A Pair of Tickets In “A Pair of Tickets,” Amy Tan described the journey of Jing-Mei Woo, a middle-aged, Chinese-American woman, to China where she experienced a compelling change in herself. The author herself is Chinese-American, which enabled her to use insightful experiences in the story that were similar to her own experiences to better illustrate the emotions that Jing-Mei felt. Reminiscing about her own trip to China, Tan wrote: “As soon as my feet touched China, I become Chinese” (Tan 146). As Jing-Mei made the long travel to her motherland, she experienced a series of events, met her long-lost relatives, reflected on her own memories, and listened to stories about her mother’s past, deepening the connection that she had with her mother …show more content…
Jing-Mei was immersed in American culture as she attended school every day, as opposed to her parents who were both born and raised in China. As a young adult who experienced two cultures, the barrier (including language and culture) between Jing-Mei and her parents contributed to “vigorous [denial] that [she] had any Chinese whatsoever below [her] skin” (Tan 147). Still, her mother was convinced that Jing-Mei would eventually come to “feel and think Chinese” (Tan 147). Although she disagreed with what her mother said, Jing-Mei knew deep inside that she was right, frequently realizing the tendencies she had that were so alike to her mother. She listed that “haggling with store owners, pecking her mouth with a toothpick in public, being color-blind to the fact that lemon yellow and pale pink are not good combinations for winter clothes” were some of the things that her mother did that the naive fifteen-year-old Jing-Mei identified with being Chinese. This peculiarly specific list showed that as a first-generation American, she was constantly scrutinizing the small actions that her mother demonstrated, and she was embarrassed, although it is not likely anyone else ever noticed. However, as she got older, Jing-Mei realized the fact that she was “becoming Chinese.” She still did not truly understand her mother or the beauty of Chinese culture, but her acceptance was the first step of the long excursion of …show more content…
At her first glance at them, she knew exactly who they were because of their resemblance to their mother. However, as she approached them, she realized that there were no evident similarities in features between them and her mother, but that the similarities she noticed at first ran deep in their blood: they were family. And at this brief moment of realization, the most perceptible change in Jing-Mei took place. She said, “Now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood. After all these years I can finally be let go” (Tan 159). For the first time in her life of being stuck between two cultures and believing that she does not belong to either, Jing-Mei feels like she belongs. As it was previously stated about the meanings of this family’s poetic names, these names that were given to them by their mother created a meaningful theme. In the words of Jing-Mei in the last line of the story, “Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish” (Tan 159). Throughout her life, Suyuan, their mother, held onto the hope that she would see her daughters again. In this hope, she named Jing-Mei in connection to her sisters, keeping the “long-cherished wish” that someday her daughters would reconcile and complete their family circle. The occasion that
Jing-mei alludes to the future life and memories the sisters and she will form as a result of this overdue family reunion. In addition to completing her own journey, Jing-mei also completes her mother’s journey. By sharing all the stories and memories from her mother’s life in China, her mother was in a sense, right aside her in
In both the stories, in which both families include a mother who is the first generation immigrant and the daughter who is an American citizen, their relation is very complex because of their distinct thinking. Jing-Mei’s mother has always had a very high expectation for Jing-Mei. Her mother
At the age of fifteen she constantly denied her Chinese background. Her mother had passed away few years back and always told her that someday she’ll appreciate her heritage. In the passage it
At first Jing-Mei grew in her dreams and desirers to be perfect for her family; “In all of my imaginings
“Jing-mei Woo … becomes the frame narrator linking the two generations of American Chinese, who are separated by age and cultural gaps and yet bound together by family ties and a continuity of ethnic heritage.” (Xu, 108).
As Jing-mei’s mother is telling her that she has to go play piano, the reader can imagine how she gets more and more angry as her daughter disregards what she is saying. Finally, the narrator emphasizes to the reader how the relationship between Jing-mei and her mother deteriorates more and more as time
(Tan 24). through this it can be said that Jing-Mei’s mother has a very different culture compared to
This disagreement quickly became a source of resentment and anger for both of them, but Jing-Mei and her mother were unable to resolve this conflict because of their different backgrounds and experiences. The story showcases how relationships between mothers and daughters can be strained because of differences in culture and a lack of communication. One of the difficulties between Jing-Mei and her mother is their different cultural backgrounds, which is supported by two points from the story. Firstly, Jing-Mei and her mother both disagreed on the opportunities that existed in America. According to Singer, Amy Tan uses “two entirely
In “a Pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan, the main conflict is Jing-Mei Woo’s internal struggle of yearning to form a connection with her Chinese heritage. This longing to be a part of real Chinese traditions is seen when her father begins to tell her a story in English, but she says, “No, tell me in Chinese” (157). It would have been much easier for Jing-Mei to understand her father if she would have allowed him to continue in English, but instead she requests he speaks in Chinese. This shows that she truly wants to connect to her Chinese roots because she is willing to put forth a great amount of effort in order to understand the story in a less familiar language. She is eager to do this because she wants to feel like a true Chinese by hearing and
“After losing everything in China…She never looked back with regret. ”(Chunk 1 ¶3). Jing-Mei’s mother is a Chinese immigrant with the typical ‘everything is better in America’ mindset. Jing-Mei, being raised in America, had more of an American mindset. “You want me to be someone i’m not…I’ll never be the daughter you want me to be!”
Throughout the entire novel, the mothers and daughters face inner struggles, family conflict, and societal collision. The divergence of cultures produces tension and miscommunication, which effectively causes the collision of American morals, beliefs, and priorities with Chinese culture which
One dynamic that false expectation strains is the relationship between Suyuan and her daughter Jing-Mei. In a vignette told from the perspective of the latter, Suyuan has the notion that Jing-Mei should be able to perform something at the level of a prodigy. She begins
but she is also nervous because she is going to meet her twin half-sisters, whom she has never met before and she will have to tell them about their mother’s death. Her mother had to abandon the half -sisters and her dream was to have a family reunion but before that could have happened she had passed away. Jing understood the language they were speaking but couldn’t speak it
On the other hand, being born into this country, Jing-mei is against wanting to live up to the expectations her mother sets on her. Two kinds reveal two different sides of the cultural spectrum, and their opposing view towards their values. Jing-mei 's mother felt like an outcast existing in a dominate population. Grasping the same idea, she held onto her hard time back in her home. Jing-mei is her last hope to prove that her homeland can be just as talented as Americans.
As a whole, while the story was very depressing at times, it still has an underlying tone of family ideals, as the relationship between the mother and daughter still remained despite the arguments they had. In my opinion, I think the author’s message that she wished to convey was that despite any event that may occur, family members will always be there support you. This is shown in how, despite Jing Mei’s failures at becoming a prodigy, her mother still supported her and did not give up hope on helping her daughter becoming a successful person. As such, it strengthens the idea that “family will always be there for you”, no matter what hardships come their way. In addition, it helped to add a sense of togetherness in the short story, as it inadvertently revealed how much Jing’s mother actually loved her, despite her tough exterior.