though her choice is objected by her mother and her mother in law. However, her mother long teaching of self-control finally makes her unable to assert her opinion, to stand up for herself, or to make decisions. She has allowed herself to become the a doll wife by letting his husband make all of the decisions in their life together. She ends up questioning her true color of identity.
Waverly is Lindo‘s daughter. She inherits her mother‘s ―invisible strength‖—her ability
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to conceal her thoughts and strategize. She is also highly influenced by American life styles, like competing and thinking of her happiness first before the others. Waverly‘s focus on invisible strength also contributes to a sense of competitiveness: she feels a rivalry with Jing-mei and humiliates her in front of the others at Suyuan‘s New Year‘s dinner.
She also protests her mother who likes to show her off in front of other people, and makes use of her victory in chess to get rid of her duties at home. Yet Waverly is not entirely self-centered: she loves her daughter, Shoshana, unconditionally. Waverly has a mixed personality of being an American and a Chinese.
Lena St. Clair is Ying-ying‘s daughter. Her father is an American, therefore she is more American than other daughters in Joy Luck Club. However, spending her life with her Chinese mother who seldom shows her feeling but accept whatever people think of her makes her become an introvertHer identity is twisted that she is unable to call herself an American Chinese or a Chinese American.
Conclusion
People are born blank slates, which culture can put its stamp on in each generation.
Individuals may acquire their culture in the course of growing up, but understanding culture does not require understanding psychological processes. When Jing-mei finally travels to China and helps her half-
sisters to know a mother they cannot remember, she forges two other mother- daughter bonds as well. Her journey represents reconciliation between Suyuan‘s two lives, between two cultures, and between mother and daughter. In addition, the journey brings hope to the other members of the Joy Luck Club that they too can reconcile the oppositions in their lives between past and present, between cultures, and between generations.
Through learning from the past lives and relationships among the characters in Joy Luck Club that each character is finally able to see her identity and reconcile with their life and their relationship, especially between mothers and daughters, and between American and Chinese cultures.
References:
Kirszner, G Laurie & Mandell, R Stephen, 2000 Literature; Reading, reacting and writing
Tan, Amy. 2013. Joy Luck Club. London:
Vintage.
Livesey. Christ.& Lawson. Tony. AS Sociology For AQA [2nd Edition http://www.sociology.org.uk/sc_shop_
pdf/sc_AS4AQA_culture_e.pdf
Henslin, M. James. 2007. Essentials of Sociology A Down-to-Earth
Approach. Pdf.
http://wps.pearsoncustom.com/wps/me dia/objects/6904/7070244/SOC135_C h02.pdf
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