June accidentally pulls out a crab with a missing leg, a bad omen, but the storekeeper makes her buy it. Suyuan tells June that it counts as an extra eleventh crab, which shouldn’t affect their luck. June’s bad choice of crab represents her inability to impress Suyuan, even in the smallest actions.
What does eating a crab at New Year's mean?
What does June's bad choice of crab mean?
What does Suyuan mean when she says June is less sophisticated?
What did Suyuan say about the broken crab?
What does Suyuan give June?
Why does June reach for the broken crab?
Who eats the biggest crab in Suyuan?
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Who got the crab with the missing leg in Joy Luck Club?
Jing-mei's father and Mr. Chong get the best out of what's left, leaving Jing-mei and her mother with really bad crabs. Jing-mei takes the worst crab (the one missing a leg), but her mother stops her and gives her the better of the two crabs.
What gift did Suyuan give to Jing-Mei?
In Jing-mei's story “Best Quality,” she discusses the jade pendant her mother, Suyuan, gave her, which she called her “life's importance.” Over the course of the story, the symbolic meaning of the pendant changes.
Why does Suyuan give Jing-Mei The jade pendant?
By giving her the precious necklace, Suyuan indicates to Jing-Mei that she worthy of jade of “best quality.” Through the gift she has, therefore, boosted the confidence of Jing-Mei, who has always been extremely hard on herself. With the pendant, Suyuan makes Jing-Mei realize her own worth.
What did Waverly and Jing-Mei argue over?
Jing-mei retaliates by teasing Waverly about her firm's finances because the bill that Jing-mei submitted for her ad copy has not been paid. Waverly retorts that Jing-mei hasn't been paid because her work was not acceptable — a retort that reduces Jing-mei to tears.
Why did Rose stay in bed for three days?
Why did Rose stay in bed for three days? She stayed in bed for three days because her husband had left her and she was unable to make the simplest decisions.
What is wrong with one of the crabs that Suyuan and Jing-Mei buy for their New Year's dinner?
After everyone leaves, June asks Suyuan what was wrong with the broken crab, and Suyuan says that it had died before being cooked, leaving it with a bad taste.
How did an-MEI get her scar?
An-mei cried out for her mother, and a bowl of boiling soup spilled over her neck like a flood of boiling anger. Popo and the rest of the family chased An-mei's mother away, and after a while, the burn wound turned into a scar.
Why did Jing-Mei leave the room while the crabs were being steamed?
Why did Jing-mei leave the room while the crabs were being steamed? She left the room because she could not bear to remain while the crabs died.
Why did an-Mei's mother crush the pearl necklace?
She makes this stand clear to An-mei: "When the poison broke in her body, she whispered to me that she would rather kill her own weak spirit so she could give me a stronger one." An-mei seized power from her mother's sacrifice. By crushing the false pearls, she is announcing her independence.
What was Popo trying to teach her daughter about swallowing her tears?
What was Popo trying to teach her daughter about "swallowing" her tears? Swallow your tears and they will feed someone else's joy.
How does Waverly insult June at the dinner table?
How did Waverly insult June while complimenting her haircut? She said that the guy that cut June's hair may be giving her AIDS because he is gay.
What does the piano in Two Kinds symbolize?
The piano represents reconciliation between mother and daughter. Jing-mei took it as a sign of acceptance and she later realized that her mother had never given up on her.
The Joy Luck Club Best Quality Questions and Answers - eNotes
Cite this page as follows: "The Joy Luck Club - Best Quality Questions and Answers" MAXnotes to The Joy Luck Club Ed. Dr. M. Fogiel. Research and Education Association, Inc. 2000 eNotes.com 23 Sep ...
The Joy Luck Club Best Quality Summary and Analysis - eNotes
At dinner each person takes the best of the crabs left, until the platter reaches Jing-mei. She starts to take the one with the missing leg, offering the better one to her mother.
