The Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan

The Joy Luck Club is a novel by Amy Tan that was first published in 1989.

Plot Overview

Summary & Analysis
Feathers from a Thousand Li Away: Introduction & “The Joy Luck Club”
Feathers from a Thousand Li Away: “Scar,” “The Red Candle,” & “The Moon Lady”
The Twenty-six Malignant Gates: Introduction, “Rules of the Game,” & “The Voice from the Wall”
The Twenty-six Malignant Gates: “Half and Half” & “Two Kinds”
American Translation: Introduction, “Rice Husband,” & “Four Directions”
American Translation: “Without Wood” & “Best Quality”
Queen Mother of the Western Skies: Introduction, “Magpies,” & “Waiting Between the Trees”
Queen Mother of the Western Skies: “Double Face” & “A Pair of Tickets”

Characters

See a complete list of the characters in The Joy Luck Club and in-depth analyses of Jing-mei (June) Woo, Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Rose Hsu Jordan, Lindo Jong, Waverly Jong, Ying-ying St. Clair, and Lena St. Clair.

Character List
Jing-mei (June) Woo
Suyuan Woo
An-mei Hsu
Rose Hsu Jordan
Lindo Jong
Waverly Jong
Ying-ying St. Clair
Lena St. Clair

Themes
Motifs
Symbols
Key Facts

Important Quotations Explained

Quotes by Theme
Miscommunication
America
Sexism

Quotes by Section
Feathers from a Thousand Li Away: Introduction and “The Joy Luck Club”
Feathers from a Thousand Li Away: “Scar,” “The Red Candle,” and “The Moon Lady”
The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates: Introduction, “Rules of the Game,” and “The Voice from the Wall”
The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates: “Half and Half” and “Two Kinds”
American Translation: Introduction, “Rice Husband,” and “Four Directions”
American Translation: “Without Wood” and “Best Quality”
Queen Mother of the Western Skies: Introduction, “Magpies,” and “Waiting Between the Trees”
Queen Mother of the Western Skies: “Double Face” and “A Pair of Tickets”

Quotes by Character
Lindo Jong
Waverly Jong
An-mei Hsu
Jing-mei (June) Woo
Suyuan Woo

Context
Full Book Quiz

Section Quizzes

Study Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading

How to Write Literary Analysis
Suggested Essay Topics
How to Cite This SparkNote

Take a Study Break

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The Joy Luck Club

Summary

Summary & Analysis

Characters

Main Ideas

Quotes

Quotes by Theme

Quotes by Section

Quotes by Character

Further Study

Section Quizzes

Writing Help

Take a Study Break

Every Shakespeare Play Summed Up in a Quote from The Office

Every Book on Your English Syllabus, Summed Up in Marvel Quotes

Pick a Greek God and We'll Tell You Your Biggest Flaw

If Fictional Characters Had Tinder

20 Literary Twitter Memes You'll Only Understand if You've Read the Book

Pick 7 Movies and We'll Tell You What Book You Should Read While You're Social Distancing

5 Disturbing Details You Never Noticed in Classic Novels