"A Pair of Tickets"
posted by Mrs. Woods | Monday, December 10, 2007
Woods' English 2A
This blog is intended to be used as a discussion forum for Mrs. Woods' 2A students from Piedmont Hills High School. The blog will allow each student to offer responses and reactions to the novels read outside of class. This blog will also allow you to read the reactions of others.
- "Best Quality"
- "Without Wood"
- "Four Directions"
- "Rice Husband"
- "Two Kinds"
- "Half and Half"
- "The Voice from the Wall"
- "Rules of the Game"
- "Moon Lady"
- "Red Candle"
186 Comments:
Family Reunion
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
1. This chapter deserves a big thumbs up. I really enjoyed this chapter because a lot of information about Jing-Mei’s mother is finally brought forth and at the very end of the chapter, Jing-Mei goes with her father to meet her sisters that her mother left behind because she couldn’t carry them any longer on her journey to America. I was glad when Jing-Mei was saved by an American because it sounded as if Jing-Mei didn’t have any life left in her to walk any more. I was very sad that it was already too late for her to go back and grab her babies. I’m glad that she made sure that her babies were raised by good people. That one man who looked at her when she begged of people to keep her babies, he looked like pure evil. I wonder who that man was and why he looked so evil. I’m very pleased that Jing-Mei placed a picture of her and her husband in her babies’ clothes with her address on the back, so that the people who raise her babies would know who to return them to. I was sad when I read that when her babies were eight, the people who raised them, went to America to give them back to Jing-Mei and her husband, but there was a building that was built there because their house burned down. I was so glad that that family in China found Jing-Mei and her father. They all looked very excited to see one another. It’s too bad that they had to eat the food at the hotel because Jing-Mei was really looking forward to eating her family’s homemade Chinese food. I was so joyous that Jing-Mei’s Aunt found a phone number of one of her old friends who lives in China because that lady who lives in China just happened to see Wang Chwun Yu and Wang Chwun Hwa in a store. The chapter ended happily because Jing-Mei had finally met her twin sisters and they all got along well. I wonder how the two girls would react when they go to America. Her mother wanted to find and meet her daughters in China, and I’m sure she’s just as gleeful as would’ve been, by watching them from heaven.
2. The quote, “One day! How can you see your family in one day!” (P. 217) was said by Aiyi to Jing-Mei’s father because she was very disappointed and sad that their family would be together for only a day. It would take them much longer to get to know one another again because it had been so many years since Jing-Mei’s father saw her aunt. The lines, “And now I see her again, two of her, waving, and in one hand there is a photo, the Polaroid I sent them,” (P. 331) describes Jing-Mei’s twin sisters because Jing-Mei and her father came all the way to China to see them and Jing-Mei sent them a picture of her so that they would know who their sister was and who to look for when Jing-Mei and her father come to China. They also reminded Jing-Mei of her mother when she first saw them. All three of them looked like their mother.
3. The theme of the chapter is shown throw the lines, “And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood,” (P. 331). It means that even though Jing-Mei was born in America, she is still Chinese because her mother was born in China; she has Chinese blood in her. At the end of the chapter, after she greets her sisters, she realized that her Chinese blood is her family and she could finally let it go.
"Long-Cherished Wish"
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
1: Aww! This chapter was so cute and so sad at the same time! I definitely give this chapter thumbs up! This was the only chapter that we actually learned more about Jing-Mei's mom. In the first chapter of this book, Joy Luck Club, I was kind of wondering how Suyuan could just leave her babies on the side of the road. Like I knew she was too weak to carry them farther, but I didn't know the whole story, and this chapter fills in the missing spaces that Tan left when she wrote the first chapter. It was really heart-warming to see how Jing-Mei and her father met their relatives and had a huge family reunion. Also, it was cool how Jing-Mei finally found the Chinese in her. Even though she didn't know how to speak the language fluently, she was still able to connect with her relatives and her sisters. She had Chinese in her blood after all, she found what her mom told her she would find. In this chapter, Jing-Mei finally knows more about her mother and what was going through in her mind when she left the twins. After reading that Suyuan never gave up hope of finding her lost daughters, it made me admire her even more. Because, even when she lost all her other family members, instead of losing hope and forgetting about the past, she still kept her head raised high and kept trying to find her daughters and contact them. I was really excited to see that at the end of this book, Jing-Mei fulfills her mom's cherished wish and goes to China to visit her long-lost sisters. The only negative thing about this chapter was that it was kind of sad to see that Jing-Mei didn't really know anything about China or her mother and she only learned about those two subjects after her mom passed away. So by the time she actually learned about her mother, it was too late to start any "new" relationships with her because she already passed away.
2: Jing-Mei and her mother's relationship was very distant, it didn't seem that they were that close. I mean Suyuan knew her daughter, they lived in the same house, but they didn't really know the "411" about the other person. For example, Jing-Mei really has no clue what her mother is like, she only finds out about her mother, through the stories that her dad is telling her. But, by the time she learns about her mother's life stories, it was too late, because her mother had already passed away. I kind of wish Jing-Mei knew more about her mother before her mother died so that they could have a closer relationship and know more about each other.
3: There were many different tensions in this chapter. Some parts were really happy and heart-felt, like when Jing-Mei sees her relatives and her half-sisters for the first time. And another tension in this chapter was confused and depressing. Confusion was one type of emotion in this chapter because Jing-Mei didn't know what to do or what to say when she first saw her sisters. She was also confused about what her mother meant when her mother said, "Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese. Someday you will see, it is in your blood, waiting to be let go" (306). Jing-Mei didn't see how she had any Chinese in her blood and she definitely did not know what her mother meant when she said that the Chinese is in her blood and is waiting to be let go off. She didn't understand what her mother meant when she said this, until the end of this chapter. The last type of tension I think Tan created was depressing. An example of this was when Jing-Mei kept trying to figure out what she was going to say when she finally met her sisters. She was also kind of depressed when she realized that she is fulfilling her mom's long cherished wish (finding her sisters) and her mother isn't even with her to witness this special occassion because she is dead. I think the biggest conflict in this chapter was human vs. self, because Jing-Mei didn't really know what to do or what to say once she arrived in China and after she saw her relatives and sisters.
Shake it Like a Polaroid Picture
Chapter A Pair of Tickets
1. Ahhh, the last chapter of the book!!! This has got to be one of the best chapters in the book. It’s one of those chapters that when you read it, you get tingly feelings and Goosebumps. We finally get to find out, in detail, why Jing-Mei left her two daughter’s, and in what manner did she leave them. I especially liked the scene at the end when Jing-Mei and her two lost daughters finally met. It was such a happy moment, it sent tingles down my spine, and the best part was. The only thing that was a little disappointing is that they never got to talk about Jing-Mei’s mother and what happened to her. Oh well, the end of a great book, I know it would be better if I understood all the symbols and inferences.
2. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her sisters was surprising. Having never seen each other, they were immediately close when they first laid eyes on one another. It was as if their physical features from their mother were the link to each other, and it helped them to recognize one another and immediately bond with one another. If I ever met a long lost brother, I would not hug them and dance around in bliss. I would probably kind of keep my distance and get to know him slowly. Oh well, it was a great ending nonetheless.
3. I enjoyed Tan’s use of word choice in this chapter. Scenes like where Jing-Mei’s mother was walking with her load of objects or the three sisters dancing in joy expressed moods that corresponded perfectly with the events.
Reunited!
1) I sort of liked the beginning of the book, I did not like the middle, and I loved the end. I liked the beginning because her Aunt finally reveals the fact that she knows that their daughters do not appreciate them. When Jing-Mei tells her that she feels sad that she did not appreciate her mother more, she looked satisfied. The middle was boring because I wanted to find out what was going to happen when Jing-Mei finally sees her sisters. Finally at the end she did.
2) The relationship between Jing-Mei and her sisters
Jing-Mei had never known her sisters at all. Her mother was forced to leave them with some money and pictures at the side of the road when she was leaving Kweilin. She did not have the energy to keep on carrying them anymore. When she moved to American she had another daughter, Jing-Mei and secretly she has always been looking for her lost daughters. Jing-Mei had never seen her sisters before and was nervous. Even though they had never met, they feel like they already know each other, with all the hugs, tears, and rejoice.
3) In the last chapter of this book, I learned that most Chinese households in china do not have phones. In China there are a lot of people, crowding around, and it is overly hot. It is also respectful to bring and give gifts upon reunion. Also every Chinese name has a special meaning.
Title: Spring Jewel-Money Babies
(Focusing on “A Pair of Tickets”)
1) Hooray, the last chapter! I’m sad that this book is ending, but it needed to end sometime, and I wanted to see what would happen when Jing-Mei met her sisters. I didn’t know Amy Tan would describe how Suyuan lost her twin girls in this chapter, but I was glad that she did. It was so sad! I found it hard to believe that the babies were such good, patient little girls, but them being so made it even more tragic that they would never get to see their mother again. I was happy that someone eventually picked them up, as after the first two failed attempts by Suyuan convinced me that maybe no one was going to even bother taking them for a while. People just had too many concerns of their own to be taking care of two twin baby girls. But I was happy that someone did find them and take care of them, and that they told them they had a different mother, and she was not a bad person for abandoning them that day when the Japanese struck Suyuan’s home. It was kind of ridiculous for Jing-Mei to imagine her sisters as little girls, especially since they are older than her, but I can see why she would think like that. She had never seen them before, and the last time her own mother saw them, they were babies, so how could she imagine them to be old ladies, older than her? The part where Jing-Mei had her “first real Chinese feast” made me laugh, where she was American and wanted authentic Chinese food, and where her relatives were Chinese and wanted American food. I kept getting impatient during this chapter, though, waiting for Jing-Mei to find her sisters and wondering why she had to visit relatives before seeing them. It all kind of got on my nervous, and by the time the sisters found her, I was like, “Finally!” But I suppose that is the effect Amy Tan was going for, and in making me impatient over one scene, she did her job well. I also really liked how Suyuan’s name means “Long Cherished Wish,” and in the end, she finally did get her wish: to have her three daughters finally meet, after such a long time, alive and well.
2) Jing-Mei and her father’s relationship is mutual when it comes to discussing Suyuan; they both loved her very much, and Jing-Mei’s father knows it is important for her to learn about how her older sisters were lost, and what it did to her mother, to leave them lying on the side of the road like that.
3) The main conflict in this chapter may be the struggle inside Jing-Mei, so it would be both internal and human vs. self. Jing-Mei is trying to find out what her mother’s “long cherished wish” is, and bring up the courage inside of her to face her sisters after such a long time.
Three in One
1) Reaction:
I give this chapter a standing ovation. It’s amazing how Tan wraps up this book by somehow putting together and making sense of these 16 vignettes. The last two lines are what struck my heart the most: “And although we don’t speak, I know we all see it: Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish (332).” And its fascinating how the first opening allegory explains how a woman left China for America with a swan and then Tan chooses to end the book with Jin-Mei Woo being reunited with her sisters in China, completing a full circle. And the other thing that is so awesome, is that I think at that moment when Jing-Mei sees that polaroid picture of all three of them standing there looking like their mother, she probably felt like she understood now, she understood her mother and her good intentions.
2) Jing-Mei and her mother’s relationship:
Although Jing-Mei’s mother is no longer alive in this chapter, but we see that Jing-Mei’s relationship with her still grows even after death. Due to her death, Jing-Mei begins to question her mother’s past, her mother’s intentions, hopes and dreams.
By the end of the chapter, she is drawn closer to her mother’s spirit and by returning to China, she understands what her mother also told her: “Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese (306).” Now, finally she puts together all her mother’s long-cherished wish that she can reunite with her sisters and comprehend her past and Chinese culture.
3) Tan’s symbolism:
I loved the scene when Jin-Mei asks her father to translate the meaning of the twin sisters’, her mother’s, and her name. Tan uses the meaning of the names as symbols of important concepts in this chapter. Jing-Mei’s mother name Suyaun means “Long Cherished Wish” and the first character means, “Forever Never Forgotten”, which like in the end, Jing-Mei fulfills her mother’s wish and sees that her mother will never be forgotten for she lives on in all three of their faces. But, Suyaun if written in a different way could mean “Long-Held Grudge”, maybe meaning that if Jin-Mei had not decided to go find and meet her two sister, her mother would be disappointed, holding a grudge against her. Jing-Mei’s name means excellent sister, maybe foreshadowing that she will be a good younger sister to her two older ones.
Lost and Found
1) Reaction
I think that this chapter explains a lot and answers a lot of questions about Jing-Mei and her mother. The readers finally learns about the truth to Jing-Mei's former life and what happened when she left her babies on the side of the road. I think that this chapter was a good ending chapter because it answers unresolved questions that were formed in the first chapter which introduced Jing-Mei. I would give this chapter a two thumbs up.
2) Jing-Mei and her unknown sisters have a relationship filled with love even if they were strangers. They were all related to each other and had similar looks with each other, and this was enough for them to break the stranger barrier and love each other and bond with each other.
3) I think this chapter has a big internal conflict inside of Jing-Mei. Jing-Mei had never known about what happened to her two twin sisters and now that she learned they were alive, she had to go meet them. I think Jing-Mei was a bit afraid and hesitant partly because she knew nothing about them and also because her mother just recently died.
"It's one A.M. *yawn*"
Three words for this chapter: Long, boring, unnecessary. Yes, we did find out what happened to the twins and why they were left there. Why were the details needed? I didn't really get where her father learned all that stuff. Did he listen to Suyuan and the letters from the two daughters and connected the story? That should have been made clear, but it wasn't. It's probably just me, but I didn't get why the dad had to talk to his auntie either, why didn't he visit her sooner? The only upside was the happy reunion between Jing-mei and her sisters. which lasted for about a paragraph or two at the end. Perhaps it's because I read it when I was tired and sleepy, but really, this chapter was a waste of my time.
Jing-mei and her two sisters are very close, even though they've never met until the end. They are happy to be reunited with their long lost relatives, "laughing and wiping the tears from each other's eyes." Jing-mei really cares about how her sisters will treat her when she has to inform them about the death of their mother. She dreams of them "wailing, pulling their hair, their lips twisted in pain, as they ran away from [her]" many times until she pratically begs Auntie Lindo to write to them. She was afraid that her long lost relatives are not willing to accept her, because she is the one who will bring them bad news.
The allegory talks about a grandmother cooing her grandchild and talking about her lost of innocence to protect herself, how she might've become evil because she recognizes evil. The baby then "tells" her that she can lose her innocence, but not her hope. How she can still stay happy. In the same way, Suyuan had lost her innocence to protect herself, she'd given up her babies. However, she did not lose hope, she wanted someone to pick them up and give them a better life. Even after she was rescued, she continues to have a glimmer of hope that she will, some day, see them again and continues to search for them. She had recognized evil in deserting the baby, but never yielded to the evil and tried to find them a better life. She had lost her innocence, but learned to never lose hope.
Jie Jie (Older Sister)
A Pair of Tickets
This chapter was really touching because Jing Mei Woo is finally reunited with her lost sisters. I felt sad because her mother was not able to meet her daughters. I was also moved by how determined Jing Mei's mother was in finding her daughters; she never gave up. What was a relief to me was when I found out that Jing Mei's older sisters were discovered and loved by a kind old lady.
The relationship between Jing Mei and her mother is somewhat distant yet close at the same time. "Right after [her] mother died, [she] asked [herself] a lot of things, things that couldn't be answered, to force [herself] to grieve more. It seemed as if [she] wanted to sustain [her] grief, to assure [herself] that [she] had cared deeply enough." This quote shows how Jing Mei felt as if she did not know, or love her mother enough. That she wanted to feel that she had taken the time when her mother was alive to appreciate her better.
I think that the message Amy Tan is trying to tell her readers is that one should appreciate was he or she has because once that thing is gone, it can never be replaced. In this chapter, Jing Mei finds out how important her mother was to her. She also realizes how lucky she was to have a mother because the twins that her mother left behind never met her in person. They only saw her through a photograph. And even if Jing Mei's mother left them, "they still honored" her and her previous husband "as their much-loved first parents."
Communist China!!
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
Wow! This novel is finally over. And it ended with such a great chapter. "A Pair of Tickets" really closes off the book with such beauty and satisfaction. It left me feeling like I knew a bit more than I had about mother and daughter relationships than I did before. My favorite scene is the last scene when the three sisters finally reunite and discover their resemblance to their mother through the polaroid picture.
Jing-Mei and and Suyuan Woo
Although Suyuan is no longer bodily alive on Earth with Jing-Mei, Jing-Mei feels an even closer connection to her mother than she did when her mother was alive. This is because Jing-Mei had not known about her mother's past. Only through learning of her mother's journey to America, how she left her babies behind, and finally reuniting with her long lost sisters, does Jing-Mei realize the connection between herself and her mother. To me, the relationship between Suyuan and Jing-Mei is the most distant out of all the other mother-daughter relationships in Joy Luck Club. However, this changes in the end. Jing-Mei and Suyuan's relationship is actually one that is rare and sweet at the same time.
Message
The theme of "A Pair of Tickets" is, I believe, the same theme as the one of the entire book. Amy Tan wants us to finish the book and take away from it the lesson that we should value our relationship with our mother or daughter, for it is one that is powerful and extremely rewarding. In the end, Jing-Mei realizes how little she valued her relationship with her mother. She regrets not knowing about her mother's past while she was alive and getting to know her more as a person. Seeing her older sisters in China really made her realize how important that relationship was. Tan's significant message leaves us wiser and more appreciative for what we have.
Back Home
1)I think this chapter was sweet because of how they were able to meet up with old family members that they have not seen for ages. I thought that it was nice how the auntie and her family planned everything to make things more convenient so they could catch up with the family without having problems. I liked how she wanted to know more about her family but I think it is sad how she is asking now and trying to change now, after her mother has died already. I think this chapter was a thumbs up for the personality the chapter has in the writing.
2)I think that the relationship between Aiyi and the father is really close, even though they have been apart for so long. “Look at you! You are so old. Look how old you’ve become!” (page 314) shows that they are close because they are attacking each other’s age yet they both do not take it seriously and are joking around and having fun. Also in this chapter, they talk a lot about how their lives have been and they both stayed up for some of the night to continue talking before they left.
3)Relation: I think that this story relates to the allegory because that they learned a lesson while going to meet the daughters. The allegory can be about learning something new about a topic that was previously learned. In this chapter, Jing-mei learns the truth of what happened to her mother while she tried to leave China and that she did not just abandon them on the ground without leaving anything to try to help them. She learns a valuable lesson on their family history and everything about her mother’s past has been made clear.
-Aaron Ly
A Mother's Tale
Ch: A Pair of Tickets
1) What a great chapter to close off the novel. I enjoyed learning about Jing Mei's mother since throughout the novel we don't know much about her. It was heartwarming to see Jing Mei reconnect and embrace the Chinese inside her and have her whole family reunited. This chapter also fills in the spaces about Suyuan deserting her children on the roadside as mentioned in the first chapter. Perfectly closing off the novel, the three sisters take a photo together and witness their resemblance to their mother. Overall this chapter definitely deserves two thumbs up in my opinion.
2)Jing Mei and her Sisters
Although having never met and associated, the sisters and Jing Mei instantly connected because of their stories and the pure love they had for each other. Together they clicked quickly because it seemed as if each of them and Jing Mei completed one another. Just resembling in appearance and knowledge of sharing the same mother was enough for them to hold a strong bond.
3) The message of this chapter is to appreciate you loved ones and not take them for granted. Jing Mei realizes that her mother is such an important character in her life and throughout her whole life she hasn't known her mother's story. Upon arrival in China, after meeting her sisters I think Jing Mei realizes that family is really important to her and that she needs to love and appreciate them.
Viscous Shampoo
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
1) Alas, I have finished the last chapter of our lovely book. I have to give this chapter two thumbs up for the emotions that it forced upon me page after page. At first, you feel angry that Suyuan could leave her children behind. However, you later feel impressed at her cunning as she leaves her two daughters with jewels and a note. You then feel sad, that she can not later find them. I'm very glad to see that Jing-Mei goes back to 'Communist' China and then reconnects with her father's side of the family. The moment is very bittersweet, because it is true that she will probably never see them again. The moment Jing-Mei stepped on her plane and began to second guess herself, I felt as if I was right there besides her. The mood went from nervous and doubtful to heartwarming the moment the three sisters met and embraced. I just loved it.<3
2) Jing-Mei and her mother, Suyuan's relationship was not very close. They did not have much communication in their relationship and throughout this chapter, Jing-Mei finds herself lamenting on how she had never connected with her mother. She also begins to doubt her appreciation for her and compares herself as a waste to her sisters, who must have been so excited to meet their mother.
3)In this chapter, Jing-Mei has conflicting thoughts of her heritage and her relationship with her mother. As she sets off to meet her sisters, she rethinks her relationship with her mother and how the two were very distant. She also has some insecurities with her lack of heritage, and her "broken" Chinese. Another aspect of the whole situation to her nerves, was that she did not know her sisters and the fact that she did not appreciate their mother totally bugged her.
"Nii-chan."
(Sorry, I just had to slip a bit of Japanese in. :])
1)JLC certainly ended with a bang. This was one of my favorite stories (it's second to "Four Directions" in my opinion). The story about Suyuan's leaving her daughter on the streets was gripping, because the last time we heard about that was in the first vignette. When I read the first chapter, I knew that there was a good reason for leaving her twin daughters behind. If she had continued on, they surely would have died along with her. By leaving them behind, she gave them an opportunity for a better life. The twins were extremely lucky to have been discovered by such a caring couple. It was far more likely that they would have been left alone until they died on the street, or until someone corrupt passed by and killed them. The scene when June meets and hugs her sisters for the first time was tear-jerkingly heartwarming. It was so sweet how they barely said a word to one another; they just kept crying and embracing one another. This chapter definitely deserves a thumbs up; it's the perfect way to end the novel because it leaves the reader with a warm and fuzzy feeling.
2)The bond between June and her twin sisters was distant, but strong. They are connected because the share the same mother, yet they have never even seen eachother. The twins do not even know that their mother is dead, as they write hopeful letters wishing that they can see her. June takes all of the guilt in this story, because she has to figure out how to break the news to her sisters that her mother isn't alive. However, when they meet, they immediately embrace one another and start sobbing, which shows that they had loved each other all that time.
3)I love the way Tan uses the characters' names symbolically in this chapter. "Suyuan," in Chinese, means "Long-Cherished Wish," which describes how the twins and Suyuan have always wanted to meet each other. But if written in another style, it means, "Never Forgotten" or "Long-held Grudge," which describes what June might be thinking that her sisters might hold if she tells them that their mother is dead. Jing-mei's name, "essential little sister," directly relates to the story, because at the end of the story, she finally meets her sisters and realizes how much she had missed them, and how much they had missed her. The last line of the vignette describes how much the three sisters look like their mother, and mentions their mother's "long-cherished wish" again, suggesting that their mother is watching her daughters from above, happy to see that they have finally met one another,, fulfulling her wish.
sisters
a pair of tickets
this chapter was nice. The sisters were reunited but what i like most was the mothers story. The mother sacraficed everything for her twin daughters. She took her jewlery and money to give to her daughters so they would have a good nhome. They grew up with great peope and they never died. The fact that jing mei has to go see them is nice, They finally get to see each other after so long but know she has to tell them about her mom and how she died. I thought that part was kind pf messed up.
2) jing meis father and his aunt looked very close. They hugged and practically balled their eyes out. i think it sad that he could only visit one day but somehow that seemed to be enough for them. The got aquainted withought getting to close. They both have a deep connection and i thought that that was a nice thing to have. To be able to see old friends is always reasuring.
3) i can relate this to life today. The was jing meis mom left her twin girls out in the open shows that she loved her daughters to death. She did not want her daughters to die the way she did. Kind of like putting her daughters for adoption. The fact that she left the daugghters wit her jewels signified al ot. She would do anything to save her daughters so they would have a better life. moms today if unable to care for a child put them for adoption in hope that they go to a better home. I think that is the best idea if unable to care for the child.
"Reunited and it feels so good"
1. I learned that Suyuan was a very, very good mother. She loved her twin babies very much and she was only doing what she thought was best for them. But it was sad when she couldn't go back to get her babies, but at least they were taken by someone caring, too. I thought it was funny how Jing-Mei was expecting her first real Chinese dinner upon her arrival, but instead got a typical American fast-food meal. I was so incredibly glad when Jing-Mei finally got to meet her sisters, but it was really sad that her mother couldn't be there with her. I loved the ending. I loved how they finally saw their beloved mother in themselves, it was finally proven to them that they were all a family.
2. Jing-Mei and her sisters looked like they knew each other their whole life when they met for the first time ever. They seemed so close and happy, like they went on vacation and are now back together. They were so joyous and they seemed like a real family. I would've thought that the twins would have some kind of grudge against their mother for leaving them, but they seemed to be very understanding and happy to have at least met their younger sister.
3. Tan's creates incredible imagery when she described the scene outside of the train window. She gave us color, objects, people, and clothing. She also gave us the time and month of this setting so we could better imagine this scene. She said there was a "field of yellow, green, and brown, a narrow canal flanking the tracks, low rising hills, and three people in blue jackets riding an ox-driven cart on this early October morning." I could totally imagine the scenery from the window with this description.
Lost Identity
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
1) I like this chapter because the book finally reveals what I have been waiting for, for so long! What happens at the moment Jing-Mei sees her half sisters? I love how Amy Tan makes Jing-Mei a dynamic character. Although Jing-Mei started with love for America and its’ customs, she soon realizes the emptiness within her without her true Chinese heritage. Like her mother said, ‘Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese’. When Jing-Mei arrives in China, she feels this warmth within her as she eyes the different buildings in awe. Also, at the hotel she anticipates having Chinese food for dinner. She also shows her Chinese heritage when her dad begins to tell the story about Suyuan in English. She interrupts by telling him to speak Chinese. When I first read about her telling Canning to speak Chinese, I thought she purposely said that since her dad might have an accent when speaking English. However, there’s no harm in thinking that scene was another way for Amy Tan to develop Jing-Mei’s character. Overall, this chapter really wrapped up the book since it involved an internal conflict for Jing-Mei which was her nervousness and the ending really resembled a great family moment. I love great endings!
2) The relation between Jing-Mei and her half sisters is different than any other relationship in this book. At first Jing-Mei’s stomach is full of butterflies squirming around in her stomach. She is worried of the outcome of first seeing her half sisters. On top of that, she wonders how she will break the news of her mother’s death to them. She feels the need of her mother in order to greet these strangers. However, these emotions immediately change the moment Jing-Mei sees her half sisters. In their faces, she sees her mother and runs to embrace both of them. When seeing them, she finds the Chinese heritage that had been hidden in her for so long. She realizes, “It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood. After all these years, [her Chinese heritage] can finally be let go.” It is soon discovered, that her mother’s “long cherished-wish” was in fact, the unity between Jing-Mei and her sisters.
