The Joy Luck Club

1. In “Feathers from a Thousand Li Away,” the fable that begins Part I, why does the woman not tell her daughter about the single swan feather she has been holding onto?

A) She believes the feather will lose its magical powers if she tells anyone about it.

B) She is waiting until she speaks perfect English to tell her.

C) She is ashamed that she lost the rest of the swan.

D) She is waiting until they can visit China so the story will make sense to her.

2. What does Suyuan reveal happened to her twin baby girls when she fled Kweilin?

A) She left them at the house of a Japanese official who promised to care for them.

B) She left them with her husband and believes they were all killed.

C) She was separated from them during a military skirmish and believes they died.

D) She abandoned them along the road in the hope they would be taken in by another family.

3. According to Jing-Mei (June), why are her aunties upset when she says that she didn’t really know her mother?

A) They are afraid their own daughters feel the same way about them.

B) They are annoyed that Jing-Mei is nothing like her mother.

C) They think she is making excuses to avoid traveling to China.

D) They think she is making excuses to avoid her responsibilities at the Joy Luck Club.

Discussion Suggestion: What does the reaction of the aunts suggest about the prevalence of mother-daughter disconnect? What common factors might be making the mothers and daughters feel disconnected from one another?

4. When Popo becomes ill, An-Mei’s mother returns to care for her. She makes a special soup with flesh from her own arm. What does the soup accomplish?

A) The soup gives Popo her daughter’s strength, which cures her illness.

B) The soup heals the scar on An-Mei’s neck.

C) The soup cannot save Popo, but it atones for the sins of An-Mei’s mother.

D) The soup makes the scar on An-Mei burn anew.

5. On the night of her wedding to Tyan-yu, Lindo goes outside and blows out one end of the red candle. What does this action primarily suggest?

A) She hopes to give birth to sons and not daughters.

B) She hopes that Tyan-yu dies.

C) She hopes the marriage ends.

D) She hopes not to have any children.

6. What is special about the Moon Festival ceremony according to Ying-ying’s nursemaid?

A) The ceremony ensures prosperity for all who see the Moon Lady.

B) It is the only time of year when the Moon Lady can grant a secret wish.

C) The Moon Lady reveals which children are obedient and which are not.

D) It keeps bad luck away until the next new moon.

For each of the following questions, write a one-sentence response based on details in the story.

7. In the story “Scar,” why is An-Mei being raised by Popo instead of by her mother?

8. What lie does Lindo tell the family about the servant who is pregnant? 

9. In “Rules of the Game,” what does Waverly learn from her mother?

A) the rules of chess

B) the rules of courtship

C) the power of invisible strength

D) the importance of saying what you mean

10. How does Waverly’s mother punish her at the end of the story?

A) She acts as though Waverly is no longer part of the family.

B) She throws away Waverly’s chess board.

C) She makes Waverly do her old chores again.

D) She tells Waverly that she is ashamed of her.

11. When Lena’s mother, Ying-ying, arrives in the United States, what does Lena’s father change on her immigration papers?

A) He says they have been married for several years already.

B) He lies about her having been married once already.

C) He says she can speak English.

D) He changes her name and the year she was born.

Discussion Suggestion: What does this action—his changing her name and the year of her birth (inadvertently making her a dragon instead of a tiger)—suggest about their relationship? In what other ways is this aspect of their relationship highlighted in the story?

12. In the hospital, after Lena’s mother loses the baby, Lena tells her dad what her mother is saying. Why does she mis-translate what her mother says?

A) She does not want her dad to hear how crazy her mother sounds.

B) She cannot understand what her mom is saying but doesn’t want to admit it.

C) Her mom reveals that she didn’t want to have a baby with her dad.

D) Lena isn’t paying attention to her mother, so she just makes something up. 

13. On the day that Bing is lost, Rose says her mother (An-Mei) still has her “nengkan” intact. What does she mean by this?

A) Her mother is still religious.

B) Her mother still believes she is lucky.

C) Her mother still thinks she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.

D) Her mother is still able to keep her emotions silent.

14. What is symbolized by the mother’s gift of the old piano when Jing-Mei is an adult?

A) Jing-Mei is still an embarrassment to the family.

B) Jing-Mei has talent; she just needs to make an effort.

