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?

the bad things that will affect her family

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

A miscarriage, a bank failure and Lena's dad's death

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

Whatever is wrong

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

the slant of the floor makes her feel as if she is "running down"

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

ice cream

Why does Harold hate it when Lena cries?

He thinks it's manipulative

Why does the marble end table collapse?

bc its not sturdy

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

"Then why don't you stop it"

What did Waverly want to tell her mom at lunch?

that she was getting married again

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

Threw a shoe at them

Why did Waverly first stop playing chess as a child?

bc she felt her mother was trying to take all the credit for her winning.

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

make her see each person's traits in a new, negative way

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

Drank 2 full glasses while everybody else had half-inch just for taste

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

bc then Waverly could only run away while her mom could move in all directions

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

she thought her mom was born in Taiwan but she was really born in Taiyun

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

a trip to China and with Rich and her mother.

When Rose was little, what did she believe her about her mother and mirrors?

she believed a mirror could see only her face but the her mother could see her inside and out even when Rose was not in the room.

Why did Rose's mother say she was without wood?

bc she listened to too many people

Why did Rose stay in bed for three days?

bc her husband had left her and she was unable to make simple decisions

Where did Rose tell Ted she was going to live?

continue to live in the house they shared while they were married

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

all like stairs, one step after another, going up and down but all going same way

How did it mean to A-m's mom dishonor her widowhood?

she became the third concubine to a rich man

What did the turtle in the pond do to A-m's tears?

ate them

What did it mean to A-m to be raised "the Chinese way"?

taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, and to eat one's own bitterness

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

became birds

What emotion is usually associated with magpies?

joy

What did the turtle tell An-mei's mother as he drifted back into the pond?

it is useless to cry

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

ignore the loud sound of the clock on her bedroom wall

Why did A-m's mother send A-m out of their bedroom at night?

Wu Tsing had arrived and wanted to be with her

Why did A-m's mom become Wu Tsing's concubine?

he raped her, thus giving her no choice but to stay with her as his concubine

How did A-m's mom die?

she poisoned herself

What promise did Wu Tsing make to A-M's mother after she died?

he would raise her son and daughter as his honored children

What does A-m say that her daughter's psychiatrist is?

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?

clapped their hands, banged their sticks on pots 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?

should be the biggest but Lena's guest room is tiny

What did Lena do when she was born?

sprang from her mother's womb like a slippery fish

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

wild and stubborn

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

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 a guest at her house?

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

Why did Ying-ying's husband leave her behind?

left her to live with an opera singer

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

she sees a small old lady but Ying-ying is really a tiger lily

According to Ying-ying why is a tiger gold and black?

gold side leaps with its fierce heart and black side stands still with cunning and patience

Why does Ying-ying abort her first child?

bc she hates the child's father/her husband

What did Y-y do for ten years at the country home of her cousin's father?

waited between the trees

What did Y-y give up when she married St. Clair?

her spirit

At the end of the story, what does Y-y want to do for her daughters?

give them her own spirit

Why does Waverly Jong want to go to China?

for her second honeymoon

Why does Waverly especially want to be Chinese?

bc its so fashionable

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

2 things don't mix

Who 1st taught Lindo about America?

American-raised Chinese girl in Peking

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

forming the cookies out of dough

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

"A house is not home when a spouse is not home"

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

thinks it makes her and her mom look devious

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

what she has lost in coming to American and what she has gotten back in return.

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

bc her mom always talked about crossing that border

Where is J-m meeting her 2 half-sisters?

Shanghai

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

when Auntie Lindo wrote a letter to the as J-m asked her to

How did J-m learn the details of what happened to her half-sisters?

her dad

Why did J-m's mom actually leave the babies?

bc she thought she was going to die and didn't want them to do so also

Who found the babies?

old peasant woman

Where are the two different Chinese meanings of SUYUAN, J-m's mom's name?

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

What are the meanings of J-m's name?

"Just pure essence" and "Younger sister"