The Joy Luck Club versus Moveable Feast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

The Joy Luck Club versus Moveable Feast - Essay Example Significant cultural similarities and differences emerge in the two texts, especially with regards to interactions in the family, friendships, and in marriage. Cultural differences and similarities between the French culture, which is presented in Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, and the American culture, which is presented in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, have a great influence on social relationships, especially in families, friendships, and marriages. In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, the writer highlights some of the conflicts that ensue between Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-raised daughters, thus pointing to the cultural gap between the mothers and their daughters. A Moveable Feast narrates everything from the weather and Boulevards to places such as cafes in Paris, and people; it is an intricate tale of love and loss, and the passing of time in Paris. The main similarity between the American culture and the French culture as portrayed in The Joy Luck Club and A Moveable Feast is that both the Americans and the French place value on autonomy and personal happiness. The novels reveal a lot of instances where the characters are closely engaged in fun and merry-making, experiences, which are not only gratifying, but also memorable due to their extrinsic nature; individuals in both cultures enjoy the freedom of will and choice, and there are no restrictions to live whatsoever. Personal happiness and freedoms are cultural ideals that are highly valued in both the French culture and the American culture, and friendships, family, and marriages in those cultures are strongly embedded in these notions. Nonetheless, stark differences between the American culture and the French culture are also revealed in the two novels; for instance, whereas the French culture as presented in A Moveable Feast reveals high tolerance on loose morals and manners of others, the American culture is very strict on morality.