3) In this chapter, Amy Tan portrays an internal conflict for Jing-Mei. At first, Jing-Mei hides her Chinese heritage since she prefers American customs and traditions. Therefore, she doesn’t fully pay attention to or take interest in her mother’s Chinese stories or stories about their family. However, later Jing-Mei begins to regret not knowing enough about her mother and their heritage. For example, after her mother’s dead, Jing-Mei constantly asks herself, “What was the pork stuff [her mother] used to make that had the texture of sawdust?”, “What were the names of the uncles who died in Shanghai?”, “What had she dreamt all these years about her other daughters” and more. This gives Jing-Mei the feeling of not knowing herself. As a result, one can also say that one of the messages in this chapter is that without heritage, one is lost.
“Once Chinese, always Chinese”
A Pair of Tickets
1. This chapter was okay. I was glad to read that the children who were abandoned actually survived. I would have been upset if I received a letter that said my mother was alive and was coming to see me, and then receive another letter that said she was actually dead. I thought the hotel scene really said a lot about the amount of money Americans have compared to the rest of the world. In America 30-40 dollars does not buy a lot of comfort, but in China, she was able to stay at a very nice hotel. Lindo was right in the end; family will always accept family.
2. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her half sisters shocked me. I would think that I would be shy to met my long last family members. Of course I would be happy to see them, but I would be afraid to confront them about their mother dieing. It just shocked me to see that her sisters where so understanding and were only interested in seeing their sister for the first time. They were shocked to see that their little sister was not so little. The relationship between the three sisters just comes naturally to them.
3. This chapter refers to the allegory. The allegory and the chapter both have to do with hope. The allegory says that people should lose their innocents but not their hope. Jing-Mei’s mother had never really lost hope that she would see her daughters again and she had lost her innocents because she has seen the disasters of a war. She is the perfect example of what the allegory is stating. At the end of the chapter Suyuan’s hope and wish comes true, she has been reunited with her daughters through her other daughter.
"A Pair of Tickets"
Together
1. reaction: This final vingette was great, I think it gave a feeling of closure to the book. I was a bit confused at all the fantasies that Jing-Mei kept envisioning about her meeting her sisters and how they react to the new of their mother's death.She was obviously very strung out about breaking the news to them. I thought that it was sad that Jing-Mei's father and his auntie did not hug :( they clasped onto eachother's arms and cried. It must've been very emotional. I thought Lili was adorable too.
2. relationship: I thought the relationship between Jing-Mei's dad and his auntie was very tender and nurturing, like maybe his auntie was a big part of his life, despite that she called him "little wild goose." They didn't embrace though, which might show that they are still ruled by their culture which discourages familiarity and open displays of affection.
3. symbolism: Jing-Mei asked her dad to translate the meaning of the twin sisters names, her mother’s name, and her name. Suyuan, Jing-Mei’s mom’s name means “long cherished wish” and the first character means,“forever never forgotten” which is shown literally as Jing-Mei is an embodiment of Suyaun’s long-cherished wish, which was to not be forgotten. But Jing-Mei’s dad also told them that if Suyaun was written another way it could mean “long-held grudge.” This might mean to show that Suyuan would have held a grudge against Jing-Mei if she hadn’t followed through with the plan to meet her daughters (or in Jing-Mei’s case, sisters).
You Silly Goose
A Pair of Tickets
1. Reaction:
I loved this chapter. Jing-Mei, wanted to have the full chinese experience but she ended up feeling like it was still America, because of the crowds, and the "feast" they had in the hotel room. I liked how Tan went in depth to the story of the two babies. I never knew they were twins. I like the idea of the "long-cherished wish" finally being fufilled. It was sad how her mother died, before she got to see her daughters. This vignette made me smile with all the reunions. This had a happy ending, with the sister reunion. Either next summer,I will go to the Philippines, where I haven't visited since I was 5.I can't wait to see my family, like Jing-Mei did.
2.Jing-Mei and her twin sisters
Although they have never met, they automatically have the sisterly bond. Their mother is what they all have in common. They all share their grief, and their joy to finally meet.
3. Tan used mostly flashbacks in this vignette. Mainly flash backs to Jing-Mei's mother leaving her babies behind. It also flashes back to events Jing-Mei had with her mother. The long cherished wish symbolizes the reunion of the sisters.
Lost no More
A Pair of Tickets
1. This last chapter was great because it wrapped up the story and was really comforting. We learn why Suyuan Woo had to leave her babies and how she left all her valuables with them so someone would take care of them. I thought that was really nice because she sacrificed all she had so that her daughters might have a better life. It was sweet how Jing-Mei finally gets to meet her half sisters and how they are immediately close. This chapter definitely deserves two thumbs up.
2. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her sisters is very close. This was surprising because they had never met before but they were drawn together so easily. Jing-Mei is very nervous about meeting her sisters but when they meet she feels at ease. Once they saw each other they were able to hug and understand each other without talking. They look the same and are just happy to be reunited.
3. I liked how Tan used the character’s names as symbols. When Jing-Mei asks her father what her mother’s name means he tells her it means “Long-Cherished Wish.” Jing-Mei completes her mother’s wish of finding her twin daughters and being reunited. Jing-Mei’s name means essential sister, which symbolizes that she will be needed by her sisters. At the end of the chapter they hug and show how much they missed each other.
This frig is LOADED!
1. Woohoo! The last chapter. Tan really concluded this novel quite well. It was touching to see that Jing - Mei was finally able to reunite with her long lost sisters and learned a little bit more about her mother. It’s a shame that her mother wasn’t able to witness her daughters come together. Though it’s not mentioned whether or not Jing - Mei told her half - sisters whether or not about their mother’s death, the important idea is that the three of them were able to unite, never meeting each other, and share the same love and affection for one certain person. Great book, Amy Tan.
2. The relationship between Jing - Mei and Suyuan is a very intimate relationship. In their last chapter, Jing - Mei admitted to her mother of her problems and deep feelings. Though Suyuan wasn’t able to tell Jing - Mei about her journey to America unlike the other daughters, the significance is a little more special. Jing - Mei was able to learn about her hardships through the stories of her father. This last chapter is special for Jing - Mei and Suyuan because it brought them even more closer together though Suyuan is deceased. Their relationship is very unique and special.
3. I think the theme of this chapter, as well as the story, is that one should cherish the relationship they have with their mother. In ‘’ A Pair of Tickets ‘’ Jing - Mei goes to China unaware of her mother’s hardships. Also, because of her mother’s untimely death, Jing - Mei is left empty and uneducated in the entire life of her mother. Though as Jing - Mei unites with her half - sisters, they share the common love for their mother. The reader get’s a warm feeling and sense of value towards their mother.
Pieces of a Polaroid
1. I liked this chapter because all the reunions were very heartwarming. The stories were so realistic. I felt so happy that Jing-Mei's mother's wish was finally fulfilled and that Jing-Mei finally understands that her Chinese side has been there all along.
2. Jing Mei and her mother seemed to have a distant relationship. Of course, Suyuan understood her own daughter, but Jing Mei didnt understand her mother's entire past. Only through her father did she learn all the facts and hardships Suyuan went through. In the end, she feels good that she fulfilled her mother's wish and that that they, Suyuan's daughters, inherited traits from their mother.
3. I learned from the Chinese culture that they believe when a person dies, their spirit comes back and roams the Earth.The spirit could do bad things like haunt someone or guide someone to fulfill a wish they had when they were living. I also learned that a lot of names of cities in China changed their spellings. I always thought they were the same since the beginning.
I am Chinese!
A Pair of Tickets
1)I thought this was a good chapter to end the book in. In the beginning, it started out with Jing-Mei and it also ended with it. In the beginning, it introduced how she was going to Shanghai to meet her twin sisters and it just left us hanging. But in the last chapter, it tells us how she went to see them and how they were happy to see each other, even though they didn’t understand each other. It was weird because on the plane, Jing-Mei didn’t know how to react when she saw her sisters, but as soon as she saw them, they all happily ran to each other and jumped and hugged, and it was unexpected. It was also nice when Jing-Mei finally understood what her mother said to her about her being Chinese. Once you are born a Chinese, you will forever be a Chinese. Jing-Mei finally realizes what her mother was saying when she was with her family, her sisters. What was sad was when Jing-Mei father didn’t know that his wife still thought about her two children. He was upset, but at the same time, understanding. He didn’t make a big fuss about it, he just didn’t know his wife still thought about them.
2)Jing-Mei and her mother are a little distant. They don’t understand each other and they don’t really know each other. In the beginning of the book, when Jing-Mei was with the mothers and the Joy Luck Club, Jing-Mei didn’t know anything about her mother, and that shocked the other mothers. Jing-Mei had to find out her personality and her reasons through the mothers and her father. Jing-Mei didn’t know much about her mother and that makes their relationship distant.
3)The main conflict is internal conflict with Jing-Mei. She believes she has no Chinese side in her and she is also scared and a little hesitant of meeting her sisters. She doesn’t know what to do and she thinks too much about it. But when she sees them, she sort of forgets everything and accepts them as her sisters. She also realizes that she does have a Chinese side and that is her family.
And it all comes full-circle...
Joy Luck Club: A Pair of Tickets
1) Reaction
I thought this chapter was real sweet and serves as a great ending for Joy Luck Club. We learn of Suyuan's kids at the beginning of the story, and her tale is finally finished with a happy ending in "A Pair of Tickets." Suyuan's perseverence astounds me: she was able to have the determination to walk away from home for miles and miles carrying all her belongings. Even when she couldn't walk any farther, she tried to give her babies the best life she could offer them. I'm not sure if I would've had the courage to leave my children on the roadside with nothing more than my treasured items and a note. The ending, where Jing-mei says "together we look like our mother," shows how Suyuan lives on within her children and adds a nice finishing touch :)
2) Jing-mei and Suyuan
Jing-mei never seems to really, fully understand her mother until the very end of the book. Throughout Joy Luck Club, we see Jing-mei voicing her doubts about Suyuan and many conflicts between the mother and daughter. Even in this vignette, Jing-mei is afraid that she doesn't know how to explain her mother to her lost half-sisters.
3) Writing Techniques
One major writing technique Tan uses within this chapter is flashback. The entire portion of Suyuan's story of losing her twins is told through flashback through her husband. This allows us to delve deeper into Suyuan's character and past and learn more about what she and the other characters had to endure.
Hamburgers, fries, and apple pie
A Pair of Tickets
1/ I enjoyed reading this chapter because it was sweet. First of all, we have Dad who is reunited with his aunt who he has not seen since he was ten. Secondly, we see a new perpective on Suyuan leaving the babies on the road. At first, I thought that it was mean just to abandon two babies on the road, leaving them to die. However, we end up realizing that Suyuan left the babies with all her luxuries and a note with the hope of one day, her babies will be returned to her. This shows how much Suyuan loved her babies, offering her riches for the chance that they might survive to see her again one day. Lastly, we have June who finally finds her sisters in order to fulfill her mother’s wishes. This was a good ending to a good book.
2/ Although Suyuan is now dead, June has the best mother daughter relationship with her than all the other daughters in the Joy Luck club. She respects and loves her mother enough to fulfill her wish to find the daughters. She also now can “see what part of [her] is Chinese” and that is is “so obvious”(331). This fulfills another of Suyuan’s wishes for her daughter to understand Chinese culture just like her. On the other hand, we have the Ying-Ying and Lena, where Ying-Ying still needs to unleash the tiger spirit from Lena; An-Mei and Rose, where An-Mei still needs to teach her daughter to have backbone; and Waverly and Lindo, where Waverly still feels ashamed of Lindo.
3/ Tan uses a lot of imagery in this chapter. One place where she uses it is when she describes the atmosphere of the hotel. Tan writes: “A bellboy complete with unform and sharp-creased cap jumps forward and begins to carry our bags into the lobby. Inside, the hotel looks like an orgy of shopping arcades and restaurants all encased in granite and glass”(318). When Tan describes the hotel atmosphere in that way, I could see how luxurious the accommodations really were.
Essence of a Long-Cherished Wish – “A Pair of Tickets”
1. The novel is finally over. The way Tan ended the whole novel with this chapter left me satisfied and in a good mood. The whole novel has left me with a better understanding of what our mothers expect from us even though they don’t say it out loud and that, most of all, they love us, no matter how they act. This chapter was just great. Jing Mei is finally united with her lost twin sisters and it seems that she is able to understand her mother much better even though she is not there physically.
2. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her mother is still growing even though Suyuan is not alive anymore. Suyuan did not tell Jing-Mei of her life in China and only after Jing-Mei hears of the story from her father does she finally understand the pain her mother went to, to get to America. However, Jing-Mei still doubts that meeting her sisters is the right choice and she thinks that if she meets her sisters, “they’ll think [she’s] responsible, that [Suyuan] died because [she] didn’t appreciate her.” Only after being reunited with her sisters is Jing-Mei finally at peace with herself and recognizes that her mother truly loved her and that her sisters won’t hate her because she is “their only family.”
3. I think the theme of this chapter is that we need to value the relationship we have with our mothers. It is a bond that depends on trust and communication, for if we don’t trust or communicate, we will misunderstand and grow distant. Jing-Mei didn’t really learn anything about her mother and therefore, doubted that she really loved her and was afraid her sisters would think ill of her. However, she was able to learn more of her mother through a story her father told her about her mother and being reunited with her sisters made her realize that the bond she had with her mother was important and should be treasured. Tan’s message has left us with a greater knowledge of the bonds that we all have with other people and we should appreciate them.
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long lost sisters
(chapter: A Pair of Tickets)
1. That about wraps things up. I have no complaint about his chapter. The heartwarming reunion of long lost family members didn't really leave me with any unanswered questions so I felt as though this was truly the end of the book like a cowboy riding towards the sunset.
2.Despite the fact that Jing-Mei and her two sisters were an ocean length apart, they held no hate towards each other nor their mother. They seemed like sisters although they had seen each other for the first time in their life. This goes to show that the bound between families are hard to break.
3.Conflicts
The fascinating thing about this chapter is that unlike the others, there wasn't really any major conflict. Besides the crying and the short argument about writing the letter, there was no suspense or intensity present in " A Pair of Tickets." Perhaps the lack of action is what made the ending seem so tranquil. The mild conflicts allowed the readers to feel calm and happy till the very end. A peaceful ending leads to more satisfiction compared to a heart-pounding one.
“All Together Now”
“A Pair of Tickets”
1.Reaction- This chapter was quite heartwarming. I loved seeing Jing-mei reunite and finally meet her long-lost sisters. Along with meeting her sisters, Jing-mei also found out a lot more about Suyuan's life, especially her past. A lot of my questions about Suyuan's life were answered in this chapter, leaving me with a better understanding of her intentions of her actions. Amy Tan did a really good job on pulling all the strings together and ending this novel very well.
2.The relationship between Jing-mei and her sisters are exceptionally strong considering they had known each other for such a short amount of time. If I were the situation, I would think a whole part of me is complete finding my lost sisters, getting to know them, and accepting them as part of my life. Adding to the fact that their mother was gone, their presence together helped them remember their mother even better.
3.Tan use of flashbacks is very apparent in this chapter. Throughout the chapter, the flashbacks of Suyuan leaving her babies in China help develop her character, even this late in the novel. We get to understand more of her situation, and her intentions of leaving. Also, using these flashbacks, Tan allows readers to fill in all the gaps and really understand Suyuan's personally story of her past.
Long Cherished Wish
1. This ending to the book is very well done. It seems to conclude everything in this wonderful way that allows readers to be content with the story and not ask for more. Ending with June was a nice touch because she went to China, and like all the other daughters in the book, she didn’t believe herself to be Chinese, but she learns in the end that she is because it is in her blood and her family and seems to solve all the problems of the other characters. It’s really nice how her sisters and her embraced in the end and how together, they allowed Suyuan’s wish to come true.
2. Twins and June
The twins miss their mother very much and now their mother is dead. If I were they, I think I might not like June because she would have gotten to be raised by the real mother. But instead, these twins are loving and happy to meet June because June is their sister and they probably understood the stakes at which their mother had to leave them. June says that “as soon as [she] was beyond the gate, [they ran] toward each other…all hesitations and expectations gone.” They do not know each other, but they are happy and willing to do so. They don’t know what to expect out of each other and afraid of what the other may think, but in the end they are family and came together in the death of their mother.
3. Theme: I think the theme of this vignette is that: In the end, family will always be family no matter what kind of relationship they have with each other. The twins and June do not know each other at all, and the twins have a lot they could be angry about towards June. June doesn’t even know how to communicate with her sisters, but in the end, they hug and are happy to see each other, as is said on 331, “...Now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.”
"Together At Last"
Chapter: A Pair Of Tickets
1. This was a really nice, light-hearted chapter. I really thought it was about time that Suyuan got some recognition in the book. I was really eager to know more about her, and this chapter filled in that gap for me. Also, Jing-mei's finding her sisters was somewhat emotional, and it made me smile. Another thing that was different with this chapter (and change is good) was that there was a male character, Jing-mei's father. Yeah! It was nice to know that the book didn't entirely revolve around women because for some reason I was getting tired of reading about all these women and their problems...
2. Jing-mei and her sisters hold a special bond. Though they never met before, they all hold a memory of their mother within themselves, and they are connected through that. When they first met, they felt a deep connection because they are all stuck together through their heritage and their blood. Jing-mei says, "I see no trace of my mother in them. Yet they still look familiar. And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family... our blood."
3. (What is Tan's message or theme in this chapter?) The theme of this chapter is that heritage brings people closer to each other. It is shown in this chapter when Jing-mei and her sisters feel closer to their dead mother because of their heritage and how all of them put together makes their mother. The theme is also shown in these quotes: "It is my family. It is in our blood. After all these years, it can finally be let go." The thing being "let go" is the distance between Jing-mei and her mother. She realizes that what brought her closer to her mother was her blood and heritage. After all those years, she finally realizes that the way to be closer to her mother was to look inside herself, at her Chinese roots.
Michelle H
“Shake it like a Polaroid picture”
“A pair of tickets”
1] Reaction:
I like how Jing-Mei wants to be more Chinese and when she wants to eat a real Chinese dinner, her family wants to eat American. I thought that was funny. I also thought it was funny about the Polaroid camera because that thing is so old and outdated but I’d still like to have one.
2] The relationship between Jing-Mei and her sisters was surprising. They have never met before and when they finally meet, it seems that like it was just yesterday. The two sisters weren’t even like mad about being abandoned or anything. Weird.
3] Writing Techniques
The writing technique Amy tan uses in this chapter is a flashback. There is a whole section where the flashback is when Suyuan is escaping and has to drop off her belongings and even her two daughters.
A Pair of Tickets
Hoison Sauce Shampoo
1)I really liked this chapter even though I thought it kind of ended abruptly. I was glad when Jing-Mei and her sisters and their family reunited with each other. I liked how this chapter ended because it sort of tied up everything from the beginning. Jing-mei finally wants to know more about her heritage and the life her mother had. I think it's one of those things where one doesn't know what one has until it's gone.
2)Suyuan loved her babies so much that she had to sacrifice them, because she knew that they would die if they continued going with her. She put all her valubles with them in hope that someone will find them and return them to her later. The twins grow up to honor their mother, and they never gave up hope of finding each other.
3) I think the message in the chapter was that no matter what, there will be bonds between mothers and daughters regardless of age, language and different lifestyles. Jing-mei finally acknowledges her Chinese part and sees how much she and her sisters resemble their Suyuan when they're together in the photo.
Don’t Let Go of the Past
I love this chapter, it is a great chapter to wrap the whole story up. It is very heart warming to learn of the success of Jing-Mei finding her sisters though it is tragic that her mother never got to see her sisters again. Death sucks. I wonder why Amy Tan made Suyuan die though. Is it because she wanted to show how heritage lives on even when the older generation dies? Wow, I love my mom.
The relationship between Jing-Mei and her twin sisters is a loving bond. They genuinely love each other. This emotion can be seen through tears. Tears are a sign of emotion and in this case, the tears represent love. When Jing-Mei was at the airport, one of her twin sisters was “crying as though she had gone through a terrible ordeal and were happy it is over.” This shows that the twin sister was so glad to see Jing-Mei that she cried, really hard, because she thought she would never see her. The three sisters stood “laughing and wiping the tears from each other’s eyes.” As one can see, they were so happy to see one another that they cried. The siblings showed such raw emotion, crying, when they saw each other, it makes sense that they did this because they loved each other.
In this chapter, I learned a lot about China, a place where Chinese culture came from (lol). The first thing I learned that China’s money is worth less than American money. I realized this when Jing-Mei booked a room at a fancy hotel she thought was very cheap. When I read this, it reminded me of Vietnam and how I told my cousin to buy origami paper there because it was much cheaper than in America. I also learned that some parts of China are third world countries. Jing-Mei’s father’s family is extremely poor. So poor, they don’t even have a telephone. Conclusively, I learned that China a variety of social classes ranging from dirt poor to really rich.
“Instant Polaroid”- “A Pair of Tickets”
1. This was a nice way to end the book, although it was really exciting, it was heartwarming. I loved how the story ended with Jing-Mei meeting her sisters and for them to see their mother in their Polaroid. I’m glad that Jing-Mei can finally accept her Chinese culture and was able to understand her mother’s life by visiting China with her father. She finally appreciates her mother and it’s kind of sad because her mother is gone now. I really wished that her mother would be able to reunite with her twin daughters but this was a cute way to end the story also.
2. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her two twin sisters is distant but also very close. They don’t meet until the end of the chapter, and when they meet they barely speak to each other, so they’re distant. But the instant they meet, they embrace, feeling a special closeness between the three of them although it was their first encounter with each other.
3. The main conflict is an internal conflict between Jng-Mei and herself. It is a man vs. self conflict because Jing-Mei struggles to learn about her self and her mother and her Chinese heritage because she spend her whole life no appreciating her mother, and not accepting her Chinese background. In this chapter, she struggles to find the balance between what she’s been and who she really is. She is unsure when her mother tells her that “once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese,” and Jing-Mei doesn’t understand this but when she goes to China her whole view changes and she knows that she is Chinese. Jing-Mei also struggles to learn more about her mother because she didn’t appreciate her as much as she should’ve when her mother was still alive, but through this visit to China, she understands who the magnificent woman her mother was and is able to find closure in her mothers death.
"Lost Sisters"
1) I really liked this chapter. This was a really good chapter, I liked it a lot. June fears that her sisters might hate her. She thinks they might blame her for their mother's death and June didn't appreciate her. I think that June realizes that Suyuan is right, that since June was born Chinese, she thinks and feels Chinese. I am glad that June is united with her sisters.
2) June and her sisters:
I was very surprised to see their reaction to each other. Since they never met each other before, I thought they would feel awkward with each other at first, but they were opening and crying. I June might feel a little weird since her mother left them and they didn't really know their mother.
3)The theme or message of this chapter is to appreciate what you have. June didn't really appreciate her mother that much. She is lucky that she had her mom there to raise her and take care of her. Her sister's didn't have their mother to take care of them or raise them. June should've appreciated her mother more because her sisters didn't get to grow up with Suyuan to raise them.
"Related at First Sight"
"A Pair of Tickets"
1. This is my favorite chapter because it is a closure to June's journey to China and meeting her half-sisters. She learns the true meaning of her name. June also learns about her mother's journey with her two babies. Tan also explains what happens to the babies when they were left alone. Suyuan is very fortunate for someone that is kindhearted to have picked up her twin baby girls but unfortunate to have passed away before she got a chance to see them again.
2. The relationship between June and her two half-sisters is like a relationship between full sisters. Even though the have never met, they are connected by their mother and when they once saw each other, they knew they were related. It was like they have known each other since they were born and that June have only come back to China from a vacation. They immediately thought of their mother when they saw each other and started to call for her. This is a really close relationship with someone that you only met for a second.
3. This chapter relates to the opening allegory because in the allegory the grandmother tells the baby to teach her daughter to never lose hope and laugh forever. June had never lost hope of finding her half-sisters because she is doing it for her mother. When she found her sisters, they were really happy and they learned how to laugh forever because they have finally found each other. June's father has also never lost hope because he had found his aunt that he had left when he was ten. When they reached Guangzhou, he was reunited with his aunty because he had hope of finding her.
1)WOW! I changed my mind i think this was my favorite! I really liked this chapter.I thought there was going to be more in the end more. I was so glad when Jing-Mei and her sisters and their family reunited with each other. I was so happy that Jing-mei finally wants to know more about her heritage and the life her mother had.
2)Suyuan and her baby girls have a difficlut relatinship in which she had to abandon them. It was exptremly sad that know that they found eachother is dead.
3)The message was that no matter what, there will be bonds between mothers and daughters (no matte what). Jing-mei finally acknowledges her Chinese part and seeks knowledge about her heritage. Too bad her mother isn't alive anymore to witness their reiunion, and seeing how much thye resemble their mother.
-Andrea Ulloa
"Lost info, new info"
A Pair of Tickets
1. I liked this chapter because it was the ending chapter and showed the closure Jing-Mei needed from her lost sisters. Also, the reunion of Jing-mei’s father and his aunt was shown in the middle of the China trip. I believe this Amy Tan really felt a connection with Jing- Mei. I read Amy Tan’s interview before, and I compared it to the story of Jing- Mei. They are strikingly similar. It’s as if Amy Tan is recreating a story of her own life. Amy Tan stated she didn’t understand her mother at all. Once she traveled to China with her though, her perspective about the world she thought she knew changed explosively. She came to understand her mother and accept her Chinese heritage. Same with Jing-Mei, once she arrives in China, she realizes how much she has lost, not caring or showing an interest in her mother.
2. Jing-Mei and her father share the same need. They both want to know more about their mom/wife. Jing-Mei failed to get to know her mother more. She never showed an interest and never listened to what her mother ha to say. Not listening and not caring, Jing-Mei missed out on a lot of her mother’s information. She didn’t even know she had twin sisters until that day she played mah jong with her three aunties. All her life, Jing-Mei didn’t identify herself as a Chinese. She said she was more Caucasian, even her friends thought so too. Then there’s the father. He did understand his wife, but to a certain point. He stopped talking about his wife’s daughters, since he believed it would hurt his wife’s feelings, but that was a mistake. In the chapter, he explains how he never knew that his wife was trying to find and get in touch with her lost daughters. He , Jing-Mei’s father, could’ve helped with the search. These two individuals both missed out on getting to know a part of their wife/ mother’s passive life.
3. In this chapter, Chinese culture pops up everywhere. I learned that the cities of China changed their names in accordance to the new world. I also learned that family members call each other by a specific title. There is a word for sister, Jyejye, and for aunt, aiyi. The people living in China aren’t that tall. A five foot six Jing-Mei could look over everyone’s head. Buddhism was not the only religion in China during it’s ancient times. Muslim followers presided in China, along with Christian Chinese and Buddhist Chinese. In present day China, where it is completely modernized, the hotels are cheap, but extensively luxurious. The rooms have American snacks and the refrigerators, American refrigerators, have American beer in it.
Sisters Reunited!
