从喜福会看中美文化差异与交融本科毕业论文

中国地质大学长城学院

本 科 毕 业 论 文

题目 从《喜福会》看中美文化差异与交融

Acknowledgements

My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Li Hongjun, for her constant encouragement and guidance. She has walked me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis. Without her consistent and illuminating instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form.

Second, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Ji Yancun , who led me into the world of translation. I am also greatly indebted to the professors and teachers at the Department of English: Li Jiayi , Yang Lei , who have instructed and helped me a lot in the past two years.

Last my thanks would go to my beloved family for their loving considerations and great confidence in me all through these years. I also owe my sincere gratitude to my friends and my fellow classmates who gave me their help and time in listening to me and helping me work out my problems during the difficult course of the thesis.

Chen Caihong

May 10, 2014

【摘 要】 《喜福会》是美国著名的华裔女作家谭恩美的代表作品。在小说中, 她呈现给读者的是四位中国移民母亲与她们女儿之间的故事。这四位母亲都有着自己的世界观，她们的世界观又是立足于她们的中国生活经历。她们想把自己的经历一一讲述给女儿, 并努力通过母爱的表达在她们与女儿的文化差异和冲突之间建立起沟通的桥梁。起初女儿们不能理解她们的母亲及其代表的中国文化, 但随着时间的流逝, 女儿们开始理解她们的母亲, 同情她们母亲的悲惨过去并最终接受了她们的母亲。本文以中国和美国的文化对比为切入点，分析了中国和美国在文化诸多方面的差异，主要从以下几方面进行了讨论：教育方式、爱情观和婚姻观、价值观、语言表达、称谓语。通过对《喜福会》中不同人物性格、生活方式及个人命运的刻画，生活化地描写了中西方文化差异与交融，也深刻细致地表达出这种差异和交融对人们的启发和思考，表达作家谭恩美得人生观和中西方文化交融中的世界观。

【关键字】 教育方式；爱情观；婚姻观；价值观；文化差异

【Abstract 】 The Joy Luck Club is written by Amy Tan ，a famous Chinese American writer. In the novel, she presents the stories of four Chinese-immigrant women and their American-born daughters. Each of the four Chinese women has her own view of the world based on her experiences in China and wants to share her experiences with her daughter, and they never cease to try to build a bridge over the cultural differences and conflicts between them and their daughters with their maternal love of various forms. At first the daughters don’t understand their mothers and the Chinese culture that their mothers represent, but as time elapses, the daughters begin to understand and appreciate their mothers' past and accept their mothers in the end. This novel uses China and American cultural comparison as the entry point ,analysis of the similarities and differences between China and America in many aspects of culture, mainly discuss from the following aspects: ways of education, views of love and marriage, senses of value, ways of language expression and address terms. The article describes the differences and combination of Chinese and American cultures according to different characters, living ways, and individual fates in the the Joy Luck Club , and also profoundly expresses people ’s inspiration and pondering upon the difference and combination.

【Key Words 】 ways of education; love; marriage; value; cultural

differences

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 A Brief Introduction of Amy Tan

Amy Tan (Chinese: 譚恩美; born February 19, 1952) is a Chinese

American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships. In 1993, Tan's adaptation of her first novel, The Joy Luck Club, became a commercially successful film. The book has been translated into 35 languages.Tan has written several other bestselling novels, including The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter's Daughter and Saving Fish From Drowning. She also wrote a collection of non-fiction essays entitled The Opposite of Fate:

A Book of Musings. Her most recent novel Saving Fish From Drowning explores the tribulations experienced by a group of people who disappear while on an art expedition in the jungles of Burma. In addition to these, Tan has written two children's books: The Moon Lady (1992) and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat (1994), which was turned into an animated series airing on PBS. She also appeared on PBS in a short spot encouraging children to write.

Amy Tan was born in Oakland, California to Chinese immigrants John Tan, an electrical engineer and Baptist minister, and Daisy, who was forced to leave her three daughters from a previous marriage behind

in Shanghai. This incident provided the basis for Tan's first novel, 1989 New York Times bestseller The Joy Luck Club.

1.2 A Brief Introduction of the Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club is a well-known American-Chinese writer Amy Tan’s representative works.

