THE .JOY LUCK CWB WHILE READING
---
The Joy Luck Club 1 WIry ... r Because she was replacing her mother, Suyuan Woo, who used to be the fourth player but who had died two months ago. 2 Who . . .f Suyuan Woo.
3 Wiry .. .f Because over the years she heard the same
story again and again (except for the tcue ending).
4 Wiry . . .? To cheer themselves up and to forget for a
while the misery and anxiery all arolmd them.
S What .. .r A wheelbarrow.
6 What . .. ? Only three fine silk dresses, worn one on
top of the other.
7 Who . .. ? Her two daughters.
8 Who . . .f Her mother's women friends from the Joy
Luck Club - An-mei, Lindo, and Ying-ying.
9 What .. .? To tell her sisters all about their mother.
Best Qllality
1 Suyuan Woo to her daughter Jing-mei, saying that
Jing-mei could be just as good at something as
Lindo's daughter Waverly.
2 Lindo Jong to her friend and rival, Suyuan Woo,
about having to dust all the prizes that her daughter
Waverly has won. Interpretation: Lindo seems to be
congratulating Suyuan on not having an extra bit of
housework to do; but in fact she is boasting about
her own daughter's success as a child chess prodigy.
3 Jing-mei to Waverly, about having enough money
to go to Waverly's hairdresser. Interpretation:
Jing-mei's purpose in saying this was to embarrass
Waverly in public about the unpaid bill, as a revenge
for Waverly's unpleasant remark about Jing-mei's
lack of financial success.
4 Suyuan to her daughter Jing-mei, about the gold
chain with the piece of jade. Interpretation: Jing-mei
herself does not really understand what her mother
meant by these words, other than that the necklace
was of special significance, a treasured possession,
intended perhaps to show how strong the bond of
love is between a mother and a daughter.
THE .JOY LUCK CLUB. SCAR, THE RED CANDLE.
THE MOON LADY WHILE READING
1 Suyuan and Lindo were young women; An-mei and
Ying-ying were young children.
2 Open answers. Encourage discussion.
RULES OFntE GAME. THE VOICE FROM THE WALL.
WITHOUT WOOD. BEST QUAUTY WHILE READING
Some of the remarks can be interpreted in different
ways, wbicb are equally valid. Encourage s~dents
to discuss tbeir interpretations; some suggesnons
are given below.
Rules of the Game
1 Lindo Jong [0 her daughter Waverly, about n~t crying for salted fruit in [he shop. Interpretation: It is wiser and more effective to use subtle and less obvious ways to achieve your goals. 2 Waverly to her mother, about her mother showing her off to everyone they meet as the child chess prodigy.
.
1 FThe turtle's message to An-mei was that crying is useless, and makes YOllr life sad. 2 FAn-mei's mother was ashamed to be Wu Tsing's concubine. 3 Waverly to her mother, about Rich, the man she
intends to marry, and the expensive fur jacket he has
given her as a Christmas present. ..
4 Lindo Jong to family friends, explammg how easy
it is to win at chess. Interpretation: You should
make moves in the game which disguise your true
intentions; this is the way to confuse your opponent.
4 FYing-ying remembered her first husband with bitterness and shame, and had killed his unborn baby because she hated him so milch. 5 FYing-ying thought that her daughter had no way of knolVing things inside, no ability to see below the surface of things. The Voice from the Walt . .
1 Ying-ying St Clair to her daughter Len~, exp.lammg
why she was rearranging the furniture m theIr new
apartment, which she felt was a bad place to live.
Interpretation: You will never feel comfortable or at
peace if you do [rungs against your instincts.
2 The girl next door to Lena, about the arguments she
has with her mother.
3 Lena to her mother, about the list on the fridge door
of the things she and Harold have each paid for.
4 Ying-ying to her daughter Lena, about the vase that
fell off the badly made table, which Lena had kno~n
would happen. Interpretation: You shoukl not wan
passively for bad things to happen; you should do
something to prevent them.
MAGPIES. WAIT1NO BEl'WEENTHEntEES. DOUBLE
FACE. A PAIR OFncKETS WHILE READING
3T 6 FLindo wanted her children to have American circumstances and a Chinese character. 7T 8 FSuyuan had left her twin babies by the roadside
with some money and jeweller)" and an old
COUntrywoman fOllnd them and took them back to
her home.
9T
The SOI'Yl e
--tSuyuan was married and had twin daughters. When
the Japanese army invaded China, she escaped from
a town called Kweilin, but left her daughters on the
road. She was taken to hospital, where she heard
her husband was dead. Soon afterwards she met and
married another man.
2 An-mei's father died and her mother became the
concubine of a rich man. When An-me; was nine
years old, she went to live with her mother at the
rich man's house. Later, her mother poisoned
herself, choosing the day carefully so th,tl the rich
man would have to bring An-me; up as his own.
When she grew up, she married and went to live in
the USA, where she had seven children.
3 Lindo's parents arranged a marriage for her, and
when she was twelve years old, she was sent to live
with her future in-laws. It was not a happy life, and
so after a few years she managed to persuade her
mother-in-law that the marriage contract should be
broken. Soon afterwards she moved to the USA and
nlarried again.
4 Ying-ying married a man who deceived her and
then abandoned her. This made her so unhappy that
she killed her unborn baby. Many years later she met
an American. She married him and they went to the
USA but she never rea\ly recovered from losing her
first child.
• Lena ate too much ic
Arnold's death bee e creahm on the day she heard of ­
,ause s e blamed b
ared ice cream fo h
erself for it: she
rt e rest of h l'fe
h
badly-made table symbolized ther I . Herhusband's
e way her IJfe with him
was out of balance Whe
.
n she wa
b·ld h
sac I , er bed
was next to the wall in the
ew
had moved to, so she co Idnh apar~ent her family
f h.
u
ear the vlOl
o er neighbours· at first h h
ent arguments
~
e t ought the girl next
door was in a wo ' .
rse situation tha h he
lit soon she realized the 0
. ns e
rself was,
b
I
pposlte was true
Having '
plano essons caused.8'
.
and her mother and
d ,con Ict between Jing-mei
,
rna eJmg'
I'
no special talent H
th
mel rea lze she had
, ,
' er mo er took the
mlssmg leg, and ' d
crab with the
pomte out that J'
,
t e best-quality th
.
mg-met never chose
h
mgs, unlike Wa rI H
gave her the piece of ' de
ve y. er mother
h 'I
Ja on a gold ch '
er ife's importance', and J g mel. am, calling it
more after her mother's dea: treasured it far