On Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club from the Perspective of Symbolism

SHAO Yi-hong

【Abstract】This paper tries to explore the symbolic meanings in Tans The Joy Luck Club from the following two parts： symbolic meanings of food and symbolic meaning of water. By employing symbolism， Tan extends the traditional Chinese images into cultural ones， in which the conflicts between Chinese and American cultures are symbolized and allegorized， and the novel holds more symbolic meanings with deeper cultural implication. The happy ending of this novel illustrates that the ancient China and the young American eventually reach mutual communication and understanding.

【Key words】Amy Tan； The Joy Luck Club； symbolism

1. What Is Symbolism

Symbolism is an artistic technique of expression that uses symbols to imply various meanings. Yang Meichun points out that “a symbol is anything which signifies anything， in this sense， all words are symbols， but used in criticism， however， “symbol” is applied only to a word or a phrase signifying an object which itself has significance， that is， the object referred to has a range of meaning beyond itself （Yang， 2011：219）.”

2. Symbolism in The Joy Luck Club

The purpose of writing The Joy Luck Club is to point out that the Chinese culture is so grand and mysterious that it is quite different from the American culture， that like thousands of Chinese Americans， they fall into a bicultural dilemma and identity crisis. With the wide and vivid use of the Chinese characteristic images， Tan extends images into cultural ones. Thus， Tan successfully conveys to readers the deeper Chinese cultural implication.

2.1 Symbolic Meanings of Food

Tan is good at using symbolism in all her works. In The Joy Luck Club， impressive images are created to convey the profound themes of this novel. Food， as an important image in Chinese culture， shows the cultural conflicts and the final reconciliation. All the four Chinese mothers told the stories about their past experiences with the backing of foods.

Among all the food images， the crab is one of the most important. The symbolic meaning of the crab is revealed in the novel in Chapter Three—American Translation. It was a crab dinner that celebrates the Chinese New Year by Suyuan Woo. Jing-mei and Suyuan walked down Stockton Street in Chinatown to buy those eleven crabs， one crab for each person， plus an extra. Jing-mei was warned by her mother that “Dont get a dead one”， “Even a beggar wont eat a dead one”， and “A missing leg is a bad sign on a Chinese New Year （Tan， 1989：225）”. Jing-mei Woo has been compared with Waverly Jong since they were little kids. Chinese mothers have the tendency to make a comparison with other companions. At that crab dinner， Jing-mei and Waverly argued because of their work. Jing-meis mother didnt speak for her which made her quite annoyed. After dinner， Jing-mei could not help asking her mother whether Suyuan was not satisfied with her. Then Suyuan looked at her and smiled， “Only you pick that crab. Nobody else take it. I already know this. Everybody else want best quality. You think different （Tan， 1989：234）.”

The contrast between Waverlys choosing the best and Jing-meis taking the inferior is a dramatic contrast between Chinese culture and American culture. By saying “She is like this crab”， and “Always walking sideways， moving crooked. You can make your legs go the other way （Tan， 1989：235）”， Suyuan showed her satisfaction at her daughters Chinese traditional virtues. “Suyuan encouraged Jing-mei to live in her own way， not to follow behind Waverly or to chase after her words. （Tong， 2014：2）.”

2.2 Symbolic Meaning of Water

The image of mother in the novel contains the image of water. Their love to their daughters is just like the water which is mild and tranquil. In Chinese traditional culture， seas not only represent the nature， but also stand for the conception of space. Therefore， the sea or water becomes a cultural gap between east and west. Besides， it is also the carrier of their nostalgia.

In Chapter One， Tan wrote “From my seat by the window I could see the Fen River with its muddy brown waters. I thought about throwing my body into this river that had destroyed my familys happiness. A person has very strange thoughts when it seems that life is about to end （Tan， 1989：53）.” Lindo Jong was born in Taiyuan where the Fen River flows through. The Fen River， the second biggest tributary of Yellow River， is the cradle of Shanxi culture.“I asked myself， what is true about a person？ Would I change in the same way the river changes color but still be the same person （Tan， 1989：53）？”She began to reflect her fate and found a healthy， pure self. Thus， with her wisdom， she broke the shackles of marriage and immigrated to America by herself. The past is like the running water which will pass away. The fate of Lindo Jong changes with the Fen River in the novel， and it is exactly the Fen River which made her know herself better.

Conclusion

The Joy Luck Club is a successful novel that becomes one of the most popular novels in Chinese American literature. Many scholars wrote papers from the perspective of culture or ethnic identity. When its success is mentioned， symbolism and symbols can not be left out. It is the use of symbolism that the themes can be deeply revealed. If the mothers in The Joy Luck Club represent the traditional Chinese culture， the daughters represent the modern American civilization. Tans attention to Chinese-American phenomenon implements a deeper cultural identity. We should remove our cultural conflict so as to achieve the globalization of multinational culture.

This paper is a brief study of Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club from the perspective of symbolism. It covers only a tip of the iceberg， and it aims to offer some help for the comprehensive study of Amy Tans works. It is hoped that we can learn something from the novel： Chinese culture is something the Chinese American should not forget.

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