In the novel, she presented to the reader four Chinese immigrant mothers and their daughters. Although living in America, the immigrant mothers cling to Chinese traditional culture. They organize the Joy Luck Club regularly, a weekly meeting of best Chinese friends. Four mothers with their own view of the world, their world view is based on their experiences of life in China. However, the girls from their mothers can not understand the Chinese culture because they are born in America. So the conflicts have been vividly described in this book. As time goes by, after a series of misunderstandings and conflicts, they begin to understand each other. The two generations go into harmony with their efforts of love.

The book is structured somewhat like a mahjong game, with four parts divided into four sections to create sixteen chapters. The three mothers and four daughters (one mother, Suyuan Woo, dies before the novel opens) share stories about their lives in the form of vignettes. Each part is preceded by a parable relating to the game.

In 1993, the novel was adapted into a feature film directed by Wayne Wang. The screenplay was written by the author Amy Tan along with Ronald Bass. The novel was also adapted into a play which premiered at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in New York.

Chapter Two The Differences Between American and Chinese Cultures

Presented in the Joy Luck Club

In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan explores the relationship between mothers and daughters.There are four mother-daughter pairs in the novel, mothers are the first generation immigrants, and the daughters are born in America. The mothers come from traditional families, they escape from the political upheaval of China, but they don’t forget their Chinese traditional culture.

2.1 The Chinese Culture in the Joy Luck Club

In the Joy Luck Club, we can see that the four mother-immigrants hold the joy luck club every week. All their best friends and related people will attend. They cook Chinese food, wear Chinese traditional clothes. Especially, they prefer to play mahjong. It undoubtedly provides a place for the others to get in retrospect.

In my oppinion, I think that playing mahjong reflects the character of a person and the culture of a nation. In The Joy Luck Club, we can see four vivid characters at the mahjong table. Jingmei plays mahjong with three eldly women, the expression and behavior of Auntie Lindo, she is aggressive and mighty as we see after the movie telling the stories between she and her daughter. Analysing the character of Auntie Lindo, culture of the mahjong can present. When playing mahjong, every person prefers to suppress the others, making every endeavor to win.

If something indicates he will lose, he will destroy all the games to make everyone lose. Instead, as we know, pokers are more popular in America.

2.2 Different Views of Love and Marriage

Chinese marriages are based on family conditions ，while

Westerns ' marriages are based on the same hobby .Their different survival environment affect the people' characters and influence people's thoughts of their respective marriages. Men and women in the economy of different status determine their positions in the family, which determines the differences in their marriage. Social value is the mainstream of different thoughts, and it indirectly affects the public's view of marriage. Religious beliefs also play an important role in marriage customs and marriages maintaining.

2.2.1 Maternal Love in the Joy Luck Clud

Every mother loves her child or children. Although the Joy Luck Club mothers are very strict with their daughters, they still love their daughters. And the maternal love the four mothers impart to their daughters is just a typical Chinese one. The maternal love of Chinese mothers is not as direct as that of American mothers. Chinese mothers do not kiss and hug their daughters and say “I love you” to them like their American counterparts. Mothers all love their daughters in a

Chinese way.

First, just as the woman in the preface of the Feathers From A Thousand Li Away cooes to her swan, In America I will have a daughter just like me. But over there nobody will be measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch. Over there nobody will be look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English. And over there she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow! She will know my meaning, because I will give her this swan—a creature that became more than what was hoped for. the Joy Luck Club mothers put high expectations upon their daughters. They hope their daughters will become successful. They begin to plan for their daughters’ future since they are children. They don’t care whether their daughters like the plan or not, because in traditional Chinese culture, sons and daughters must obey their parents, and they cannot rebel against the parents. If they do this, it is filial impiety, and they will be

criticized by the family members and the neighbors and the society. Second, the Joy Luck Club mothers criticize their daughters much more instead of praising them more like the American mothers. In their eyes, if they want their children to have power and skills so that they can survive in the fiercely competitive society, they have to be strict with their offspring. For the Joy Luck Club mothers, in order to make sure that their daughters are powerful enough in the future, they are

very strict with their daughters and criticize them much instead of praising them. When Ying-ying thinks that Lena can go to school by herself, she urges again and again: “You must not walk in any direction but to school and back home”. But too much criticism makes the daughters feel dissatisfied and even angry with their mothers. They cannot accept this kind of love because they are strongly influenced by American individualism. They cannot bear their mothers’ arbitrariness and criticism no longer. Some of them openly say “no” to their mothers.

