The Joy Luck Club Lesson Plan

What is the role of the neighbors in The Voice from the Wall?

The neighbors in this chapter are in some ways a foil to Ying-ying and Lena. The Sorcis are dramatic, and even physical, with their frustrations and their love. Ying-ying and Lena are much more subdued with their affections. The intensity of the Sorcis’ relationship highlights the contrasting nature of Lena’s relationship with her mother. The Sorcis also emphasize Lena’s tendency inherited from Ying-ying—to see danger where there is none. In the end, Lena describes, “a girl complaining that the pain of not being seen was unbearable” (115). At first, the girl seems to be Teresa. However, as Lean continues...