because the women hoped to be lucky, and that hope was their only joy

because all of the good names for clubs were already taken

because they wanted to use some of their own initials in the club name

because “Joy Luck” in Chinese means “happy ladies”

very daintily

as though they had been starving

with many different utensils

with much belching

They collected the money so that Jing-mei could go to China and meet her

half-sisters.

They won the money in a state lottery and wanted Jing-mei to have it.

They had borrowed the money from Jing-mei and were paying it back.

They had owed the money to Jing-mei’s mother.

the secrets of the Woo family

about her mother

about America

about how their mother didn’t want them

She tells them that she didn’t really love her mother.

She tells them that her mother was much older than they had thought.

She tells them that she really doesn’t know anything about her mother.

She tells them that her mother was living under an assumed name.

that she won’t waste their money

that she will tell her sisters everything about her mother

that she will never tell her sisters that their mother is dead

that she will take good care of her father

She died.

She became a Chinese gambler.

She showed disrespect for her family.

She forgot how to speak the Chinese language.

It meant that everyone was forbidden to talk about the person.

It meant that the person could never return home.

It meant that the person was shunned by all other females.

It meant that a funeral was held for the person.

because she disliked their manners

so that the ghosts would think the children were not worth stealing

to make them mind her

to frighten them into listening to her

She was kidnapped by bank robbers.

She grew fatter and fatter and finally poisoned herself after refusing to say whose

child she carried.

She kept wanting more and more things until finally there was nothing left

for her to desire.

She died and was buried on the same day.

She refused her aunt’s request and a little ball fell from her ear and all her

brains poured out.

She was made to stay in her room for three whole days as punishment.

She was whipped.

She suddenly became unable to hear at all.

because it was too hard for a child to pronounce

because to say her mother’s name was to spit on her father’s grave

because the soldiers would come to get her mother if they heard her name

spoken out loud

because to say her mother’s name would mean her mother could return to

the family

It means one will experience great happiness.

It means one can never come back home.

It means one will shed many tears.

It means one has no respect for ancestors or family.

It is the face she wears in school to avoid being called on by the teacher.

It is the face she wears when she has done something wrong.

It is the face she puts on when she doesn’t want to reveal her true

emotions.

It is the face she puts on when she is acting silly.

She remembers that her mother got caught gambling.

She remembers that her mother returned to the family and was chased

away the same night after An-mei was burned by the hot soup.

She remembers that her mother appeared to her in a dream on her birthday.

She remembers that her mother and her uncle quarreled about money.

Her grandmother told her that her mother had left and would forget An-

mei if An-mei didn’t get better fast.

Her grandmother told her that she was behaving very badly.

Her grandmother told her that the ghosts would get her if she didn’t get

better fast.

Her grandmother told her that she would die.

She bows deeply and calls her by a special name.

She gets up early in the morning and fixes her a special meal.

She returns to her family and cuts off a piece of her own flesh, puts it in a

soup, and serves it to her dying mother.

She agrees to stay away from her daughter forever.

She learns that one’s love and respect for one’s mother is deep within one’s

bones.

She learns not to run away from home.

She learns not to eat hot soup from a big kettle.

She learns that under no circumstances should she ever quarrel with her

uncle.