Introduction (Draft)

Introduction
Amy Tan is an American-Chinese writer. She has written five novels of fiction from 1989 to 2005, including The Joy Luck Club (1989) , The Kitchen God’s Wife (1991), The Hundred Secret Senses (1995), The Bonesetter’s Daughter (2001) and Saving Fish from Drowning (2005). In her first four novels, Chinese cultures are portrayed to the life. Especially, superstition plays a central role in the mentality and belief of Chinese people. The Chinese believe that the supernatural power will bring them either bad luck or blessing. (Reference needs to be found) Amy Tan interweaved the traditional Chinese beliefs with the fiction she created so naturally that readers from Chinese culture would find it fascinating and familiar, because it is the culture they are from. But for non-Chinese readers, these elements might be considered as purely irrational beliefs. However, even if these behaviors are regarded as superstition, there must be psychological reasons for it. Hamilton (1999) has written an article to explain that the communication problems occurred between the mothers and the daughters in The Joy Luck club lay on cultural differences – American tend to be rational, while Chinese tend to be superstitious. Xiumei (2006) conducted her thesis to study the element of Chinese “spirituality” and provided the analysis on how superstition swayed Luling and her daughter’s lives. Yet, psychological factors were not mentioned in either of the studies. In order to give non-Chinese readers a better understanding of the elements in Tan’s novels, psychological impacts of these beliefs were explained and taken as important factors for the characters in the novels to conduct their lives to a different outcome. In this research, traditional Chinese beliefs were narrowed to worship of ancestors, the five element, curse of the dead and signs of the zodiac. Episodes of Lindo Jong and An-Mei Hsu from The Joy Luck Club were analyzed to see how superstition influenced other people, and those of Liuxin Gu and Luling Young from The Bonesetter’s Daughter were examined to see how superstition affect one’s own mind.

Second Additional Reference

---- 1961. “Amy Tan Profile” Academy of Achievement – A Museum of Living History

Revised Writing Proposal!

Abstract
In Amy Tan’s novels, several elements of traditional Chinese ideology are vividy depicted to show the readers Chinese mentality and ways of thinking. These elements include worshiping ancestors, the five elements, curse of the dead, and signs of the zodiac. In The Joy Luck Club, Lindo Jong delibrated a plot to convince Huang TaiTai that the family’s ancestors didn’t approve the marriage with her son, then she succesfully escaped from this unhappy marriage. An-Mei Hsu spoke on behalf of her dead mother to frighten Wu Tsing and ensure her position in Wu’s family. In The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Luling Young suffered from the fear of her dead mother’s curse for her entire life and thus she led herself to an unhappy life. These three characters’ lives were influenced and changed by Chinese traditional belief. However, does the supernatual power really work on their fates? Are their lives really decided by the elements such as ancestors or the five elements? The psychological reasons for these four elements of Chinese traditional belief should also be examine to see how they affect the believers’s lives.
Purpose
This research paper is to fulfill the writing research credits required by Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages. In Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" and "The Bonesetter's Daughter", superstition plays a central role in the mentality and belief of Chinese people. The Chinese believe that the supernatural power will bring them either bad luck or blessing, however, psychological impacts of superstition are also important reasons for the characters to conduct their lives to a different outcome. As a Chinese myself, I find it fascinating that Amy Tan interweaved superstition with the fiction she created so naturally. I am indeed familiar with the Chinese traditional belief in Tan’s novels, because it is the culture I am from. But for non-Chinese readers, these elements might be considered as purely irrational belief. However, I think that even if these behaviors are regarded as superstition, there must be a psychological reason for it. I am curious about the psychology behind the traditional Chinese belief, therefore, I will try to explain the belief from a psychological perspective.


