第四屆敦煌全國大專盃-英文書評競賽 得獎作品
恭喜榮獲『英文書評競賽』進階/大學組 優等獎
姓名：潘姵縈
學校：中原大學
科系：應用外國語文學系
指導老師：曾明怡
閱讀書目：The Joy Luck Club
Before I read this book, I thought that The Joy Luck Club is a gathering for mothers and daughters to
share heart-warming stories. To my surprise, I found out that The Joy Luck Club is a gathering for four
mothers at a mah jong table hoping to be lucky rather than sorrowing at their misfortune even if they hid in
Kweilin due to the war. “Joy Luck” means to seek happiness despite the predicament. The author, Amy
Tan, writes this book in an astonishing way to impress the reader. The contrast formed by four mothers,
who come from different provinces in China, and their daughters who grow up in American culture,
speaking English fluently but knowing a little about Chinese culture, deeply attracts me as the reader to
keep turning the pages. While the story begins with Jing-mei’s journey of finding her twin sisters, the
author also tells the stories of the other mothers and daughters right after the journey. The stories about
these mothers and daughters are like mirrors that reflect the dark sides of the relationship between mothers
and daughters: such as conflict, misunderstanding, dominance, subversion, and indifference.
The complexity of mother-daughter relationship portrayed vividly in the book stirs my inner desire
to explore myself, particularly, being a daughter who can hardly live up to the mothers’ expectations. As
for me, I am from Taiwan and so does my mother. Thus, we don’t have difficulty in communicating.
Nevertheless, I can still perceive the stress from her. My mother expects me to be obedient and to be good
at house chores. To her disappointment, I can never be the kind of daughter she expects. My mother, just
like Lindo, seldom listens to her daughter. My mother compares me with the neighbors’ daughters, just as
Lindo compares Waverly with Jing-mei. Even though my mother’s intention of comparing me with others
is distinct from Lindo’s; the former is to get an obedient daughter and the latter is to get an outstanding
one, the comparison results in crashes in our relationship with our mothers.
Another significant theme depicted in this book is the resilience women show after swallowing the
pain in the past. Some of these mothers weren’t treated well in their marriages in China. Nevertheless, they
didn’t lose hope in marriage, which at that time was the only way for women to find shelters and
happiness. The resilience also symbolizes the most valuable lesson these daughters learn from their
mothers: how to lose their innocence but not their hope. I love this book because it provides a new angle
for me to rethink the mother-daughter relationship, different cultural values and identities. Considering the
miserable experiences those mothers went through the book, I should be thankful with what I have now.
Staying cheerful in spite of getting frustrated in life can be regarded as the greatest luck that mothers want
their daughters to receive although in the process of getting along with each other is not always filled with
joy.
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The reader’s reflection shows the power of the story-telling.
The analysis reveals the special value of the novel.
The structure of the writing is clearly and logically organized.
解析時語帶感情與反省，很精彩。造句能力強，足以掌控長句。語意委婉，從連接詞可看出。
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5. 內容切合主題，呈現深度思考，讀後的省思表達清楚且優美。
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