The Joy Luck Club

VIDEO CLIP: https://online.fiu.edu/videos/?vivoId=21e64b7d16124073b45b00cb88d5ebc9

You just viewed a scene from the film “The Joy Luck Club”. This film is about four women who were born and raised in China; and immigrated to the United States as adults. Each of these women has a daughter. Their greatest hope is that their daughters will have more choices, more freedom and be more assertive individuals than they were living in China. They try to teach their respective daughters valuable life lessons, but the daughters do not always understand the hidden meaning behind the message.
In this particular scene, you viewed a flashback to China. One of the mothers is telling the story of how she got out of an arranged marriage, while maintaining face for herself and the groom. She does this by persuading her mother-in-law that she is not the person her son is supposed to marry.

Relate what the text says about Strategies of Persuasion to this scene.
What evidence does she use and why is it considered to be reasonable?
List and explain the 3 general strategies of persuasion.

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The Joy Luck Club Scene and Strategies of Persuasion

The scene from “The Joy Luck Club” demonstrates the concept of strategies of persuasion through the mother’s actions. Here’s the breakdown:

General Strategies of Persuasion:

  1. Logos (Logical Appeal): This strategy uses logic, reason, and evidence to convince someone. It relies on facts, data, and statistics to support an argument.

  2. Pathos (Emotional Appeal): This strategy evokes emotions to influence someone’s decision. It appeals to feelings like fear, hope, love, or sympathy to gain support.

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  1. Ethos (Credibility Appeal): This strategy focuses on establishing the persuader’s credibility and trustworthiness. It highlights the speaker’s expertise, experience, or moral character to make their argument more convincing.

Scene Analysis:

The mother in the scene employs a combination of persuasion strategies, particularly:

  • Ethos: She leverages her role as the future daughter-in-law. By acknowledging the mother-in-law’s desire for a good match for her son, she establishes herself as someone who cares about the family’s well-being.
  • Logos: She subtly points out her flaws and unsuitability for the marriage. This “logical” explanation suggests that the union wouldn’t be successful, aligning with the mother-in-law’s desire for a happy son.

Evidence and Reasonableness:

The mother’s evidence for being an unsuitable match could involve:

  • Personality Traits:She might highlight personality clashes or incompatible interests that could lead to marital problems.
  • Skills or Habits:She could subtly mention skills or habits that wouldn’t fit well with the family lifestyle.

Why it’s Reasonable:

Her approach is reasonable because it avoids directly confronting the mother-in-law or disrespecting the arranged marriage tradition. Instead, she presents a solution that seemingly benefits everyone involved – calling off the marriage before potential conflict arises and protecting the family’s happiness.

Conclusion:

By combining ethos (her role), logos (flaws as evidence), and a subtle emotional appeal (protecting the family’s interest), the mother persuades the mother-in-law to break off the arranged marriage while saving face for everyone. This scene exemplifies how seemingly simple actions can involve complex persuasive strategies, especially within cultural contexts.

 

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