Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mrs. Tatum
Motif: Identity
Theme Statement/Significance:
Throughout the chapters in The Joy Luck Club, Rose struggles to understand her confusion with
commitment to decisions and voice. She forms a relationship which is bound upon her husband’s
decisions with very few of her own. After an epiphany when she receives the divorce papers,
Rose speaks up to tell Ted her true thoughts. This leads the audience to the importance of
independence among individuals. Rose’s dependence on Ted caused her unhappiness with her
mother and husband, when she realizes this she becomes independent and is not afraid of what
others think. The independence she feels leads to her other positive emotions. With no fear and
an urge of meaning in her life, Rose discovers her voice along with her family.
Theme Statement/Significance:
Plants, Elements, and Nature all are very symbolic in the Chinese traditions. The five elements in
daily life of the universe and natural phenomena. The plants are known to help individuals
understand a hidden message. These Chinese teachings guide the characters in their lives. Rose’s
garden helped her move past her sorrow and look forward to the future. She said she liked the
weeds more than the flowers. An-mei’s references to the elements show how strong or weak her
connection with god is. Through these Chinese culture references, the audience better
understands the character’s faith and lifestyle as they connect daily activities to deeper meanings.
Motif: Fate versus Faith
1. With Ted making decisions for Rose in her
“and the answer, the one that was important life, Rose clearly expresses her feelings
above everything else, ran through my body toward him. She puts all differences aside and
and fell from my lips: You can’t just pull me makes an effort to explain her point. This is
out of your life and throw me away” (Tan the moment where she determines her fate for
196). the future. This shapes herself as she builds a
future without doubt. Her faith is strong, yet
she discovers fate where she stands up for
herself for the first time in her life.
2. An-mei’s grieving for her son’s death causes
“and later, I discovered that maybe it was Rose to doubt herself too. She begins to doubt
fate. All along, that faith was just an illusion all she has ever known with god just because
that somehow your in control” (Tan 121). one thing went wrong in her life. Fate’s
negative portrayal leads her family to believe
they can’t prevent anything which causes
their faith to deteriorate. This expands on how
quickly faith can be lost despite how religious
someone is.
3. Unlike the other instance, fate is shown
“With imagined tragedy hovering over us. We positively in this quote. Rose and Ted’s
became inseparable. Two half creating the inseparable love is almost destiny. With both
whole: yin and yang” (Tan 118). of their families unaccepting of their
relationship, they rely on fate as they make a
future for themselves. This shapes their
beginning relationship which is built upon
their strong relationship of becoming one
whole.
4. Rose’s description of her mother’s
“She said it was faith that kept all these good relationship with god before Bing’s death was
things coming our way. Only I thought she related to a faucet you couldn’t turn off. An-
said “fate. Because she couldn’t pronounce mei believed faith was the answer to
the “th” sound in faith” (Tan 121). everything yet refused to accept fate may
overrule faith sometimes. This clarifies how
strong and dependent An-mei was on god.
This instance relates to when Rose stood up to
Ted. They both utilize faith despite the
negatives which can result from fate.
5. Chinese culture’s beliefs heavily speak of
“My mother had a superstition that children fate. The calendar tells of positives and
were predisposed to certain dangers on certain negatives of individuals depending on their
days, all depending on their Chinese birthday” birthday. Fate is shown as positive and
(Tan 125). negative, however, An-mei’s superstition led
her to believe more in fate and less in faith.
This expansion of fate as a negative is related
to Rose’s feelings after Bing’s death.
Theme Statement/Significance:
In Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club, An-mei and her daughter, Rose often reference faith
and fate. They compare and contrast them throughout the novel often portraying them as positive
or negative. Faith had always been a focal point in An-mei’s life but when her son died she lost
her belief in god which was also apart of herself. Fate had always been apart of Rose’s life as she
let others such as her husband make decisions for her which skewed her fate because of the
influence of others. While both characters struggle in understanding god and the future, they
realize they can’t prevent all tragedies and they must move on. Rose moves on past grieving for
herself due to her divorce, while An-mei rekindles her belief in god. The audience understands
this because Rose describes the clean, leatherette bible which is still in her house. This
importance reminds the audience to not lose hope no matter what situation they are in and to
remain strong no matter what. The future will have rough patches but those who adapt with hope
and confidence will be successful.