Nearly from the moment of its publication, The Joy Luck Club was a critical and public smash. People easily identified with its stories of close knit, yet classically flawed families trying to come to terms with their differences and still make their own respective individual voices heard. There was much talk of Tan's ability to create such vivid and easily understood characters, and rightly so. However, while the meat of the narrative is a fascinating subject and not one to be overlooked, I believe that throughout all the discussion of Tan's characters and her story-weaving skills, an even far greater talent of hers has been forgotten. The most intriguing aspect of The Joy Luck Club is the manner in which Tan uses the division and order of the individual stories to illustrate both the connections and separation within the relationships between her characters.
The one factor that holds each of the mothers and daughters together is the common thread they share in their ancestral background. Although the mothers may have a different attachment to this personal history than their daughters, it is nonetheless the tie that binds. Thus, Tan begins each of the sections of her work with a Chinese parable. Aside from being an excellent lead-in to each of the stories, the parable is a connection - both literally by providing continuity for the work, and figuratively by demonstrating the link each of these seemingly dissimilar women has with one another. The first parable, Feathers from a Thousand Li Away, sets up how, ironically, the link that they all share, also divides them. The feather from the swan the Chinese woman purchases is meant to be a gift to her daughter to demonstrate how she can become whatever she desires. However, this beautiful sentiment can never be shared with her daughter due to their language barrier. The same is true for the characters in the novel. There is a world of experience each has to share with another, but frustration over the lack of ability to do so has put up walls between them.