In all, the maternal love that the Joy Luck Club mothers show to their daughters is brim with Chinese culture. In the beginning, because their daughters don’t know anything about their mothers’ motherland culture, they cannot understand their mothers, but after hearing their mothers’ experiences in China, and sensing their mothers’ sincere love, they begin to understand and accept their mothers. Although they have been soaked in the American culture, the same blood of the Chinese people in their bodies and their mothers’ love reminds them that they cannot deny their mothers’ culture.

2.2.2 Different Views of Marriage

Marriage as a human institution exists in all major civilizations since the dawn of time. The Mystery of Holy Matrimony draws its sacred

foundation from the creation of the first man and woman, whom God made in His own Image and Likeness and told to be fruitful and multiply? In Orthodox tradition, marriage and monasticism goes hand in hand, and are both considered holy in its calling in the service of God and His People.

Most weddings contain wedding vows and a proclamation of marriage, usually by the officiate. Most weddings also involve wearing traditional clothes (i.e., kilts, white gown, red sari, etc.). A wedding is often followed or accompanied by a wedding reception.

Other elements may include music, poetry, prayer or scripture. Some elements of the traditional Western wedding ceremony symbolize the bride's departure from her father’s control and entry into a new family with her husband. In modern Western weddings, this symbolism is largely vestigial. The common element in a wedding is the assumption of husband and wife roles as well as the roles of the future parents. The wedding is a special moment that marks the beginning of a new generation, a new family and a life together. This moment is recognized with traditions, ceremonies and rituals including engagement and wedding ceremonies.

2.2.2.1 The Western Concept of Marriage

Female failed marriage seems to be the theme in the film “The Joy

Luck Club ”, touch one deeply in the heart, for example: the young aunt Lin became a child bride, When she found her husband’s position is determined by the pregnant belly, she used own wisdom ended her marriage without love successfully. The film can be seen different attitudes and ideas about life of the two generations after emigrated to the United States, it is the direct embodiment of the difference in marriage concept of west and east culture. Chinese marriage multi-legged no autonomy. Mothers in the film the marriage is good portrayal; such as marriage, child bride. Theory of personality structure can be a very good explanation of this point, Chinese is based on interpersonal self as the core to forge their own personality, self - not from others of their own requirements. This decision in Chinese parents marriage plays a dominant role in micro, daughter and her mother's marriage is the direct reflection, micro in order to get the mother recognized and experienced a failure marriage, while his mother is the direct victims of child bride. In order to interpersonal self as the core personality of Chinese especially pay attention to their relations with others, pay attention to the opinions of others on their own. In addition, Chinese marriage represents the reproductive marriage - model of sex, also reflect the personality characteristics of R in china. In Chinese marriage is based on reproduction, marriage is a personal belongs to family and family, sex in the secondary position, resulting in a lack

of emotional arranged marriage and child bride.

In contrast, American marriages are independent random. This point can be reflected by daughters ’ marriages in the film. Rose’s marriage is a typical example, although her husband’s mother does not agree, marriage can still realize. According to the theory of personality structure, Western personality structure is the inner self as the core, named “self-discipline personality”. Western marriage reflects a mode: “the love, a marriage, reproduction”, so two people have feelings, then have the marriage, which fundamentally affirmed the autonomy of marriage. Thus Westerners tend to choose a spouse independently, but cannot tolerate any other people involved. So her mother-in-law want to persuade Rose and her son separate in the film. the son is furious to her, with a very rude word criticism mother, this is called the mistake in china. Americans if you like, you do not care about the others ’ opinions, but listen to your heart. Thus, the differences beween China and west of the marriage concept.

2.2.2.2The Chinese Concept of Marriage

Different personality structure decides different marriage. China ’s interpersonal self of personality model decides marriage: “reproduction, marriage and sex”. While the Chinese marriage is basisd on family of photograph, to maintain family. From the

morphological characteristics of ways, it is these aspects to strengthen the stability and persistance of Chinese marriage, Chinese people sacrifice quality of personal sex in exchange for stability and persistance of marriage and family. In China, the nature of marriage is two people lose their independence and to form a new complete independent person, to form a new personality, named two people into a person. This kind of relationship depend on each other mutual confluence, add to its stability. Westerners’ inner self as the core of the personality structure is decided to the marriage patterns: “Love, marriage and reproduc tion”. This model leads to the personal autonomy of west marriage, and sex as a basic form of marriage, so that their marriage without stability. Due to personal autonomy. Western marriage and westerners sacrifice family stability and durability, In order to gain personal sex of different quality, no others involved. so sex as a foundation of western marriage is very unstable.

