Figurative Language in Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club"

Figurative language can appear in various types and the meaning may not be determined by its components. This study aimed to identify and analyze the meaning of figurative language found in the novel The Joy Luck Club. Two theories were used in this study. The first was theory of figurative language proposed by Knickerbocker and Reninger, and the second was theory of meaning by Leech as the supporting theory. The data in this study were directly taken from The Joy Luck Club novel. Thirty-six figurative languages were found. They were collected by observation method and data analysis. The collected data were analyzed by using qualitative and descriptive method. This study applied informal method to present the analysis. The result of this study showed that there are nine types of figurative language found in song lyrics. They were allusion, simile, metaphor, irony, personification, hyperbole, dead metaphor, metonymy, and paradox. Most of the figurative language found in those novels were classified in simile. Four of seven types of meaning used in those novels to understand the figurative meaning in the novel, they were connotative meaning, conceptual meaning, affective meaning, and collocative meaning. Keywords: figurative language, meaning, “The Joy Luck Club” novel