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
1. Reaction
I think this chapter is my favorite chapter out of the entire book. Everything is so warm and comforting because families are being reunited. I definitely got a lot of my answers questions answered about Suyuan’s story with the explanation of what happened after she left the babies. I was so happy when I read that the babies did not die and were picked up by a nice lady. I loved reading the part where Jing-Mei met her long-lost sisters and the warm greeting they had afterwards. I also liked how Tan said that Jing-Mei saw her mother’s face in her sisters. However, it was sad that Suyuan never got to meet her daughters before she died, but it was good that Jing-Mei was able to make up for her mother’s absence. This chapter was a great ending for the book and sums up everything about mother-daughter relationships. I give this book an overall two thumbs up!
2. Jing-Mei Woo and her two sisters
The relationship between Jing-Mei and her two sisters are very loving and close even though they met for the first time. Their desire to become a complete family washed away any unfamiliarity among them very quickly and pure love for each other emerged instantly. At first, Jing-Mei was very worried that her sisters would resent her because they never got to meet their mother and Jing-Mei had to tell them the bad news of their mother’s death. However, when the three sisters meet, they are feeling immediately connected to each other because of the close resemblance with their mother and the fact that their same mother ties them all together. We can see that their relationship instantly becomes close because right at the minute they meet, all three embrace each other, “all hesitations and expectations forgotten.” Jing-Mei and her sisters all have their “arms around each other, laughing and wiping tears from each other’s eyes.” Their relationship is very close right when they meet at the airport because they feel like they complete one another.
3. There is a very deep message that Tan is trying to convey throughout the chapter as well as the entire novel. The message is to appreciate what you have in the present because once it is no longer here, you will never get it back. In the novel, Tan tells to her readers to cherish the relationship with your mother because once your mother is gone, you will never get time with her ever again. In this chapter, Jing-Mei finally realizes her mother’s importance to her when she meets her long-lost sisters, but their mother is already gone. Jing-Mei was able to have her mother by her side the entire time, but never appreciated it. Her sisters were never able to meet her, but still honored their parents. Tan is trying to tell all of her readers to always appreciate what we have and never take them for granted.
On the Other Side of the World
“A Pair of Tickets”
1. Out of the four stories in this section, I liked this one the most. Amy Tan made this chapter really true to life with a lot of visual aide. As I was reading, I could picture what King-Mei and her father were going though. I also liked this chapter because Tan revealed what happened to Jing-Mei’s stepsisters. Before, I couldn’t believe Suyuan just left her two children there. But after reading this, I understood more. This chapter was very happy, especially when Jing-Mei and her father were reunited with their relatives in China. It was also nice when Jing-Mei found her Chinese heritage inside of her. and because this was the last chapter of the novel, it made me think that the rest of their lives were also happy (like this vignette) and the daughters appreciated their Chinese customs (like Jing-Mei).
2. Even though Jing-Mei and her sisters had never met before, they felt connected and got along just fine. Their dead mother united the trio and because of her, all three of them got along fine. All of them embraced and seemed more like long lost friends instead of stepsisters who didn’t know about each other until some while back. when Tan write “‘Mama, mama,’ [we] all murmured” (331), the sisters reminded me more of young sisters instead of grown adults uniting.
3. The theme of this chapter is appreciate what you have right now because you can never have everything. This is shown my Jing-Mei. When she goes to China, she is appreciating everything by associating to her relatives and taking pictures of everything. But Jing-Mei is doing this because she doesn’t have everything – she doesn’t have her mother. So, instead of taking life for granted, Jing-Mei is experiencing everything because of the lesson she has learned from her dead mother.
To China, Away!
“A Pair of Tickets”
I think this chapter’s pretty good, mainly for the happy ending. The rest of the chapter is still good though. When Lindo sees June’s guilt and accepting to write the letter, I think she saw all the other daughters, unappreciative of their mothers too. When June and her dad meet with his family, it’s kind of ironic how she’s dying for a huge Chinese feast, and everyone else wants hamburgers, fries, and apple pie. The story of how the twins got left behind is good to read because the reader sees that it was the only choice Suyuan had. If she kept going with them, all 3 of them probably would have died. After Suyuan dies, they’re found by a friend, and so the meeting between them and June is set. At the airport, it’s great to see the sisters just meeting, happy and stuff. It’s a good ending for the story, as they all see their mother in each other.
The relationship between Suyuan and the twin daughters is one of intense loyalty. Even though she hasn’t seen them in years, Suyuan still searches for them continually for years. Since the time they were babies they haven’t spent much time with her, but they’re so excited and ready to meet her that it seems a shame she can’t actually be there. Through it all though, they keep trying to find each other.
When June and her dad meet up with his family in Guangzhou, it’s ironic to see how everyone there wants to eat American food, while she wants to eat Chinese food. It seems like people of Chinese culture, like most others, greatly appreciate the variety of other cultures, with the options of hamburgers, fries, and apple pies.
They lived in a Stone Cave?!?!?!
"A Pair of Tickets"
1) I liked this chapter a lot. I liked how this chapter actually had a sound ending with the family meeting up. This chapter gave a warm feeling to all of those who read it. I give this chapter thumbs up because it brought joy to the family, to the readers, and to others.
2) The relationship between June and the twins are very similar. All three practically had no true understanding of their mother up until their visit to China. Only then did they actually understand who Suyuan was. June didn’t understand Suyuan in a mental sense while the twins didn’t understand Suyuan in a physical sense.
3) Question 2: I think that Amy Tan is trying to say that one should understand their parents. They should not wait till the end or after the end to fully understand them. I think that Tan means that understanding a parent is the best thing one can ask for in their child.
Spring Babies- “A Pair of Tickets”
I thought this chapter was a nice ending to the book because it summed up what all of the mothers and daughters wished to achieve. I was so sad when I found out why the mom had to leave her daughters on the side of the road. But I was glad when they had been found and were cared for. It was so inspiring to learn that the mom had been looking for her lost daughters her whole life. It was so unfortunate that she died right before they were found. However, Jing-Mei was able to go meet her sisters in her mother’s place. By doing this she accepted her mother and found out that she really did resemble her. Jing-Mei learns that she is, indeed, Chinese.
The relationship between Jing-Mei and the sisters is really interesting because they both do not know their mother. Jing-Mei never payed attention to her mother, even though she saw her everyday. Her American upbringing encouraged her to rebel against any Chinese custom. The sisters never knew their mother at all and never got the privilege to meet her. It seemed that Jing-Mei and the sisters had the same thing in common; never knowing their mom. In the end they finally understand how alike they are and how much they resemble each other and their mother.
I think Tan’s theme for this chapter is never give up on your heritage. Jing-Mei always believes she is not Chinese, and will only be American. Her mother, however, tries to convince her that one day she will find her true Chinese heritage. It is only after Jing-Mei leaves for China and meets with her sisters that she sees how Chinese she really is. She ends up, like her sisters in China, growing up to be like her mother.
"We are family!"
chapter: A Pair of Tickets
1)I GIVE THIS CHAPTER TWO THUMBS UP! This was a great chapter, filled with heartfelt moments. In the beginning i was shocked that Suyuan left her kids, and i was baffled on what had happened to them. I really like how it was sad at the beginning yet it was sweet at the same time. I also like this chapter, because we learn more about Suyuan. this is the best chapter in the book.
2)Two characters i would like to spolight on are Jing-Mei and her mother. The two were very distant from eachother, and Jing-Mei never took the time to get to know her mothers past, or ask stories, or anything like that. They seemed as though they were not interested in each other's life or even knew they existed, but when Jing-Mei's mother dies, that's when she wants to know about her. It is too late to learn about your mother, when she is no longer with you. That is why you spend as much time as you can with your parents, and get to know who they are, to better understand who you are.
3)#6
in this chapter we meet Jing-Mei and her mother. As i had said before they have a very distant relationship where the daughter is not interested in her mothers life. In todays society we see teenage girls who don't give a damn about there mothers life. they take their mothers money, and go out with there friends, instead of spending some quality time with there mother. Truth is by the time they realize how important their mother is to them, it'll be too late.
Home Sweet Home(China)
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
1. This Chapter was really good and I give it two thumbs up. Amy Tan really closes the book on a great note. I loved how she told the story about Suyaun and how it helped me and others I am sure get closure on the subject. I anted to cry hearing about how she had to give up her babies to survive. If I was in her situation I doubt that I could go through such trauma and decision making. What was also as touching was that the missionaries that found the twins cared for them and gave them a place to grow up in. It was sad and sweet how they didn’t want to give them up. Suyaun, after finding a home in America, went back to China to look for the twins but had no luck. It was such irony that someone wrote Suyaun after she passed away. I think that was a message in a way because if Suyaun hadn’t of died, then Jing-Mei never would have been told about her sisters and learned so much about herself and her heritage. It was pretty much fate if you ask me.
2. The relationship between Jing-Mei and Suyaun is very close despite the fact that Suyaun is no longer living. I think because of Suyaun’s death helped Jing-Mei find her Chinese heritage. Also because of Suyaun’s death, I think that Jing-Mei was reborn in a way. Her spirit was reborn because she finds out about her sisters and more about her mother. When Suyaun died, she didn’t leave much about her life or the Chinese culture with Jing-Mei, but after she died, it gave Jing-Mei a chance to find that culture.
3. When Jing-Mei was a teenager, she believed that she wasn’t really Chinese, but only looked like a Chinese person. As Jing-Mei gets older, Suyaun tells her that being Chinese is in your blood and born into you. Later to find her three sisters in China Jing-Mei finally realizes that there was always a Chinese spirit inside of her. When she went to China, she didn’t feel like an outcast because that’s where she belonged and that is where her heritage was. By reading this final chapter, I believe it relates to the poem “Lost Sister” that we read in class. In the poem, Chinese culture is very important to have always. They traveled from China to America and still had a like to China: their heritage. In “A pair of Tickets”, Jing-Mei always had her heritage of China with her, she just didn’t realize it.
Together, the same face
Chapter: A pair of Tickets
1. Before I read this vignette, I thought that the pair of tickets meant that somehow she would be going with her mother to China. But June actually went with her father. I really like this chapter because it talked a lot about in some cases, we are able to communicate without words, or words are not needed sometimes. In the very end, when June finally meets her long lost twin sisters, how the three images in the Polaroid picture slowly take form, and without speaking they can all see that together, they look like their mother. Completing her mother’s long cherished wish for June to discover her Chinese side, to also stay connected with her mother.
2. The relationship between June and Suyuan is very special. Throughout her whole life, June was never really known her own mother. But it is not until Suyuan has passed away that June learns about her mother’s intention of pushing her to do everything, and telling her the story of her past so many times. Suyuan wanted June to have the opportunity to grow and be free in America, but also to somehow find her Chinese side, connecting her to Suyuan. It takes a trip to China and seeing her sisters for June to finally understand her mother’s wish.
3. The main conflict in this vignette is the internal struggle within June. She has to go to China and tell her sister’s what her mother was like, but she realizes that she doesn’t even know her own mother. But she eventually discovers more and more about her mother. And finally after seeing her sisters for the first time, she puts the last piece of the puzzle together and discovers what her mother had always wanted for her.
“‘This is Communist China?!’” – Chapter “A Pair of Tickets”
The last chapter in the book was very relaxing but intense as well. June is finally able to go to china and find her half-sisters and meet her relatives. It is really disappointing how the mother never gets to meet her daughters and even dies trying! I enjoyed reading the story of her journey to America and how she was determined to find her daughters in China for many years. I really think it is sad how China is so much different from what Suyuan describes and even June is shocked. It is so ironic how they end up eating American foods in an extravagant hotel in rural “communist” China. The novel’s ending was heartwarming and a tender moment for me. It was truly a unifying moment, where sisters who have never met each other, living on different continents are able to bond together. They look just like their mother! Suyuan’s legacy lives on.
June had never met her twin sisters yet when they met at the airport, they quickly embraced each other. June did not know what her sisters were like but they acted as if they had known each other their entire lives. Their mother’s spirit was able to bind them together as one whole family. Their differences melted away and they were able to love each other wholeheartedly.
From this chapter I learned how it was nearly impossible to find people after a catastrophe or a war. Suyuan was searching for her daughters for years and her friend even said it was like “looking for a needle on the bottom of the ocean.” The daughters could have been anywhere in China. Many of Suyuan’s contacts had either died or moved away so it was very hard for her to locate friends. Mei Ching was trying to find Suyuan after she finds the address of Suyuan’s old home however the house had burned down and a factory building replaced it.
Ohana
1) What a great chapter to close off the novel! I enjoyed learning about Jing Mei's mother since throughout the novel since we don't know much about her. It was heartwarming to see Jing Mei reconnect and embrace the Chinese inside her and have her whole family reunited. This chapter also informs us about the missing spaces about Suyuan deserting her children on the roadside as mentioned in the first chapter. The three sisters take a photo together and witness their resemblance to their mother. Overall this chapter definitely deserves two thumbs up.
2) Jing-mei and her two sisters are very close. They are happy to be reunited with their long lost relatives by "laughing and wiping the tears from each other's eyes." Jing-mei worries about how her older sisters will think of her after they find out that her mother is dead. She was afraid that her long lost relatives are not willing to accept her, because she is the one who will be the bearer of bad news.
3) The theme "A Pair of Tickets" is the same theme as the one of the entire book. Amy Tan wants us to finish the book and learn from a lesson that we should value our relationship with our mother because it is one that is really rewarding. In the end, Jing-Mei realizes how miniscule she valued her relationship with her mother. She regrets not knowing about her mother's past while she was alive and getting to know her more as a person after her death. Seeing her older sisters in China really made her realize how important her relationship was. Tan's message leaves more appreciative for what we have.
long-cherished wish
A Pair of Tickets
1. I really liked this chapter because I think it wrapped up the book perfectly. In the beginning it talked about Jing-Mei going to China and then there was a whole bunch of stuff in the middle and then it goes back to Jing-Mei in China to wrap it all up.
I liked reading about how Jing-Mei met her two sisters for the first time. I also liked the part where her father explains to her what her mother did back in Kwelin. It was really interesting.
2. Despite the fact that Jing-Mei and her sisters had just met each other they felt a connection. None of them had really knew there mother well even thought Jing-Mei has been around her mother all her life. They got along so well that they “ [stood] arms around each other, laughing and wiping tears from each other’s eyes.” (331)
3. I learned numerous things throughout this chapter about China and the Chinese culture. First of all I learned that Chinese money is worth a lottt less than American money. That sounded like and extremely nice hotel for only forty dollars. I also learned that many of the names of Chinese cities have been changed throughout the years.
SISTER! SISTER!
1.Last chapter! This may have been my favorite just because it ties the whole story of June and her mom up. June finally learns the truth as to why her mother really did leave the children there. After reading that Junes mom was saved and couldnt go back for her children was so sad. This chapter also helped the reader understand her motive for leaving the twins on the side of the road. At first when i read about that i was pretty mad, but now that i know the whole story i am not mad or anything.
2. One of the saddest things in this book was how distant June and her mother were when Suyuan was alive, ad how much closer they would have been if the truth had been revealed earlier. Suyuan and June were not very close because of their culture clashes and also becasue June didnt do well on some things that Suyuan thought she should do. I think that if Suyuan had told June the truth alot earlier they could have been closer. The whole problem with June and her mother was that neither of them understood eachother and the story of Suyuan's babies definitely could have abridged the gap between them.
3. Very cliche, but the message Tan chooses for this chapter is "appreciate what you have, you dont know what you've got until its gone".June did not appreciate her mother that much because she never fully understood the hardships she went through. And Suyuan never spent enough time just loving her daughter when she was alive.
Mutual
A Pair of Tickets: Queen Mother of the Western SKies
This had a pretty good ending. Once again, nice to know what names mean and interesting how they're both "Spring" Something. Also intriguing how Suyuan's name could be "Long-Cherished Wish" or "Long-Held Grudge". Maybe this is because Suyuan has a grudge against herself for leaving her two children during the war and not being able to find them later. It is really sad how she doesn't find them before she dies. And it's sad how Lindo had tears in her eyes right after she wrote in a letter to Suyuan's twin daughters that Suyuan was dead. Just imagine them getting a letter from "their mother" a while earlier then discovering it was forged and their mother is actually dead and never being able to see her. It's sad.
Suyuan loved her twin daughters. She trudged on until she drained every last atom of energy she had out of herself. She left everything she had before she'd leave her daughters, the love of a mother. Then she put her most precious possesions into their shirts and hoped for their survival. Although her daughters didn't know about their mother until their were about 8 or 10, they wondered and searched for their mother for many, many years. Suyuan serached for her daughers the rest of her life, not knowing if they were dead of alive, keeping in tact that last hope. Hope kept their relationship alive.
e The last part of the allegory is about not losing your hope. (I'm not quite sure how the innocence part fits into the chapter but here's a go at it: innocence-naive-not wanting to believe the likely-Suyuan not considering her daughters didn't survive::however, that sounds like hope::ok so it says "lose your innocence," so stop not considering they didn't survive-think they're dead but keep hope to find them? Maybe let go of the past but feel good about it.) So in the chapter, Suyuan doesn't lose hope that she will find her daughters (alive). She keeps looking for them until she passes away, writing letters to everyone and anyone she knows in China and traveling to several parts of China herself to look for them. The woman who took care of them also looked for Suyuan and went to the address on the back of the picture to find Suyuan and her first husband.
“Where are my Sisters?”
Chapter “A Pair of Tickets”
1) Reaction
I thought this chapter was too draggy from the beginning to the middle section. Amy Tan used a lot of descriptions but I thought the descriptions just make the reader lose interest. I didn’t think it was necessary for June and her father to spend so much time talking to Aiyi and their relatives. It just made the storyline drag on. However, I liked the part where June met her two sisters. Even though they were separated, they still felt connected with each other because they all resembled their mother. I gave this chapter an overall thumbs up due to the sisters’ reunion.
2) June and her sisters
The relationship between June and her sisters was not mentioned much because they hadn’t met yet. However when they reunited with each other, their relationship was like loving sisters who were never separated at all. I thought the ending of this chapter was really sweet. As the sisters stood, “arms around each other, laughing and wiping the tears from each other’s eyes,” they realized their connection to their mother (288). It was also that moment where June understood the part of her that is Chinese, which was her family.
3) Relation to Other Works
“A Pair of Tickets” reminds me of the Parent Trap. Two twins are separated and reunite with each other. June and her sisters never met before but after they reunited with each other, their relationship was strong like no other. Both works demonstrate the power of connections between sisters.
Off To Fulfill Mother’s Dream : “A Pair of Tickets”
1. I thought that this chapter gave a good ending to the book. I think that Jing-Mei was really scared that her half sisters would hate her. I thought that it was sad how Jing-Mei saw how much her father was loved in China, and thought about how she would be hated when she was to go see her sisters. It was sad when Jing-Mei and her sisters met for the first time because they had a special bond that linked them together – they shared the same mother – even though they had never met before.
2. Even though Jing-Mei and her sisters had never met before this chapter, all three of them feel a strong connection towards each other. They feel that even though they have never met and can barely understand each other, they still want to learn of each other and share stories about their mother. They all feel the same sadness about their mother’s death. Jing-Mei knows that she accomplished what her mother spent her whole life wanting to do.
3. The main conflict in this chapter is Jing-Mei’s internal conflict with herself. She thinks that she is not the least bit Chinese and does not even know how to communicate with her sisters when she sees them. When she sees her sisters for the first time, she does not know the best way to greet them or what would be polite. When Jing-Mei sees her sisters for the first time, she lets go of all her worries and they instantly feel a connection. Jing-Mei’s conflict is solved because she realizes that no matter what, she can never get the Chinese part out of her, that it is and always will be in her blood.
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1) Wow, as I was nearing the end of the chapter, I could feel my heart pumping towards excitement and anticipation. It was like watching a movie with a happy, satisfying ending and it really had meaning to it. I love how at the end of the chapter the sister fulfill their mother's wish of rejoining once again. Pieces of the puzzle finally placed back together. Pieces of their heritage.
2) The relationship between Jing-Mei and her mother was very aloof, maybe because Jing-Mei was too young to understand or maybe she refused to understand but in the end, she wanted to understand. Why did her mother do this and why her mother did that. She finally finds the answers to all of her questions toward her mother. At a much older age, she truly appreciates what her mother has done for her. Their relationship is extremely distant, but as she becomes older, gradually, she understands a little more about her mother.
3) I really like how Amy Tan used the given names like Jing-Mei, Suyuan, Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa all meaning an abstract, but somehow making sense in the end. Like how Chwun Yu translates to "Spring Rain," that figuratively means that "rain [comes] before a flower" since "they [were] born in the spring." Maybe her mother WAS really a poet.
“Reunion”:
1) Reactions to “A Pair of Tickets”:
I think this chapter is the best chapter in the entire book, and it in itself should deserve praise. So far, I find that the chapters that June is covering for her mother are the only ones that actually tell a story as it unfolds in this book. I thought this chapter was really touching in that June describes how close her sisters and her all look to their mother, as if their similar looks were the things that got them found by June. I was a little confused in how June was describing the scene with Auntie Lindo in which June was asking her to write a letter saying if their mother died, and how she handed her a two page letter about her death but didn’t send it. I also thought it was ironic how Americanized the hotel could be, how they had a fridge of all these American things and how the hotel was very lavishly decorated, and yet their were tiny tinges of Asia in there, like the “hoisin sauce” shampoo and the cheapness of the hotel itself. Also ironic is that their family would rather crave American food, and yet Waverly was craving authentic Chinese food, complete opposites. Also, I found it weird how the great aunt was almost the same age as the dad, did his parents have him the same time his grandma had a child…? Overall, this chapter was very interesting to read and I think was Tan’s crowning piece in this book.
2) Relationships in “A Pair of Tickets”:
In this chapter, I think the crowning, and yet most mysterious relationship was that of Suyuan and June. You find that June did not know much about her mother’s life until her father put it into better perspective. For example, why she named her daughters what she named them, like Jing-Mei, which is “just pure essence (and) … ‘Younger sister.’(Tan 323)” She also feels closer because she finds out that reasons why Suyuan left her daughters, so that if she died, “she could not bear to watch her babies die with her, (Tan 325)” I think that was a pretty emotional thing that must have taken a lot of courage to do, knowing she might never see her daughters again, which is I think why June understood what she did. I think personally that I knew me and my children were going to die, I would not want to actually see them dead. I also think that this slightly brings June and her father together because as they talk about her mother, they both have something common to talk about and bring them closer together to view the life of the one they loved.
3) Essential Questions in “A Pair of Tickets”:
I think the ultimate message that Tan is trying to relay in this chapter is that you need to do whatever it takes to make sure that your family will survive and be together in the long run, even though you may have to be separated for some time. The line that relays this is when Tan writes, “The Flash of the Polaroid goes off…Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see at last her long-cherished wish. (Tan 332)” As the quote suggests, the separation was the “gray-green surface,” of the Polaroid, that was dark and unhopeful, but as the “flash” of their mother’s death occurs, it causes the “bright colors of (their) three images” to sharpen and deepen together, “all at once,” meaning that their family was brought together, or formed, because it wasn’t visible until now, and they were “eager to see what develop(ed)” from their newly found family…
Three of a Kind
1. I found this chapter to be on the boring side so I would give it a thumb in the middle. So June’s got her mother’s letter from her long lost sisters-big whoop. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t find much interest in this chapter. It was nice that the twin girls did survive, but it was sad that their mother died. They will never get to meet their true birth mother. It isn’t nice for kids to go through that because they will grow up wondering who they are and why they have their looks. I thought it was funny how June kept imagining her meeting with her sisters. I’m sure everyone makes things up like that in hopes of something good will happen. I thought the part with June’s father’s aunt coming to see them was to stall for more time. Maybe the scene was put in to build up the suspense. It was funny how the aunt uses a picture to identify her nephew. When June’s father tells her that his family wants a sort of American food I felt kind of bad for her. They are probably using her and her father because they come from America. There many people there and they are all acting pretty selfish. When a relative comes to visit aren’t you suppose to be nice and give them time to relax and show them around? Well June’s father’s aunt brought people who just wanted free-bees. That is just, plain rude. This chapter was quite long and all of the talk before the end made me tired. I was amazed at how June’s mother found her lost daughters. Only a mother’s love and determination could ever achieve that.
2. June and her father seem to have an okay relationship. In this chapter, they didn’t talk much to each other. I didn’t see any father-daughter interaction. When June’s father was talking to his aunt, he ignored June. He didn’t even bother to explain what was going on. He was a nice guy to treat his family to an American meal. I think June and her father are on good terms. They don’t have any problems because the main focus is June and her mother.
3. This chapter is very relatable. When families visit each other, they are very joyous. Pictures are taken and stories are exchanged just like in this chapter. Of course when people haven’t seen someone in a long time, they cry because things get overwhelming. Family reunions are really sweet times that are cherished memories. When June thinks about how she is made up for her passport photo and looks different in person, it’s funny. A lot of people probably think they look nothing like their passport photo because they changed after taking it. I don’t think I look like my picture because I have shorter hair now. June finding her sisters is a story some people share with her. Lots of people find lost family members later on in their lives. Mothers’ looking for their children also is what happens in real life. No one wants to lose a family member.
You don't have to deny or pretend,
but someday you'll see
our connection is so deep that people cannot comprehend.
“A Pair of Tickets”
1. When Jing-Mei said, “...and all my Caucasian friends agreed: I was about as Chinese as they were”, it reminded me of how I sometimes think (306). Many times, it feels as if I'm not really Vietnamese; I barely eat any Asian foods at all and I don't even know how to use chopsticks.
I thought the first letter that Auntie Lindo, Auntie Ying, and Auntie An-mei wrote to Jing-Mei's half sisters was kind of cruel because they wrote as if Suyuan was still alive and she herself would be coming to see them.
Jing-Mei resembles me in thinking that she's not really her true ethnicity and I also “stand five-foot six” or at least, somewhere around that (312).
I can't believe Jing-Mei didn't know what her name meant until she was thirty-six.
I thought what Jing-Mei's father said about how people hid from the war was really weird: “There were thousands of hidden [stone] caves like that in and around Kweilin so secret that the people remained hidden even after the war ended”(327). I thought the Stone Age ended thousands of years ago and living in caves was not an option nowadays, or even a century back.
2. I think Suyuan had very close relationships with all of her family. For example, she just knew that all of her relatives were in that house when a bomb landed on it and they all died because she gave her doll to her youngest niece because she was like her. “She cried if that doll was not with her always... If she was in the house with that doll, her parents were there, and so everybody was there, waiting together, because that's how [their] family was”(314). That part was really sad.
3. Amy Tan has used many similes in this book, and this chapter was no exception. When Jing-Mei said when her mother said that the Chinese ways were in her blood, “waiting to be let go”, she “saw [herself] transforming like a werewolf, a mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered, replicating itself insidiously...”(306-307). Tan also used a simile to compare Jing-Mei's father to a young boy. “...he looks like he's a young boy, so innocent and happy I want to button his sweater and pat his head”(307). I like how she doesn't just say that this is like that, but Tan also adds things after the simile, describing it more. I felt a bit of Jing-Mei's pain when she said, “And this would have been like my mother, to stand behind just a bit, to tease a little and make people's patience pull a little on their hearts”(310). This is actually a personification I think, and a good one too. Personifications and similes can always improve a story by making it more interesting.
