Literary Devices
Foreshadowing
This device is used to allow the audience to predict what is going to happen. Also, it allows the readers to understand the importance of premonition and superstition in this novel.
-"What use for?'" asks my mother, jiggling the table with her hand. 'you put something else on top, everything fall down. Chunwang chihan." (178)
- " my mother was not happy with the apartment" (p. 87)
Simile
This device is used to further the description and allow the readers to compare and contrast to real life scenarios. The similies also allow the readers to understand the phrase better and picture it in their heads.
-"...she backed out of the room, stunned, as if she were blowing away like a small brown leaf, thin, brittle, lifeless."(153)
-"Then I wish I'd never been born! I wish I were dead! Like them."(153)-
- “she yanked the full length of my hair like the reins of a horse” (189)
- “The boat looked like a floating tree house” (190)
- “I saw her scrape off the fish scales, which flew into the air like shards of glass” (190)
- “Popo had swollen up like an overripe squash” (scar)
- “Auntie had a tongue like hungry scissors eating silk cloth” (112)
- “I looked and smelled like a precious buncake” (101)
- “My breath came out like angry smoke” (122)
- “It was like a giant bowl, cracked in half, the other half washed out to sea” (half and half)
- "All of us are like stairs, one step after another" (p. 177)
Metaphor
The author uses metaphors to allow the readers to better understand concrete concepts. This device also creates unique syntax and draws interest to the readers. Since there were many chinese traditions that the readers could not understand, the author used metaphors to assist with the interpretation.
-"I see it right away: the marble end table collapsed on top of its spindly black legs... 'Fallen down,' she says simply...'It doesn't matter,' I say and I started to pick up the broken glass shards. 'I knew it would happen.' 'Then why don't stop it?' asks my mother. (180)
- “All these years I kept my true nature hidden, running along like a small shadow so nobody could catch me” (162)
Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions are used to keep the reader interactive. The questions engage the reader and furthers their critical thinking. The author of this book uses this technique to prevent the readers from sidetracking away from the many mother-daughter relationships that are introduced.
-"I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?" (pg. 254)
- "what if they tell me...fertility or prosperity?" (p. 164)
Allusions
The author of the Joy Luck Club uses allusions to connect the stories with real-life backgrounds; this allows the readers to understand the situation better and relate themselves to the experiences.
- “Ripley's Believe it or Not, or Good Housekeeping, Readers Digest” (p. 133)
- “As proof of her faith, my mother used to carry a small leatherette Bible when she went to the First Baptist Church every Sunday.” (p. 116)
- “The Ed Sullivan Show on TV” (p. 135)
- “everyone dreamed about Kweilin” (p.21)
- “A mahogany-colored Mah Jong table sits in the center” (p.32)
Personification
Personifications are used to describe objects and "things" in a more vivid and imaginary way. It creates a broader picture and a clear representation of the verb used.
- " I could hear cicadas crying in the yard" (p. 41)
Assonance
This device creates a rhythm and creative syntax.
- "Over the tops of the tiled roofs" (p. 81)
Hyperbole
Hyperboles create an exaggerated tone in which the situation seems worse and more dramatic than the actual scene.
- "He had lived there for a thousand years". (p. 83)
Foreshadowing
This device is used to allow the audience to predict what is going to happen. Also, it allows the readers to understand the importance of premonition and superstition in this novel.
-"What use for?'" asks my mother, jiggling the table with her hand. 'you put something else on top, everything fall down. Chunwang chihan." (178)
- " my mother was not happy with the apartment" (p. 87)
Simile
This device is used to further the description and allow the readers to compare and contrast to real life scenarios. The similies also allow the readers to understand the phrase better and picture it in their heads.
-"...she backed out of the room, stunned, as if she were blowing away like a small brown leaf, thin, brittle, lifeless."(153)
-"Then I wish I'd never been born! I wish I were dead! Like them."(153)-
- “she yanked the full length of my hair like the reins of a horse” (189)
- “The boat looked like a floating tree house” (190)
- “I saw her scrape off the fish scales, which flew into the air like shards of glass” (190)
- “Popo had swollen up like an overripe squash” (scar)
- “Auntie had a tongue like hungry scissors eating silk cloth” (112)
- “I looked and smelled like a precious buncake” (101)
- “My breath came out like angry smoke” (122)
- “It was like a giant bowl, cracked in half, the other half washed out to sea” (half and half)
- "All of us are like stairs, one step after another" (p. 177)
Metaphor
The author uses metaphors to allow the readers to better understand concrete concepts. This device also creates unique syntax and draws interest to the readers. Since there were many chinese traditions that the readers could not understand, the author used metaphors to assist with the interpretation.
-"I see it right away: the marble end table collapsed on top of its spindly black legs... 'Fallen down,' she says simply...'It doesn't matter,' I say and I started to pick up the broken glass shards. 'I knew it would happen.' 'Then why don't stop it?' asks my mother. (180)
- “All these years I kept my true nature hidden, running along like a small shadow so nobody could catch me” (162)
Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions are used to keep the reader interactive. The questions engage the reader and furthers their critical thinking. The author of this book uses this technique to prevent the readers from sidetracking away from the many mother-daughter relationships that are introduced.
-"I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?" (pg. 254)
- "what if they tell me...fertility or prosperity?" (p. 164)
Allusions
The author of the Joy Luck Club uses allusions to connect the stories with real-life backgrounds; this allows the readers to understand the situation better and relate themselves to the experiences.
- “Ripley's Believe it or Not, or Good Housekeeping, Readers Digest” (p. 133)
- “As proof of her faith, my mother used to carry a small leatherette Bible when she went to the First Baptist Church every Sunday.” (p. 116)
- “The Ed Sullivan Show on TV” (p. 135)
- “everyone dreamed about Kweilin” (p.21)
- “A mahogany-colored Mah Jong table sits in the center” (p.32)
Personification
Personifications are used to describe objects and "things" in a more vivid and imaginary way. It creates a broader picture and a clear representation of the verb used.
- " I could hear cicadas crying in the yard" (p. 41)
Assonance
This device creates a rhythm and creative syntax.
- "Over the tops of the tiled roofs" (p. 81)
Hyperbole
Hyperboles create an exaggerated tone in which the situation seems worse and more dramatic than the actual scene.
- "He had lived there for a thousand years". (p. 83)
This page was created by Amy Lee