A Comparison of Women in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club and...

Strong Women in The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen Gods Wife One of the common themes in both The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen Gods Wife is strong women. All the women in both generations in each book gain strength through different experiences. These experiences range from a war-ravaged China to the modern day stresses of womanhood. Though different experiences have shaped each woman, they are all tied together by the common thread of strength. The Joy Luck Club portrays strong women. The examples that come across most strikingly to the reader are the women who lived in traditional China. An-Mei Hsu gained her strong will from her mothers weak spirit. In her story, titled Magpies, An-Meis mother is forced†¦show more content†¦Her life has been a series of struggles and hardships, which she has kept from her daughter Pearl. Winnies only companion as a child was her mother, who abandoned her just before adolescence, at the time when Winnie needed her most. Her departure marked the beginning of Winnies long journey with many disappointments and tribulations. Winnies next hardship came when she was forced to live with her aunt, uncle, and spoiled cousins. Winnie felt unwanted and unloved. Winnie is older than her cousin Peanut, but because she is a bad child, soiled by her mothers bad name, she is looked down on. When she became the right age, the family gave her to the family of Wen Fu, who was to become her new husband. At first, Wen Fu was loving and gentle. But as time went on, he became increasingly aggressive with Winnie. The first example of this is shortly after their new union, when they are in bed together. Winnie tells Pearl that Wen Fu was kissing my nose, my cheeks and shoulders, telling me how beautiful I was, how happy I made him. Within the next ten minutes, Wen Fu has turned into a tyrant. He whispered for me to say dirty words, words for womens body parts--not any womans body parts....the kind (of woman) who would give her body to foreign sailors. From this point on, Wen Fus abuse becomes more extensive and frequent. Winnie is forced to search for a way in which to leave Wen Fu and still claim her