Comparative Analysis: The Joy Luck Club - Novel vs. Film

Running head: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: THE JOY LUCK CLUB
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: THE JOY LUCK CLUB
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Author Note

1COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: THE JOY LUCK CLUB
The essay focuses on the comparative understanding of the book “The Joy Luck Club” of
1989 and the movie adaptation of the same name if 1993. The Joy Luck club is a novel by Amy
Tan that traces the lives of four Chinese American families that are essentially immigrants. It is a
story that revolves around three mothers and their four daughters. One of the mothers die before
the beginning of the novel. The game of Mahjong plays an interesting part in the novel as the Joy
Luck Club is opened for playing the game. The principal characters take part in the game while
discussing their stories that become the narratives of the plot. The book consists of four parts that
are in turn divided into four parts each just like the game structure of mahjong. The novel was
later adapted into a film. The thesis statement being considered is whether the film has been
successful in bringing forward the essential themes that have been discussed in the text of the
novel (Borhan and Anushiravani 111).
The exploration of the depiction of characters can help to further develop how much the
movie representation has been able to live up to the standards of the novel. The main issues that
are faced when novel are adapted for films is connected with the time factor. Novels often tend
to be more accurate and detailed in their description of the aspects of the plots and the characters
(Liu). However, in films the entirety of the novels have to be compressed into a story that is to be
shown in much lesser time. Some of the major themes that are explored through the book Joy
Luck Club are struggle for existence in an unknown country, immigration and settlement from
the perspectives of women and retracing the past lives of the characters (Zhu). The film
adaptation of the novel has been able to put forward some of the essential themes of the novel.
However, the film has to a large extent been unable to capture the style of the text. The
expression of the book has not been effectively portrayed through the film.

2COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: THE JOY LUCK CLUB
The film adaptation of the novel has left out certain chapters of the novel. This has
affected the film’s expression of the themes of the novel to a certain extent. The film does not
consider some of the larger narratives that provide a deeper understanding of the past lives of the
characters. It is to be remembered that tracing the past or the Chinese roots of the characters is a
theme that is essential to the progress of the story. An example can be given of the same in case
of the husband of Ying-Ying Claire. The film does not show how he dies. Moreover, the story
related to Ying-Ying aborting her baby has been changed. The film shows that she drowns her
baby after birth rather than aborting her baby. Although this does not greatly affect the theme of
the book that is represented through the movie, it does create a great difference between the
expressive narrative style of the novel and the fast paced progress of the film. The brutality of
life in China for women as a theme has been portrayed effectively by the film (Guo). However,
the film fails to portray the expressive and detailed use of language in the novel. The film also
somewhat skips the structural presentation of the story that is evident from the story. The film on
the other hand separates the 4 chapters directly. The separation is done on the basis of Lindo and
Waverly Jong, Lena St. Clair and Ying-Ying, Rose Hsu and An-Mei and Suyuan and June Woo.
It can be said that the presentation of themes in the book is complex and requires great
effort to be transferred to a film adaptation. The audio-visual presentation of the film is done in a
way so as to provide the audience with a sense of antiquity. A large part of the movie is based in
flashbacks. This is largely due to the fact that the movie deals with historic themes. The audio-
visual presentation of the film has given more prominence to the historic aspects of the novel.
Although the historic themes of the novel are very much parts of the theme, the movie has
prolonged the depiction of history. This somewhat affects the portrayal of other essential themes
of the novel. The struggle for existence of Chinese women in the United States and the modern