4. The theme in this chapter is that no matter where you go in life, you are always who you were born deep down inside of you. Some characteristics, both inside and out, are just in your blood. Jing-Mei said that she saw “no trace of my mother in them. Yet they still look familiar. And 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, it can finally be let go”(331). Suyuan said that “it cannot be helped” and “it is in your blood, waiting to be let go”(306). In the end, Jing-Mei finally realizes what her mother meant.
Three Sisters
Joy Luck Club: A Pair of Tickets
1)This chapter was sad and it revealed a lot about Jing-Mei’s mother. The babies were picked up by this pair of couples that lived in a cave. It was interesting on how Jing-Mei’s father explained that it was her mother’s dead spirit that lead her to find her two daughters. He explained that right after her mother passed, the two daughters were found and this came to fit together and maybe this was the case. It would really be interesting if it was the reason why they were found. How did Jing-Mei’s father know all this? How did he come to tell the story so accurate? This chapter showed how much Suyuan loved her daughter, how she scouted throughout china looking for twins, but one day they just magically appeared after she was dead, and they were spotted by Suyuan’s schoolmate.
2) Jing-Mei and her mother’s relationship was very short. They did not seems like they would talk to each other much because they seemed to always be arguing about how Jing-Mei could become a famous little girl. They seemed so separated. Jing-Mei does not realize this until later and then she comes to think of it. This is really sad and to see your mother pass and knowing that you had never really took the time to really understand her and feel her thoughts. But I see that it is only when something is gone that you realized what you had.
3) I learned that the Chinese culture believes in many superstitions and it showed one in her that maybe Suyuan as a dead spirit helped Jing-Mei find her twins. They believe in spirits and numbers are another source of superstitions and they are very traditional as to weddings or any other traditions. I also learned that most of the Chinese names has their own unique meaning to it and Chinese people use this name to describe their children.
1. A Reunion of the Triplet
2. A Pair Of Tickets
3. I was glad that I could now continue Suyuan Woo’s story of her leaving behind her two daughters on the road from Kweilin to Chungking in 1944. I found out that she died from the popping of a brain vessel in her head while talking to her husband, which was rather surprising because I thought she died of cancer. The way June considered the twins’ mother were coming to meet them and her own mother being dead seemed like she considered them as two different people, which I found strange because they were the same person. I felt joy for June’s father and his aunt to meet again, and felt like everything in the world was turning for the better. I was amused when she mentions that she only knows swear words from a language she doesn’t understand and learns it from her friends, just like me. Her description of Guangzhou and the streets is very similar to Hong Kong, with all the crazy taxi drivers, people leaving clothes out to dry on the balcony, and the packed to the brim buses. Then I was happy to learn of the meanings of Jing-Mei and Suyuan, and learn of the names of the twins. I really loved the ending because it was a happy ending not filled with disappointment of not seeing Suyuan, and ending with a reminiscent of her in all three daughters when they were together.
4. The relationship between June and her twin sisters are understanding and happiness. They were all surprised and so happy to see each other when they finally do that they “run toward each other, all three of them embracing, all hesitations and expectations forgotten” (331). They are so happy to meet each other for the first time that they experience joy and see nothing but the happiness of finally seeing each other face to face. They forget about the grief of losing Suyuan and seems like they have a deep sense of understanding between them.
5. Amy Tan uses imagery to describe the places the Woos travel, and about their feelings as they meet people that they’ve never met before or people that they haven’t seen for a long time. It describes very well exactly everything that happens and the surroundings they are in to fully show the reader the mood and location of where they are. I especially enjoy her description of the reunion of the three sisters, which made me very happy for such a good ending to this novel filled with longing for home and different kinds of abuses.
6. The ending connects to the beginning allegory because it is at the end when she finally meets her sisters does June fully understand the Chinese ancestry inside her. In the beginning she says she feels a difference in her body as she moved from Hong Kong into China. It is at the end that she discovers that the Chinese ancestry is inside her, in her blood, but not in her own outward appearance.
Beryl Bai
1. Cinderella’s found when trying on glass slippers
2. A pair of tickets
3. I always love to read June’s chapter either about her mother or herself. I think that her aunties are actually some pretty nice people. I thought the movie was so funny because they were holding the letter and about to show it to June when Lindo rips it out of their hands to give it to June herself. So funny to look at their expressions, but they let it go because they were used to it and it didn’t really matter at the moment. Oh dear she finally gets to see her sisters that have been lost since infants. Auntie Lindo was nice to write the letter for June, when she really needed it. Those Chinese people! So funny, they wanted to eat American junk food because they never had and was trying to get a free meal out them! Hahaha!
4. The three sisters must love each other with definite connected hearts. They could cry tears of joy instantly when they see each other as if seeing their own mother and all three together they make up their mother.
5. The twin babies are like “little fairy queens waiting for their sedan to arrive.” This simile is used to describe the little daughters that Suyuan left behind. They were tucked with jewelry and money waiting patiently for their sedans to arrive.
6. The theme reaches a climax in this novel at this point. It is only when the three sisters are together they look like their mother. They share “her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, to last, her long-cherished wish.” Their mother’s name – “long-cherished wish” – has become true.
Kimmy Tran
Period 6
1. My Mother within Myself
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I felt that this chapter really didn't close the book well. After reading all those short stories from different perspectives, I expected this dramatic conclusion that will solve the reader's curiosity. It didn't put to rest all the issues that lay within each mother-daughter relationship. I think that since June came to rest with her struggle, the reader is supposed to think that it leaves hope and potential for everyone else. I wished they explained more in the end.
I thought this chapter was interesting to read about. In the beginning I thought that Suyuan just left her twins on the side of the road and basically condemned them to death. But now I know that she left jewelery with them and desperately wanted them to survive more that she wanted to survive for herself. I truly felt sorry for her. I was so happy when people actually picked up the twins.
Besides the story flashing back to Suyuan's past, I found this story really dull. I didn't enjoy it when June's father was reuniting with his aunt. I think that I only kept reading in order to get ot the scene where June finally sees her sisters.
When the book got to that scene, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. I was happy for June though that she saw her mother in her sisters and even herself. She overcame the gap between her mother and herself.
4. I would describe the relationship between June and Suyuan as close on a spiritual level. June spends a majority of the chapter worrying about if she'll fit into China and if she can find her Chinese self and connect with her mother again. Her mother helps June find her deep Chinese side because June further closes the gap between them. They get closer even though one of them is dead because her mother is within herself.
5. Amy Tan creates a lot of imagery within the reader's mind to describe China. She uses sentences like "people jammed in so tight their faces are nearly jammed in the window" and "I see scores of little shops, dark inside, lined with counters and shelves." These helps the reader visualize the China more vividly and they could really get a feel of what it would be like to be there. It makes the book more lively and sucks the reader in.
6. I think the theme of this story is that you mind find what you want within yourself and for yourself, not for anyone else. June wants to prove to everybody that she is Chinese and she thinks by proving this to other people, she will finally come to terms with her mother's death. But in the end of the book, she was content in just knowing that she was Chinese on the inside also and didn't feel a need to prove it to anyone else but herself.
Missing Pieces
Focusing on: A Pair of Tickets
This chapter made me feel really pained and gloomy. It made me feel as if I had woken up after being beaten up. The images portrayed in A Pair of Tickets were all, in a sense, like old polaroids. Just like a person crying over past memories and losses, this chapter was able to create the same kind of mood and made me feel a grievance, a longing. When I read the story of Jing-mei's mother I was disappointed at her. I understood that she was trying to do what was best, what was logical, but I felt that she had given up on her daughters too soon. It was not only because of the fact that she had left them vulnerably on the side of the road, but it was also because of the fact that she had been saved. I felt that if she had held onto her daughters, she could have saved both them and herself. I hated the irony behind the situation!
One noun to describe the relationship between Jing-mei and her sisters is "affinity." Even though Jing-mei and her sisters have never met, they are immediately drawn to each other and are able to feel the same emotions once they met. Page 331 portrays this when it says, "As soon as I get beyond the gate, we run toward each other, all three of us embracing, all hesitations and expectations forgotten...'Mama, Mama,' we murmur, as if she is among us." This scene expresses the fact that they were all naturally drawn to one another and also are able to sympathize with each other over their mother's death.
One writing technique that Amy Tan uses in this chapter is similie. An example of this is shown on page 328 where it says, "...this was impossible, like looking for a needle on the bottom of the ocean." The word "needle" is used to symbolize the daughters, and the word "ocean" is used to symbolize China or Shanghai. Through using similie, Tan is able to emphasize the condition of the situation, of Jing-mei's mom finding her daughters, which is nearly "impossible," just like looking for a small piece of metal in a large expanse of endless water.
I believe that the main conflict of this chapter is that Jing-mei is scared and doesn't know what to tell her sisters, about their mother's death. This conflict is internal and Human vs.Self. Jing-mei herself, is having a hard time accepting the fact that her mother is dead and is unprepared to tell her sisters about it as well. Jing-mei struggles within herself, worrying and trying her best to prepare for the meeting. I believe that this problem can also become an internal conflict for the sisters as well, in that they will also have to go through what Jing-mei is facing.
Becoming Chinese
“A Pair of Tickets”
3) We finally hear the whole story of how Suyuan lost her babies. It is a tragic story, although the alternative, the babies dying by the roadside is so much worse. They were raised in a cave, like so many other Chinese people at the time. When they were eight years old, their mother told them about their wealthy birth.
4) The very brief greeting of Jing Mei and her long-lost sisters is hopeful. Amy Tan keeps it very short, so that most of the story has to live in the reader’s mind. It is an effective technique.
5) I love the metaphor of the polaroid picture developing at the end of the book. The sisters stare at the photo, “waiting to see what develops” just as they are anxious to see what becomes of their reunion. They watch as the “gray green suface changes to the bright colors of [their] three images, sharpening and deepening all at once.” The effect is a very hopeful ending to the story.
6a) The life lesson of this chapter is perhaps the life lesson of the entire book. Together, the three sisters look like their mother. They cannot escape their culture, their heritage, their mother. And in being reunited, they will live out their mother’s “long cherished wish.”
Rikki Dionisio, Period 6
1. “Three Peas In A Pod”
2. Queen Mother of the Western Skies: A Pair of Tickets
3. I enjoyed this chapter very much because there was a long lapse of time where the story of Suyuan leaving her two other daughters behind left off and it picked up where it left off. Though the conclusion was not as dramatic as I expected, it seemed like the right way to end the book because the separation of the here sisters is like the separation of the mothers and daughters because of the wall of difference in American culture and Chinese culture, and throughout the book all the relationships grew closers and weaved together all their differences as human beings.
4. Waverly and Lindo’s relationship is distant. Waverly is embarrassed of her mother because she remains true to her heritage and she finds that embarrassing. Lindo, on the other hand, is proud of her daughter and isn’t ashamed of her. Even though they have a distant relationship they love each other very much, and for who they are.
5. I agree with many of the other bloggers that the scene where the sisters are waiting for the picture to develop some sort what the entire book was leading up to. They were “waiting to see what would develop” of not only the picture, but of their reunion. The picture symbolizes their relationship because at first the picture will come out fuzzy and you cannot see anything, but as time passes it lightens up and is a beautiful photo.
6. I learned that facial features and expressions play are large role in Chinese culture. They serve as a “predestination” in a sense because if you have a crooked nose, then you are destined to have misfortune.
Rikki Dionisio, Period 6
1. “Three Peas In A Pod”
2. Queen Mother of the Western Skies: A Pair of Tickets
3. I enjoyed this chapter very much because there was a long lapse of time where the story of Suyuan leaving her two other daughters behind left off and it picked up where it left off. Though the conclusion was not as dramatic as I expected, it seemed like the right way to end the book because the separation of the here sisters is like the separation of the mothers and daughters because of the wall of difference in American culture and Chinese culture, and throughout the book all the relationships grew closers and weaved together all their differences as human beings.
4. Waverly and Lindo’s relationship is distant. Waverly is embarrassed of her mother because she remains true to her heritage and she finds that embarrassing. Lindo, on the other hand, is proud of her daughter and isn’t ashamed of her. Even though they have a distant relationship they love each other very much, and for who they are.
5. I agree with many of the other bloggers that the scene where the sisters are waiting for the picture to develop some sort what the entire book was leading up to. They were “waiting to see what would develop” of not only the picture, but of their reunion. The picture symbolizes their relationship because at first the picture will come out fuzzy and you cannot see anything, but as time passes it lightens up and is a beautiful photo.
6. I learned that facial features and expressions play are large role in Chinese culture. They serve as a “predestination” in a sense because if you have a crooked nose, then you are destined to have misfortune.
"Long-Cherished Wish"
A Pair of Tickets
I feel like everything's coming full circle. Reading this last chapter was bittersweet. The ending was a little abrupt but after I thought about it, I think Amy Tan did the right thing ending it there. I feel like I've learned so much from these 4 pairs of Chinese mothers and their Chinese American daughters. I felt all their strengths, their weakness, their sorrows, and their joys. I also feel that I don't need to worry about the twins anymore, even though they will never meet their mom, they still have June. And even though June might've felt that she can't do her mom justice and tell the twins about her, I think she can. I think so because we all carry our heritage in our blood, and we all have our loved ones in our hearts. In Smallville's Pilot episode, to comfort her about her dead parents, Clark told Lana, "Your mom wants you to know that you're never alone. That she's always looking over you. No matter what." I think Suyuan is looking over June and her twin babies from above. This chapter touched my heart and my eyes glisten with water because the scene at the airport reminded me of the time when my sister and I first arrived at the airport in Vietnam. I remember seeing so many happy faces from strangers that knew me but I didn't know them. Most importantly, I remember the moment at the airport where my sister and I had to leave. We were very young back then and I remember seeing tears in my grandma's eyes. She was there to say good-bye to us but I knew that she didn't want us to go. I never got to know her and her husband, my grandfather because he passed away. I know some stuff from my dad, but it's not enough, and she's losing her memory herself. I'm glad that June was able to meet the twins and I wish I could read their conversation about their mother, but maybe it's best kept behind curtains. I think it's really cool that all the Chinese names have their own meaning. I asked my dad once what my name meant and what my sister's name meant. He said when we were born, our grandma suggested that he name us after the ancient princesses in Vietnam. And so my name is Lien and Diana's is Dung. I asked my dad what his meant and he said it meant faithful to your parents, and I think that suits him since he's the youngest in his family of 8 and he's a mommy's boy. There's so much more I want to say about this chapter, but in a nut shell, I would say it was perfect.
The word that comes to my mind when I think of Jing-Mei (June)'s relationship with her twin sisters would be connected, family, unconditional love. The last scene of the book, when they were looking at the polaroid of them to develop shows that they are the truly the daughters of their mom, and I think they'll both learn more about their mother from each other.
One writing technique Amy Tan used in her last chapter is imagery. She used it to describe Guangzhou and the brightly dressed people that bustle through it. Her vivid descriptions on pagees 311-312 made me feel the humidity and I felt like I was there with June, squished in with the crowd.
The theme, I think, is that we all carry our family, our heritage, in our blood, even though we might not think so. These characteristics of our ancestors, our parents, might show through the lines on our face, our nose, our eyes, or they might show through how personalities. We might not pay attention to them, but it doens't mean they're not there. They are rooted deep in our skin, our minds, our hearts. They will stay with us forever. And they will stay in our children, and their children, and their children...
Johnny Chu
Period 7
1. Seeking the Long Lost Pairs
2. The Pair of Train Tickets
3. The twin daughters that June’s mother had before coming to the United States were left behind and now were found. I couldn’t believe that after so many years that this could happen. It is a miracle that you can find someone after so many years. One thing that is stunning to know is that June’s mother thought too much about her long lost daughters and eventually died. She died of grieve that she left her daughters behind. When her husband said that it was too late, she over thought about it and then she eventually died.
4. The relationship between June and her mother were not too good. This is only because they didn’t understand each other enough. When June’s mother died it was already too late to know more about her mother’s past. However, she learned about her through her father. Another relationship that can be talked about is the twin sisters and June. During their reunion in the airport it was as if they knew each other before meeting. Since June recognized the sisters right away the same way as they did. Even though the two sisters didn’t resemble their mother much when June saw them she felt as if she new them. June described it as the ties and connections in her blood. It was the part of her that was Chinese.
5. Amy Tan uses imagery to describe the Chinese cities. Her imageries created vivid images in my mind as if I was there.
6c. Chinese people love to exchange news when they meet or reunite each other and they usually talk forever.
A Pair of Tickets “Suddenly I See”
1.The last chapter and vignette of the novel was not how I expected it to be. I felt that it was a little short and it ended kind of abruptly, or at least I thought so. I would like to have read more about what happened after June met her half twin sisters and I think it would've been more interesting to know what the sisters were thinking this whole time too. I think it was made clear to the reader that although June had some apprehension and no self-assurance in China, she began to start feeling more comfortable with herself and relax more. It seems to me that June has finally got over the pain of her mother's death and conquered all the frustrations of the fact that she never really got to know her mother before it was too late. I think that she overcame these obstacles when she saw her mother's daughters and half sisters for the first time in the airport. She did what her mother always had wanted her to do and I think that in that sense June found a way to reconcile with her mother. Not only does she fulfills her mom's wish of meeting with her sisters but I think that June has finally found herself and learned that there is a part inside of her that's Chinese, from her mother's past. That's why June felt that when she stood with her sisters, they somehow look like their mother together and are her.
2.The way that I would describe the relationship that is between June and her long lost half sisters from China is compassionate and joyfulness. Before her mom died, June never knew that she had any half sisters and was shocked when she found out the truth after her mom passed away. Her mom's twin daughters never stopped giving up on the hope that they will find their biological mother and then they also found out about the tragic accident about her. Even though the sisters have never met each other, both June and the twin sisters expressed a large amount of happiness and affection towards one another because I think that they had one thing in common and that was their mother. It didn't matter that she was dead because in the end, the sisters and June both found what they were looking for in the end. They found their mother, what was left of her in each other and I think that was enough that they could ask for.
3.Amy Tan filled this chapter with tons of descriptive language and puts in a lot of imagery concerning the places in China that June travels to in order to give the reader a glimpse of what everything looks like and what the environment must of felt like to June. I liked how Tan describes the various places and background of China when June arrives from the airport and rides in a taxi along with her relatives through China to find a hotel to stay in. She describes the city of Guang-zhou and the descriptions make it seem like the city is really clustered with rows and rows of apartment buildings with laundry attached near it on the balcony. You get a sense of what the surrounding is like there and that really helps the reader visualize what is happening.
4.I think that the theme or message in the last chapter is that no matter how hard you try to change yourself, the way you act and talk, or your appearance it doesn't change who you are inside and where you come from. The truth of the matter is that some bit of your personality and appearance comes from your heritage and your family. They are in your blood and that's part of them makes up who you are as a person, both inside and out. Jing-Mei didn't understand what her mother meant about her Chinese cultural heritage, that “it cannot be helped.” Her mom told her that “it is in your blood, waiting to be let go” (306). It is only when Jing-Mei traveled to China and met her sisters that she was able to realize what her mother meant all these years.
"It's not a Duo, its a Trio."
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
3. No offense, but I think that all chapters with Jing-Mei and her mother and all boring or rather... dull to read. The only part of their story that I enjoy is learning the true story about Suyuan's twin girls. I was relieved to learn that she didn't heartlessly leave the babies on the side of the road in the cold, but that she left them with money and a picture to let the people who found the babies know who their true parents are. It was sad to know that when the twins turned eight, the woman who raised them traveled to America to return the twins, only to find that the building that was originally there was gone. Other than that mini-story about Suyuan's past, I didn't get excited over anything else in the chapter. I wasn't touched when the twins met their sister. I didn't really care for June when she was on the plane, nervous and anxious. Eh, maybe it's because I'm not that into heartwarming stories. This chapter was okay, to say the least.
4. The relationship between June and her twin sisters can be described as a unconditional, family love for each other. Even though the twins and June have never met each other, they were always excited to know more about each other. The Polaroid picture of their happy faces tells me that they'd have a bright future and they can learn about their mother from each other.
5. A key symbol in this chapter is the Polaroid picture that is taken with June and the twins. It represents their relationship and how it progresses. They were all "eager to see what develops" (331). Eventually the "gray-green surface changes to the bright colors of [their] three images, sharpening and deepening all at once" (332). This symbol is powerful because it foretells their close bond in the future and how it started out as cloudy, but it has cleared.
6. The theme to this chapter is no matter how you are raised or how you may think, you are always a part of your culture. June can finally "see what part of [her] is Chinese. It is so obvious. It was [her] family. It is in [their] blood" (331). This quote shows that June can finally pinpoint the part of her that she believes is Chinese, the part of her that was always there. It was her family.
Found
“A Pair of Tickets”
1. When I got to this chapter, I was relieved to have only one chapter left to go and was curious as to how Amy Tan ended such an amazing (but confusing) book. Jing-mei was really paranoid in the beginning of this chapter. Her strange nightmares seemed to be very unrealistic, but when I think if I was in her position, I might have the same nightmare. From this chapter, I also found out why Suyuan left her kids but I still don’t understand why she left them on the side of the road.
2. The relationship between Jing-mei and Suyuan is tragic. In this chapter, Jing-mei felt as if she had not appreciated her mother enough, leading to many strange nightmares about her sister’s running away from her after telling them their mother died. Furthermore, Jing-mei had so many questions to ask Suyuan; however, her mother died before she could have them answered. Suyuan also had trouble raising Jing-mei because Jing-mei always wanted to follow her own mind. She was always proud of her daughter, but felt as if she was not worthy enough.
3. Amy Tan uses flashbacks to show Suyuan’s journey on the road where she eventually left her twin babies. It gives the reader a sense of closure because one would want to know why she left those babies alone. It also makes the reader feel for Suyuan and the hardships she went through. Especially the part where Suyuan was rescued soon after leaving her babies. It shows how she gave up hope.
4. The main conflict of this chapter is human vs. self. Jing-mei is afraid to face her sisters because she felt they would blame her for the death of their mother. Jing-mei feels that they would be angry because Jing-mei has known their mother her whole life, while the twins have never seen their mother after the incident.
1. Family Reunion
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. I found this vignette to be very touching. It was great how Jing-mei was finally able to go to China to see her long lost sisters. It seems like when a door closes, a new door opens. It was really sad how the twins didn’t know their mother had died only three months prior. The way her mother described her childhood home after a bomb fell on it made me tear up. The extravagant hotel was amazingly cheap. I thought that was pretty cool. I guess Jing-mei’s family wanted a dinner of American food because it was uncommon for them, just like how June wanted to have a Chinese banquet for dinner. When June finally got to meet her long lost sisters, I felt moved. After all these years of being lost, the twins finally found someone they could call “family.”
4. The relationship between Jing-mei and her mother could be described as regretful. June regrets that she didn’t listen to her mother in the past. Now that she is gone, she realizes what a big part of her life her mother was. Now the wisdom that Suyuan tried to pass down to her daughter is lost because June refused to listen.
5. In this chapter, Tan uses some small flashbacks to show that Jing-mei regrets not listening to her mother in the past. This helps convey some emotion that the character is feeling. It also gives the character some insight on what Suyuan was like back when she was still alive.
6. I think the theme of this vignette is that your culture and your heritage will always be with you, no matter where you were raised. June’s mother once told her that coming to China would begin “activating [June’s] genes and [she would become] Chinese. This means that even though she was born and raised in America, June was still Chinese on the inside.
Long-cherished Wish
Pair of Tickets
1. I’m glad that Jing-Mei is finally able to appreciate her mother in this chapter. She just didn’t take the time to understand or learn about her mother while she was alive, and now she realizes that her mother has done so much in her life. I thought it was funny how the aunt in China had to look through her bag of gifts to find a gift suitable for Jing-Mei since she was so old. I guess that’s why we often times get bad gifts from those relatives that we don’t often see. They don’t realize how old we actually are. The trip back to China must have felt very fulfilling for Jing-Mei and her dad. Her dad hasn’t been home in many, many years and he hasn’t been able to see his family either. He must have felt so joyful. Also, for Jing-Mei she finally got to see her sisters that she has been wondering about her whole life. I am glad that at the end they finally got to reunite and fulfill their mother’s lifelong dream.
2. Jing-Mei and her mother did not really understand each other. Their lives were so different that they could not indentify with each other. Her mother had a whole other side of her that she kept hidden. The side that kept searching for her twin daughters from her other marriage. Jing-Mei never understood the pain her mother was forced to suffer when she left her two babies by the road. After Jing-Mei heard the full story about her mom she grieved for “how much [she] never [knew] about her” (330).
3. I liked Amy Tan’s use of word choice in this chapter because it is very emotional and the words she chooses help us understand exactly what they characters are feeling. She uses words like “lost” and “helpless” to show how they felt before their relatives found them, but as soon as they are found Tan uses words like “joy” and “unrestrained” to show how they were welcomed by their relatives.
4. The life lesson in this chapter is that we need to take the time to get to know and understand those in our lives. Jing-Mei’s mom never had her dream fulfilled during her life because no one knew how important it was to her. Only after she died did her dream come true and Jing-Mei realize all the sacrifices her mother made. By then, however, it was too late.
-Laurie Jeng
1. To the East
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I know that I’m being insensitive, but I thought that that the reunion between sisters was pretty cheesy and not really…as touching as I thought it would be. It was kind of weird picturing the scene where Jing-mei ran and immediately embraced her half-sisters. I could just imagine the running scene in slow-motion while the Vengelis’s “Chariots of Fire” play in the back. I thought that with all the fear and doubt Jing-mei had before seeing her sisters for the first time, their meeting would’ve been more awkward. It was also difficult to imagine a group of women in their mid-thirties murmur “mama” while in a tight embrace. However, I really liked the very last paragraph of the novel. It was satisfyingly touching.
4. Jing-mei did not have a close relationship with her mother. At the age of 36, Jing-mei finally learns about her mother’s story and meaning of their Chinese names. However, she learned it through her father. 36 years passed by without the two really getting to know each other. Now, they can never talk to each other again.
5. One writing technique that Amy Tan uses is word choice. In a section where Suyuan is escaping with her children, words like “bleed”, “pain”, and “fever” are used in that passage. The words give a feeling of immense difficulty as well as point out the great effort that Suyuan made as well the hardships she endured. Word choice can give life to scenes by giving it moods such as happy and sad or frightening and angry.
6. From this chapter, I learned about Chinese names. For example, flower names are the most common in Chinese culture. I also learned that one Chinese character can greatly affect the phrase. Names often carry symbolism.
