Throughout the Joy Luck Club Amy Tan inserts various conflicts between mothers and daughters. Most of these relationships, already very fragile, drift apart due to heritage, history and expectations. These differences cause recurring clashes between two specific mother-daughter bonds. The first relationship exists between Waverly Jong and her mother, Lindo. Lindo tries to instill Chinese qualities in her daughter while Waverly refuses to acknowledge her heritage and focuses on American culture. The second bond is between Jing-Mei Woo and her mother, Suyuan. At the beginning of the book Jing-Mei talks about confusion in her recently deceased mother's actions. The language and cultural barrier presented between Jing-Mei and Suyuan is strong enough to cause constant separation and misunderstanding. The first and most important conflict in the novel is inheritance. Both mothers, Suyuan and Lindo, come from Chinese backgrounds and try to instill their knowledge and strengths in their children. However, their children grow up in America with new ideals and a powerful freedom that both mothers have never experienced. The two contrasting cultures present a scenario where both influences cause great confusion and separation in relationships. "How can she think she can blend in? Only her skin and hair are Chinese. Inside, she's all American made. It's my fault she's like that. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How Could I have known that these two things don't mix?". (288).Lindo Jong faces the difficulty of making his children understand his Chinese heritage in the face of pressing American principles. Lindo's main difficulty is that due to her daughter's f...... middle of paper ......specific conflicts cause a rift between mother-daughter relationships in this novel. The first heritage separates the mother from her daughters through characteristics inherited from their respective cultures. The second historical conflict divides the relationship through different life experiences, conditions and opportunities in childhood. The third and final conflict concerns the mother's expectations towards her children. Both Lindo and Suyuan expect their children to model their Chinese ancestors while they lived in the United States. However, their rivalry drives both mothers to kick their daughters out of their trust, a mistake that costs them dearly. Daughters also fail to recognize their parents' past and current motivations. These three differences force the conflict seen in the novel between these two couples and cause their permanent separation.