Joy Luck Club

What does the saying, "If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold," mean?

One thing is always the result of another.

What does Lena's mother see?

Her mother sees the bad things that will affect the family

What are the three things that Lena's mother predicted that came true?

Her mother predicted a miscarriage, a bank failure, and her fathers death which all came true.

What does Lena think her mother will see during her visit with her and Harold?

She thinks she will see whatever is wrong

What physical aspect of Lena's house does her mother connect with a feeling?

Lena says the slant of the floor makes her feel like she is running down

What food does Harold not realize that Lena doesn't eat?

Harold does not realize that Lena does not eat the ice cream

Why does Harold hate it when Lena cries?

Harold hate when Lena cries because he thinks it is manipulative

When Lena says, "I knew it would happen," what question does her mother ask?

It collapses because it is not strong.

Why does the marble end table collapse?

Lena asked her mom "Then why you dont don't stop it?"

What did Waverly want to tell her mother at lunch?

Waverly wanted to tell her mother that she was getting married soon.

What did Waverly's mother do when she found that Waverly had eloped with her first husband?

When her mother found out that she eloped, her mother threw a shoe at her husband

Why did Waverly first stop playing chess as a child?

Waverly stopped playing chess because she felt her mother was trying to take all the credit whenever she won a match.

What special thing could Waverly's mother do to change Waverly's view of a person?

Her mother could make Waverly see each persons traits in a new/ negative way

What mistake did Rich make about the wine at the dinner with Waverly's family?

Rich drank two full glasses of wine unlike everyone else that drank a half-inch.

Why was Waverly so anxious that her mother was the queen while she, Waverly, was the pawn?

Waverly could only run away while her mother could move in every direction

In what way was Waverly confused about where her mother came from?

Waverly thought her mother was born in Taiwan but she was really born in Taiyuan.

What trip is Waverly contemplating at the end of the story and with whom would she travel?

She was thinking about a trip to China by herself, her mother and Rich

When Rose was little, what did she believe?

Rose thought a mirror could only see half your face but her mother could see her inside out even when Rose was not around.

Why did Rose's mother say that Rose was "without wood"?

She told rose she was confused all the time and she listened to too many people at once.

Why did Rose stay in bed for three days?

Her husband had left her and she was unable to make decisions

Where did Rose tell Ted she was going to live?

She said she was going to live in the house they shared

When Rose says that Ted is hulihudu, what does she mean?

She means her husband is confused

What does Rose's mother plan in Rose's garden?

Rose's mother planted weeds in her garden

What is Jing-mei's "life's importance" gift from her mother?

The jade pendent on a gold chain was a gift from her mother

Why did Jing-mei's mother not want to keep the crab that had lost a leg?

A missing leg on a crab is a bad sign on a Chinese New Year.

Why did Jing-mei leave the room while the crabs were being steamed?

She left the room because she could not be in there while the crabs were dying.

How do Jing-mei and her mother disagree in regard to Waverly Jong?

Jing-Mei admires her mother while her mother says that Waverly is like a crab, moving sideways and crooked

How did Waverly insult Jing-mei professionally?

She said her firm's work is unacceptable

Who got the crab with the missing leg?

Jing-Mei's mother got the crab with the missing leg

In what way does An-mei say that all people born girls are alike?

They are like stairs, one step after another, going up and down, but all going the same way.

What did it mean to An-mei to be raised "the Chinese way"?

Being taught to want nothing, to swallow others problems and to eat ones bitterness

How did An-mei's mother dishonor her widowhood?

She became the third concubine to a rich man

What did the turtle in the pond do to An-mei's tears?

The turtle ate her mother's tears.

What happened to the eggs that poured out of the turtle's beak?

The eggs that came out of the turtle's beak became birds

What emotion described the magpies?

Joy is associated with magpies

What did the story of the turtles and the magpies teach An-mei's mother to do?

He said it was useless to cry.

How did An-mei learn not to listen to something meaningless calling to her?

She learned by learning to ignore the loud sound of the clock

Why did An-mei's mother send An-mei out of their bedroom at night?

Wu Tsing arrived and wanted to be with her

Why did An-mei's mother become Wu Tsing's concubine?

He raped her and that gave her no choice to stay with him as a concubine

How did An-mei's mother die?

Her mother poisoned herself

What promise did Wu Tsing make to An-mei's mother after she died?

He would raise her son and daughter as his children

What does An-mei say that her daughter's psychiatrist is?

She is just another bird drinking from Rose's misery

How did the tired Chinese peasants get rid of the birds that were drinking their tears and eating their seeds?

They clapped their hands, banged sticks on pots and pans and shouted at the birds to die.

How has Lena St. Clair unknowingly insulted her mother by giving her the guest bedroom in her home?

In Chinese tradition the guest bedroom is suppose to be the biggest and best bedroom and Lena's is tiny.

What did Lena do when she was born?

She sprang from her mother like a slippery fish.

When Ying-ying was a young girl in Wushi, she was lihai. What does that mean?

She was wild and stubborn.

When did Ying-ying begin to know things before they happened?

She began to know things the night her aunt got married when Ying-ying was 16

What sign happened to convince Ying-ying that she would marry the man who was guest at her house?

A large wind blew from the north and the flower on the table nearby split from its stem and fell at her feet

Why did Ying-ying's husband leave her?

He left her to love an opera singer

What is the difference between what Lena sees in her mother and what her mother really is?

Lena sees an old lady but Ying-Ying really is a tiger lady

Why, according to Ying-ying, is the tiger gold and black?

The gold side leaps with fierce heart while the black stands still with patience

Why does Ying-ying abort her first child?

She aborts her first child because she hates her husband (the child's father).

What did Ying-ying do for ten years at the country home of her cousin's family?

She waited by the trees.

What did Ying-ying give up when she married St. Clair?

She gave up her spirit

At the end of the story, what does Ying-ying want to do for her daughter?

She wanted to give her daughter her own spirit.

Why does Waverly Jong want to go to China?

She wanted to go to china for her second honeymoon.

Why does Waverly especially want to be Chinese?

It is fashionable to be Chinese

Why could Lindo's children not have American circumstances and Chinese character?

The two things do not mix.

Who first taught Lindo about America?

An American-raised Chinese girl in Peking taught Lindo about America.

What kind of job did Lindo get in the cookie factory?

She got a job in the cookie factory as forming Chinese fortune cookies out of hot dough

What was the fortune inside the cookie that Lindo gave to Tin?

The fortune was "A house is not home when a spouse is not at home."

Why does Waverly like the fact that she and her mother have crooked noses?

She likes their crooked noses because she thinks they make her look two faced.

At the end of the story, what is Lindo wondering about?

At the end of the story she is wondering what she has lost in coming to America and what she has gotten back in return

Why does Jing-mei feel different as her train leaves the Hong Kong border and enters Shenzhen, China?

She is becoming Chinese.

Where is Jing-mei meeting her two half-sisters?

She is meeting her half sisters in Shanghai

How did the half-sisters learn that their mother was dead?

They leaned that their mother was dead when auntie Lindo wrote a letter to them

How did Jing-mei learn the details of what happened to her half-sisters?

She learned details from her father

Why did Jing-mei's mother actually leave the babies?

She left the babies because she thought she was going to die and did not want them to die with her.

Who found the babies?

An old woman found the babies under a tree.

What are the two different Chinese meanings of Suyuan, Jing-mei's mother's name?

"Long Cherished Wish" and "Long-Held Grudge"

What are the meanings of Jing-mei's name?

"Just pure essence" and "Younger sister"