The Joy Luck Club Essay

– Amy Tan Essay, Research Paper

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is a story base on Chinese women in American tradition. One of the characters in the novel, Lindo Jong was born as a female in China. Lindo was undervalued because as a Chinese woman, she had an arranged marriage, she was treated unfairly by her husband, and also her own parents. Born as a female in China, many decisions are made by elders or men, not much opinion are made, even as an adult.

As Lindo, being in an arranged marriage at age of two, she would not be able to give any opinion in any big events in life. With everything being arranged for her at a small age, later life you will be not able to arrange anything with any decision or opinion. “Decisions either made by your parents to the village matchmakers.” (Tan 1989, p.43) By getting or the arranged marriage, it is a promise by your parents to the other family. Promises are very important in Chinese tradition. With every decisions made her life is already made for her. “Huang Taitai hurried me upstairs to the second floor and into the kitchen, which was a place where family children didn’t usually go…I missed my family about stomach felt bad, knowing I had finally arrived where my life said I belonged.” (Tam 1989, pg.49) Being in arranged marriages will not be about love and trust but just to be their as a long life wife.

During Lindo’s first marriage, her husband treated her as a slave more than a wife, because he did not even care about Lindo’s feeling, and he was not take any responsible as a husband. Everything Lindo done for him, he never accepted. Sometimes, he said things to hurt Lindo, or just blame at her for no reason. From the day that they met at the evening meal, her husband Tyan-Yu make special efforts to make her cry, he complain the soup is not hot enough and he spill the soup at her and said he just did it accidentally. Also when Lindo sat down and eat, he asks another bowls of rice and he strangely asked why Lindo look so unpleasant when looking at him. At this point, Lindo cannot object her husband, because as a Chinese woman, woman have to obey their husband, “I knew what kind of husband he would be He asked why I had such an unpleasant face when looking at him” (Tan 1989, p50) After the banquet of their marriage, Her husband won’t even allow her to sleep with him. “Tyan-Yu said, “This is my bed. You sleep on the sofa.” He threw a pillow and a thin blanket to me” (Tan 1989, p55) Lindo’s husband didn’t show any respect to her at all.

Lindo was treated unfairly by her parents. From the day that she was born, her parents mistreated her badly. When Lindo was two years old, her parents promised the arrange marriage made by the village matchmaker to Huang Taitai’s son. Her parents didn’t ask for Lindo’s opinion, even if they do, Lindo was only two years old and not mature enough, she kept her promise to her parents and married with Huang Taitai’s son without any unsatisfactory. It shows the Chinese daughter should obey their parents and can’t have her own opinions or comments. “Because I was promised to the Huang’s son for marriage, my own family began treating me as if I belonged to someone else.” (Tan 1989, p.45) Also, the parents of Chinese women think she will not be in their family except her husband, so parents always mistreated her daughter. “Of course I know the tree trunk lady…some Chinese say about girl babies being worthless…looked and smelled like a precious bun cake….” (Tan 1989, p.43-44) Lindo do not believe that not all Chinese girls are mistreated (which is true in reality.) but she thought that she is special. She believe that she will and should be treated overvalue because of her appearance and odour that she thinks is good.