2.3 Different Senses of Value

“Respect your parents”, children honor their parents, children follow their will, is typical of Confucianism, “Filial piety ” first performance in the respect for parents, concerned parents’ health, nearer layer of “filial piety ” means obedience to parents and elders will. Four mothers in the film are grown in old China, grew up in a

strong Confucian culture, which imposed the “filial piety” on their children ’s education invisibly. But in the United States this open advocating human rights culture background, Parents do everything is not allowed, it impinge on human rights. America advocates the freedom, equality, everyone is an independent individual, live for themselves. No one can deprived others of freedom and independent choice of the right .

2.3.1 The Differences Between Chinese Family in the Pecking Order and American Family of Equality

In “the Joy Luck Club ” this film, Suyun Wu feel that her daughter had a talent for playing the piano, so that she hope her daughter become a pianist in the future. Suyun Wu to help clean the house, do some chores, purpose to buy a piano, in order to let her daughter practice the piano at home every day. However, Suyun Wu ’s daughter grew up in the United States, accept to the American education, impacted by the American culture, she advocates equality, democracy and freedom, can not tolerate that the mother arrange her future. In order to eliminate the mother thought, she does not take piano lessons deliberately, She knew that her mother will not give up, never let her go. Of course, she had got everything ready, in order to win back their own right of choose independently, she decided to against her mother: “here is America,

not China, we make decision by ourselves, it’s no need to bring an outsider in.”

Therefore, daughters edify by America culture, they are unable to tolerate the mother to make decisions for them, refused to mother’s any demonstration and guidance, they think that mother violated of freedom and their rights of independent choice.

2.3.2 The Chinese Traditional Family Concept

In the traditional Confucian thought influence, clan and family concept was promoted to a very important position, a personal thing to be amplified in family affairs, and personal achievements will be praised by the whole family.

Another daughter in the film, Waverley won the national chess champion, Also she appeared on the cover of the magazine. Wei ’s mother Gong Linda is proud of this, she was holding a magazine covered with his daughter ’s photo, To every stranger with the casual eye asked “do you know? This is my daughter Waverley.” When she heard praise from others, Gong Linda also feel flattered highly. Her daughter dislikes her practice, even feel embarrassment, shame. She said to her, “ as your daughter, I feel a bit shame. If you want to show off, why don’t you go to learn chess?” Gong Linda heard her daughter words, could not believe her ears, she was furious. Finally, Waverley because of

the mother this disgusted behavior and give up playing chess.

Since ancient times, Chinese parents regard their children ’s success as a capital to show off, But also because Chinese parents repose their all hopes in the children, parents think that children ’s success is their maximize returns. While American culture is paid more attention to personal struggle and the realization of personal value, they think their success is the result of their efforts entirely, no relationship with the family, the family has no right to show off their success.

2.3.3 American Individualism

In America, children always do not follow all that their parents tell them and behave what they want to. They emphases their individuality and do not think they have so deep relationship with their mothers. So when Lindo asks her daughter Waverly to finish her coffee, Waverly says:“Don’t be so old fashioned, Ma. I’m my own person.”However, Lindo thinks she is alway s beside her daughter, and she never gives her daughter up

2.4 Different Ways of Language Expression

Language is the carrier of culture and information, is the communicative link between people. Different language can express

different information. “The joy luck club” reflect the different language of Chinese and American cultures incisively and vividly. In the movie, due to family ties get every generation together, But because of the different language and age gap alienated from each other. The different of language cultural is an invisible wall of emotional communication of two generations.

Block the communication between two generations. Mothers in the joy luck club, neither said accurate Chinese nor accurate English, Only speak English and Chinese language. They speak in Chinese but often are mixed up with English, when you talk in English with Chinese again. Their daughter grow up, accept education in the United States, can speak fluent English, although also can speak Chinese, however,When communicating with his mother, there are some difficulties. The language communication is a big difference. The language is the most important way to express emotion . In the movie “the joy luck club ”, because mother and daughter do not have the same cultural background of language, they can’t be effective communication. For example: When Jiang Lindu proud refer her hometown in taiwan to her daughter, the daughter thinks that her mother is in Taiwan.

“Hi ”, Jiang Lindu shouted, “I ’m not from Taiwan, I was born in China, in taiyuan.” Oh, I think that you said in Taiwan, This two word pronunciation are Similar. The daughter is explained. “The