A Pair Of Tickets By Amy Tan Essay

June May lived her life for thirty-six years without really exploring her family history and heritage. She never took and interest in who she was or where she came from until her mother passed away later in her life. Her mother was very passionate about embracing their Chinese culture, but June May could not comprehend why it was so important, sometimes even embarrassed by it. June May spent her life surrounded by people who did not share her culture and customs. Because of this, she never questioned why her culture was insignificant most of her life. It is ultimately uniting with her family, connected through blood and history, provokes June May’s attitude towards her heritage. At age thirty-six, June May tells the reader, “My mother is dead and I am on a train, carrying with me her

Amy Tan is an author who uses the theme of Chinese-American life, focusing mainly on mother-daughter relationships, where the mother is an immigrant from China and the daughter is a thoroughly Americanized --yellow on the surface and white underneath. In her book, the mother tries to convey their rich history and legacy to her daughter, who is almost completely ignorant of their heritage, while the daughter attempts to understand her hopelessly old- fashioned mother, who now seems to harbor a secret wisdom, who, in the end, is right about everything all along. At the opening of the story "A Pair of Tickets" Jandale Woo and her father are on a train, the are destined for China. Their first stop will be Guangzhou, China where he father will

Four Chinese mothers have migrated to America. Each hope for their daughter’s success and pray that they will not experience the hardships faced in China. One mother, Suyuan, imparts her knowledge on her daughter through stories. The American culture influences her daughter, Jing Mei, to such a degree that it is hard for Jing Mei to understand her mother's culture and life lessons. Yet it is not until Jing Mei realizes that the key to understanding who her

A daughter who uses her mother's gifts in contrast to a daughter who preserves them, is far more valuable just like in “Everyday use” by Alice Walker because heritage values can be preserved. From here on, Walker utilizes a prideful tone which later shifts into an authoritative tone by illustrating a proud mother who becomes defensive because of her modern daughter’s opposing views.

Setting is one of the many way we learn about character. In Amy Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets,” June May, the protagonist, at the age of fifteen denied that she had any Chines whatsoever in her. Now at the age of thirty-six June May is on way to China carry her mother’s dream of going back home, with her seventy two year old father, Canning Woo. Their first stop will be Guangzhou, to visit Canning Woo aunt who he had not seen since he was ten years

There is a parallel in the story between the father and daughter. It is not only June May who discovers her Chinese roots but also her father rediscovers his childhood Chinese in him. Both the father and daughter are going to China for the same reason: to see their sisters. Her father is going to meet his older sister, Aiyi, and June May is going to see her half-sisters from her mother’s first mirage. Their reaction when they see their sisters is the same; they are both emotionally moved. Their response when June May helps her father take a picture of him and Aiyi is the same as when June May and her sisters eagerly wait for the film to develop. “The camera flashes and I hand them the snapshot. Aiyi and my father still stand close together, each of them holding the corner of the picture, watching as their images begin to form. They are almost reverentially quiet.” “The flash of the Polaroid goes off and my father hands me the snapshot. My sisters and I watch quietly together, eager to see what develops.” One of the important elements of the story are the names of the characters. In Chinese all names have a special meaning. June May’s mother’s name

In Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" Mama is the narrator. She speaks of her family of two daughters Maggie and Dee. Through the eyes of two daughters, Dee and Maggie, who have chosen to live their lives in very different manners, the reader can choose which character to identify most with by judging what is really important in one’s life. Throughout the story three themes consistently show. These themes show that the family is separated by shame, knowledge, and pride.

Alice Walker is a writer of many powerful short stories, novels, essays and poetry. She used her work to bring black women’s lives to the main focus, such as the rich and important in the US American Literature. In the short story “Everyday Use” written by Alice walker, she showed the conflicts and struggle throughout the African- American culture. “Everyday Use” addresses the dilemma with African Americans, trying to escape prejudice and poverty. The short story “Everyday Use” focuses on the encounter between a mother and her daughters. The setting of the story takes place in the driveway of the mother’s house. The mother and her youngest daughter Maggie wait for her oldest daughter Dee and her male friend to visit from school. Alice

To begin with, The Joy Luck Club centers its content around the lives of eight women of Chinese heritage each with their own stories to tell; yet, all striving to satisfy their aspirations in America. A concisive cross is common between the mothers’ hopes compared to those of the American born daughters. Immigrating to America for various reasons, the four mothers all had one goal in mind, to not only construct themselves a better life, but also ensure the finest future for their daughters. For the mothers in the Joy Luck Club, the American dream was to instill Chinese history, heritage, and habit in their daughters while providing American opportunities of growth, gratification, and gallantry. Carrying heavy pasts, the four original American Joy Luck Club members arrived in The United States to start anew, “America was where

In “everyday Use,” Alice Walker tells a narrative of a mother’s frustrating relationship together with her two daughters. At this facet, “,Everyday Use”, tells that how a mom little by little refuses the cursory values of her older, successful daughter at the aspect of the useful values of her younger, much less lucky daughter. On a deeper outlook, Alice Walker takes on the theme of heritage and its norms as it applies to African-Americans.

The short story "A Pair of Tickets," authored by Amy Tan is a detailed analysis of issues that concern many people that are of a different descent but that have been residents or migrated to another country for a long time. The story was written in such a way that if one does not take cognizance of interpretation of stories; one may not really gesticulate what the author is trying to portray. The story was about a young American student on a journey for the first time to China with a plan of reuniting with her half-sisters for the first time after the demise of her mother. The writer made use of stereotypes and prevalence of internal conflicts in presenting the theme of the story to the readers for easy understanding. The Protagonist or

Primarily, Tan establishes the theme of the story through characterization. The protagonist, Jing-mei, finds it difficult to live up to the high expectations her mother has set for her. After seeing so much disappointment in her mother’s face, Jine-mei “look[s] in the mirror above the bathroom sink and when [she] saw only [her] face staring back – and that it would always be this ordinary face – she began to cry” (Tan 2). This bring Jing-mei and her mother into conflict with Jing-mei eventually screaming at her mother that “‘[she] wish[ed] she were dead. Like them’” (Tan 8). As she matures, Jing-mei becomes a little more level-headed; she then understands her mother only wants the best for her. Through diction and language, the author creates a character that is

People who say that home is where the heart is are absolutely right when it comes to the story of Jing-Mei in Amy Tan’s A Pair of Tickets. This unique story provides a look into the mind of a young girl who meets her long lost relatives for the first time and the connection she feels with them as well as with her surroundings. This story is a great parallel to the connection that can be shared in a family even across long distances. Amy Tan is a brilliant author and has mastered the use of literary techniques such as backstory, multiple settings, conflict to further the plot, convey culture, the possessions that are on each carrying and relationship between the two sisters.

between the first generation, American daughter and her immigrant mother. At this point of the

It has been said that “One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” What should matter is being true to oneself and loving the person that you have become. This short story is narrated by Mama who is telling her story of her two daughters, Dee and Maggie. Both daughters live their lives in very different ways. In Dee's case, she goes out to make all that she can of herself while leaving her mother and sister behind. Maggie stays at home with their Mama and makes the most out of what surrounds her. All three ladies have different perspectives of their own heritage and identity. The conflict in “Everyday Use” is that Mama has these two daughters fighting over a quilt. In the end, readers will find that what matters most is not forgetting where you come from and who you are as a person. In “Everyday Use” Alice Walker emphasizes to her readers the importance of self-identities and family through her use of conflict, setting, and characterization, suggesting that sometimes people are so motivated in pleasing others while neglecting the things that matter to them the most.