Feathers from a Thousand Li Away
The Joy Luck Club is a group of women and men getting together to socialize and play mah jong. The book is a series of narrators that are mothers or daughters. The reader learns right away that June's mother passed away 2 months ago. In the first chapter June says "My mother could sense that the women of these families also had unspeakable tragedies they had left behind in China and hopes they couldn't begin to express in their fragile English" (20). This quote stuck out to me because it gives the reader an idea about all the different families. It clues them into the variety of past events the families faced. The quote shows that there is a lot more to people and families then the exterior. The Chinese families do not want to speak of the many tragedies they had to overcome. Not only does June's family have tragedies, but the other families do as well. June starts to talk about the place that she dreams about. The dream is a
fantasy. June says, "And once you reached the top, you would be able to see everything and feel such happiness it would be enough to never have worries in your life ever again" (21). The place she dreams about is something all people in China dreamt about. The first chapter gives an idea about June's mother, and the things she left behind. The Joy Luck Club is one of them. June is expected to take her place at the table. The first chapter ends with June planning to go to Shanghai to meet her long lost sisters. After I read the first chapter of this book it reminded me of an excerpt of a book I read in grade school about a Chinese mother who wants her daughter to be a prodigy. It reminded me of the strange and different customs Chinese families have.
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