A Chinese American Literature Amy Tan The Joy Luck Club

General Outline A Chinese American History Feminism & Multiculturalism Amy Tan Joy Luck Club Reading Review Discussion

Questions What is Chinese-American Literature? How is Chinese culture and history represented in the Joy Luck Club? Who is Amy Tan and what is she famous for?

A Chinese American History 1943Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act but Racist & Hierarchical after WWII 1950sStart of Civil Rights Movement 1960s Vietnam War & Cultural Revolution – Civil Rights Gains for Blacks, etc. 1970sSecond Wave Feminist Movement 1980s Increase of Immigration – Multiculti

Feminism & Multiculturalism Literature on mother-daughter roles and identities – literature of Matrilineage started with Second Wave Feminist Movement in 1970s Cultural Nationalism in Literature from 1960s – Chinese Americans often seen as Other – more Immigration and more Diversity in American society

Chinese-American Literature Few Female authors focused on Chinese American Literature – exceptions in The Woman Warrior and The Joy Luck Club Common themes include Chinese culture in America – finding identity as Chinese- American women & Matrilinear traditions Combinations of High & Low Context Cultures

Amy Tan – Pictures

Amy Tan – A Biography Born in California to Chinese Immigrants – brother and father dead – half-sisters behind High-school in Switzerland before returning to US for studies, marriage, various work To China with mother in 1987 – inspiring The Joy Luck Club & successful writing career Now part of Rock Bottom Remainders

Styles & Themes Chinese-American rewriting of Narratives with common themes of Relationships & Identity but with literature as Art – not Anthropology Storytelling style with Flashbacks & Parallel narratives coming together but also Chinese- American Balance of Culture and Identity

The Joy Luck Club ‘And when you talk to 100 different people to get their stories, that’s what the truth is. So it’s really a multiple story’ – Amy Tan Exploring contrast between American & Chinese culture in many stories – Balance and Chinese-American Identity with Family ties Love, Loss & Redemption in Sad Story

High & Low Context Cultures High Context Culture – Old Traditions, Little Change, Expectations & No Explanations, Conflicts Ignored for Harmony & Balance Low Context Culture – Fast Change with Individualistic culture, Explanations – Conflicts for Understanding – Meaning in the Spoken

Reading Review Read and Listen to Chapter 1 of the Joy Luck Club and think of the following questions: How is the Conflict between Cultures seen? How are the Differences between cultures presented and from what perspective(s)? How is Chinese culture Presented? True?

The Joy Luck Club Movie Watch the movie clip from the Joy Luck Club and think about the following questions: How is the Story told in the Movie? How is the Difference between Low & High Context Communication seen in the Movie? What are the Differences from the Novel?

Discussion Questions What are the Differences between High and Low Context Communication in the Novel? How is Traditional Chinese Culture & Language Presented in the Novel? Perspective? What Causes the Communication Problems and Understanding Problems in the Novel? How are the Chinese and American cultures presented in the movie & novel respectively?

More Information The Joy Luck Club elani/cs6/tan.html elani/cs6/tan.html ary.html ary.html Amy Tan

More Information Pingping, Shi; The mother daughter Relationship and the Politics of Gender and Race (China, 2004). Geok-lin Lim, Shirley; Asian American Literature: An Anthology (1999).

Next Time Summaries and Exam Preparation: Colonial & Romantic Literature Realism, Regionalism, Modernism