Literature Review
Halmiton (1999) pointed out that Amy Tan applied three elements of traditional Chinese custom which are astrology, the five elements, and Feng Shui in the Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan, 1989). In this paper, I will narrow astrology to the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. The Chinese zodiac signs and the five elements are the main concerns for the Chinses to decide if couples will have good marriages. In the Bonesetter’s Daughter (Amy Tan, 2001), Luling frequently begged for her dead mother’s forgiveness and the guilt toward the death of her mother drove her to an irrational behavior – asked her daughter to do “ghostwriting”. Xiumei Pu (2006) indicated that Luling sought for the help of her mother’s spirit by “ghostwriting” when she faced the “crisis” and difficulties in her life. Luling was trapped in her fear and guilt, yet she searched for her mother’s spirit as her psychological comfort. One very impoartant element that has not been mentioned yet is the worship of ancestors. Francis Hsu (1948) told us that there were psychological reasons for the Chinese to believe the ancestors were there to protect the family. When members of the family respected ancestors, they would ask the ancestors to decide the family matters for them. The domestic conflicts would decrease, since the family memebers follow the ancestors’ will without insisting their own opionions. Haenel (1983) defined the term “superstition”, “faith”, and “delusion”. “Superstition” is defined as an”narcissistic attempt” for people who are not confident to find a balance for themselves. Giora Keinan (2002) experimented on the relationship of the stress that people suffer and their superstitious behavior, and agreed that people tend to have superstitious behavior to reduce the level of stress.





Research Method
This paper will analyze Chinese superstition in Any Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter’s Daughter, focuing on worshiping ancestors, the five elements, curse of the dead, and signs of the zodiac. I will examine these four elements of traditional Chinese ideology with the episodes of Lindo Jong and An-Mei Hsu in The Joy Luck Club, and the experiences of Luling Young in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The possible psychological reasons behind these customs will also be explained and analyzed.

Reference
Adams, Bella. 2005. Amy Tan. UK: Manchester University Press.

Chen, Ai-Min. 2005. “On the Presentation of Chinese Culture in the Chinese American Women Literature” - Foreigner Literature Studies: Journal No. 42-1060/1<http://scholar.ilib.cn/ Abstract. aspx?A=wgwxyj200506011 >

Dresslar, F. B. 1910. “Suggestions on the Psychology of Superstition”, American Journal of Insanity < http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/67/2/213>.

Hamilton, Patricia L. 1999. “Feng Shui, Astrology, and the Five Elements: Traditional Chinese Belief in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.” Journal Article Excerpt. <http://www.questia.com/ PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001869311&er=deny >.

Hsu, Francis L. K.. 1948. “Under the Ancestors’ Shadow – Chinese Culture and Personality”. Columbia University Press.

Keinan, Giora. 2002. “The Effects of Stress and Desire for Control on Superstitious Behavior” SAGE publications: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. < http://psp.sagepub.com/ cgi/content/abstract/28/1/102>.

Pu, Xiumei. 2006. “Spirituality: A Womanist Reading of Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter.” Thesis for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Science, Georgia State University. <http://scholar.google.com.tw/scholar?hl=zh-TW&lr =&q=cache:fCYScd-T8rcJ: etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/ etd-07192006- 191437/ unrestricted/Pu_Xiumei_200608_MA.pdf+related:fCYScd-T8rcJ:scholar.google.com/ >

Tan, Amy. 1989. The Joy Luck Club. US: The Random House Publishing Group.

Tan, Amy. 2001. The Bonesetter’s Daughter. US: The Random House Publishing Group.

T., Haenel. 1983. “Superstition, faith, delusion.” PubMed: A service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health.< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/ query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6669970&dopt=Citation. >

Vyse, Sturat A. 1997. Believing in Magic: the psychology of superstition. Oxford University Press.

Topic Outline

Topic Outline
I. Introduction
A. Amy Tan
1. Amy Tan’s cultural background
2. Amy Tan’s works of fiction

B. Traditional Chinese belief
1. Worship of ancestors
2. The five elements
3. Curse of the dead
4. Signs of the zodiac

II. Psychology of superstitious behaviors
A. The reasons behind worshiping ancestors
1. Remembrance of the blood line
2. Domestic harmony

B. Signs of the zodiac and the five elements as symbols of personality
1. Good or bad marriages
2. Characters

C. Superstitious behaviors as emotional outlet
1. Confidence supplement
2. A means to reduce stress and deal with crisis

III. Episodes analysis

A. The Joy Luck Club
1. Lindo Jong
2. An-Mei Hsu

B. The Bonesetter’s Daughter
1. Liuxin Gu
2. Luling Young

IV. Conclusion: Superstitious behaviors are not only irrational, they have psychological functions.

The Revised Purpose Statement

Purpose
This research paper is to fulfill the writing research credits required by Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages. In Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" and "The Bonesetter's Daughter", superstition plays a central role in the mentality and belief of Chinese people. The Chinese believe that the supernatural power will bring them either bad luck or blessing, however, psychological impacts of superstition are also important reasons for the characters to conduct their lives to a different outcome. As a Chinese myself, I find it fascinating that Amy Tan interweaved superstition with the fiction she created so naturally. I am indeed familiar with the Chinese traditional belief in Tan’s novels, because it is the culture I am from. But for non-Chinese readers, these elements might be considered as purely irrational belief. However, I think that even if these behaviors are regarded as superstition, there must be a psychological reason for it. . I am curious about the psychology behind the traditional Chinese belief, therefore, I will try to explain the belief in a psychological perspective.

