The Jade necklace that Suyuan Woo gives to her daughter is very symbolic. “For a longtime, I wanted to give you this necklace. See I wore this on my skin, so when you put it on your skin, then you know my meaning. This is your life’s importance” (235) Suyuan wore the necklace throughout her life so that the jade his witnessed the joys and sorrows that Suyuan had. By being with her when she overcomes obstacles, Suyuan’s wisdom is embedded inside the Jade necklace. June puts the necklace on and when she does she will gain Suyuan’s wisdom and thus know her meaning. The jade necklace symbolizes the passing on knowledge and responsibility from mother to daughter. The hopes and dreams of the mother are passed onto the daughter to be continued on. Suyuan’s life importance has now become June’s life importance.

            Daughters and mothers not only share the same hopes and dreams but also the same characteristics. Both Suyuan and June would save objects they thought were significant but would later on forget that they were saving them. “Sometimes I think something is so good, I want to save it. Then I forgot I save it” (234) Suyuan’s characterization is that she is forgetful when she forgets about saving the plates or the jade necklace of something important like using the plates for the crab dinner and the necklace for June. This portrays that Suyuan cares so much for some items that she doesn’t want anything to happen to them until they are needed, so much that she might not remember when she has to use them. This implies that no matter Suyuan’s wisdom, she still makes mistakes and forgets about valuables that are significant to her. “I stuffed the necklace in my lacquer box and forgot about it” (221) June put the jade necklace her mom gave to her in a safe place so she wouldn’t lose it, but she forgot she had it. This characterization of June shows that she is similar to Suyuan in that she also is forgetful. The necklace that connects both of them together was saved and momentarily forgotten. Suyuan forgot about the necklace and then June did later. This habit the two of them have portrays that daughters are reflections of their mothers. Suyuan had the habit and then it was passed down to her daughter June.

             Mothers are loving individuals and their daughters are just as loving too. Tan characterizes Suyuan and June as selfless to portray how daughters are reflections of their mothers. Both Suyuan and June put others before themselves to show their love. Before they take care of themselves they help the ones they love. “Only you pick that crab. Nobody else take it. I already know this. Everybody else want best quality. You thinking different” (234) Suyuan tells June how she takes the dead crab instead of the good quality crab. This portrays how June thinks of others before herself. This characterization of her shows her selflessness. Everyone who picked crabs before Suyuan and June picked the best crabs for themselves. This shows how June has a good heart and that she thinks differently about the world around her. June thinks in a different way than the other daughters of the Joy Luck Club. “She tore open the lining of her dress, and stuffed jewelry under the shirt of one baby and money under the other” (325) Suyuan was selfish in that she gave the last of her belongings in the hope that someone would care for the babies with the money and riches she left. She could have died but she rather give all she had to the babies so that they could live. Suyuan’s selflessness put her life on the line and this characterization of her shows how she has a big heart that puts others before her. “My mother had traded house cleaning services for weekly lessons and a piano for me to practice on everyday” (146) Suyuan had sacrificed her time and energy to clean someone’s house to in return get a piano and lessons for June so she could learn the piano and become a great pianist. This characterization of Suyuan reveals how much she cares for her daughter and how selfless she is.  Suyuan makes her life harder and miserable so that her daughter can live a better one. This is how most mothers are like to their daughters so when the daughters become mothers, they’ll have the same love.

            Amy Tan speaks through her novel to show how daughters are reflections of their mothers just like how you would look into a clear reflection on the waters surface to see yourself. Her use of the symbolism of the jade necklace and the characterization of June and Suyuan Woo are very effective at portraying the theme to its audience.