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A young Chinese American woman, Jing-Mei “June” Woo, recalls, after her mother’s death, her mother’s sadness at having left her twin baby girls in China in 1949. June has used her mother’s regret as a weapon in a battle of wills focusing on what her mother wants her to be and what she wants. June wins, leaving her mother, Suyuan, stunned when she says she wishes she were dead like the twins.

Wanting her daughter to be an American prodigy, Suyuan Woo epitomizes the mother living through her child. With the American ideal that you can be anything you want, she prepares and coaches June into becoming a Chinese Shirley Temple.

Discovering a powerful side of herself, June resolves not to become something she is not simply to please her mother. One evening while watching The Ed Sullivan Show on television, her mother sees a young Chinese girl play the piano with great skill. Much to June’s chagrin, her mother strikes up a deal with a retired piano teacher, Mr. Chong, who agrees to give June piano lessons in exchange for weekly housecleanings.

Ultimately, June must appear in a talent show to display her great talent. Her mother invites all of her friends from the Joy Luck Club, a group of four Chinese women who meet regularly to play mah-jongg, a parlor game, and socialize. Knowing she is not prepared but somehow thinking that the prodigy in her actually exists, June plays to her surprised and somewhat embarrassed parents.

June feels that after her dismal performance, her mother’s dream for her will end. A few days later while she watches television, her mother reminds her that it is time to practice. It is the final showdown between mother and daughter. June tells her mother she will never be a genius or the daughter of her dreams.

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