The Joy Luck Club

by

Amy Tan

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Joy Luck Club makes teaching easy.
Waverly is the narrator of “Rules of the Game” and “Four Directions.” Her stories center on her experiences as a child chess prodigy, and the tension between her and her mother, Lindo, who often assumes credit for Waverly’s successes. Waverly treats her mother as the ultimate opponent, rather than a guiding figure, which antagonizes their relationship up into Waverly’s adulthood. While seeking Lindo’s approval before her second marriage, it is revealed that Waverly believes that Lindo poisoned her confidence as a child, so that Waverly is unable to trust her own instincts over love, parenting, and life in general. She has a young daughter, Shoshana, from a previous marriage.

Waverly Jong Quotes in The Joy Luck Club

The The Joy Luck Club quotes below are all either spoken by Waverly Jong or refer to Waverly Jong. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Mother-Daughter Relationships Theme Icon
).
The Red Candle Quotes

I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents’ promise. This means nothing to you, because to you promises mean nothing. A daughter can promise to come to dinner, but if she has a headache, if she has a traffic jam, if she wants to watch a favorite movie on TV, she no longer has a promise.

Related Characters: Lindo Jong (speaker), Waverly Jong
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Rules of the Game Quotes

I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games.

Related Characters: Waverly Jong (speaker), Lindo Jong
Page Number: 89
Explanation and Analysis:
Four Directions Quotes

That’s what she is. A Horse, born in 1918, destined to be obstinate and frank to the point of tactlessness. She and I make a bad combination, because I’m a Rabbit, born in 1951, supposedly sensitive, with tendencies toward being thin-skinned and skittery at the first sign of criticism.

Related Characters: Waverly Jong (speaker), Lindo Jong
Page Number: 167
Explanation and Analysis:

And my mother loved to show me off, like one of the many trophies she polished. She used to discuss my games as if she had devised the strategies… and a hundred other useless things that had nothing to do with my winning.

Related Characters: Waverly Jong (speaker), Lindo Jong
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Joy Luck Club LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Joy Luck Club PDF

Waverly Jong Quotes in The Joy Luck Club

The The Joy Luck Club quotes below are all either spoken by Waverly Jong or refer to Waverly Jong. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Mother-Daughter Relationships Theme Icon
).
The Red Candle Quotes

I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents’ promise. This means nothing to you, because to you promises mean nothing. A daughter can promise to come to dinner, but if she has a headache, if she has a traffic jam, if she wants to watch a favorite movie on TV, she no longer has a promise.

Related Characters: Lindo Jong (speaker), Waverly Jong
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Rules of the Game Quotes

I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games.

Related Characters: Waverly Jong (speaker), Lindo Jong
Page Number: 89
Explanation and Analysis:
Four Directions Quotes

That’s what she is. A Horse, born in 1918, destined to be obstinate and frank to the point of tactlessness. She and I make a bad combination, because I’m a Rabbit, born in 1951, supposedly sensitive, with tendencies toward being thin-skinned and skittery at the first sign of criticism.

Related Characters: Waverly Jong (speaker), Lindo Jong
Page Number: 167
Explanation and Analysis:

And my mother loved to show me off, like one of the many trophies she polished. She used to discuss my games as if she had devised the strategies… and a hundred other useless things that had nothing to do with my winning.

Related Characters: Waverly Jong (speaker), Lindo Jong
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis: