The Joy Luck Club: Lesson Two

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

In The Joy Luck Club, all four mothers have immigrated to the United States separately, but they form a bond — first through their church and then through the Joy Luck Club.

While some of the women have come by themselves, others have come with their husbands who are either Chinese or American. To learn more about the history of Chinese migration to the United States, read the following article. As you read, answer the following questions in the notebook or journal you started keeping in the previous lessons of this series:

• When were the two largest "waves" of Chinese immigration?
• For what reasons did Chinese migrants immigrate to the United States in the 1850s?
• What was the purpose of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?
• How do twentieth-century Chinese migrants differ from their nineteenth-century counterparts?
• In what state do most Chinese immigrants settle?
• How does the median income of Chinese immigrant households compare to other immigrants, as well as native-born households?
• Approximately how much money did Chinese immigrant families send back, or remit, to China in 2013?

Read Chinese Immigrants in the United States, by Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova, from the Migration Policy Institute. When you have finished reading and answering the questions, read the following three chapters or short stories: "The Moon Lady: Ying-Ying St. Clair," "Rules of the Game: Waverly Jong," and "The Voice from the Wall: Lena St. Clair." Use the same copy of The Joy Luck Club that you obtained for the first lesson in this series. As you read, take notes in your notebook or journal on Ying-Ying's experiences as a child and the day that greatly influenced her life. Also, note how two of the daughters, Waverly and Lena, differ from their mothers.

After reading and taking notes, move on to the Got It? section to test your knowledge of these chapters or stories and explore the intersecting lives of mothers and their young daughters.