Culture is Everything in The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

One last preliminary question: What is a culture? What do we mean when we talk about a given people's culture? James Axtell has provided a definition of culture that, in many ways, illustrates the problems of grappling with this slippery concept:

Culture may have its sources in different aspects of human life, as: language, nationality, education, profession, group, religion, family, social class, corporate culture. All these elements influence every member of a society and thus, culture is learnt and transmitted to others.

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

As a result of June’s attempted efforts of learning about her past, this leaves her feeling disconnected with her mom and her ways. June’s lack of cultural background begins when her mother is still alive. For instance, when Suyuan says,¨You don’t even know little of me! How can you be me?¨ (Tan 27). In other words, there is an instance where June’s friend says both her and her mother have similar features: the way their hands move and the way they laugh. When June conveys this to her mother, Suyuan is upset because she thinks otherwise- you can’t be similar to someone if you don’t even know them. Put another way, this remark is what hinders June’s confidence- she did feel she knows her mother. If June did miscalculate on how well she knew

Culture is a large part of every person’s life, it is what makes each person unique. Within culture there are many aspects such as food, music, clothing, tradition, and many more. Since culture makes up such a large part of our day to day lives, it is almost always responsible shaping and informing our view on the world.

There are various aspects that make up a culture in today’s world, ranging from necessities needed for survival, social groups, and the unique traditions they value within the specific culture. That’s why we all are able to conclude that culture is the fluid set of traditions, customs, beliefs, values, and practices developed over time by a specific group or community.

Amy Tan said in the People Magazine in 1989 about her novel, The Joy Luck Club, “The book could be about any culture or generation and what is lost between them.” Amy Tan reveals that the mothers try to pass on their Chinese heritage and teach their American-born daughters to avoid the mistakes the mothers made growing up in China. However, the daughters often see their mothers’ attempts at guidance as attempting to control their lives. The mother and daughter pair of Lindo and Waverly epitomize this relationship, where Lindo tries to integrate Chinese and American cultures into her own life and Waverly tries to both be independent and keep her Chinese heritage. Although Waverly and Lindo do not mend their cultural conflicts completely, their experiences with one another allow them to change and accept one another.

Culture in definition is: “the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time” (Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary). Thus, based on these certain beliefs, customs, traditions, and arts, a person’s thoughts, ideas, and views can be greatly affected since they lived with a lifestyle based around a specific culture. Therefore, it can be coherent that the culture of a person is paramount to one’s views of the world and of others as seen throughout many texts such as, “An Indian Father’s Pleas” by Robert Lake and “Where Worlds Collide” by Pico Iyer. To begin with, the effect of culture on one’s views of the world and of others can be seen throughout the essay, “And Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake (Medicine

Bevan & Sole (2014) proposes that culture is the cumulative knowledge deposits, opinions, morals, occurrences, outlooks, positions, consequences, orders, moments, spatial relations, the views of the world and the significant things that a collection of people has developed over generations throughout groups and personal endeavors. Culture is not stationary; it is lively and is continuously changing through human conduct, viewpoints, occurrences, concepts and manners including other things said.

Culture refers to socially shared and transmitted patterns of ideas (values, norms, and beliefs) that are instantiated in everyday practices, institutions, and artifacts (Tsai, Levenson, & McCoy, 2006). Culture may play an important role in emotional regulation and expression. Of particular interest is the interplay between collectivistic and individualistic societies and social expectations and customs.

“Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts”. (Zimmerman 1)

Culture is best described as a common set of core values, traditions, and rituals that a specific group of people share. With that being said, as more and more cultures begin to blend together and migration becomes a larger part of modern life, new cultures are always forming and being adopted. Even though cultures are always changing, they can still be categorized according to two types of culture. The first type of culture is ?high? culture, which refers to a more aesthetic and advanced culture such as that of the Chinese.[endnoteRef:1] ?High? culture is usually characterized by refined and complex values, whereas the second type of dynamic culture, ?low? culture, is sometimes seen as less refined and aesthetic.[endnoteRef:2] In addition, ?low? culture refers to the general life and traditions in countries such as the United States.[endnoteRef:3] Not only are Chinese and American Culture defined in two distinct ways, but they also have completely different views on family, commitment, competitiveness, and much more. With that being said, Amy Tan?s esteemed novel ?The Joy Luck Club,? not only chronicles the struggles of melding traditional American and Chinese views, it also shows how the cultural differences that result lead to miscommunication and separation between the daughters and their mothers. [1: Joel Dubois, ?The Essential Element of Culture,? Arts and Ideas of Asia: Medieval and Modern, 2009,

Culture is defined as “The ideas, attitudes, customs, beliefs, values and social behaviour of a particular group of people or society that are passed on from generation to generation” (Brentnall, A., n.d.).

Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. It includes ideas, values, and artifacts of groups of people (Schaefer, 2006). Understanding culture can be tricky, ever ask “why do people act the way they do?”, “what made me do that”, “what was I thinking?” Physical abilities, educational background, and social background of how I was raised are important aspects of my life. The environment in which I was raised is very important aspect of my life.

The definition of culture offered in one textbook is “That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man person as a member of society.”