METAPHOR
“And when my brother shouted that Auntie was a talking
chicken without a head, she pushed my brother
against the gate and spat on his face” (Tan 44).
The respect to your elderlies and family members is very
significant to the book. Auntie is very strict on the
children and has high expectations.
SIMILE
“I tried to keep very still, but my heart felt like crickets
scratching to get out of a cage” (Tan 22).
Family is a very important theme in the book. At this
point, An-mei sees her mother and old memories
come flooding back to her.
PERSONIFICATION
“And then the clouds would move just a little and the
hills would suddenly become monstrous elephants
marching slowly toward me!” (Tan 21).
At this point, the hills and peaks are imagined as objects
coming to life.
ONOMATOPOEIA
“Outside I could hear the bombing. Boom! Boom!” (Tan
22).
Life was very difficult during the time period of this book.
Living in a time of war came along with several
hardships.
ALLITERATION
“In those days, before my mother told me her Kweilin story, I
imagined Joy Luck was a shameful Chinese custom, like
the secret gathering of the Ku Klux Klan or the tom-tom
dances of TV Indians preparing for war” (Tan 28).
The Joy Luck Club brought pleasure to the women while they
lived in a horrible town. It provided a break from all the
negativity,
HYPERBOLE
“I thought up Joy Luck on a summer night that was so
hot even the moths fainted to the ground, their wings
were so heavy with the damp heat” (Tan 23).
Joy Luck means exactly what it is called. The club brings
joy and happiness to the women.
IRONY
“I was crying and I was afraid she would tell Huang Taitai.
So I gave a big smile and shouted, 'What a lucky girl I
am. I'm going to have the best life‘” (Tan 50).
The crying needed to be covered up before trouble
happened. A fake and cheesy response was given to
do so.
FORESHADOWING
“’What use for?’” asks my mother, jiggling the table with
her hand. ‘You put something else on top, everything
fall down. Chunwang chihan" (Tan 178).
Amy Tan was foreshadowing the collapse of Lena and
Harold’s marriage. Everything was falling down, just
like their marriage.
SIMILE
“She backed out of the room, stunned, as if she were
blowing away like a small brown leaf, thin, brittle,
lifeless” (Tan 153).
Suyuan Woo was very hurt when her daughter said she
wished she was never born. She became upset and
defeated.
PERSONIFICATION
“The chess board seemed to hold elaborate secrets
waiting to be untangled. The chess men were more
powerful than Old Li’s magic herbs that cured
ancestral curses” (Tan 93).
Things were building up. The existing tension needed yo
be alleviated.