Literary Essay Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club

In Amy Tan’s novel “The Joy Luck Club” there are many themes and imagery throughout the book, but one theme that is relevant and stands out is the issue, “Cruel men? Weak men? Fair portrayal of men?” The novel is based on women in the Chinese traditional families, but does not discuss the men. What role do they play in their lives? Were they the people that made there lives unbearable? The men that will be looked upon are associated to the Jong, The Hsu, and the St. Clair family. Although many people would believe that the men in “The Joy Luck Club” were vindictive, they have shown that they not only are they feeble but that the weak men over power the cruel, and through their actions this statement will be apparent to all.

The Jong Family have two key males that fit the description of cruel and or weak men. The first was Tyan-Yu, Linda Jong’s first husband. Lindo and Tyan-Yu’s wedding was arranged marriage. Lindo’s parents were forced to depart their home leaving Lindo behind. Even though she was only twelve years old, Lindo belonged to the family of her

betrothed. The Huangs, the family of Tyan-yu, were very wealthy and took little interest in Lindo which lead to the first impression that Tyan-yu was a cruel man by the way he acted. He and his family made her stay in their servants’ quarters and made her perform physical tasks, such as cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, and embroidering clothes. Tyan-yu would make her sleep on the couch lying to his mother so that he would not get himself into trouble which was a sign of weakness on Tyan-yu’s part. Lindo proves this by saying “That’s when I could see what was underneath Tyan-yu. He was scared.”. (58)

Lindo’s marriage was miserable, for there was no love in it. Tyan-yu, feeling no emotion for his wife, would not touch her. Matters were made worse when everyone wondered

why Lindo did not become pregnant and for this came trouble. Tyan-yu was to much of a coward to make any moves and left it all for Lindo to do herself. Lindo found out that “it was his fear that made Lindo think he had no desire for any woman. He was like a little boy that had never grown up”. (58) Lindo totally changed her view of Tyan-yu from once being terrified of him, to feeling as if she was playing the role of an older sibling.

Another important male model that fits with the description of a weak or cruel man was Marvin Chen, Waverly’s first husband. He appeared to possess both weak and cruel qualities. Marvin and Waverly loved one another like married people should, but it wasn’t until Waverly’s eyes were opened that she realized just how weak of a man Marvin really was. “He chased golf and tennis balls to run away from family responsibilities. His eye wandered up and down other girl’s legs, so he didn’t know how to drive straight home anymore.”(192) Waverly has finally seen the man she had married and become conscious that her marriage was over. Marvin was not a cruel man for what he had done to Waverly, but weak because he couldn’t take the responsibilities and avoid temptations in his own life.

In the Hsu family, Rose Hsu Jordan was the first of the women to have a man that was simultaneously weak and cruel. Rose fell deeply in love with Ted, largely because he was so different than the Chinese boys she knew. After dating, they decided to marry before Ted started medical school. What she had originally liked about him was that he would rescue her and had made all the decisions. From the beginning of their marriage, Ted insisted upon controlling things and Rose was helpless to do anything about it. When Ted “lost the malpractice lawsuit” (126) everything had changed. Ted began to go to her for advice and to make all the decisions which she could not do all the time. They began to fight and Ted would say things like, “ How the hell did we ever get married? Did you just say “I do” because the minister said “repeat after me”? What would you have done with your life if I had never married you?” (127) After Ted had said this was his transition from a frail man to a malicious man. He went away on a trip where he landed another woman. Ted filed for divorce and wanted “everything. The