1. A Wish Fulfilled
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. Finally, the last chapter of Joy Luck Club. I felt really gloomy when reading about the loss of Suyuan’s family in China. Just a single bomb eliminated Suyuan’s whole family: her niece, her parents, her siblings, and their wives and children. On page 321, June’s father says, “…everybody knew that officers and their families would be the first to be killed.” This line reminded me of the war in Cambodia. Those who were educated, such as teachers, pilots, doctors, etc, were killed off because the enemies were afraid that they would devise a plan for revolt. Overall, this chapter was very satisfactory. I’m glad that the sisters reunited and I’m also glad that I’ve finally finished reading this book. It was a great read, but we’ve spent too long on it and I’m ready to do something new.
4. One of the relationships in this chapter was between June and her long-lost twin half sisters. Although having never met and associated, the twin sisters and June instantly connected because of their stories and the pure love they shared with each other. I think that they clicked quickly because it seemed as though the three of them completed each other. Their facial resemblance and knowledge of sharing the same mother was enough for them to share a strong bond.
5. I liked how Amy Tan uses her characters’ names symbolically in this chapter. In Chinese, Suyuan’s name means “Long-Cherished Wish”, which expressed the twins’ and Suyuan’s longing feeling of being reunited with each other. When her three daughters are finally reuinited with each other, her “long-cherished wish” is granted. If her name was written differently, however, it would translate to “Never Forgotten” or “Long-held Grudge”, the second meaning expressing what June thought the twins might’ve reacted upon hearing the news that their true mother was dead. June’s Chinese name, Jing-Mei, also has a symbolic meaning, “essential little sister”. At the end of the story, June finally buys tickets to China to meet her long-lost sisters for the first time. Even though they have never met before, they missed one another very much.
6. From this chapter, I learned a few Chinese words. I learned that jiejie means “older sister”, meimei means “younger sister”, and aiyi means “aunt”. I also learned from the hotel scene that the value of American dollars are worth more in China and other countries. In American $30 to $40 dollars may not buy much comfort, but in China, it is enough to rest a room in a decent hotel.
1. Finding Familiar Smiles
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. Finally! Right from the start I was waiting for this segment. Being cut off from the beginning, I was desperately reading further, finishing this as fast as I could so I could see the results of June reuniting with her sisters. This chapter was my favorite of all, mostly because I’ve been anticipating the ending. It’s sad for June’s mother, Suyuan, to die moments before her babies were finally found, but nonetheless, her babies were alive. Oddly, the ending of this chapter was exactly how I pictured it: all three in a large, chaotic crowd, reuniting for the first time. My favorite part of this chapter would have to be when her father tells June about the meaning of their names. I thought these names were very creative and I never expected the book to end with Suyuan’s name.
4. The relationship between June and her mother are somewhat vague. They never had a clear relationship and her mother dying made it worse. She would never understand her mother’s true intentions, but instead read about them from the words her father spoke. When her mother died, June said she knew nothing about her mother, which showed how much they knew about eachother.
5. At the end of the chapter, of the book, all three sisters waited for the Polaroid to clear. It first starts out unclear, clouded by the undeveloped, colorful surface but then images of all three sisters began to sharpen. I think the symbol of the Polaroid picture symbolizes the relationship June has with her sisters. At first, not knowing anything about them, their relationship is fogged up by their unclear past, but then after reuniting with them, their family becomes one again.
6. I think the theme of this chapter is no matter what happens you will always be who your ancestors were. By the end, June finally realizes how much she and her mother are alike.
1. The End
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This was my favorite chapter because it tied together the whole story. From the begging of Suyuan’s unfinished story to the end of Jing-Mei’s trip to go see her half-sisters, everything was told and woven together. When reading the part where Suyuan fled to Chungking with her babies and belongings, it made me a little teary eyed. Suyuan loved her babies dearly and tried to find someone to take care of them in her place. However, when she ran out of options, Suyuan decided to leave them along the side of the road with jewelry and photos with notes and writings in the back, hoping someday the three might come together as a family again. I thought it was very sad and heart touching when Suyuan left them there and even sadder when her efforts failed in finding her two babies.
Also, I thought that it was really heart warming how Amy Tan ended the novel, tying together everything. When Jing-Mei questioned her father about her mother’s past, she finds out that her mother’s name, Suyuan, means “long cherished-wish”. In the end of the novel, when the three sisters meet, Suyuan was described and the ending words were also “long cherished-wish”. Throughout the whole novel, Jing-Mei didn’t know anything about her mother; she regretted her mother’s being soon after her death. Jing-Mei wished to regain her mother and through the trip to China and the reunion of the three sisters did Jing-Mei finally realize that her mother was with them the whole time.
4. The relationship between Suyuan and her two lost babies would be considered as never-ending love. Suyuan desperately tries to contact her lost babies countless times. She wrote letters to different people, old schoolmates and neighborhood friends… in hopes of further reaching her goal of finding her lost babies. Though she does not live with them, nurture them, tend to their every needs, she still loves them dearly with all her heart and hopes someday the three of them can meet and become one happy family again.
5. Amy Tan uses metaphors and similes in this chapter. She ends the novel with the three sisters taking a picture with the Polaroid. Just like the relationship of the three sisters, the beginning of the relationship will be blurry and hard to see, just like the Polaroid. But as soon as time gets its chance, the relationship will be clearer and bright, loving, just like the Polaroid picture.
6. I think the life lesson in this chapter is that you don’t really appreciate what you have until it’s gone. Jing-Mei never really listened to her mother and always found ways to hurt her mother. Finally, until her mother has past away does Jing-Mei feel sorry and regrets all the things she have done. She regrets not knowing her mother, not fulfilling her duties as an obedient daughter, and not being the daughter Suyuan wanted.
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This chapter I believed that it was very sentimental. It had a lot of feelings put into it such as the scenes where June imagined when her sister’s see her. There were also many happy and tearful moments such as when her father finally saw his aunt after so many years or when June finally met her half-sisters at the end of the book. Too me this chapter had so many different emotions in it, and was a very bright chapter. Everyone was re-united with the people they loved or cared for. I think this was Amy Tan’s most powerful chapter because it had the most feelings in it, and it was a perfect way to close her novel. She continued from the beginning of the story and ended the story with the beginning story.
4. I would compare Jing-Mei’s relationship with her half-sisters, as real sisters. They never met each other but at the end, they set all that aside and put together what they had in common. Even though they were far from each other, they still saw each other as if they had knew them for a long time.
5. In this chapter, Tan uses many flashbacks, just like in her other chapters, they are used to progress the plot. Using flashbacks she’s able to change time and go further back, or she can use a time change to move to the future. She also uses great imagery on page 307 when she is describing the scenery June’s father saw. She uses words such as “field of yellow, green, and brown” or “a narrow canal flanking the tracks.” Along with these lines she uses many other descriptive words.
6. The conflict in this chapter was June vs. Herself. She didn’t know what to do before she was going to meet her half-sisters. She was afraid that things would turn out bad, or that they wouldn’t like her.
Raymond Yeh
Period 6
1. Home At Last
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This was great good ending for a great book. I really like the way how Amy tan used imagery to describe China. I also enjoyed reading about June and her father meeting up with their relatives. It was pretty funny when June was prepared to have a Chinese feast with her relatives but ended up having hamburgers and fries. Her father also seems to be one of the few male characters that aren’t the villains in this book. He tells her about her mother’s history and what her goal was. When June finally reunites with her sisters, she realizes that her mother’s dream had been accomplished at last.
4. The relationship with June and Suyuan was not very good at the start. Once she goes to China, she learns about her mother everyday. Her father even tells her the story of her mother in perfect Chinese. June finally understood what her mother wanted in at the end of the chapter. She looks into the photograph of her and her long lost sisters and sees how similar she is with her mother.
5. Amy tan uses symbolism at the end of the chapter when she describes the picture developing. The picture seems to represent her mother’s dream. Everything was fuzzy and unclear at first, but once the photo develops, they can see that her mother’s dream had been completed.
6. The overall theme of this chapter is heritage. Even though June never knew that her older sisters had existed, when she met with them, they instantly bonded. They all shared the similarities with their mother and have finally completed her mother’s long cherished wish.
1. Found
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This chapter was extremely long and I actually got tired and had to put it down. I felt sad that Jing-Mei had lost so much of her Chinese heritage. One should always know their culture and where they come from. I felt happy for Jing-Mei because she wanted go back and find her Chinese heritage by visiting her family in China. The family reunion was so happy! I always smile at the sign of families getting along with each other, so when I read that Jing-Mei’s family was happy to see her, I felt warm inside. The story about how Suyuan was forced to give up her children was heart-breaking to read. She was so attached to her children and no mother should be forced to give up her children. Although I knew it was for the good of the children and that would be the only way they could survive, I was heartbroken when I read how Suyuan felt. Thankfully, the children grew up in a safe home and were able to meet their half-sister. Again, it was heart-warming when Jing-Mei was reunited with her sisters. They were so happy that they had found part of their mother and could see her again.
4. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her family is a strange one. Even with the language barrier, they’re happy to see someone that they’ve never even met. They spent time together and didn’t care that they couldn’t understand what each other was saying. The love between them is strange because it’s so unconditional. Even though they’ve never met each other, they’re warm to each other and show no signs of resentment or dislike. Although this relationship is strange, it’s the very best kind, because this is how families should be.
5. A writing technique that Tan uses in this story is flashback. The entire story about Suyuan’s travels is told in the form of flashback. If it had just been Jing-Mei’s father telling the stories, we wouldn’t have received the full story. He might not have known every single detail, so telling it in the form of a flashback is much more preferred.
6. The conflict in this story is mostly internal. Jing-Mei is scared and nervous of meeting her family because she’s afraid of the language barrier and that they won’t like her. She is also debating how she’ll tell her sisters about her mother. She is unsure and confused throughout the chapter. This conflict melts away when she sees her half-sisters and is reunited with them.
Brian Tat
Period 7
A Tearful Accomplishment of A Long Cherished Wish
A Pair of Tickets
Why would Jing-mei try and deny her Chinese heritage? What’s wrong with having Chinese heritage? Why did all of the cities change their names? I didn’t have much of a reaction reading in the beginning of the pages. Inside of me, however, I felt excited to hear that Jing-mei is about to meet her parents. In the first chapter of the book, I read about the daughters and it is left off with Jing-mei being determined that she will be able to tell her sisters about everything. I felt like pretty sad to hear that Jing-mei felt awkward, because she realized she didn’t appreciate her mother enough, and that her half sisters have cherished her all along. I don’t get how the family died with Suyuan dying also. How come she wasn’t there when the bomb landed? I liked how the Chinese name of the twins displays a symbolism on their own and I admired how it was carefully used. I liked Suyuan’s name that also means “Long-Cherished Wish” because it appears to me that Suyuan has always wished to find her daughters and somehow, she finally found them. This was probably her own “Long-Cherished Wish” that she wanted to accomplish. I wondered if Suyuan actually thought of putting Jing-mei’s name to mean “Pure-Essence Younger Sister.” Did she know that by putting Jing, she’d be describing Jing-mei in having no impurities? It’s depressing to learn that Suyuan’s husband died even before she dropped her babies and that she came so far, “to lose so much and to find nothing.” (326). What cruel fate separated Suyuan from her two babies? It’s terrible that the house was burned down and that they had already searched there. It’s touching to even read that Jing-mei had found her two half-sisters and that Suyuan’s long-cherished wish was fulfilled.
I believe Suyuan and her two daughters from Kweilin have a devoting relationship. Suyuan never really gave up on her children, even if she had left them. I believed she sacrificed herself in hopes that they will have a better future. However, when Suyuan turns out to be saved, she tries to search for them. This describes Suyuan’s own devotion to her two daughters. The two daughters, Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa, have always cherished their mother and kept the framed picture of her. Despite her abandoning them, they could’ve misinterpreted and think that she left them in fear. Her two daughters still cherish her mother and want to meet them.
Tan uses a symbolism in the chapter for the people and their names. It makes the story interesting and shows readers how symbolism is easily incorporated into a simple thing like a name. For example, Suyuan’s name in Chinese means “Long-Cherished Wish.” All three daughters of her share a tearful reunion as Suyuan’s long-cherished wish is accomplished. Just using this technique, makes the story more touching and affects the readers. Tan also uses imagery to describe the town of Guangzhou and it makes readers vividly imagine the city by describing it. There is a lot of description about how it looks like a major American city.
I believe the main conflict of the story of the chapter is Jing-mei trying to find her Chinese identity. She worries that she does not know much about Chinese to even tell her half-sisters about her daughter. By finding her Chinese identity, Jing-mei uses it to bridge together the connection between her half-sisters. The conflict is man vs. self and it is internal.
1. “Yay! Let’s go to China!”
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I wished the ending was a little more dramatic! I was so excited that I finished the book though. I still wonder what happened to Bing. Anyway, this chapter was really heartwarming. I realized that the book begins with Suyuan Woo and ends with Jing-Mei Woo. In the beginning of the chapter, we are told that Jing-Mei needs to go back to China and find her sisters. Actually, they’ve been found, it’s just they needed to see their family/ mother. Sadly, mother already passed away and she didn’t know how to break the news to the sisters. She let her aunts write the letter and mail it. She couldn’t describe her mother because she claims she barely knew her. It’s sad how she realized she should’ve been a better daughter for the time that her mother was alive. It was too late now to change anything. When she went to China she met up with her aunt, and they rejoiced. Her aunt took her to the hotel which had nothing Chinese cultured. Everything was Americanized which was really weird because they were in China…A day later she went to see her sisters, and this scene was just really heartwarming. It flashed back to her mother’s story of how she left the babies. Her mother had put pictures and jewelry and a note in the babies hoping someone would take care of them. She loved the babies, and just really had to let them for their own safety. Later on, her mother got picked up and her life got saved. Anyway back at the airport she meets her sisters. They all took Polaroid pictures together, and were mesmerized how all of them looked similar. After so many years of being apart, they finally met and they all share this sisterly love.
4. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her aunts can be described as a maternal bond. They act like Jing-Mei’s mothers because Suyuan had passed away. Jing-Mei doesn’t take them for granted because she doesn’t want to make the same mistake like she did before. She barely knew her own mother and regrets wasting the time she had with her.
5. One technique Amy Tan uses in this chapter is flashback. She wrote about Suyuan’s story of her running away. We are given a glimpse of what her life was like. It was actually really devastating, but now that we know what Suyuan went through, we can’t judge her for leaving the babies. She wasn’t a heartless mother. It brought me back to the beginning when Jing-Mei wished to be one of those babies, but after reading this I think Jing-Mei wants to take it all back.
6. I learned that the Chinese really needed to flee from Kweilin, and there probably many others just like Suyuan. “Chwun Yu” means Spring Rain and “Chwun Hwa” means Spring Flower. “Jing” means pure, essential and “meimei” means little sister.
1. Reunited & It Feels So Good
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. I’ve been anticipating to read for so long! This is the one when Jing-mei finally meets her long lost half sisters. I wonder how Jing-Mei reacted when Auntie Lindo, Auntie An-mei, and Auntie Ying-Ying told her she has two sisters she never knew about. It made me happy to read that Jing-Mei’s father’s aunt surprised them at the airport along with the rest of their family. It was cute. She even called him “syau yen” which means “little wild goose.” His aunt seems to have so much energy and so happy, too. I thought the hotel deal was such a bargain! It was extravagant and cheap at the same time. It was interesting how Jing-mei’s family wanted a traditional American meal because it was something they didn’t eat everyday, while Jing-mei desired a traditional Chinese feast. I thought Suyuan was clever with naming all her children. I liked how they all had their own special meaning like “Spring Rain,” “Spring Flower,” “Long-Cherished Wish,” or “Long-Held Grudge,” and “Pure Younger Sister.” I think Jing-mei’s father telling her the story of what happened to her mother in Kweilin was very important to her to be told in Chinese. When Jing-mei and her father arrived at the airport, and she saw her sisters, it made me so happy. They finally met! It must feel so great for the three of them to finally be reunited into a family.
4. I would describe Jing-mei’s relationship with Lili as friendly. At first, Jing-mei tries to talk to the little girl at the airport, but she just “squirms to look away.” That is, until she holds up a Polariod camera and immediately jumping forward, Lili “places one hand on her hip in the manner of a fashion model, juts out her chest, and flashers [her] a toothy smile” (316). Soon enough, Lili is standing next to her, giggling, as they wait for the film to develop. And by Jing-mei finds a taxi, Lili is tightly holding onto her hand, pulling her along.
5. In this vignette, Amy Tan successfully utilizes imagery. By using this technique, it allows the reader to imagine and paint a picture of what is happening in the scene. For example, she describes what her mother saw at her old house with great detail.
6. The main conflict is internal. It is Jing-mei vs. herself. In this vignette, she goes to China to see her half sisters and she doesn’t know how it is going to turn out. She’s afraid her sisters will hate her or that she won’t know what to tell them about their mother.
Lost but not Forgotten
A Pair of Tickets
1) This chapter is sad, its full of remembering what is lost and how much is missed. It is like the other chapters, how the mothers lost part of themselves and gave it to their daughters. In this case, Suyuan died and that made June decide to find her heritage. The end of Suyuan’s life helped June find the other half of her own life. Only when Suyuan is dead does June realize how much she misses her and how much she could have learned about herself. I can also understand June completely when Lindo says June has to tell her sisters about Suyuan’s death. How could you find your sister and tell her, “I’m sorry, but your mom is dead. We lied when we said she was coming.” I couldn’t do it, especially if I felt like June and believed that I don’t know enough about my mother to say anything. The names are also very important, Suyuan’s name means never forgotten wish, and she lives up to that, never forgetting her wish for her two daughters. And June’s name is pure younger sister, the essence of the twins left on the road. And in the end, when they do all meet its very touching how their mother is shown in the picture with them. “Together we look like our mother.” (332)
2) Jing-mei and her sisters. Tied. This relationship is tied together by the mutual love for Suyuan. They have never seen each other face to face, but they still rush to comfort each other in the wake of Suyuan’s death, the mother the twins or Jing-mei truly knew. This is definitely a chapter the promises a new beginning, one that has hopefully learned from the mistakes of the past.
3) In this chapter, Amy Tam uses lots of imagery to help us understand the feelings that the characters are going through. When Amy Tam describes Jing-mei’s father when they are going to see his family, he is “a young boy, so innocent and happy I want to button his sweater and pat his head.” This is describing a seventy-year-old man, but he is so full of happiness and energy he gives the impression of youth. Doing this pulls us into the story and help the mood through the images she gives us.
4) I think the theme of this chapter would probably be nothing is truly lost. Hope, family, heritage, they are all present, all the time. Even though Suyuan is dead, she lives through her daughters.
Tiffany Vuong
6th period
1. “Fulfilling the Long-Cherished Wish”
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. This chapter is really depressing because it seemed as though Jing-Mei’s mother was ignored. No one really thought about what she was going through and how she felt. She's been trying to find her twin daughters for years and years when I think it was too much to bear she just felt too lonely to live. Jing-Mei and her father never really took the chance to think about what she was going through and it breaks my heart to think about what Suyuan had to go through alone. Every year she had been striving to find someone that could help her find her precious twins. Even when Suyuan told the dad to go with her to china to look for them before it’s too late, the dad replied by saying it was already too late. Ends up he travel to china with Jing-Mei, at that point I was thinking if only he had gone with Suyuan. If only.
4. Jing-Mei and her twin half sisters instantly connected when they met when they got off the plane. Even though they couldn’t really communicate they shared something special together and that was the feeling of wanting to know more about their mother. Jing-Mei living her whole life with her mother only knew about the same amount of information as her half sisters.
5. In this chapter Amy Tan uses flashbacks as Suyuan is on her journey to escape Kweilin. I felt the emotions that came from this journey as if I were right there watching Suyuan slowly lighten her load as she walked miles dreading every step she took.
6. The main conflict in this chapter is internal. Jing-Mei is constantly worrying about how she's going to tell her half sisters, how they are going to react, what if this happens, what if that happens. She has to overcome her fear of facing her long lost half sisters, for her mother’s sake.
A Long-cherished Wish
A Pair of Tickets
1. So this chapter was my second favorite, next to magpies. The first time I read this chapter, I almost cried. It was really sad that Suyuan’s daughters were found only three months after her death. If she had just lived for three more months, she could have finally fulfilled her dream and reunite with her daughters. When June said that her sisters would think that she was responsible for their mother’s death because she did not appreciate her and Lindo looked satisfied, I thought that was really cruel. It’s not like June wanted her mother to die. I found it pretty funny that June was wishing for a real Chinese meal, but her Chinese family decided they wanted to eat hamburgers and fries. It was really sad when June’s father told her what her name meant, the pure essence, and she sees it as she is her mother’s long-cherished wish, the younger sister who is supposed to be the essence of the others, but she thinks she disappointed her mother a lot. The twins story was really sad. Suyuan and Canning had looked for them even after the war was over, but to no avail. It was really sad that they had kept looking for them, but then they weren’t even able to find Suyuan’s family. In that short amount of time, Suyuan had lost her daughters, her husband, and her whole family. I think this chapter is a really good chapter to be ending the story with.
2. June’s relationship with her half sisters are really close. They had all lost their mother and when they finally reunite, they act as if they had known each other since they were much younger. They set aside their differences and see only what they have in common. Their mother’s eyes, her mouth, and her long- cherished wish.
3. Amy Tan uses imagery in this chapter. She explains the places that the Woos visit in a lot of detail. The way she describes the heat in Hong Kong makes me feel like I can feel it. Also, the way she explains bustling crowds in the streets makes me think of a really small street with a hundred people squished into it.
4. The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self. June is sort of blaming herself for her mother’s death. Even though she does not know her sisters, she is saying that they will blame her for their mother’s death because she did not appreciate her. Throughout the entire chapter, June is nervous and anxious about meeting with her sisters because she fears that they will blame her. However, once she meets with them, not only do they not blame her, but they also embrace her and treat her like their sister, one that they have know and loved for a long time. With her sisters, she realizes that she looks like her mother and that all three of them are their mother’s cherished wishes.
Eileen Ly from 7th period
Long-cherished Wish
Pair of Tickets
I felt inspired and touched by this chapter. It was nice that Jing-mei finally met her sisters. She was finally able to meet them even though she feared that they would hate her for never knowing their mother. It proves that sisterhood bonds even though they were her half-sisters, are still very strong. I felt sorry for her mom but was glad that at long last, she was able to see her most cherished wish fulfilled by her daughters. I sympathize with Jing-mei for feeling out of place in China. It’s not the China that she was expecting. Instead of eating hot-pot, she had hamburgers for dinner and went to a hotel. She was so intent on being Chinese in China yet here are these things that are American.
The relationship between Jing-mei and her sisters would be best described as understanding. They didn’t get mad when they saw Jing-mei instead of their long-lost mom because in the end, they accepted her. That is an example of true sisterly love.
Tan uses flashbacks that Jing-mei recalls on her way to visit her aunt and find her sisters in China. She uses the names of her mother Suyuan Woo as a symbol meaning something deeper than what it’s supposed to be like. Suyuan, mean long-cherished wish is used to put further emphasis on the theme of the story. This helps the story to make it seem more interesting and appealing to read. It gives the reader a thought of mind.
The main conflict here is internal; June against herself. She bubbles and froths in her own guilt and shame of never really knowing her mom. She admits to herself her fear of meeting her sisters and being rejected by their disappointment. Only when she sees them together with her, does she resolve her internal conflict. June then at last realizes that her mother’s wish in the first place was for them to be together.
1. “Younger Sister finally meets Spring Rain and Spring Flower”
2. QUEEN MOTHER OF THE WESTERN SKIES: “JING – MEI WOO: A Pair of
Tickets”
3. I am very relieved that June finally found her twin sisters. June expressed all of her emotions about going to China and meeting her twin sisters. June’s trip to China reminds me of my first time traveling here to the United States. I felt the same way June did, nervous and excited at the same time. There were many things to see and new faces to meet. It is unfortunate that Suyuan never had the chance to reunite with her daughters but at least June was able to get a hold of them at the end. Suyuan gave up so much living in China and now what she thought she had lost is now found. I would have loved the ending to be more touching and emotional. I thought that June and her sisters would’ve talked more but June’s dream of her sisters rejecting her and hating her for their mother’s death was longer and more detailed.
4. The relationship between June and Suyuan can be described as last minute. Growing up, June and her mother did not have a close relationship. Her mother did not tell her the whole truth about her twin daughters and the pain and suffering she endured afterwards. It would have been nice if she expressed her emotions to June so they would have a close relationship and they would understand each other more, but she didn’t. It is not until the day before June was to meet her twin sisters that she learns of her mother’s pain and her journey in China. Her father was the one to tell June of the letters her mother sent to China, searching for her lost daughters, not Suyuan. It is a shame for Suyuan to keep things from her family because her family could’ve help her look for them.
5. One writing technique is word choice. June’s dream about her sisters hating her for the death of their mother was emotional. She used words like wailing, twisted, horror, and anger. It helped readers understand how she felt. She also used flashbacks to describe and show Suyuan’s journey and how she lost her babies. It gives us an insight into what Suyuan had to go through in China.
6. I learned more Chinese words. Jyejye means sister and Aiyi means auntie. The twins’s names also mean something. Chwun Yu means spring rain and Chwun Hwa means spring flower. Suyuan means long cherished wish or long held grudge, and meimei means younger sister. I also learned the names of some cities in China that changed names. Chungking changed to Chongquing, Kweilin to Guilin, and Guangzhou to Canton.
1. chinese sisters
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. The very last chapter of the Joy Luck Club was anticipated from the very complicated beginnings of the book. Although not as complex and powerful as some of the hard-hitting chapters, ‘A Pair of Tickets’ was a satisfying, albeit abrupt end. Nearing the second to last page, I had no idea the story would end, expecting a few more pages before the story would close. This story was slightly spoiled for me, due to other people’s inconsiderate voices and also the movie so much of the events were not a surprise. One surprising revelation in ‘A Pair of Tickets’ was how Jing-Mei’s mother lost her two children. I felt very sorrowful for how she had left them. If I were in that situation, I don’t know if I would do the same thing, or if I would have just died. When Jing-Mei finally meets her two sisters, I was expecting a more fulfilling reunion where Jing-Mei tells them about the death of their mother, but it was very abrupt to end before any of this happened. Still, the ending of the Joy Luck Club was a satisfying ending throughout the woes of being Chinese-American.
4. Jing-Mei’s relationship with her father is protective and empathetic. Jing-Mei becomes increasingly attentive to her father after the death of her mother. Always careful with his needs, Jing-Mei’s observations of her father during the trip back to China show great empathy towards his happiness and joy. When her great aunt is reunited with her father, she feels their overjoyed reunion. “They are both crying openly, laughing at the same time, and I bite my lip, trying not to cry (314)”. Jing-Mei is receptive to her father’s emotions and very attentive to him.
5. A writing technique explicitly used in “A Pair of Tickets” is the flashback that is narrated by Jing-Mei’s father. This flashback unveils the burdens carried from the very beginnings of the Joy Luck Club, suddenly lifted from our heavy minds. Suyuan’s story of losing her twin babies becomes clarified. The hardship and pain vividly describes her journey and life as a Chinese woman. The flashback is the ending piece to the novel, tying up loose ends and dispelling all mysteries and confusion.