The Long Proposal!

Abstract
In Amy Tan’s novels, several elements of traditional Chinese ideology are vividy depicted to show the readers Chinese mentality and ways of thinking. These elements inculde worshiping ancerstors, the five elements, curse of the dead, and signs of the zodiac. In The Joy Luck Club, Lindo Jong delibrated a plot to convince Huang TaiTai that the family’s ancestors didn’t approve the marriage with her son, then she succesfully escaped from this unhappy marriage. An-Mei Hsu spoke on behave of her dead mother to frighten Wu Tsing and ensure her position in Wu’s family. In The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Luling Young sufferd from the fear of her dead mother’s curse for her entire life and thus she led herself to an unhappy life. These three characters’ lives were influenced and changed by Chinese traditional belief. However, we can exam the psychological reasons for these four elements of Chinese traditional belief and see how they affect the believers’s lives.

Purpose
This research paper is to fulfill the writing research credits required by Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages.

Literature Review
Halmiton(1999) pointed out that Amy Tan applied three elements of traditional Chinese custom which are astrology, the five elements, and Feng Shui in the Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan, 1989). In this paper, I will narrow astrology to the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. The Chinese zodiac signs and the five elements are the main concerns for the Chinses to decide if couples will have good marriages. In the Bonesetter’s Daughter (Amy Tan, 2001), Luling frequently begged for her dead mother’s forgiveness and the guilt toward the death of her mother drove her to an irrational behavior – asked her daughter to do “ghostwriting”. Xiumei Pu(2006) indicated that Luling sought for the help of her mother’s spirit by “ghostwriting” when she faced the “cirsis” and difficulties in her life. Luling was trapped in her fear and guilt, yet she searched for her mother’s spirit as her psychological comfort. One very impoartant element that has been mentioned yet is the worship of ancestors. Francis Hsu (1948) told us that there were psychological reasons for the Chinese to believe the ancestors were there to protect the family. When members of the family respected ancestors, they would ask the ancestors to decide the family matters for them. The domestic conflicts would decrease, since the family memebers follow the ancestors’ will without insisting their own opionions. Haenel T (1983) defined the term “superstition”, “faith”, and “delusion”. It is interesting that “superstition” is defined as an”narcissistic attempt” for people who are not confident to find a balance for themselves. Giora Keinan (2002) experimented on the relationship of the stress that people suffer and their superstitious behavior, and agreed that people tend to have superstitious behavior to reduce the level of the stress.

Research Method
This paper will analyze the elements in Any Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter’s Daughter, focuing on worshiping ancerstors, the five elements, curse of the dead, and signs of the zodiac. I will exam these four elements of traditional Chinese ideology with the episodes of Lindo Jong and An-Mei Hsu in The Joy Luck Club, and the experiences of Luling Young in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The possible psychological reasons behind these customs will also be explained.

An additional reference

Hsu, Francis L. K.. 1948. “Under the Ancestors’ Shadow – Chinese Culture and Personality”. Columbia University Press.

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Adams, Bella. 2005. Amy Tan. UK: Manchester University Press. Amy Tan’s four novels are analyzed in this book. The author also mentions the Chinese superstition in Amy Tan’s books as well as other essential elements that shape Amy Tan’s style.

Chen, Ai-Min. 2005. Foreigner Literature Studies - On the Presentation of Chinese Culture in the Chinese American Women Literature. Journal No. 42-1060/1<http://scholar.ilib.cn/Abstract.%20aspx?A=wgwxyj200506011 > This author analyzes how Chinese-American woman writers present Chinese cultures in their work of writings. The main elements include worshipping ancestors, Feng-Shui, and the five elements ..etc.

