Thoughtful Laughter In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

Thoughtful Laughter Amy Tan uses thoughtful laughter in her novel, The Joy Luck Club, to make a point through laughter or humor. Thoughtful laughter is effective because it grabs the attention of the reader and expresses a point, whether the reader knows it or not. One scene that provokes thoughtful laughter is in the chapter “Best Quality” while the family picks crabs to eat. When there was only two crabs left, Jing-Mei Woo tries to choose the crab with the missing leg, so her mom would have the better crab. On page 227 during the meal, Jing-Mei Woo says “That's the way Chinese mothers show they love their children, not through hugs and kisses but the stern offering of steamed dumplings, duck gizzards, and crab.” The Chinese mothers in The Joy Luck Club show affection to their daughters differently through non-obvious manners, such as showing off their daughters or giving
Suyuan shows love for her daughter by sacrificing her dinner to give to her daughter. The point Amy incorporates is to show the strong bond and relationship between mother and daughter. Jing-Mei attempts to give her mother the good crab. But, Suyuan refuses it and gives the crab back to her daughter. Despite their past differences (with the piano lessons), they manage to have a strong relationship. Jing-Mei would always be Suyuan’s daughter, even through turmoil, and whatever decisions Jing-Mei or Suyuan makes will affect the other. This is their “Best Quality”, the relationship of mother and daughter. Amy tan stresses the importance between mother and daughter’s relationship because the mother wants what’s best for their daughter, due to the harsh lives they had when they were young