By applying observation and description, Tan is able to use figurative language to indicate how Ying-Ying St. Clairs experience of drowning affected her thoughts to create the melancholy feeling of the novel. Before Ying-Ying falls from the boat and drowns in the sea, there is a foreboding moment in which she drowns. In the second paragraph of page seventy-five, it discusses a woman taking out a sharp, thin knife and beginning to slice open the fish bellies, pulling out the red slippery insides and throwing them over her shoulder into the lake (Tan 75). From this brutal observation, Tan emphasizes how Ying-Ying, as a young child, accepts and normalizes the harsh reality of the world. The detailed description of fish being killed to eat adds to the melancholy feeling of the novel, and with a young child like Ying-Ying thinking and observing closely the violent
Through the novel, The Joy Luck Club, the author Amy Tan conveys the importance of finding joy and luck in the darkest of times. As
mentioned in Feathers From A Thousand Li Away, the four mothers, who experienced their own trials and went through much pain, came together in Kwelin and held parties to try to escape from their harsh realities. At these parties, they would have extravagant feasts, play numerous games, and tell glorious stories. These parties came to be known as Joy Luck since they gave joy and luck to them. Although Tan tries to use the mothers distressing stories to emphasize the importance of taking action to have joy and luck, the novel exudes the gloomy mood the stories convey. Amy Tans use of figurative language contributes to the feeling of melancholy she probes in The Joy Luck Club. Through the worrisome and pessimistic experiences of the characters, Tan uses figurative language by applying techniques such as observation and description, imagination, and adjectives that reinforce the characters thoughts and perceptions from their experiences, which creates the melancholy feeling the novel expresses.