Cultural Conflicts And Reconciliations By Symbols Manifested In The Joy Luck Club

This thesis attempts to focus on cultural reconciliation from the perspective of symbols to highlight reconciliation as the only solution to social conflicts in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.In The Joy Luck Club, conflicts between Chinese culture and American culture are overwhelming and they are presented from different perspectives, such as languages, foods, values, etc. Caught in two different cultures, Chinese Americans are neither Americans nor Chinese in its true sense; as a result, they are overwhelmed by doubt and are at loss how to identify themselves. However, Amy Tan provides them a way out in the novel:they can be the integration of Chinese culture and American culture and realize cultural reconeiliation.Cultural reconciliation as a theme has been explored by some scholars. What distinguishes this thesis from other studies centering on this theme lies in that it is intended to stress conflicts and reconciliation of Chinese culture and American culture from the perspective of symbols and to unveil the truth that reconciliation can be reached when a variety of conflicts prevail. The French semiotician Roland Barthes believes that to find out myths in life, relevant symbols have to be deciphered. Without detailed analysis, they will go unnoticed.(Cobley&Jansz44) In The Joy Luck Club, the clash and reconciliation of Chinese culture and American culture are not presented in an obvious manner, instead, various symbols are employed by Amy Tan to highlight the conflicts of these two cultures and their reconciliation. If these symbols are not to be decoded, the truth hidden in them will not be fully discovered. Therefore, on the one hand, this thesis aims to underscore the clash of Chinese culture and American culture, which is to account for all the minor conflicts encountered by Chinese Americans, on the other hand, it attempts to reveal how reconciliation is realized in symbols. In the end, the conclusion is supposed to be arrived that reconciliation is the only solution to culture conflicts.Apart from the Introduction and Conclusion, this thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter One explores the clash of Chinese culture and American culture as are revealed by symbols in the novel. Chapter Two is going to discuss the consequences of Chinese culture against American culture, namely, the loss of voice and the loss of identity. Relevant symbols will be decoded to underline loss of voice and identity in the chapter. Chapter Three is to present how reconciliation of Chinese culture and American culture is realized in symbols.