Joy Luck Club- "Best Quality" by Jing-Mei Woo - Quizlet
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like What is Jing-mei's "life's importance" gift from her mother?, Why did Jing-mei's mother not want to keep the crab that had lost a leg?, Why did Jing-mei leave the room while the crabs were being steamed? and more.
The Joy Luck Club: A Pair of Tickets Summary & Analysis - LitCharts
June struggles with the thought that she’ll have to break the news of Suyuan ’s passing to two sisters she doesn’t even know. The worry seeps into her sleep, causing nightmares. June begs Lindo to write another letter in Chinese that says Suyuan is dead. June confesses that her fear is “they’ll think I’m responsible, that she died because I didn’t appreciate her.”
The Joy Luck Club: Magpies Summary & Analysis - LitCharts
The next morning, An-mei wakes to her relatives screaming at An-mei’s mother, who’s kneeling pitifully in the dirt in front of the house.They refuse to let her take An-mei, yelling that she’s evil and An-mei will inherit all of her mother’s bad traits. An-mei calls out to her mother while running down the stairs, and seeing her daughter’s love, An-mei’s mother straightens herself ...
What are ghosts in Joy Luck Club?
Ghosts. Unlike in other novels, ghosts in The Joy Luck Club rarely represent people who have physically died. Instead, they are people who cannot speak freely or who cannot be talked about. In the novel, having… read analysis of Ghosts.
What does jewelry symbolize in the novel?
Throughout the novel, valuable jewelry is passed from mothers to daughters, symbolizing inheritance and sacrifice. Almost all the main characters grow up in impoverished families without many luxuries. Owning a single piece of jewelry speaks… read analysis of Jewelry
What does the pendant symbolize in Suyuan?
It is particularly interesting to note that, in its very ability to change meanings, the pendant gains an additional symbolism: it symbolizes the human power to assign new meanings to the phenomena around us.
What does the pendant mean in the story of Suyuan?
Over the course of the story, the symbolic meaning of the pendant changes. At first, Jing-mei found the pendant garish and unstylish; to her it represented the cultural differences between herself and her mother. After Suyuan’s death, however, Jing-mei comes to see it as a symbol of her mother’s love and concern.
What does the red candle mean in Lindo Jong?
If the candle burns all night without either end extinguishing prematurely, custom says that the marriage will be successful and happy. The candle has a symbolic meaning—the success of the marriage —within the Chinese culture, but within the story it also functions as a symbol of traditional Chinese culture itself: it embodies the ancient beliefs and customs surrounding marriage.
What does the vase symbolize in the story "Rice Husband"?
In the story “Rice Husband,” a vase in Lena’s home comes to symbolize her marriage. Lena had placed the vase upon a wobbly table; she knew the placement of the vase there was dangerous, but she did nothing to protect the vase from breaking. Like the vase, Lena’s marriage is in danger of falling and shattering.
What does the candle symbolize in Chinese culture?
The candle has a symbolic meaning—the success of the marriage —within the Chinese culture, but within the story it also functions as a symbol of traditional Chinese culture itself: it embodies the ancient beliefs and customs surrounding marriage.
What does the candle symbolize?
Thus the candle, first a symbol of tradition, then of self-assertion, ultimately comes to symbolize the use of tradition in claiming one’s own identity and power. Previous section Motifs Next section Key Facts. Test your knowledge.
What are symbols used for?
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
What does the maimed crab mean?
The maimed crab, "a bad sign at Chinese New Year," might herald her end. Perhaps it is a combination of both factors, as well as Mrs. Woo's desire to impress upon her daughter that she is "best quality," worthy of the best that life has to offer.
Why didn't Jing-mei eat her crab?
She cooked it merely because she thought that it might still be good and because she knew that only Jing-mei would pick it, because Jing-mei would never choose the "best quality." She sees this virtue as one of Jing-mei's best qualities. Then she gives to Jing-mei her "life's importance," the jade pendant necklace.
Why did Jing-mei cook the necklace?
She cooked it merely because she thought that it might still be good and because she knew that only Jing-mei would pick it, because Jing-mei would never choose the "best quality.". She sees this virtue as one of Jing-mei's best qualities. Then she gives to Jing-mei her "life's importance," the jade pendant necklace.
