The Joy Luck Club is the stories of four families that migrated from mainland China in the last generation. It is the story of four mother-daughter relationships in the United States and the story of the four mothers’ lives in a repressive and sexist Chinese society. These stories are told in such a manner that illuminates the contrasts between the Chinese and American cultures. Each mother’s story shows the hardship placed on women in a country bound by ancient traditions. They are traditions that are particularly hard on women, giving them little choice as to their fate. In the mother-daughter stories, e