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Setting and Point of View in Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club”
In her novel “The Joy Luck Club,” Amy Tan establishes her stories in two settings: the
mother’s stories take place in pre–World War II China, while the daughters’ stories take place in
contemporary San Francisco. This allows Tan to compare the cultures of both worlds, as well as
the clashes between the cultures in the mother-daughter relationships. Each chapter is told from
the point of view of a different character in the first person. This allows Tan to further explore
the unique voices of the characters and the intricacies of the conflict between them, since the
reader sympathizes with each character as they walk in her shoes. This essay will examine Tan’s
use of setting and point of view by exploring the relationship between Lindo and Waverly Jong.
“The Red Candle” is set in a rural Chinese village pre-World War II. Any reader would
find the realities of life in this setting quite miserable, as it is clear that the focus of people’s lives
was survival, not comfort: “The Fen River which ran through the middle of my family’s land
flooded the plains. It destroyed all the wheat my family had planted that year and made the land
useless for years to come” (Tan 68-69). Tan clarifies the timeframe of the story in Lindo’s
description of her wedding: “’The Japanese showed up as uninvited guests,’ said Tyan–yu’s
grandmother, ‘and that’s why nobody else came.’ Huang Taitai had made elaborate plans, but
our wedding was very small” (Tan 74). This setting provides context for the events that take
place, while giving the reader an understanding of Lindo’s experience. Only by placing the story
in this setting do aspects of her story make sense. For instance, the expectations of Lindo and
those around her towards marriage differ vastly to the expectations of an American today: “The
village matchmaker came to my family when I was just two years old” (Tan 64).
In addition to lending the reader an understanding of Lindo’s experience and the mindset
of her generation, Tan uses the contrast between the two settings to explore the clash of cultures.
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The subsequent stories relating to Lindo and her daughter Waverly are set in modern-day San
Francisco. During Waverly’s childhood, the family lived in Chinatown above a bakery. This
setting provides an explanation for some details of the story. “Rules of the Game” and “Four
Directions” are told from Waverly’s point of view. Since the setting has changed to San
Francisco, it makes sense that Lindo’s accent and language expression has changed and stands
out to Waverly who speaks English. She even makes fun of her mother’s limited understanding
of English with a sarcastic question about Chinese torture, prompting her mother’s response:
“Chinese people do many things,” she said simply. “Chinese people do business, do medicine, do
painting. Not lazy like American people. We do torture. Best torture” (Tan 117).
Each chapter in “The Joy Luck Club” is narrated by a different character, allowing the