6. The theme of ‘A Pair of Tickets’ is that your culture can be found within yourself and your family. It’s clearly evident that heritage is a major conflict in the Joy Luck Club. In the opening of ‘A Pair of Tickets’, Jing-Mei begins by saying, “But today, I realize I’ve never really known what it means to be Chinese (306)”. Throughout the chapter, Jing-Mei goes through a world wind of experiences in China that brings her closer to her family and to her heritage. When she meets her sisters, she sees her mother in them. She sees her mother in herself. Jing-Mei admitted she knew nothing of her mother. But she does. It is within sisters, within her family, within herself. Through her family and herself, does she find that she is Chinese.
1) Rain, Flower and Pure Essence
2) Queen Mother of the Western Skies “Jing-mei Woo: A Pair of Tickets”
3) I think that this was the part I looked forward to reading the most out of the book. After reading the first chapter and knowing beforehand that Jing-mei would go back to China to look for her sisters, I felt that that was the main story in the book.
The fact that Suyuan’s story about leaving her twin children wasn’t clear in the first chapter and then being retold with detail in the last chapter, I imagined it as if they were the secrets of the world, so deep and anguishing. The full story was so sad I almost cried. Throughout her story, I was unable to find a single line that proved Suyuan loved those babies the most because they all expressed how much she endured leaving them behind. I think that it was worst when she was saved by the American missionary lady and realized that she would be safe for the time-being, but that it was “too late to go back and save her babies,” (326).
I noticed a lot of imagery in this chapter that was detailed and showed up so vividly in my mind. One line I especially liked was, “now he looks like a young boy, so innocent and happy I want to button his sweater and pat his head,” (307) because it gave my this floaty-feeling seeing that it was such a joyous and peaceful scene.
I thought that it was so funny how Jing-mei’s father explained the two meanings for “Suyuan”: ‘long-cherished wish’ and ‘long-held grudge’. It was absolute genius!
I really liked the ending, though it kind of made me feel as if Amy Tan left me hanging. I expected to continue reading about the twins finding about the dead mother and what-not, but thinking back on it, I guess we, the readers, were assumed to already know what was supposed to happen next.
4) The relationship between Jing-mei and her two half sisters could be described as related strangers. Related because they connect, but strangers because they never actually met before the day at the airport. Still, that isn’t the definition that I really want to use. I just can’t find the right word, but I’m thinking of the definition that describes that the sisters never met each other, never spoke to each other… but upon arriving at the airport, it’s like they connected through their mother which allowed them to recognize each other. Oh, and there is also that Polaroid photo, but still… Though they never met, they “[embraced], all hesitations and expectations forgotten,” (331). It’s like they were long-time friends that haven’t seen each other for a while. The vignette only focused upon Jing-mei and her sisters all being together for a really short part of the story, but the truth is, Jing-mei’s self conflicts about meeting her sisters since the beginning of the story kind of foreshadowed how their contact would be. The meanings of the girls’ names were also connections. The two sisters were Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa, meaning Spring Rain and Spring Flower. Jing-mei ‘s name meaning pure essence/ good leftover stuff. I thought that it kind of symbolized a message that Suyuan tried to put out for her daughters meaning that they are always one family. The twins came first, but they were lost and Jing-mei could have been Suyuan’s constant reminder of her other children and since she came last, she was the ‘essence.’
5) A significant writing technique that Tan used in this chapter was flashback. I guess it can’t really be called a flashback because it isn’t it’s own little story. Jing-mei’s father was actually tell the story, but it was still a reference to the past. It was a really effective technique because it was like a key to all the secrets of Suyuan’s life; they were all the things that Jing-mei never got the chance to really understand about her mother. It improved the story because not only did it inform Jing-mei, it also informed the readers about the purpose of the chapter. It provided the basis, the reason for why Jing-mei and her father were traveling to China. Why it was so important to find the twin daughters (to carry out her mother’s only hope and wish in life).
6) (b. What is the main conflict in the chapter? Is it internal or external, human vs. self, vs. society, vs. nature, vs. human and how do you know?)
I think that the main internal conflict (human vs. self) in this chapter was for Jing-mei to overcome the fear and anxiety of meeting her sisters. She knew I twas something that she had to do, but was afraid that her sisters would be disappointed to not see their mother walking towards them instead and hold Jing-mei accountable for their mother’s death. Jing-mei not only had to face that personal fear, but another conflict was to learn about her mother; learn about the troubles that her mother faced and why those babies were left behind. She had to fight the thought that her mother might have regretted that Jing-mei wasn’t those babies. It would have made me pretty paranoid to think that all my mother thinks about is her “other” lost children (for example). Her worries were shown throughout the vignette in scenes and lines such as “…excited that their mother – their mother – was coming, whereas my mother was dead,” (309).
“A Polaroid Photo”
A Pair of Tickets
1. This chapter confused me a bit. In the “Joy Luck Club” chapter, didn’t they say that Suyuan had found the twins before dying? But in this chapter, Jing-Mei’s dad said that a friend had found the twins after Suyuan died. I don’t know if this was a mistake or if she meant it to be like that. Or maybe Suyuan did find the twins before dying, and she just lied to her husband, and never got to tell the truth because she died before she could tell him. Either way, I liked the rest of this chapter. I thought it was pretty funny when Jing-Mei was surprised that she got such an awesome hotel room for so cheap. I also like learning about Suyuan’s past. Now I understand what really happened in Kweilin. Things are so much clearer now. I thought it was sweet how, at the end, Jing-Mei looks at a Polaroid picture of herself and her two half-sisters and sees their mother in all of them combined.
2. I think that the relationship between Jing-Mei and her half sisters can be best described as unconditional love. They don’t even know each other, yet when they first meet, they welcome each other with open arms. For all they know, their personalities could clash, yet they look past all of that, and see their mother in each other.
3. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses a lot of symbolism. One such symbol is the Polaroid picture that Jing-Mei takes of herself and her two half-sisters. At first she cannot see her mother in them, and she doubts she has inherited anything from her mother as well, but when she steps back and looks at the big picture, she sees her mother in all of them combined. I think the picture symbolizes stepping back to look at a situation from a distance. The use of symbolism improves this chapter because it allows the reader to look at concepts in a different, and sometimes more relatable way.
4. I think that the theme of this chapter is that one’s heritage lies deep within us. Even if we feel we have not inherited anything from our ancestors, it is there. This is shown in the final scene where Jing-Mei sees her mother in the picture of herself and her half-sisters.
1. Family Unite
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This chapter was the best one because I got to know what happened when she finally goes to Shanghai. It was a very happy ending, having the sisters unite. It was also good because Jing-Mei realizes about her Chinese within her and it was just a beautiful ending. In the process of her father telling her about how her mother left the twins, I was sad on how she did everything she could but ran out of options in the end and had to leave them. I thought writing on the back of the photo and leaving belongings so that one day she will find her. It was sad because Jing-Mei didn’t know anything about her mother until her father had told her what the meaning of her mother’s name and her name and having to find out about this made her regret for not spending time with her mother. Having to realize everything at the end, it was a very heart warming ending.
4. The relationship between Suyuan and Jing-Mei is heartbreaking. Jing-Mei didn’t realize how much she regretted that she did not spend time with her mother which was really sad. After her mother’s death, she felt bad that she never really got to know her.
5. One of the writing techniques Amy Tan uses in this chapter is flashback. It informs us on why Suyuan had to leave the babies. It also allowed us to feel the pain and what Suyuan had to go through. It helped create the emotion and how we could imagine what happened.
6. The life lesson of this chapter is if we don’t get to know and understand the people in our lives, we will end up regretting when they’re gone. When Jing-Mei’s mother passed away, she regretted that she didn’t spend time with her. She then finds out how her mother always suffered but it was too late and she regrets that everyday.
1. United at last
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. Yes, finally the last chapter! I was glad that I finally got to continue Suyuan Woo’s story of leaving behind her daughters. I was, also, surprised that Suyuan had died from the popping of a brain vessel while she was talking to her husband. I thought that scene was really heartbreaking because Suyuan had died from all that stress about finding her twin daughters and not being able to embrace them in her warm affectionate motherly love. I felt ecstasy for Jing-Mei’s father and his aunt when they united after such a long period of time. The sudden happiness changed the mood of the whole story and I figured that when Jing-Mei was going to meet her sisters, the same mood would be portrayed. The ending was absolutely amazing and I loved it. I was glad that the three sisters were finally united and an enchantment of happiness spread within the last two paragraphs.
Even though I’m glad that I finally finished the last chapter of the Joy Luck Club and my last blog, I think I might miss reading this book and at the same time I think I am also going to miss blogging. :[
4. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her twin sisters can be described as compassionate and pleasure. During the end of the chapter, even though Jing-Mei and her sisters are meeting each other for the first time, they show the affection and understanding of real sisters. When they see each other, they “run toward each other, all three of them embracing, all hesitations and expectations forgotten” (331). They are all thrilled to meet one another face to face. The disappointment of not seeing Suyuan is not shown on either one of the twin sister’ s faces. They were all glad because they knew that their mother’s wish was fulfilled; all three sisters were standing together, side by side, and smiling.
5. One of the many writing techniques that Amy Tan uses is similes. When Suyuan told Jing-Mei that the Chinese ways were in her blood, “waiting to be let go”, Jing-Mei “saw [herself] transforming like a werewolf, a mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered, replicating itself insidiously...”(306-307). Tan uses similes to help the reader compare two familiar things so they can paint the scene into their minds, giving the reader a better understanding.
6. The theme in this chapter is that a person’s culture and heritage will always remain within them. Jing-Mei said that she saw “no trace of [her] mother in [her sisters]. Yet they still look[ed] familiar. And now [she] also [saw] what part of [her was] Chinese. It [was] so obvious. It [was her] family. It [was] in [their] blood. After all these years, it can finally be let go”(331). Suyuan said that “it cannot be helped” and “it is in your blood, waiting to be let go”(306). In the end, Jing-Mei finally understands what her mother was trying to say. Some characteristics remain within a person no matter if they like it or not because it is on their skin, in their hands, and within their blood.
1. “Lost and Found”
2. A Pair of Tickets”
3. I was amazed at the strength Suyuan had in abandoning her babies. Many people may look at it as a weakness and bad motherhood, but I see it as her desperate last attempt to save their lives. Having the courage and selflessness to place your babies on the side of the road and pray that some loving soul would take care of them while you walk away to possible death is amazing. I believe that many mothers would be so attached to their children that they would unintentionally bring their beloved children to their own demise. When she was saved by a missionary, she despaired. “She had been saved for no good reason, and it was now too late to go back and save her babies” (326). I can’t imagine her pain when she lay on her hospital bed, deliriously wondering which of her two remaining possessions she would lose next.
4. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her half-sisters can be called a mysterious unity. She had never before met them, yet she recognized them right away when she spotted them at the airport. “Together [they] looked like [their] mother” (332). It was as if an invisible rope tied them together; the rope that was their mother.
5. The writing technique Amy Tan used in this chapter was flashbacks. She began with Jing-Mei on her way to China to see the twin sisters. She flashbacked to the Joy Luck Club aunties reading the letters from the twin sisters, and writing replies. Then Amy Tan flashed forward again with Jing-Mei visiting the sisters at the airport.
6. a. The life lesson in this chapter is that if you love someone enough, you will be able to give them up. This is shown when Suyuan hoped “that her daughters would be found by a kind-hearted person who would care for them” (325) as she left them at the side of the road. She knew that “she could not bear to watch her babies die with her” (325).
Jane Wong
Period 6
1. Together at Last
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This was a really good chapter for the ending because it really wrapped up the entire book. So Jing-Mei's mother is finally brought up again in this chapter. Jing-Mei and her father also finally decide to meet her long lost sisters. I thought it was a very emotional chapter because not only has Jing-Mei waited long enough, but she had been through enough to experience the final moment of her loved ones. She used to overhear her auntie and her father talk about her sisters, who are twins. She often wonders what it would be like to actually meet them once and for all after all these years. Jing-Mei wanted to fulfill what her mother wanted her to do, and that was to find her sisters. When Jing-Mei's father brought up why Suyuan, Jing-Mei's mother, she left the twins earlier, I thought it was a really depressing moment. It was really sad that because Suyuan had to flee Kweilin, she had no other choice but to leave the babies behind to save their lives. At first, I actually didn't understand and thought that it was because Suyuan wanted to save her own lives after reading about how Chinese people could be so selfish at times. But later I found out that she just wanted to leave them behind and have them get taken cared of to save their own lives first before her own. It was really courageous of how Suyuan would do such a thing in such a time period.
4. The character relationship would be between Jing-Mei and the twin sisters. The relationship between the sisters would be described as determined. Though they have been long lost sisters, they have all missed each other internally. Jing-Mei continuously tried to find out more about her sisters while she was back with her father and the others. As for the twin sisters, they had always wanted to see what their real family was like due to the photos. In the end, they finally found each other and it created a picture-perfect moment.
5. The writing technique Amy Tan uses is foreshadowing. Amy Tan brings the reader back to how sudden and sad it was to flee Kweilin at the time. However, I thought it was amazing to how Amy Tan could portray such a disastrous and chaotic scene with how Suyuan had to leave her babies behind. "Finally, there was not one more step left in her body. She didn't have the strength to carry those babies any farther. She slumped to the ground (324). This was definitely a terrible scene to show how much Suyuan was suffering during that time. Amy Tan also uses imagery to describe the places where she goes. From the beginning, Jing-Mei talked about how when she was leaving Hong Kong, "[she] [was] becoming Chinese" (306). Amy Tan used words such as "tingling, blood rushing, bones" etc (306) to describe the way she was feeling on her way to the airport to see her twin sisters.
6. a. I think the life lesson of this chapter is that you should appreciate what you have got while you still have it. Also, I don't believe that once someone is gone, it is too late. Just like how Suyuan remains in everyone else's heart, she will forever be remembered, especially by Jing-Mei and her father. They knew her best and they would never do anything to corrupt the family reunion. Overall, I think that appreciating someone is what's most important because just like how Jing-Mei appreciated her mother, the reflection went back to her like an image flashed across to her from a mirror.
1) My Sisters, Those Whom I have never met
2) A Pair of Tickets
3) This chapter was so sad. I didn’t think that the readers would ever know what happened to those babies, how they were left on the side of the road after Suyuan begged and pleaded for anyone to pick up and keep her babies. I never expected an old couple from a cave would pick them up, but hey, that’s fantasy for you. I love how Suyuan was a “poet,” having Jing-mei be her “long cherished wish.” I also really liked this line: “’So why did she abandon those babies on the side of the road?’ I need to know because now I feel abandoned too.” It gives Jing-mei more depth as a character.
4) Suyuan and her husband seemed to have a very affectionate relationship. He is torn up about her death and when she got angry at him, he would crack a joke about her name, but in the end, they still loved each other dearly.
5) Amy Tan uses a lot of imagery in her writing. In one or two paragraphs she can describe people with “empty eyes” (325) who refused to take Suyuan’s twin daughters with them along on their journey even as Suyuan pleaded. Tan talks about a one man with the look of “death itself” as Suyuan “stumbles and cries” down the road without her kids (325).
6) The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self. Jing-mei constantly berates herself, wondering why she had not lived up to her mother’s expectations. Jing-mei is really nervous before meeting her sisters, knowing she could tell them nothing about their mother. Jing-mei never quites find out where she belongs, not up until the point of physically meeting her sisters, at which point she knows that they share the same mother, the one that lives on in her heart.
Dan Truong
Period 06
Lesson Learned
(on “A Pair of Tickets”)
3) We finally get the ending we wanted all along. We get to see the loose ends tied up. I got to see more about Suyuan (her thoughts, her words) before she died. I feel glad for Jing-mei, because she doesn’t know what it is like to be Chinese until she visits China and realizes how it is. I’m glad to know the full story of what happened to the babies that Suyuan left in China. I was happy to know that, in the end, the three sisters were reunited. And I’m also relieved that the novel is over.
4) I thought it was surprising how the sisters and Jing-mei were able to seem so close even though they had never seen each other before in their life. I thought it was strange that they were still linked together even though the link that held them together, who was Suyuan, had already disappeared. It just goes to show that the love between family is always strong no matter what.
5) One of the techniques Amy Tan used in this chapter was symbolism. She used symbolism in Suyuan’s name, translated to Jing-mei by her father. Suyuan’s name would be translated to mean “long-cherished wish”. This could mean that Suyuan’s long cherished wish is to see the babies again reunited with her essence, which is in Jing-mei. But another way to translate Suyuan’s name is “long-held grudge”, which could mean that Suyuan would hold a grudge forever if Jing-mei failed to meet with the two babies.
6c) In this chapter, I learned that, in Chinese culture, when a person dies, their spirit comes back to roam the Earth. I learned that that spirit could haunt someone. The spirit could also have a wish fulfilled by guiding a person. I learned that Chinese money is worth less than American money.
“To Be Chinese”
2. JING-MEI WOO: “A Pair of Tickets”
3. This last chapter was satisfying and touching. I was really excited to read it because it meant that Jing-Mei would finally be going to China, and I wanted to know what would happen when Jing-Mei met her sisters. I felt it was really sweet how Jing-Mei was so worried about meeting her sisters, worried about what would happen. It must’ve taken her a lot of strength to decide to go to China with her father to meet her family, which is really worthy of respect. Another thing I thought was sweet was how everyone from the Joy Luck Club and everyone was so sad about Jing-Mei’s mother’s death, even after all the time that had passed. Jing-Mei’s father was still very sad, as where the other members of Joy Luck. I also think that Jing-Mei’s father is a really good man, sticking with Jing-Mei’s mother through all this time even though she always had her mind wandering back to her past. The fact that he loved her even after her death showed his true dedication, which is very amiable in a man.
I really liked being able to read more about Jing-Mei’s mother’s past in this chapter, because before, her past was just really vague. Through this chapter, I got to learn all about Suyuan’s past, what really happened to her children, how she found her two daughters, etc. The story of when Jing-Mei’s mother and father first met was also very cute, though they met in the hospital. I loved that she told him about her hope and clothes after meeting him like that. But more than just their meeting, I, in a way, worship Suyuan for being able to keep hope during such a terrible time, all the way until her death. She had hoped for her two daughters to be rediscovered all her life, and her wish was granted. This chapter kind of gave me a bit of hope, and it showed that if you keep on trying, your wishes will eventually be granted, whether or not you are there to experience it. Overall, this chapter was not a disappointment at all.
4. The relationship between Jing-Mei Woo and her father can be described as passive. Though it is obvious that they have a good relationship with one another, they do not really do anything that makes it extraordinary. But though their relationship is quite simple, Jing-Mei and her father trust each other enough to ask each other questions and inquire one another. Jing-Mei is still able to ask her father about her mother, and he will answer her. Her father is able to confess to her about Jing-Mei’s mother’s life and his thoughts on how she had always been searching for her daughters without him knowing. This shows passiveness because they only speak to one another when something causes them to act upon one another. Their relationship, however is capable of enduring what seems like little contact. Thus, their relationship is simple – strong enough to endure without resistance, but nothing extraordinary.
5. Through this chapter Amy Tan uses bits of amazing word choice in places necessary. For example, on the very first page of the chapter, Tan writes, “I can feel the skin on my forehead tingling, my blood rushing through a new course, my bones aching with a familiar old pain” (306). The words she chooses (tingling, blood rushing, bones aching, pain) clearly expresses the feelings of Jing-Mei Woo discreetly. When readers read the text, they may not think about it, but it allows reader to imagine things in ways they could not otherwise. The specific words allow specific feelings to emerge, allowing the text to be improved through careful and concise expression.
6. What are you learning about Chinese culture?
In this chapter, I learned a lot about modern Chinese culture. Today, some people may not even have phones or much technology, and several still live in more country-like areas. Some do business in markets in order to survive. Also, many cities in China have recently changed their name/pronunciation from their original names. Furthermore, I learned of the metropolitan areas of China. Now, China is very up-to-date and no longer like the original Communist China it was a while back. They have tons of American food, and many “appreciate” American culture, craving American food rather than their own native Chinese food. In addition to modern culture, I learned that newspapers sometimes had their workers hide information from the public, releasing only certain news pieces that they chosen. For example, as Jing-mei’s father said, they did not let the people know about a few Japanese invasions.
“Jangdale”
CH. A Pair of Tickets
3. Yay! The last chapter of the book! This chapter was very well explained, but I didn’t really like the ending. Maybe because I haven’t thought of how all the allegories connect, but the ending for this novel only seemed like the ending for Jing-mei’s story. Nevertheless, it was still very touching how in the end Jing-mei finally found her sisters and all of them were reunited after many years of searching. It was touching to read how Suyuan’s goal was finally accomplished not just by herself, but rather, by her Americanized daughter who also discovers her true heritage on the journey.
4. I would say that the wide relationship gap between Suyuan and Jing-mei is finally closing and coming together. In the beginning of the book, their relationship was just like that of all the other mother and daughters. However, even though Suyuan already passed away, Jing-mei realized that she didn’t value her mom enough for all the things she did.
5. A writing technique that Amy Tan uses in this chapter is flashbacks. She uses it to describe how much Suyuan and Jing-mei misunderstood each other in the past, and compared it to their relationship now. Flashbacks can be used to remind and inform us of what happened in the earlier chapters.
6. One Essential Question: Choose at least 1 of our essential questions to answer for each chapter:
a. What is the theme or life lesson in this chapter and which line or scene reveals this?
A theme in this chapter is “Treasure what is true and what you love before it’s gone.” At first Jing-mei just thought of her mother as a typical and strict Chinese mom. When she explained to An-mei why she couldn’t face to lie about her mom’s death any longer, she actually realized that “they’ll think [she’s] responsible, that [she] died because [she] didn’t appreciate her” (311).
1. A Fulfilled Wish
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I thought this chapter was really cute. Jing-Mei Woo finally recognizes the Chinese inside of her. Finally she gets to meet her two long lost sisters. I felt nervous and excited when her father wakes her up because it was so sudden. She must’ve felt overwhelmed the first time she saw her sisters. I even felt overwhelmed because this was her mother’s wish and finally her daughter is fulfilling it. Her mother a really strong and loving. She never lost hope in finding her daughters. She always came back for them and she knew deep down that they were still alive. It hurt me to see that her mother stayed there for two years and never heard a reply. So many horrible things could’ve happened to her daughters but she only dared to believe that someone kind-hearted took them in.
4. The relationship between Suyuan and her twin daughters can be described as ever lasting. She tried a countless number of times to find them. Other people doubted that they would ever be found but Suyuan never gave up. She continually wrote letters to different people, old schoolmates, and neighbors. She was willing to give up her life to save them. Although she did not live with them, she still loved them with all her heart.
5. Amy Tan uses symbolism in the Polaroid camera. I think that it meant that her mother’s wish was blurry and unclear at the beginning. In the end, it turns bright and clear. Her mother’s wish is completed and is beautiful. It will be cherished forever and will never be forgotten.
6. I think the life lesson in this chapter is that you don’t appreciate what you have until its gone. Jing-Mei never understood or cared to learn about her mother. Now that she is gone, Jing-Mei becomes interested in her Chinese heritage and how much she misses learning about her mother. Her mother was a unique and loving mother but Jing-Mei didn’t see that until she was gone. Jing-Mei regrets this because she should’ve been a better daughter.
1. It Is My Family
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. This was definitely the right way to end a book. I loved how Amy Tan wove the past into the present. When Jing-Mei describes the period of time after Suyuan has just died, I feel like she has just described how I feel like at times. My parents are not gone, no, but I often ask myself these things. I often ask my parents “What was that pork stuff [they] used to make that had the texture of sawdust?” (320) among other things regarding my own culture and family. I thought that her father was very helpful in this chapter, and he seemed like the only male character in the whole book that was focused on more than just a little.
4. I think that Jing-Mei and her father, Canning Woo, are very neutral or peaceful with each other. Jing-Mei probably did not have a relationship as deep and profound with him than with her mother, but they seemed to be well with each other. When Canning finally fills in Jing-Mei about her mother’s past, I feel that their relationship is strengthened, and more solid.
5. In this chapter, I thought the flashback was THE most important part. Without it, we would not have enough knowledge about Suyuan’s past, or anything about the two babies she left behind. Without a doubt, I think that the flashback did wonders for this chapter, as well as for the whole story of The Joy Luck Club.
6. Although there were many little conflicts within this chapter, I thought that it was generally human vs. self, human being Jing-mei. This is shown before Jing-mei goes to China. She pleads Auntie Jong to write a letter to the sisters, telling them of Suyuan’s death, because she feels that she is the one responsible for it, because Suyuan “died because [Jing-mei] didn’t appreciate her” (311).
When in China, do as the Chinese do
A Pair of tickets.
In this chapter Jing-Mei is on an adventure to go find her abandoned sisters in China. One funny part was how Jing-Mei fretted over the fact that she might blend into the crowd when looking for her sister, where she is told that no matter what she does, people will know that she is American. From the clothes she wear, to the way she walks, everything will scream American to the Chinese people. I was shocked when I read that Jing-Mei's mother had begged to people to raise her children, that the mean looked pure evil. I don't understand how someone can look pure evil in the face of such a question. I also remember that part when Jing-Mei and her father met up with the sisters.
As I read this chapter, I realize that the interaction between Jing-Mei and her mother was distant. Sure, they had lived in the same house, and the fact that the mother had given birth to Jing-Mei, did nothing to help them to understand each other. Simply the fact that they live in the same place does not mean that they understand each other, and know each others’ stories.
During this chapter, the I had come to appreciate the talent of Amy Tan, especially her talent of creating symbols. As I read this chapter, the picture struck me both as a symbol and a foreshadowing object. To me, it was a symbol because one can argue that the developing picture reflects on the relationship between the three sisters. Another reason that it speaks to me is that the two sisters that were abandoned were excited about the developing picture, saying to me that they were excited about learning more and more about their sister. It is also a foreshadowing because it is a beautiful picture, meaning that the three sisters will have a great relationship amongst one another.
In my opinion, I think Jing-Mei had an internal conflict, that also deals with the concept of identity. Throughout this chapter, you read the comments of others on Jing-Mei’s identity about how Chinese she is. Throughout the chapter, you about her adventure and her journey to learning the meaning of being Chinese.
1. “Reunited”
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. I thought that this chapter was perfect for the last chapter of the book. I was glad that we got to find out who took in the two babies and raised them, because I thought we were just going to be left hanging to wonder. It really made me happy to have everything tied up, knowing all of Suyuan’s thoughts, and having Jing-Mei realize what it’s like to be Chinese once she actually visits China. Knowing that Jing-Mei and her two sisters were brought together in the end makes me satisfied, to know that there was somewhat of a happy ending through this novel.
4. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her two sisters was long-distance, yet still very closely connected. Even though they’re never met each other, they still seemed to have the love and affection for each other as if they’ve been together forever. It was heartwarming to know that they were still bonded even when they’re connection, Suyuan has passed. That really showed that their love as a family was strong enough to hold together.
