Finding Joy and Luck in America

When I was in middle school I saw the television film adaptation of Amy Tan’s book The Joy Luck Club and fell in love. I even asked my parents to buy the movie for me as a Christmas present. Two years ago I had the opportunity to listen to Amy Tan deliver a lecture and received an autographed copy of her book. Amy Tan’s the Joy Luck Club is her first major novel which depicts the struggle between mothers and daughters, and more broadly, the struggle within the Chinese American community to maintain their cultural heritage in America. This struggle is typically a generational conflict but is also between Chinese who immigrate to America and those born in America.

The conflict between maintaining Chineseand filial responsibility. In The English Professor Rusheng, who was born in China and teaches American English in America, is convinced that one spelling error will ruin his chances at receiving tenure, will disappoint the local Chinese community, ruin his social status and potentially his marriage. He considers changing job fields and to start from scratch [2]. Rusheng is very aware of the Chinese cultural expectations of him and the criteria for American success in his field.

With each generation born in America and who never visit China, respect for Chinese culture seems to diminish. The priority of those who are born in America in author Hua Jin’s Children as Enemies is to assimilate into American society, rejecting the expectations of their immigrant grandparents. Qigan Xi and Hua Xi