Joy Luck Club Literary Criticism Paper
Joshua Yu Ms. Lutyens/Ms. Byrne A.P04 6 June 2013
The Joy Luck Club Critical Theory Paper
Signing up for an A.P. class is definitely tough. I sailed through sophomore year with above average grades, not due to my interest and skills in English, but rather because the teacher was easy and the course was dumbed down. But when I walked in A.P. English 11, I felt uneasy and nervous. I knew “sailing through” was not going to work, and that I’d actually need to put a lot of effort in the course. The literary criticism paper was introduced to us in the beginning of the year, and everyone was anticipating it. Fast forward 9 months and the assignment is staring at me in the face. The assignment itself was put off to the side so blatantly that many of us simply forgot about it. But I knew this was it. This assignment was going to make or break my final grade for the year in the course, and I was prepared. Over the course of the year, I gained more knowledge than all my years in English at the school. I was prepared to take on this assignment. I could finally implement all my acquired knowledge and skills in grammar, essay writing and reading comprehensively to good use. And I definitely chose the right book. When we were given the option of which book to read and break down, choosing The Joy Luck Club was a smart choice. I wanted a book that I could easily understand and relate to. Coming from an AsianAmerican background, enduring the hardships of being an American child with
stubborn and confused Asian parents, I felt like I was reading a story of my past. Of course, I didn’t live in the generation where I made it to America because of my war torn country. But the relativity of the book to me made the sense of reading a book that I actually enjoyed much better. Besides, this was probably the only required book throughout my years at Latin Academy where Asian culture was 9 prominent. Breaking the book down was the tough part though. With every chapter comes a
The Joy Luck Club Critical Theory Paper
Signing up for an A.P. class is definitely tough. I sailed through sophomore year with above average grades, not due to my interest and skills in English, but rather because the teacher was easy and the course was dumbed down. But when I walked in A.P. English 11, I felt uneasy and nervous. I knew “sailing through” was not going to work, and that I’d actually need to put a lot of effort in the course. The literary criticism paper was introduced to us in the beginning of the year, and everyone was anticipating it. Fast forward 9 months and the assignment is staring at me in the face. The assignment itself was put off to the side so blatantly that many of us simply forgot about it. But I knew this was it. This assignment was going to make or break my final grade for the year in the course, and I was prepared. Over the course of the year, I gained more knowledge than all my years in English at the school. I was prepared to take on this assignment. I could finally implement all my acquired knowledge and skills in grammar, essay writing and reading comprehensively to good use. And I definitely chose the right book. When we were given the option of which book to read and break down, choosing The Joy Luck Club was a smart choice. I wanted a book that I could easily understand and relate to. Coming from an AsianAmerican background, enduring the hardships of being an American child with
stubborn and confused Asian parents, I felt like I was reading a story of my past. Of course, I didn’t live in the generation where I made it to America because of my war torn country. But the relativity of the book to me made the sense of reading a book that I actually enjoyed much better. Besides, this was probably the only required book throughout my years at Latin Academy where Asian culture was 9 prominent. Breaking the book down was the tough part though. With every chapter comes a
Cited: ● Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Putnam 's, 1989. Print. ● "College of Arts and Sciences." The Writing Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. ● "College of Arts and Sciences." The Writing Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. ● "MLA Quotes: Center for Writing, Math, & Study Skills, Lehigh U." MLA Quotes: Center for Writing, Math, & Study Skills, Lehigh U. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. ● "Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2013.