Amy Tans The Joyluck Club Essay - 1150 Words

Even though people do not read books anymore, stories still travel amongst people. Whether these stories are anecdotes between friends, or historical lessons from parent to child, stories pass around like a ball in a game of catch. However, not many stories possess aspects that allow them to hold the title of interesting. The novel The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, is about a group of eight girls who tell the story of their life from their own perspectives and how the events they encountered in the past developed their characters, making their diverse behaviors and actions understandable. They explain the misfortune and sadness in their life, and how never giving up and moving forward blessed their lives with luck and joy. However, what†¦show more content†¦The reason that this story is powerful, however, is because Rose changes. When Ted tells her that he wants to have a divorce, she sulks for a few days, but then realizes her problem. Calling him over, she gives him the divor ce papers, his name still there, but lacking hers. His shock was appropriate, since the viewers too felt the same surprise. The story takes a powerful turn, as Rose felt nothing, no fear, no anger (219). She no longer feared disappointing him and being different from him. She developed from the little girl who would listen to others, into an adult who made her own decisions. She finally learned, like her mother, how to swim against the tide. The development of Roses character aids the story into being powerful, but there was also another aspect that makes this true. Moreover, Roses story is powerful because it holds misfortune that makes the reader upset. Powerful stories do more than just develop characters; they make the reader understand the character. They make the reader agonize over the pounds of misfortune piling onto a characters back, forcing them to carry excess burdens. The two main hardships that burden Rose are the death of her younger brother and her divorce. Going to the beach with her family, her mother assigns the task of watching over her youngest sibling, Bing. At first, she does a good job of doing so, teasing him in the process, adding the sweet comic relief that gives the reader time to laugh and