What is Joy Luck Club about?
The parable that begins “Feathers from a Thousand Li Away” tells the tale of a Chinese woman who decides to emigrate to America. Before she leaves Shanghai, the woman buys a swan from a vendor, who tells her that the bird was once a duck. In an attempt to become a goose, the duck stretched its neck so far that it became a swan, exceeding its own hopes for itself. As the woman sails to America, she dreams of raising a daughter amid the plentiful opportunities of the new country. She imagines that her American-born daughter will resemble her in every way, except that, unlike her mother, she will be judged according to her own worth, not by that of a husband. Like the swan, the daughter will exceed all hopes, so the woman plans to give her daughter the swan as a gift. Yet, when the woman arrives in America, the immigration officials seize the swan and leave the woman with nothing but a feather. The daughter is born and grows up to be the strong, happy woman her mother had imagined. The woman still wishes to present the feather to her daughter and to explain its symbolic meaning, but for many years she holds back. She is still waiting “for the day she could [explain it] in perfect American English.”
Why did Suyuan create the Joy Luck Club?
During her stay in Kweilin, Suyuan created the Joy Luck Club with three other women in order to escape the fear and uncertainty of the war. They cooked “feasts,” played mahjong, and traded stories into the night. “And [at each meeting], we could hope to be lucky,” Suyuan told Jing- mei. “That hope was our only joy.
Who asked Jing Mei to take her mother's place at the Joy Luck Club?
Jing-mei opens her narrative by explaining that after her mother, Suyuan, died two months ago, her father, Canning , asked her to take her mother’s place at the Joy Luck Club, a weekly mahjong party. (Mahjong is a game for four players involving dice and domino-like tiles.)
What does eating a crab at New Year's mean?
Eating a large, healthy crab at New Year’s signals good fortune for the rest of the year, and Suyuan sifts through a large tank to find the best live crabs. June accidentally pulls out a crab with a missing leg, a bad omen, but the storekeeper makes her buy it.
What does June's bad choice of crab mean?
June’s bad choice of crab represents her inability to impress Suyuan, even in the smallest actions . Yet even though Suyuan believes in bad omens, she finds wiggle room to manipulate those superstitions so June doesn’t feel bad.
What does Suyuan mean when she says June is less sophisticated?
Now it is revealed that when Suyuan said June was less sophisticated, it wasn’t meant as an insult but a compliment. Suyuan sees sophistication, as Waverly defines it, as American arrogance, which goes against Chinese values. By having a generous heart, June actually successfully puts her mother’s lessons into practice. And now, suddenly, June sees the ways in which she is powerful—compassion—and understands that her mother recognizes this power in her.
What did Suyuan say about the broken crab?
After everyone leaves, June asks Suyuan what was wrong with the broken crab, and Suyuan says that it had died before being cooked, leaving it with a bad taste. June asks what Suyuan would’ve done if someone else had chosen it, but Suyuan proudly says that only June, who thinks differently than most, would sacrifice the best quality meal for someone else’s sake. Suyuan then gives June her jade pendant, which she’s been waiting to pass on for many years.
What does Suyuan give June?
On the Lunar New Year holiday before she passes away, Suyuan gives June “her life’s importance, ” a jade pendant on a gold chain. June is unsure why Suyuan calls it that, and Suyuan dies before June thinks to ask her. June reflects on her inability to make sense of her grief without her mother’s help to get her through.
Why does June reach for the broken crab?
Without hesitation, June reaches for the broken crab so her mother can have the luckier whole one, but Suyuan makes her take the better one and throws the broken one away. While everyone else enjoys their dinners, Suyuan goes hungry.
Who eats the biggest crab in Suyuan?
At Suyuan ’s dinner party, Waverly ruins Suyuan’s head count by bringing her daughter Shoshana and giving her the biggest, best crab to eat. She also takes the second-best and third-best for her fiancé, Rich, and herself.