Dresslar, F. B. 1910. “Suggestions on the Psychology of Superstition” American Journal of Insanity < http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/67/2/213>. This research is based on the study of the superstitious belief from 875 subjects. The researcher, Dresslar, indicates that superstition is an important influence in human behavior and only human beings would conduct such manner. He also explains the possible reasons for superstition.

Hamilton, Patricia L. 1999. “Feng Shui, Astrology, and the Five Elements: Traditional Chinese Belief in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.” Journal Article Excerpt.<http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001869311&er=deny>. Patricia analyzes that the communication problems occurred between the mothers and the daughters in The Joy Luck Club lay on cultural differences – American – rational; Chinese – superstitious.

Keinan, Giora. 2002. “The Effects of Stress and Desire for Control on Superstitious Behavior” SAGE publications: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. < http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/1/102>. The researcher, Giora Keinan, experimented on the relationship of the stress that people suffer and their belief in superstition. Do people turn to the help of supernatural powers when they are highly stressed? The answer is positive. Stress and superstition are closely related to each other.

Pu, Xiumei. 2006. “Spirituality: A Womanist Reading of Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter.” Thesis for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Science, Georgia State University. <http://scholar.google.com.tw/scholar?hl=zh-TW&lr=&q=cache:fCYScd-T8rcJ:%20etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07192006-191437/unrestricted/Pu_Xiumei_200608_MA.pdf+related:fCYScd-T8rcJ:scholar.google.com/ > Xiumei discusses the “spirituality” in the Bonesetter’s Daughter, which contains “ghosts”, “ghostwriting”, and “nature” ..etc. Although this work is written in a womanist reading, it still provides the analysis on how the superstition of Luling affect both her and her daughter’s life.

Tan, Amy. 1989. The Joy Luck Club. US: The Random House Publishing Group. This book is Amy Tan’s first novel. Two of the Chinese-born mothers from China smartly used the power of superstition, people's fear toward spirits and bad luck, to escape from the unfavorable living conditions and won the great freedom for themselves. We can see how superstition influences and manipulate other people.

Tan, Amy. 2001. The Bonesetter’s Daughter. US: The Random House Publishing Group. This book is Amy Tan’s third novel. In the story, Luling, the daughter of the tragic figure, believed that she has been cursed since the day her mother killed herself by jumping off to the cliff. Luling blamed herself for the death of her mother for the rest of her life. The quilt and fear had driven her mad and she lived a miserable life. She always worried about the curse would lead her to a terrible life, but she herself was actually the one who did it! It shows how superstition affects one’s own mind.

T., Haenel. 1983. “Superstition, faith, delusion.” PubMed: A service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health.< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/%20query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6669970&dopt=Citation. > This article explains the differences between “superstition”, “faith”, and “delusion”. Interestingly, different from other resources, “superstition” is said to be “a narcissistic attempt” to build up confidence for people. “Faith” is tightly related to “hope”, while “delusion” becomes the behavior of blind belief.

Vyse, Sturat A. 1997. Believing in Magic: the psychology of superstition. Oxford University Press. This book defines “superstition” and explains the possible psychological reasons for superstition. The psychological function of superstition is also discussed in the book.

References!

References

Adams, Bella. 2005. Amy Tan. UK: Manchester University Press

Pu, Xiumei. 2006. “Spirituality: A Womanist Reading of Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter.”
Thesis for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Science, Georgia State University.


Tan, Amy. 1989. The Joy Luck Club. US: The Random House Publishing Group.

Tan, Amy. 2001. The Bonesetter’s Daughter. US: The Random House Publishing Group.

The dilemma!

I've been thinking about this for a few days. From Aiden's suggestion, it might be better for me to focus on only one of the books that I've chosen. It's really hard for me to decide which book I should do the research with, since the stories are quite different and I think both of them are interesting!

In The Joy Luck Club, two women smartly used the power of superstition, people's fear toward spirits and bad luck, to escape from the unfavorable living conditions and won the great freedom for themselves.

On the other hand, in The Bonesetter's Daughter, Luling, the daughter of the tragic figure, believed that she has been cursed since the day her mother killed herself by jumping off to the cliff. Luling blamed herself for the death of her mother for the rest of her life. The quilt and fear had driven her mad and she lived a miserable life. She always worried about the curse would lead her to a terrible life, but she herself was actually the one who didi it!

I think I can work well with these two books at the same time, because one tells how superstition influences other poeple, the other shows how superstition affect one's own mind.

What do you think?