5. Amy Tan uses imagery in this chapter to express how the people that passed Suyuan looked at her when she told them to take her babies. She described the roads as “filled with people” and “passing trucks” (324) and the people with “empty eyes” and “terrible expressions” (325). This really helped me to visualize a road where there were trucks rushing up and down the street and people walking quickly, barely glancing at anyone at all. I could just imagine Suyuan crawling on the floor begging someone to take her children, and in return, getting quick glances, before they scurried along. This technique improves the story because it helps us to see what the author is trying to express.
6. In this chapter, I learned that the Chinese believed that when someone died, their spirit sticks around, wandering Earth for various reasons. They could haunt someone or they could be a guardian angel. I also learned more Chinese phrases, such as Jyejye which means sister and Aiyi which means auntie. Chwun Yu means spring rain and Chwun Hwa means spring flower. And Suyuan means both long cherished wish and long held grudge.
Trung Tran
Long Cherished Wish
“A Pair of Tickets”
1. I thought this was a great chapter to the ending of the book since it ends with the reunification of the sisters. I find it really depressing how the mother died before seeing her lost daughters that she abandoned a long time ago. If she only lived for a few more months, her long cherished wish would have came true. However, I thought it was pretty confusing when the Aunt popped out of nowhere and started talking about the past. I was pretty lost until the end of the chapter. I thought it was really touching when they finally met each other for the first time. They may not have seen each other before, but they hug right away, seeing the resemblance of their mother from each other.
2. I thought the
relationship between Suyuan and her daughters is extremely powerful. It is so powerful that she is able to reunite her daughters even after her death. Right of the bat, the daughters hug each other, ignoring the fact that they are nearly strangers to each other. That is how much Suyuan means to her daughters.
3. Amy Tan use symbolism for the name. Suyuan’s name which means long cherished wish symbolizes what she wanted her entire life, to find her daughter and reunite as one. Even though she is dead, June was able to fulfill her mother’s wish.
4. A theme from this chapter is that nothing can truly be gone. Even after Suyuan is dead, she lives through her daughters, both physically (appearance wise) and emotionally. She will always be in their hearts, passing down a part of her, her heritage.
“Her Long Cherished Wish”
A Pair of Tickets
1. It was wonderful to have finally finished the book with a good ending for June and her family and to find out the details of the story of Suyuan’s agonizing trek that left her to abandoning her twin daughters. At the beginning of the book, I thought that Suyuan just left her daughters in the middle of the rode, but now I know that she left money, jewels, pictures, and notes with them too. Learning this made me feel better towards Suyuan because at least she had the intentions to see them again. Reading the story again made me feel sorry for her again though. How she searched for her twins for so many years and never gave up hope shows true perseverance and determination. It was sad to find out that her twins were discovered after she had passed away. If only the schoolmate actually tried looking for them before instead of thinking that it was ridiculous to try. It was amazing to me how June and her half sisters bonded so quickly at the airport. I guess it just shows how similar they are with each other.
2. Mr. Woo and Aiyi’s relationship can be described as effortless. Without seeing each other for over sixty years, they are still able to hold a conversation that never stops. June could not even say anything during the taxi ride to the hotel and the two even decided to stay at the hotel and order room service so that they could chat more. They even stayed up until one in the morning and were still continuing to talk.
3. Amy Tan uses imagery to improve her writing in this chapter. She describes China to show what it really was like in the communist times and what a visitor sees.
4. I think the main conflict in this chapter is internal dealing with human versus self. Throughout the chapter, June has a dilemma with how to present to her half sisters the information about their mother being dead. She asks Auntie Lindo to write a letter to them to reveal the news and she even had repeated dreams of how the situation would play out. She constantly asks herself how to tell them too. The conflict is resolved at the end of the chapter though, with all three of them being happy.
Margaret Trask
1. “Uncertanity”
2. “A Pair of tickets”
3. I could almost see the excitement in the grandfather’s face at seeing China again. I loved the scene of their reunion, and that the Polaroid helped June befriend her little cousin. The idea of a huge family sleeping in disarray around a hotel room reminded me of the way most of the sleepovers with my favorite group of friends turn out, and the way people end up sleeping tends to be a hilarious scene. Because of this, I laughed when June described her family slumped over in chairs and sprawled across the floor. The scene of reunion with her sisters brought me close to tears, and the way that it ended in a Polaroid of the three women becoming their mother’s dream was full of tender emotion.
4. The relationship between June and her father is strong but a little bit unclear. They are close enough to share the most important stories about June’s mother, but language seems to be a common barrier.
5. The author uses suspense to remind you how June feels throughout the vignette. In the beginning, Tan tells us about June’s dreams in which her sisters hate her. Then, as she comes closer to meeting them, she thinks that the reunions with the rest of her family will be the exact opposite of her reunion with her long lost sisters. In the minutes before she meets them, she regrets that her mother cannot be there. In the end, though, their reunion isn’t awkward or over-thought, its as natural as a breath of air.
6. I learned the importance of family in Chinese culture. June and her grandfather travel across the world to meet long lost family, sacrifice hotel rooms, and pay for meals. The most important thing in the world to both of them is to be reunited with their blood, people they may never see again.
In Our Blood
“A Pair of Tickets”
1. Reading this chapter, I was actually as anxious as June was, to meet her sisters whom she has never seen before, thinking about how to communicate with them. I understand how scared June feels when she believes that her sisters will hate her and will cry when they discover that their beloved mother is dead. I think, however, out of this entire book, the story of Suyuan and how she left her children there, is what took me by surprise the most. I was completely amazed by how she asked many people to take her babies, and yet no one was willing to. When she finally decided to leave her babies on the road, tears rolled down my own cheeks as I felt the same sadness that Suyuan was feeling. I was so relieved when I learned that the twins were picked up by a friendly couple. I also found that the time that Mei Ching brought the twins to look for their real family and the time that Suyuan and her husband had gone to look for the twins was very ironic. I really pitied Suyuan. And then, after she died, her friend found the twins. I guess destiny is just twisted in its own sick little way.
2. I feel that Jing-mei and her sisters have a very close relationship even though they are complete strangers only bonded by blood. However, it is the blood within them, the same physical features, and their memory of their mother that ties them together. When June first sees her twin sisters, she even thinks that they look so much like her mother, so uncanny, and when the photo of the three of them develops, she sees the likeness between them. They are all their mother’s daughters.
3. Amy Tan uses symbolism in this chapter through the names of Suyuan and Jing-mei. According to June’s father, Suyuan literally means “long-cherished wish,” which is like “never forgotten.” This means that Suyuan’s spirit will never be forgotten. However, Suyuan’s name also has a second meaning, “a long held grudge” which may stand for her stubbornness and in trying to save her children. Jing-mei’s name, meaning “the younger sister who is supposed to be the essence of others,” means that she is supposed to be the one who keeps their family together and pure.
4. In this chapter, I learned that in Chinese culture, each name has a different meaning. Each name is given to a person to distinguish their traits. I also learned that even far apart, family is most important in a person’s life.
1. Double Luck
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. Jing-Mei Woo goes to China to meet her mother's long lost twins. However, she goes with her father to visit his aunt first. Her father is reunited with his aunt, while Jing-Mei meets her and the rest of the family, including her grandchildren, their spouses, and her great-granddaughter, Lili. Jing-Mei isn't able to communicate as well because her Chinese isn't that great. They end up all going to a hotel. Jing-Mei is surprised at the Western qualities of the hotel. The only thing she saw was fit was the dark-colored shampoo. She wanted to have her first authentic Chinese meal for dinner that night, but they ended up ordering hamburgers and french fries from the room service. Later that night, Jing-Mei wakes up to her father telling Aiyi about his life. However, Aiyi soon falls asleep and Jing-Mei asked her father about her mother's name and about the babies. JIng-Mei's father tells her the whole story about the babies and what happened. The next day, Jing-Mei and her father fly off to meet twins. When they got there, they recognized each other almost immediately. They are overwhelmed with joy and grief and tears. A picture is taken of the three sisters and they see their mother and her wishes in the photograph.
4. Jing-Mei and her father seem closer after going to China together and talking about the past. they seemed distant before and now that they've shared something, I think they understand each other more.
5. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses the names of the characters symbolically. Suyuan, the name of Jing-Mei's mother, actually meant "long-cherished wish" and not so coincidentally, it was her long-cherished wish to find the daughters she left in China. Jing-Mei's name was also special. It meant that she was the essence of her two older sisters.
6. The main conflict in this chapter was Jing-Mei with herself. The whole time she was worried about how she would talk to her sisters and what she was going to say to them. She was worried that her Chinese wasn't good enough. She was worried about what to call them. But when it came down to it, when they met, they didn't even need words. They just hugged each other and cried.
1. Xie, xie
2. "A Pair of Tickets"
3. Sadly, this was the last chapter of the Joy Luck Club series. Skimming through the pages of this chapter now, I remember anxiously awaiting Jing-Mei's trip to her half-sisters. I always thought the fact that she never knew her own sisters was intriguing.
4. I would describe the sisters meeting together for the first time as an insta-bond. They could cry tears of joy instantly when they see each other as if seeing their own mother and all three together they make up their mother.
5. The Polaroid picture had to be the icing on the cake. Jing-mei looks into the photo to find that all of the three sisters' faces clearly reminds of their mother, Suyuan.
6. (c. What are you learning about Chinese culture?)
Chinese people are very expressive in the way that they share news with each other.
1. Bye Bye
By Fiona Cheung
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. Honestly, I liked this book but I was still eager to finish it. I think this chapter was a nice way to wrap up the book and end it off and I liked her brief paragraph on the different types of good-byes. Like her, I also always imagined the baby twins as babies when they would reunite. At first, I was wondering how they would have a picture of their mother, but then my curiosity was cured later on. I did think that retelling the story of her mother escaping was a bit repetitive, as we’ve figured out a lot of the things her father said in the beginning, but I guess it wouldn’t seem complete without retelling those familiar details again. I can’t believe the aunties would write a fake letter under the name of Suyuan, though—it’s like giving the daughters false hope. Nevertheless, I liked how it connected back to the beginning of the book, despite those several pages of repeated information. I was also glad this chapter erased a lot of question marks I had about her mother’s journey and how she could just give her babies up. I’d thought she left the babies with nothing, but guess not!
4. The father caught my attention in this chapter, as I realize it was the most a father had ever been mentioned in all these chapters. I felt sad for him every time he talked about Suyuan, and I could tell he did indeed love her, based on how his eyes were moist as he just talked about her name and how he’d say her name should be Grudge. He’s also accepted that his daughter was American and maybe have gave up hope that she would turn Chinese, as he naturally spoke in English with her instead of forcing her to speak and listen to Chinese. Lastly, he may have put a lot of blame on himself that the daughters haven’t been found, as he had been oblivious to much of her babies-searching and still remembered how he may have been responsible for putting away the hope in her when he said that they were too old to go to Canning.
5. The conflict in this story would be an internal one within Jing-Mei in finding her Chinese self. At the beginning of the chapter, she reminisced about how her mother said being Chinese was in her genes. She even thought she was becoming Chinese as the train entered China. She also mentioned a lot the ways that she wasn’t Chinese, like her appearance. She also did not know how to read Chinese. This conflict was solved throughout the chapter. For example when she was being squished at the lines for customs, she wasn’t bothered and instead she said, “It feels right” (272). This was the first sign that she did have some Chinese in her after all—the Chinese ability to adapt to crowded lines. The second sign that she was finding her Chinese self may have been overcoming the language obstacle between her and Aiyi’s family, and getting along with Lili just fine. She also requested for her father to tell the story of her mother in story, which marked another step she took into being more Chinese. In the end, she finally realized her Chinese self—her family, her blood, her heritage.
6. The theme of this chapter may have been the broad general theme of the entire book—appreciate your family and anyone before they’re gone. Throughout this entire chapter, Jing-Mei had many questions about her mother and for her mother. She realized it was too late to ask her mother a lot of things, and though it was not directly stated, we can sense her regret. She learned about her mother only through her father’s words, only after her mother had died, and realized “how much [she] had never known about her, grieving that [her] sisters and [she] had both lost her” (286). Only then did she “find [her] mother” for her mother had left “before [she had] a chance to know her better” (286). Therefore, we should all appreciate our family, and anyone, actually, before they leave in the blink of an eye.
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1. Apple Pies are Yummy :3 Mmmmmm
a la mode :]... The End :]
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. For a last chapter, I thought it was okay. I'm kind of sad the book ended though since I was finally getting to know all the characters and finally clear with everyone's names and everything, but things wrapped up pretty nicely overall. I love how Tan finally reveals Suyuan's story, and it's interesting how it's June's father who tells it. It was sweet to see the sisters reunited or rather united for the first time, and I found the irony of how they ate hamburgers and apple pie quite humorous. Honestly, I'm glad that I was finally able to see June go to China. I mean at the beginning of the book, they were all making a big deal about June meeting her sisters, then the book drifted off into everyone else's stories. So, it's good that the last chapter finishes up the first and really wraps up the entire book.
Oh, I also found this quote from the chapter quite interesting, "... color-blind to the fact that lemon yellow and pale pink are not good combinations..." (267) I might be over thinking some things, but it seems to me that even June thinks that Chinese and American cultures don't mix well. This could be possible because people commonly refer to the skin of Chinese people as "yellow" and the skin color of Caucasians a white or pale pink. The fact that these two colors were mentioned in the same sentence about not mixing well caught my attention.
4. I also feel like I have to use this segment of the blog to describe June's father. I think this is the first chapter where a father was given so much screen time, so I thought that was pretty cool. June's father seems very caring and gentle. By the way he talked about Suyuan, he obviously cares and misses her, truly a dedicated lover. I also found it cute how he had a little nick name. When Aiyi called him "Syau Yen, Little Wild Goose", he probably felt just a little bit embarrassed on the inside. I know I would. June's father is like any other father, like any other husband and lover, compassionate and affectionate.
5. I think the main conflict in this chapter was internal, man vs. himself, Jing-Mei vs. herself. In this chapter, I think June is trying to find her true self and also the courage to face her long lost sisters from China. In this chapter she discovers the true China, and is often disappointed by the stereotypes she imagined. She notices that Chinese cities are spelled differently. When she arrives at the hotel, "the hotel is magnificent", and June cannot believe it. As she discovers that China isn't what she imagined, she constantly asks herself, "This is communist China?" (277). The unexpected Cokes, Seven-Ups, M&M's, and other "American" things throw off her vision of "Communist China." She is surprised once again when the family and she have "hamburgers, french fries, and apple pie" for dinner instead of the stereotypical "Chinese feast" with "soups steaming out of a carved winter melon, chicken wrapped in clay, Peking duck, the works In the end, she gains a better understanding of herself and her mother.
Throughout the chapter, June struggles to gain the confidence to confront her sisters in Shanghai. She constantly imagines "how awkward it will feel" (275) when they meet in Shanghai. She is afraid because she knows nothing about her mother, nothing about China. However, she is enlightened by her father and able to face her sisters. When June gets off the plane, she is "so nervous [she] cannot feel [her] feet", but as soon as the three meet, her worries are gone, "all hesitations and expectations are forgotten" (287). The three just happily embrace each other, and they resemble their mother, yet they are different.
6. I think this chapter can really relate to the allegory at the beginning of this section which talks about losing innocence and maturing. Compared to the first chapter, when June was introduced, she has really matured, and her coming of age is evident throughout this final chapter. Everyone says June has grown up, "Meimei jandale" (287), little sister has grown up. By learning more about her mother's past, June finally understands and can step into her mother's shoes. In the first chapter of the book June is innocent and very ignorant to the Chinese culture, but learns and grows during her visit to China. The second she enters China, June feels as if "[she is] becoming Chinese" (267), and she could "[see herself] transforming like a werewolf" (267). Like the allegory at the beginning of this section, June matures by facing her sisters, gains hope, and in the end, she is laughing happily with her sisters. She gains an understanding of her mother, and with her Polaroid camera (which I think is also a symbol, maybe?) the three eagerly wait for the picture to develop. They have matured and "together [they] look like [their] mother."
Mothers, Wives, Sisters, Daughters
A Pair of Tickets
1. A very long chapter; it was excellent, however. Suyuan's backstory turns out to be as tragic as any other mother's. She was brave, leaving her babies behind when she knew she might never have seen them again. I wish she hadn't had to die of an aneurysm, right as she was on the brink of finding her daughters again. It's really true, although still surprising, that in Asian countries typically regarded as poor (China, Vietnam), there are such things as luxury hotels with arcades and such. The people do like this western-style luxury though, as does Jingmei's father's family. The reunion is possibly the best scene in the whole book, although this may just be because by the time it comes around, you're already emotionally invested in the book and looking for a happy ending. The book delivers, a truly happy ending to go with the other happy endings in the chapter.
2. Suyuan is dedicated. In her backstory, after her loss of her children, she basically goes into mourning for them, but never loses hope that one day they will meet again. Throughout her life in America, she never stops searching, even while raising her new daughter Jingmei to possibly become famous. Even just before she dies, she'd just decided to go back to China and find the girls herself. Suyuan dedicated her life to her children, first the twins and then Jingmei.
3. The chapter's main conflict is Suyuan vs. fate/coincidence/society, or basically everything. Suyuan fights against first her own fatigue and the Japanese war to keep her babies, and then against the currents of time and the drifting of people as she fights to return and find them again. After her death her conflict is carried on by Jingmei, who finally lays the search to rest when she is reunited with her sisters.
4. The imagery in this vignette allows the book to go out with a bang, using such joyous words as "long-cherished", "laughing", "sharpening", and "bright" to describe the happy reunion. The snapshot coming into focus is like Suyuan's wishes, starting off dark and hopeless and suddenly clearing up and brightening into a vivid image of the three sisters together at last.
1. Family
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I would say the last chapter really wrapped the novel up in an up lifting vital way. The vignette of Jing-Mei Woo was unexpected, but it was interesting how all the chapters in this section takes the events in the first section and toil with them creating something more worth it. The imagery of the sweaty humid days of Guangzhou boiling the blood in June Woo’s vein is sensational. Finally, reading what happen to Suyuan Woo’s babies and the voyage June takes to meet her long lost sisters. It is exhilarating to discover the loving embrace of the sisters watching the photo to appear their faces, which soon becomes their mother in every way possible. The Chinese genetics in every family member reaching out with the same hope of recapturing the memories of Suyuan. The translation of the names in this vignette was eye catching of how they all meant something unique. The novel shared a passion for both American and Chinese culture, which twine with the relationship between mother and daughter. Letting the readers inside situations of mother and daughter along with it being a huge influence in their lives.
4. The protagonist in “A Pair of Tickets” would be June Woo. In the beginning when her mother was still alive June did not believe that she had any Chinese within her, but afterwards she can feel the power of her heritage ripping its way out of her body. Like her mother said,” It is in your blood, waiting to be let go” (page 267). How her mother retorted that once you are born Chinese you cannot stop thinking and feeling like one or you cannot escape your ethnicity. June is exploding with excitement to finally meet her half-sisters and for her father to once again meet his aunt. The two confuse and lost to where to go as they boarded off the train surprisingly bumped into her father’s relatives. When leading up to the end of the novel she is self-conscious whether her sisters are going to hate her after breaking the news that their mother died or if they are going to understand her broken Cantonese. The minute she caught sight of her sisters all her troubles evaporate leaving her like a little girl again jumping into a sisterly hug.
5. The conflict displayed in this chapter would be human versus self since June feels blinded of meeting her sisters when they do not even know that their mother passed away yet. She feels excited that she is fulfilling her mother’s dream of contacting her daughters. The conflict could be human versus society as well since Suyuan could not find her daughters after the communists attack. Several years later she could not find her daughters ever since the war and the bad economy. How June never accepted her Chinese culture until later on when traveling to China. June insists on having as much as Chinese as her Caucasian friends in Chinatown.
6. I think the theme to this vignette is that family is important and cherish the moments you have with them because soon they will not always by your side. When Suyuan passes away there were secrets left that her daughter and husband did not know until the news was broken down from the Joy Luck Club. There were times when June wanted to know things about her mother, but her questions were left unanswered. The husband of Suyuan did not even the whole story of the mom’s life of abandoning her babies on the side of the road. Suyuan’s life was always kept hidden from the letters sent back and forth between the sisters and the Joy Luck Club. It is like comparing to our heritage project and how we had to interview an elder, but the majority of the class did the assignment on their parents since their grandparents probably passed away.
1.) The Long Cherished Wish
2.) A Pair of Tickets
3.) This was definitely quite a finale. Though it was long, it made sense and I enjoyed reading it. What surprised me was that their relatives in China welcomed June and her father with open arms and didn’t even mention her mother’s name and how she died. I also enjoyed reading the story June’s father told her. By reading that, I could tell that her mother was a good person who tried with all her heart to save her twins. I can see now why her mother never wanted to explain to June how she lost her twins because it really is heartbreaking. A reunion is the best way to have ended the book. It’s a shame that it ended because I really want to know what happens maybe ten years later. But it really is a happily ever after ending.
4.) The protagonist of this vignette, June, I think is a more developed character. I think that finally, she finds her self-identity. In the beginning of this book, June claimed that she didn’t know anything about her mother and it makes her question herself. I also think that June tried to accept her Chinese side because she doesn’t speak the dialect but when she travels to China, all her questions were answered by her loving family. She takes a look around and she realizes that this is where her mother is from is a part of her. She was born Chinese and now more than ever, she feels Chinese and that she belongs.
5.) I really think that this is the chapter that it is difficult to find out the conflict. I think that the main conflict in this vignette is internal. It is man vs. self when June is speechless to her sisters and her family numbers when she first meets them. Another huge conflict is June wanting to carry her mother’s long cherished wish. Because she stated earlier that she never really knew her mother and the other mothers were shocked at her response, now June wants to live her mother’s dream by meeting and confronting her long lost sisters in China. June is at first hesitant and scared to confront her sisters but everything works out. At China, June finds her identity that she didn’t want to accept and her family helped her find her identity. June no longer has to carry her mother’s heavy burden of her long cherished wish.
6a.) I think that the theme of this vignette is that many things are part of our identity. Our family and heritage make up some most of our identity. Our family’s blood and heritage flow thickly in our blood. For June, it took her going to China and meeting her family to finally accept her Chinese heritage and learn to be proud of being Chinese which the other Chinese daughters lack. Even thought June may claim that she is American, her veins flow thickly with Chinese blood. She finally accepts it and as a result, she lets go of her American ways to accept the Chinese part of her.
Michelle Méndez
4th Period
Her Long-cherished Wish
Jing-mei Woo’s “A Pair of Tickets”
Well this is the last vignette of the book. I’m not sure how I feel about the end. I don’t feel completely satisfied. I am very glad though that the sisters are reunited. I hope their mother is looking down on them from heaven smiling. This chapter makes me want to visit Vietnam. I wonder what kind of life my parents used to have there. I wonder how much different it is from life in the United States. Thinking about my parent’s homeland and Jing-mei’s first visit to China gives me the feeling that I miss Vietnam, yet I had never been there. I really really really hope I go someday with my parents. I want to be where my parents once were.
Suyuan was a very devoted mother. I find it touching that she dedicated her life to finding her daughter ever since she left them. I bet there wasn’t a day in which she didn’t think of them. Suyuan was a hopeful person as she never lost hope. She took every opportunity to find her daughters. She contacted everyone, hoping for any piece of information to bring her closer to finding her daughters. Suyuan was a loving mother as she had love even for the daughters she lost in China over almost forty years ago.
The main conflict in this story is internal human vs. self as Jing-mei doubts her identity. Jing-mei does not feel that she has enough Chinese in herself to be accepted. She replays scenarios in her mind. She thinks that she will disappoint her sisters, be rejected, and return home. However, this conflict is resolved as her sisters welcome her warmly. When her father snaps a Polaroid, she sees that they are truly their mother’s daughters and that is what matters the most! Their mother is what holds them together not their heritage.
I think the theme of this vignette is that the relationship between mother and daughter is very strong. This is proven as the lost twin daughters eventually find connection to their family in America. This proves that there is a link between them, as if destiny and fate plays to the favor is family. Family is also important because Jing-mei doesn’t worry about her culture as an obstacle when she meets her sister. She sees being daughters of their mother conquers the cultural difference.
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1) Long-cherished Wish
2) “A Pair of Tickets”
3) I thought this chapter was kind of long but pretty interesting. Amy Tan used a lot of imagery and descriptions in this chapter. This chapter was exciting and not as depressing as the previous chapters. I’m glad June was finally able to meet her long lost sisters and fulfill her mother’s long-cherished wish. The final chapter ended the book very nicely.
4) I think that June’ mother, Suyuan, was a very strong character and a good mother. After she left her twin daughters and went to America, she tried to look for them. She called everyone she could and China to look for them. She never gave up until the day she died. This shows Suyuan as a strong-willed and loving mother who would do anything for her children.
5) I think the main conflict of this chapter is man vs. self. June is trying to find out who she is. She is scared and worried that her sisters in China will not like her. However, this conflict is resolved when June finally arrives in China and meets her sisters for the first time. She is greeted warmly and lovingly by her sisters and she is relieved and happy.
6) I noticed that Amy Tan used a lot of good imagery in this story to end the book nicely. Her descriptions of sights and scenes make the reader feel as if they are there with June when she meets her family in China.
1. The Long Cherished Wish.
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. FINALLY, IT’S OVER! I loved the description in this chapter because it was a nice and smooth way to end the book. There was a lot of imagery, which I like, and it was a happy chapter. I’m really glad that June met her sisters at last and that event kind of tied up the book for me. Looking back, I kind of want to read another vignette from each of the characters just to see what else they have to say.
4. Suyuan is a very strong mother who loves her children. When she came to America, she didn’t stop calling and looking for the children she left in China until the day she died. Suyuan is full of hope and never gives up, which shows her strong will and character. Suyuan is a strong willed mother who never gave up on her children.
5. The conflict in this chapter is man vs. self and between June and herself. June is searching for who she is and hopes her sisters in china will like her. She can’t fathom what they will be like or what they will think of her. This conflict is resolved simply by June going to China and being greeted with love by her sisters. June no longer worries because there is nothing to worry about and she is happy.
6. I think the theme of this chapter is the strength of family. No matter how long you haven’t seen each other, or if you’ve never met, the strength of family bonds people together. For June, she worries about meeting her sisters in China, but when she arrives her worries are gone because she sees the love they have for her, which comes from them being family.
1. “The Truth Unraveled to Unseeing Eyes”
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This chapter was the chapter that really captivated me. Not because of any of the writing or techniques, but because the twin sisters in China were finally going to meet their younger sister, Jing – Mei. Jing – Mei and her father went to China, but most of the chapter flashes back to Suyan Woo’s time with her twin daughters. Suyan really did regret having to give up her daughters to survive. I don’t blame her though to let her children go even though it was foolish and stupid. I abominate the idea of even thinking of doing such an action as to leave loved ones who cannot fend for themselves alone in a war affected zone. Luckily though, those two adults who lived in the caverns in the mountains along with others for protection from the war found the twin babies and brought them back with them to take care of them and not take the jewelry from them. An even better thing that happened was that the two people were kind to the girls and did not abuse them in any way. I have never given any thumbs up, but I give this chapter two thumbs up for a happy ending.
