In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, the author chooses to primarily focus her novel on the miscommunications between traditional Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters via the use vignettes from almost every character. Throughout the novel, Tan writes about several characters that have made a hero’s journey according to Joseph Campbell. Campbell states that a hero’s journey includes: a departure, how a hero sets off onto their journey, a fulfillment, their goal that is being accomplished, and a return, how the character impacts others in the story. In the novel, Jing-mei Woo correctly executes the blueprint for a hero. In the novel, Jing-mei Woo faces the death of her mother, which, in turn, plunges her into her own heroic journey according
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After a meeting with the members of the Joy Luck Club, she is called to an adventure to find her left behind twin sisters in China. Before June leaves on her adventure Auntie Ying from the Joy Luck Club says, ‘“But most important, you must tell them about her life. The mother they did not know, they must know now. See my sisters, tell them about my mother,’ I say, nodding”(30). By saying this, June prepares to embark on her adventure. This clearly shows that after the death of her mother, she is prompted into starting her own adventure. Without the death of her mother June would have no motive to make a trip to China and as a result, she may have never completed her hero’s journey without her initial departure. Therefore, the death of June’s mother played an important role in the departure of her journey. However, some people may argue that June is only completing her mother’s journey. Although this claim is fairly accurate, I believe that she is also starting on her own journey as well as completing her mother’s, which adds more significance to her journey. By finding her sisters, she also discovers her identity as a person which has remained uncovered for her entire life. June Woo’s call to adventure matches the departure proclaimed by Joseph …show more content…
During this time her brain is like a labyrinth with no exit, in other words she has no idea what to say to her sisters when she gets there. At one point she even questions the knowledge of her own mother. As a part of her confusion she asks herself, ‘“What will I say? What can I tell them about my mother? I don’t know anything. She was my mother”’(31). This is an example of one of the many trials she faced during the fulfillment part of her journey. Additionally, Campbell states that during the fulfillment stage the character will encounter many trials that will test their courage or maturity. The many trials that June faces conform to the description stated by Joseph Campbell. Another trial that June confronted was the search for her identity. As evident by her past, June frequently feels out of place. In an intense conversation with her mother June says, “ You want me to be someone that I’m, not!’ I sobbed. ‘I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be!”(153). This shows that often June and her mother fail to reach each other's expectations. Also, June’s mother attempted to turn her into a prodigy like Waverly, but June rejected every time. After many altercations between the two, June was unable to find her identity as a person. However, at the end of the story, June establishes her fulfillment. She claims she “see(s) what part of me(her) is Chinese. It is so
After a meeting with the members of the Joy Luck Club, she is called to an adventure to find her left behind twin sisters in China. Before June leaves on her adventure Auntie Ying from the Joy Luck Club says, ‘“But most important, you must tell them about her life. The mother they did not know, they must know now. See my sisters, tell them about my mother,’ I say, nodding”(30). By saying this, June prepares to embark on her adventure. This clearly shows that after the death of her mother, she is prompted into starting her own adventure. Without the death of her mother June would have no motive to make a trip to China and as a result, she may have never completed her hero’s journey without her initial departure. Therefore, the death of June’s mother played an important role in the departure of her journey. However, some people may argue that June is only completing her mother’s journey. Although this claim is fairly accurate, I believe that she is also starting on her own journey as well as completing her mother’s, which adds more significance to her journey. By finding her sisters, she also discovers her identity as a person which has remained uncovered for her entire life. June Woo’s call to adventure matches the departure proclaimed by Joseph …show more content…
During this time her brain is like a labyrinth with no exit, in other words she has no idea what to say to her sisters when she gets there. At one point she even questions the knowledge of her own mother. As a part of her confusion she asks herself, ‘“What will I say? What can I tell them about my mother? I don’t know anything. She was my mother”’(31). This is an example of one of the many trials she faced during the fulfillment part of her journey. Additionally, Campbell states that during the fulfillment stage the character will encounter many trials that will test their courage or maturity. The many trials that June faces conform to the description stated by Joseph Campbell. Another trial that June confronted was the search for her identity. As evident by her past, June frequently feels out of place. In an intense conversation with her mother June says, “ You want me to be someone that I’m, not!’ I sobbed. ‘I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be!”(153). This shows that often June and her mother fail to reach each other's expectations. Also, June’s mother attempted to turn her into a prodigy like Waverly, but June rejected every time. After many altercations between the two, June was unable to find her identity as a person. However, at the end of the story, June establishes her fulfillment. She claims she “see(s) what part of me(her) is Chinese. It is so