C) Jing-Mei’s own children may succeed where Jing-Mei failed.

D) Jing-Mei’s mother thinks she was a failure as a mother.

For each of the following questions, write a one-sentence response based on details in the story.

15. The day after Bing is lost, why does An-Mei throw a sapphire ring into the ocean?

16. When Jing-Mei’s mother finds her a piano teacher, what is unusual about the teacher? 

17. After Lena and Harold are married, what is noteworthy about their financial arrangement?

A) They refuse to discuss money or their finances because they feel it isn’t romantic.

B) Lena pays for almost everything, even though she makes much less money.

C) Harold insists on supporting Lena after they are married.

D) They split all shared expenses fifty-fifty.

18. While Lena’s mother, Ying-ying, is visiting, a wobbly table breaks and Lena says she knew it would happen. What does her mother say in reply?

A) She asks why Lena did nothing to stop it from happening.

B) She tells Lena it is a bad omen.

C) She tells Lena it means her marriage will soon break.

D) She asks why Lena would want something that was likely to break.

19. In “Four Directions,” what does Waverly want her mother to notice about her apartment?

A) Waverly has done very well for herself and can afford a beautiful apartment.

B) Waverly’s boyfriend lives there too.

C) Waverly proudly displays things her mother has given her.

D) Waverly keeps a clean, well-ordered house.

20. In “Without Wood,” what does Rose’s mother mean when she says that Rose is without wood?

A) She has no strength to get things accomplished.

B) She is not connected to her past, her roots.

C) She has no softness and offends people easily.

D) She is too easily swayed by other people’s opinions.

21. What does Rose find the courage to tell Ted when she signs the divorce papers?

A) She never loved him.

B) She has been seeing someone else.

C) She plans to keep the house.

D) She understands that he never loved her.

22. At the dinner for Chinese New Year, which crab does Jing-Mei choose for herself?

A) the one closest to her

B) the damaged one

C) the biggest one

D) the one she knows Waverly wants

Discussion Suggestion: How does the pendant suggest the love these mothers have for their daughters and also the difficulty they have communicating with them, helping them understand what they want and hope for their daughters?

For each of the following questions, write a one-sentence response based on details in the story.

23. Where do Rich and Waverly decide to spend their honeymoon?

24. What gift does Jing-Mei’s mother give her on the night of the Chinese New Year party? 

25. When An-Mei as a young child goes to live with her mother at the house of Wu Tsing, the second wife gives An-Mei a pearl necklace. Why does An-Mei’s mother smash it?

A) She is jealous of An-Mei’s affection for the second wife.

B) She thinks An-Mei is too young to wear such a necklace.

C) She needs An-Mei to understand that it is actually worthless.

D) She thinks it symbolizes that An-Mei will also become a concubine.

Discussion Suggestion: Although tragic for the mother, there is incredible strategic thinking in her decision to die right before the Lunar New Year. How does this act guarantee a future for An-Mei? How are the women in the story able to change, overcome, or at least exert some power over the worst of circumstances? Is this ability, this strength, passed down to the daughters?

26. What does Ying-ying say she let go of to marry Clifford, Lena’s father?

A) She let go of her obligation as a widow.

B) She let go of her past.

C) She let go of her Chinese baby.

D) She let go of her tiger spirit.

27. What does Lindo say that her daughter Waverly never learned?

A) the importance of trying

B) kindness

C) Chinese wisdom and character

D) the rules of the game

28. Where does Lindo work when she first arrives in San Francisco?

A) a factory that makes fortune cookies

B) a Chinese restaurant

C) a dry cleaners

D) a Chinese bakery

29.  In “A Pair of Tickets,” what do we learn Suyuan’s name means?

A) Contented Mother

B) Long-Cherished Wish

C) Spring Flower

D) Twin Natures

30. What new information do we learn about Suyuan leaving her babies behind?

A) She was very ill and left them in an effort to save their lives.

B) She fainted, and, when she awoke, they were gone.

C) She left them with her husband and later learned he had been killed.

D) She did not abandon them; Japanese soldiers took them from her.

For each of the following questions, write a one-sentence response based on details in the story.

31. What day does An-Mei’s mother choose to kill herself?

32. When she was living in China, what discovery led to Ying-ying’s decision not to keep her baby?