Interview of Suyuan Woo

8/12/2019 Interview of Suyuan Woo

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Interview of Suyuan Woo

1. What was it like to live during the war?

It seemed so hopeless. Every day, people would grieve over friends and family members that had died.

We were all on the brink of starvation.

2. How did creating the first Joy Luck Club help you and the four other women survive the war?

Every week, we would host a banquet at one of our homes. We would play mah jong, eat, and tellstories to liven our spirits. I feel that is what kept us from succumbing to the despair experienced by all

of our neighbors during the war.

3. Why did you feel that you had to abandon your babies on your journey to Chungking?

I believed that it would be best for their survival if I left them in someone else’s care. I was so sick and

thin; I didn’t want to die next to them. No one would save babies with such bad luck.

4. Why did you start the second Joy Luck Club in America?

I had met other Chinese women, like myself, that I could sense needed something to escape their

troubles from the past. We needed each other and it helped.

5. What was it like to arrive in America?

It promised that you could be anything, no matter your class. It was like a new start - a new life. I couldleave behind my past and start anew.

6. Did you ever wonder what happened to your babies back in China?

Yes. It has haunted me all my life. Until recently, I had never known what had happened to them.

7. Did you ever find the babies?

Yes; a friend from China found them and sent me a letter from the girls. It has been my wish to meet

them and tell them how sorry I am.

8. Why did you want your daughter, Jing-Mei, to become a prodigy?

I wanted what was best for her. I wanted her to be all that she could be, unlike my daughters I had

abandoned in China. When I realized my friend, Lindo Jo ng’s, daughter, Waverly, was a prodigy, Iwanted the same for my daughter.

9. Why do you think Jing-M ei didn’t become a prodigy?

I think that she was too set in her own ways to listen to her mother about what was best for her. Onlyobedient girls who listen to their mothers can live the most fulfilling lives. That is what is taught inChina, but in America, children think their parents are blind and stupid. Jing-Mei had fallen into the





The Joy Luck Club Soundtrack List

Because the Joy Luck Club involves many plots, I’ve decided to focus on Suyuan and Jing -Mei’s story in

order to create this soundtrack list.

Scene 1: The Story of the Swan by the National Cinema Symphony Orchestra

For obvious reasons, I chose this song because the introductory chapter in thebook is a brief story about a duck that became a swan. While trying to become a

goose, it had stretched its neck so far that it became a swan, exceeding the hopes

it had for itself. A Chinese woman buys the swan after hearing the story and

plans to give it to her daughter as a gift, so that she will exceed all hopes like the

swan. As she arrives in America, the swan is taken from her, and she is left with

only a feather. She wishes to give the feather to her daughter, but does not knowhow to translate the meaning of it in “perfect American English.” This opens up

the first section of the book, representing a major theme throughout: the conflict

between the two intertwining cultures and the struggles between mothers and

daughters to understand each other.

Scene 2: The Eternal Vow by the National Cinema Symphony Orchestra

This song would be played during Suyuan’s journey to Chungk ing where she lost

her babies. Its melancholy tune, so full of regret and promises, very effectivelyportrays Suyuan’s feelings during the journey.

Scene 3: Perfect by Simple Plan

This song would be played during Jing- Mei’s piano experience. The lyrics

communicate Jing- Mei’s feelings about her mother wan ting her to be a prodigy.

She feels that she hasn’t lived up to her mother’s expectations and that she is a

huge disappointment to her mother.

Scene 4: My Wish by Rascal Flatts

This song would be played during the scene where Jing- Mei receives Suyuan’s

jade pendant. The lyrics communicate how much Suyuan cares for daughter and

how much she wishes for her to have the best life possible.



Scene 5: Song for Sienna by Brian Crain

This song would be played when Jing-Mei goes to China to meet her long-lost twin

sisters. It reflects both the joy that the sisters feel to finally meet each other and

the regret that the twins couldn’t meet their mother. The melody starts soft and

grows stronger as the sisters realize that they are okay with not knowing their

mother, because she lives in each of them.

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Interview of Suyuan Woo