4. The character I believe everyone focused on in this chapter was either between Suyan or June. I chose June to focus on the most to write about. June is told by her “aunties” that her sisters know of her mother’s death, but in reality they do not. June has the task of telling them all about their mother and now she is ready for it. When she sees her sisters she knows that they look just like their mother and they all go to take a photo. I imagine June is happy to now have not only a father, but also her sisters as well because earlier she felt bad that her mother was dead, while her friends still had their mothers by their sides. I am very joyful that June has sisters.
5. The conflict in this chapter is internal because June has to figure out what to tell her sisters about their mother before she gets to them. The conflict is human vs. self. I believe that the conflict is solved by the end of the chapter because June gets to her sisters and she then takes a closer look at them and sees they are just like their mother in many ways and that June knows exactly what to tell her sisters.
6. The theme in this chapter is that everyone is part of their heritage in some way and that they are not only part of their heritage, but also part of their family as well. Not only features, but actions as well. Infants look up to the ones who raised them in their life and become like them. Even if you are not raised by the ones you were made from, you are still a part of them and could act like them in some ways.
1. “Hi, mom...oh, and other mom.”
2. Pair of Tickets
3. This chapter was a really great finish to the book. Very heart-warming. I think I actually got a little teary-eyed. It made the depressing feeling of having to write these blogs go away. Considering I just finished reading it less than few minutes ago, I would have to say that this is my new favorite vignette. With June meeting her father’s aunt and her family, the story about her mother leaving her children in hopes someone could find them, the hardships that Suyuan endured, the loving reunion of June and her sisters. This all together had me on an emotional roller coaster, from depressed, to despair, and then to feeling joyous and content with the ending. Tan did an absolutely extraordinary job with this last chapter. Such a contrast compared to the others. It did not leave me with the empty, gloomy feeling that seemed to be standard with the others. Once again, great job. I loved it from beginning to end.
4. June’s realization of her Chinese heritage was quite satisfying. Unlike Waverly who disowned it at first, June really embraced it because of her mother. Her name, as her father explained, means “pure, essential, the best quality” or rather its “good leftover stuff when you take the impurities out of something…” (pg 281). Suyuan named her this as part of her long-cherished wish. She wanted June to be the essence of the daughters she left behind back in China.
5. I think that the conflict in this vignette is human vs. self because of June trying to find the Chinese in her. She was also worried about how to explain things to her sisters and what they would think of her. In the end, June realizes her heritage and that with her sisters, together they resemble Suyuan.
6. I think that the theme in this vignette is to know who you are and where you come from. You must learn that your heritage will remain with you forever, no matter how you may act or what you may do. As Suyuan said in the beginning, “Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese” (pg 267).
Bryan Bui
Oh Muh Guh, last chapter...
"A Pair of Tickets"
1) At first, I thought that the pair of tickets meant that somehow she would be going with her mother to China. But June actually went with her father. I really like this chapter because it talked a lot about in some cases, we are able to communicate without words, or words are not needed sometimes. In the very end, when June finally meets her long lost twin sisters, how the three images in the Polaroid picture slowly take form, and without speaking they can all see that together, they look like their mother. Completing her mother’s long cherished wish for June to discover her Chinese side, to also stay connected with her mother.
2) June and her father seem to have an okay relationship. In this chapter, they didn’t talk much to each other. I didn’t see any father-daughter interaction. When June’s father was talking to his aunt, he ignored June. He didn’t even bother to explain what was going on. He was a nice guy to treat his family to an American meal. I think June and her father are on good terms.
3) Tan uses symbolism in this chapter for the people and their names. It makes the story interesting and shows readers how symbolism can be easily incorporated into a simple thing like a name. For example, Suyuan’s name in Chinese means “Long-Cherished Wish.” All three daughters share a tearful reunion as Suyuan’s long-cherished wish is accomplished. Tan also uses imagery to describe the town of Guangzhou and it makes readers vividly imagine the city by describing it. There is a lot of description about how it looks like a major American city.
Alex R.
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1. Reflection
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. Overall, I really liked this chapter. It tied up a lot of loose ends, particularly in regards to Suyuan, and it was interesting to boot. The passage on page 278 where Jing-mei realized that “it seemed as if [she had] wanted to sustain [her] grief, to assure [herself] that [she] had cared deeply enough” about her mother. In this passage and others where Jing-mei laments her lack of knowledge about her mother, is written with such raw emotion that makes the audience feel Jing-mei’s pain and despondency as if it were their own. It is obvious to the reader that Amy Tan drew from her own experiences and poured out her heart while writing this novel. I thought that it was extremely comical how Jing-mei traveled across the Pacific only to eat a truly American meal of hamburgers, fries, and apple pie on her first day in China. The entire situation was so ironic that I couldn’t help but laugh. This chapter was a complete emotional roller coaster, with tears of remorse and laughter, joy and regret. There were revelations and reunions, but on the last page, all the reader could feel was Jing-mei’s joy after finally fulfilling her mother’s “long-cherished wish” (288).
4. Before this chapter, Jing-mei’s father had not played a huge part in this novel. He kind of just lurked in the shadows, not saying very much at all, every bit a static character. This chapter added a lot of dimension to his character. I thought it was interesting how it was Jing-mei’s father who told her the entire story about her mother’s past. Since this novel had a plethora of female characters for its focal point, it would not have been surprising for one of Suyuan’s friends to tell June the story, yet it was her father who told her instead. I wonder how the relationship between Jing-mei and her father will change after this conversation? They don’t seem like they were very close – Jing-mei didn’t even know what her Chinese name meant until her father explained it to her thirty six years after she was born! Jing-mei’s father got extremely choked up and emotional while retelling Suyuan’s story, which indicates that he truly loved her and still misses her dearly. His recapitulation of Suyuan’s life and the nickname of “Long-Held Grudge” that he gave her made him “moist-eyed” (280). Unlike the failed marriages of Rose and Waverly, the relationship between Jing-mei’s parents was everlasting; it was true love.
5. The main conflict in this novel is the internal conflict of man vs. self, with Jing-mei struggling to strike a balance between her American and Chinese heritage. Everything about her twin sisters and prospect of meeting them reminds Jing-mei of her mother and the Chinese culture she had tried so desperately to suppress. But after hearing Suyuan’s story, Jing-mei met her sisters with joy, not fear. She finally embraced her Chinese heritage.
6. The theme in this vignette was that one must never give up on fulfilling their dreams. At the beginning of the novel, Jing-mei stated, much to the dismay of the other members of the Joy Luck Club, that she “didn’t know anything about [her] mother” (40). Jing-mei was extremely reluctant to travel to China, but she did so anyways out of respect for her mother’s memory. And in fulfilling her mother’s lifelong dream, Jing-mei discovered something about herself as well. By fulfilling her mother’s dream, Jing-mei fulfils a dream of her own, one that she didn’t even know existed. By the novel’s end, Jing-mei finally reconciles between her Chinese and American heritage and is at peace with the memory of her mother.
Goodbye, blog world!
- Michelle Chan =]
1. Hoisin Sauce Shampoo
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. Hip hip horray! I’m finished! Thank goodness! I thought this chapter was an excellent way to end the novel. Two thumbs up to you, Amy Tan! Jing-Mei’s story really wraps up the whole book and leaves the reader in satisfaction. Following her mother’s wishes, Jing-Mei makes her way back to China and reunites with her long lost twin sisters. Amy Tan reveals Suyuan’s whole story and allows the readers to tie everything together. We now know that Suyuan did not abandon her baby girls; she simply sat them on the side of the road with a returning address while she, herself, went to rest. Just like the saying, “At the end of every rainbow, is a pot of gold,” this chapter wraps up with a happy ending!
4. Suyuan is a strong, intelligent young woman. To be honest, at first, I resented Suyuan, questioning her decisions to leave the babies behind. However, once I finished reading the chapter, all my abomination went away! I was able to understand what was really going through Suyuan’s head at that moment. Suyuan did not want to leave her two babies behind, she did not want them to die— she simply had no more strength left in her. I admire her attempt to leave the note and valuables behind with the babies, hoping someone would return them to Shanghai, 9 Weichang Lu.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is internal, man vs. self. After her mother’s death, Jing-Mei is the only hope for the sisters’ reunion. It is up to Jing-Mei to find her twin sisters and tell them all about their wonderful mother. She is scared she doesn’t know enough about Suyuan and won’t be able to tell her sister stories about her. Jing-Mei is worried her sisters will reject her and send her back to America. However, the conflict is resolved in the end when Jing-Mei arrives at the airport and is greeted warmly by Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa. These girls are reunited as Suyuan’s three daughters.
6. In this last vignette, Amy Tan combines flashbacks, imagery, and word choice to create such a wonderful ending. Tan’s use of flashbacks allow the readers to see things through Suyuan’s eyes. The imagery in the sentence, “My sisters and I stand, arms around each other, laughing and wiping the tears from each other’s eyes,” (288) leaves us with a joyful and affectionate emotion. Not to mention, the word choice also lets the readers sense what the characters are feeling. The word “long-cherished wish” really lets us know how much the search for Suyuan’s twin daughters really meant to her.
1. Reunited and it feels so good
2. A pair of Tickets
3. This may actually be one of my favorite chapters. It was a chapter of understanding and tying up loose ends, as well as a chapter of finding one self and unity. I thought that it was sad that Suyuan didn’t stay alive long enough to see her lost daughters for the first time in years. It was Suyuan dying wish but heartrendingly, her wish did not follow through. I thought that it was good that her third daughter, Jing- Mei also known as June, was able to go to China to meet her older sisters for the first time. It was a happy moment of unity for the characters and the reader.
4. The conflict was that June was apprehensive of meeting her older sisters and that she didn’t really know or understand her mother before she died. The problems were actually solved when June’s father explained to June her mother’s situation in China when she left behind her babies and other short stories of Suyuan. When June finally united with her older sisters, they automatically felt a connection, which was probably the affinity of Suyuan.
5. I liked Amy Tan’s use of sensory and imagery. When June came together with her sisters for the first time, you could picture the scene very well and feel the emotions of the characters. Also, when June’s dad was telling June the story of Suyuan leaving her babies behind during the war, you could also picture the scene well too and feel Suyuan’s sorrow.
1. The End
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I thought the last chapter was pretty good. I like how the book ends. In the beginning of the book, it was talking about June meeting her long lost sisters, and now, they finally meet each. It really surprised me how June really worked hard to meet her sisters, even though they don't really know each other. If Suyuan lived to see the sister's together, I'm sure it would be any mother's dream to see the their kids that happy.
4. Suyuan is definitely one of the best mothers you could ask for. You can really tell that she loved her daughters because she didn't care whether she was going to die or not, she only wanted to find her daughters. She dedicated her life to finding those twins, hoping that one day she would be able to see them again.
5. I think the conflict in this chapter is human vs society. It is between Suyuan and the Chinese society, as she risked her life to go find her long lost daughters. Even after the war and attacks, she never lost hope on them. Although she dies, I think it's resolved because June fulfills her mother's dream to find the twins.
6. I think the theme of this chapter is family comes first no matter what. Suyuan dedicated her life to finding her daughters. She didn't care about anything else in the world, but to find them. After June loses her mother, she realizes how important it is for her to go find her sisters, so she fulfills her mother's dreams and finds her sister's.
EricTam
Period 3
1-way trip
A Pair of tickets
1. Great chapter. I think that it's great how Jing-Mei goes to see her half-sisters in China. Since she's been constantly rejecting Chinese culture from her life, it's great to see that she is finally going to experience a part of her heritage and culture in China. Lie her mother said, even if she rejects the Chinese part of herself, since she is chinese, she shouldn't be able to not feel chinese at all. And this much is true. When she goes to china, she doesn't feel like she fits perfectly in with the chinese people, she begins to feel and understand the Chinese part of her, trying to break free and be expressed. I really liked the part where she interrupts her father to tell him to explain his story in chinese, since she is willing to accept the chinese part of her. I think this is a symbol of her accepting the true part of her by listening to the story from her father in chinese.
2. I think the relation between the twin sisters and Jing-Mei is very sisterly. Even though they have never met, they feel like famly because Jing-Mei is the only part of the twins' mother that they have left. it's almost as if Jing-Mei is the proof that their mother truly existed. Their relation would definitely be tight because they share the same mother, and that they are indeed family to begin with.
3. I think that the theme of this chapter is to never lose sight of who you truly are. Jing-mei continued to reject her chinese culture when she was young, and she continued to try to believe that she was something she really wasn't. When she finally met her family and traveled to China for the first time, she got a healthy helping of who she really was, and instead of pushing it away, se embraced it, and she finally realized who she truly was. This chapter was very good, and it made for a wonderful ending to the book.
1. A Long Cherished Wish
2. Jing-Mei Woo - A Pair of Tickets
3. I thought this vignette proved to be an extremely magnificent ending to this well-written book. The way Amy Tan weaves every single one of these short vignettes into one big novel surprises me. Like a professional seamstress, Amy Tan weaves these stories together so well and describes each one with such emotional detail that I hardly get confused about each character, and for some reason, it makes me believe that this book is actually only one story with many protagonists. This chapter, in my opinion, was really emotional, as Jing-Mei Woo’s father finally gets to reunite with his lost aunt of 60 years. Jing-Mei Woo herself, after a series of fortunate events, suddenly finds herself looking at her long-lost half twin sisters. Although most if not all of the other chapters always seemed to contain riddles and gloomy scenes, this chapter was a ball of elation and happiness. It perfectly displays the heartwarming and ecstatic feelings of a person who has just found their long lost relatives, rejoicing in their Chinese culture and telling stories. I also thought the last line of the book was extremely powerful: “Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish” (288). I don’t know why, but this line left a lasting impact on me. I felt genuinely sorry for the mother that she didn’t live to see her daughters all united, standing in one place. Even though their physical appearance may not seem too similar; deep down inside, they were similar.
4. As the Joy Luck Club’s other chapters focus their attention on the mothers and their daughters, I found the father in this chapter to stand out, different from all the rest. In this chapter, it’s not a mother reminiscing or telling about the past, rather, it’s a father. With as much love and affection as possible, he recites the story his wife had told him before she died, telling it to his daughter with a trace of tears in his eyes. This really shows how passionate and loving a man can be, especially for his wife. Even when she was alive, he loved her and cared for her, not wasting any moment.
5. I believe that the conflict in this short vignette was an internal conflict. Jing-Mei Woo constantly frets about meeting her sisters, afraid that they’ll reject or abhor her for her mother’s death. She’s also not completely over her mother’s death, even thinking that she could possibly be the cause of it. However, by the end of the story, all her original fears and internal conflicts dispelled, and she finally understands her Chinese heritage, her Chinese culture. She realizes that the Chinese is not due to her appearance, nor the way she acts, but it manifests itself in her blood, in her heritage.
6. Once again, Amy Tan uses an extremely descriptive flashback to inform the readers of the situation that Jing-Mei Woo’s mother was in. This flashback really provides the reader with a deeper insight into the dismal circumstances that Jing-Mei Woo’s mother was in when she left her first twin daughters beside the road. There could have been no better option for her. If she kept the babies and continued on, all three would have most likely perished. If she left them there with money to care for them, there remained a slight chance that the babies would grow This flashback also portrayed the desperate situation she was in, and also had much emotion in it.
1. A wish came true
2. A Pair of tickets
3.This was an epic ending to an epic novel. This last fine piece of work was well done and was epic. This chapter seemed shorter than the others, but I thought it's greatness was multiplied by like 10, because of the great ending. The story of Suyuan was great, and explained what happed, which confused me throughout the whole book.
4.Suyuan, the chapter explained why she left the babies back in the road, And showed a lot more about her. She never gave up the hope of the babies being alive, as she kept on searching all her life.
5. Human vs. Self (June) June didn't feel Chinese until she got to china. She thought that her sisters would blame her for her mothers death, but that dint happen. She also figures out the story of her mother
6.D Flashback. Without the flashback, this chapter would've been a bad way to end the book and could have not explained Suyuan's actions and back story. The Sisters would also have been a bigger question of being alive, and how they contacted June.
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1. Three forms One
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This chapter was one of my favorite chapters in the book because even though Jing-Mei's mother died, she still doesn't lose hope and reunites with her lost sisters. When reading this chapter, I felt scared because I didn't want anything bad to happen to the twins. I thought that the twins were strong willed people because they never gave up on finding their mother, and even thought Jing-Mei's mother died, they still found Jing-Mei, the sister they never knew. I wondered why Jing-Mei's mother had so much jewelry and riches hidden away in her clothes, and I admire that she gave them all away so that her twins could be saved.
4. When Jing-Mei decides to find her sisters and when she finally does reunite with the two twins, she sees her mother through all three of them. This shows that Jing-Mei hasn't forgotten her mother and she holds her family in high regard. She values her relatives and her mother more then anything else.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self. Jing-Mei has doubts that she will be able to tell her sisters of her mother because she feels as if she barely knows her mother herself. Jing-Mei continues to fear this, until finally, she sees her mother in her two sisters as well as herself.
6. The life lesson in this chapter is to value your family and never take them for granted.
1. A Long-Cherished Wish Fulfilled
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This was such a sweet chapter. It made me all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I liked how in one chapter Amy Tan combined Jing-mei and Suyuan’s story making it flow seamlessly. It’s really sad irony that Suyuan had to die right before her daughters were found. She spent her whole life looking for them and it was only when she became a spirit that they were found. I believe that people can come back as spirits so I think Suyuan went back to China and was quickly able to find her daughters through her schoolmate.
4. Suyuan had an exhausting like looking for her daughters in China. She is a tragic character because she had the give up her babies because she didn’t want to die and give them the same fate. She is truly a dedicated mother and a strong woman. Maybe that’s why she wanted Jing-mei to become famous? So she could go on T.V. internationally with June and help her other daughters to find her. But that’s just a hunch.
5. The conflict is external with Suyuan vs. her own strength physically. She tired with all her might to bring herself and the twin babies to a safer place, but she just wasn’t strong enough and so she begged someone to take care of them. Later she spent the rest of her life looking for them until her death. It’s not until Jing-mei goes to China to see her long lost sisters and the three are together that Suyuan is there too.
6. The theme of this chapter and really the theme of the whole book are to know your family. Your family will always be by your side through thick and the thin and if you really love them then you should know who they are as well. After Suyuan had died, Jing-mei had so many questions about her mother, but it was too late. The quote “and now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood. ” (288) shows that even though you may come from different worlds family is blood, something you can never change. It is that something that should be cherished.
1. Searching for a needle on the bottom of the ocean
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This chapter was the most powerful and amazing chapter in the book, in my opinion. All I can say is wow! So much is learned about Suyuan, and the stories of her babies in China. I never thought that Suyuan was a bad mother for leaving her babies; she did it because she cared for them and this is proven when she comes back to China and searches for them. The story about Suyuan leaving for America is depressing and definitely sad. Suyuan loses her babies, her husband, and also a part of herself. When she goes to the hospital though, she meets her new husband. Meeting her new husband, gives the story a happier tone, and makes it more of a “rollercoaster” plot. When June meets her sisters finally, it made me feel so happy for her because she missed her mother and wanted to ask her so much but when she met her sisters, she felt complete. When she first looks at her sisters, she sees her mother in them, and then she sees that both of the twins are the same person. It is like she is not only connecting with her mother, but she is also going to learn new things about herself from being with her sisters because they are of the same blood. This chapter was an amazing ending to a very complicated yet intense book.
4. June is a very eager character during this chapter. She is eager towards getting to meet her sisters, wants to learn the new ways of China, and she wants to find her more “Chinese” side. I don’t blame June for having the desire to have so many of her questions to be answered. Losing her mother, and know she has two sisters alive almost half-way across the world would make me very eager as well. When she meets her sisters however; all of these feelings of being scared and anxious go away because she feels at home and she finally realizes what makes her so Chinese even if she does not look it.
5. The internal conflict is between man vs. self. June has so many questions that she wants to ask her mother. Some of her questions are so little and meaningless while others have to pertain to the person of who she is and how she can be that person. June wants to meet her sisters but she thinks that all her sisters want is to see their mother and not her. However; when she finally gets off the plane and is encountered but her sisters she feels complete and like she belongs somewhere. Both of her conflicts are resolved. Her sisters do not care that their mother is not there because they have their lost sister, who will always remind them of their mother. Even though June does not know who she “is” yet, she finally accepts that she is Chinese because it is in her blood, and that is all the answer that she needs to find out who she is.
6. The theme in this chapter is that you will know who you are as long as you look within yourself. Knowing who you are and what kind of person you will become is not something that can be answered by looking at your hair color, of the chapter of your nose. Rather; it is something that is deep within us that cannot and never will be changed. Even though June grew up in America, she knows she is Chinese, she just does not know how to show she is. She thinks that when she goes to China everybody will know she is not Chinese because of the way she looks. Being who you are is not defined by your looks. At the end of the chapter, June realizes that is does not mean that she has to look Chinese to be Chinese. She realizes that she was Chinese all along because it was in her blood, and it was always who she will be and nothing will change that. It takes a long time to find out who you are and what kind of person you are. When you look inside of yourself, take away your looks and possessions, then you will see who you are and your true self with be revealed.
-Allison Olkie Period 3
Woah I just had a Eureka! Moment when I re-read the chapter!
A Pair of Tickets
Aww Jing-Mei finally gets to visit her long-lost sisters! :) And wow the picture comes up a lot of times; SYMBOL PERCHANCE?? And also despite not knowing a thing about losing a loved one and marriage, I could totally relate to Jing-Mei's father, being the second husband, having his beloved pass away; at the same time it's a bittersweet moment to reunite with your half-daughters, eh?
Jing-Mei has never really paid any attention to her mother's stories until after she had died. And in the end, she finally listens to her father's stories; this time in Chinese. I think this shows that Jing-Mei is finally able to accept her heritage.
The conflict was man vs self, Jing-Mei still dealing with the aftermath of her mother's death, and later, having to tell her half-sisters about their mother's death. One can tell this is so because only until Jing-Mei herself came to terms with her mother's death did she give the real letter talking about it.
Symbols: her twin half-sisters! In relation to the title, 'A Pair of Tickets', her twin half-sisters Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa are the 'tickets' for Jing-Mei to learn about her Chinese heritage, and yet at the same time she is the ticket for them for learning about their shared mother. (Yeah that was my eureka moment) The Polaroid pictures and the letter were also symbols, the letter being a sign of acceptance from Jing-Mei for her mother's death and heritage. (I can't FATHOM what the Polaroid pictures would be though...)
~El Schelonai, AKA Nicholas Lee, Period the Fourth
Arun Jandaur
Period 3
Blog #13: A Pair of Tickets
1. Three Sisters and A Polaroid Camera
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. This chapter was a lot longer than some others but I rather liked it. I was glad to hear the extension of Suyuan’s story and see Jing-mei trace back to her roots. It is always a wonderful feeling to visit your homeland and revisit your heritage. I have done that a few times and I always love going to India because of the culture and my heritage there. It was a happy chapter overall, except there was an occasional amount of tension when Jing-mei was thinking of how to break the news of her mother’s death to her long-lost sisters. One of the saddest and most tense parts, though, was when Jing-mei’s dad recalled that he had said to Suyuan that “it was too late” (285). She had misunderstood him and he believed that that thought increased her stress level and finally killed her. He had accidentally killed his own wife and now he has to live with that guilt forever. A happier part would be the reunion. It was heartwarming to see a happy family reunion between the three sisters.
4. Jing-mei Woo is a cheerful and adaptive person. She knows how to get along with others, like her dad’s relatives, the little girl whose picture she takes, and her two sisters whom she happily reunites with. She gets worried a lot, however. She is constantly worried about how to break the news of her mother’s death to her half-sisters. Throughout the course of the book, we can see that Jing-mei changes. She at first doesn’t accept her culture or like her mother very much but, by the end of the book, Tan shows us Jing-mei Woo is a dynamic character because of the way she was willing to accept her Chinese culture and embrace her half-sisters.
5. There isn’t a surfeit of conflict in this book. If any, it is Human vs. Self. Jing-mei Woo is trying to find a way to tell her sisters that their mother is dead but her fear and worry nags her constantly throughout this chapter. She also doesn’t know how she will meet her sisters because they expect their mother to be at the airport. This conflict does get resolved, though, and the three sisters embrace each other and the memory of their mother.
6. I think that we should all acknowledge something that this book teaches us. It is that heritage and family, even after years of separation, will always find its way back to you. You can never avoid your heritage or ignore your family because one day it will embrace you and you will learn to accept it.
1) Three Sisters, A Surfeit of Love, and One Mother
2) “A Pair of Tickets”
3) This chapter was a nice wrap up to the story. I’m beginning to think the overall mood of the story was a sad one and the book finally stopped being super confusing. Even though there’s some confusion here and there, it was still a fun read. I was interested in the story that Suyuan’s husband told about how he met her and how they were desperately looking for her twin daughters. I was actually happy when June met her sisters. The sisters came out to be quite happy and content even though their mother died before ever meeting them. I was thrilled that the book wrapped itself up because I thought it would never end.
4) In this chapter, June is questioning her heritage and discovers a lot about her mother. She is put into a sense of doubt when she thinks about what will happen when she meets her sisters. When her father reveals to June her mother’s story, she begins to understand why her mother bothered her so much and starts to feel remorse and laments on her past mistakes. There was a lot of warmth between her and her sisters when they took the picture together and I can clearly see that June cares a lot about her family.
5) A conflict I see in this chapter is June’s doubts. It is human vs. self because she is uncertain about the outcome of what will happen when she meets her sisters. She is trying to find out who she is and who her mother is, and then later discovers who and what her mother’s goal in life really was. When she met her sisters, she resolved her mother’s issues and her own identity issue. June is also amazed at how Americanized China is. When she stepped into her room at the hotel, she was amused at how much American stuff was in the room. She was questioning her heritage by saying “this is communist China” (277).
6) The theme of the chapter (possibly the whole book) is basically to know who you are and who your family is. It is a clash between heritages, but you must know both sides of every culture. She realizes that the “part of [her] that is Chinese” is “so obvious” because it is “[her] family” (288). Even if you live in a part of the world completely different from your heritage you must know who you are and that is a part of you that can never go unchanged or be altered. In Amistad, John Quincy Adams says, “What we were makes us who we are.” Basically, to know yourself you must know where you came from.
1.THE LAST CHAPTER.
2. “A pair of tickets”
3. I thought this chapter was great! It helped me understand the relationship between Jing-Mei and her mother. This chapter finally reveals the truth about what happened when Jing- Mi left her babies on the side of the road. I thought it was good when Jing-Mei was reunited with her unknown sisters.
4. In this chapter, Suyuan is seen as a dedicated mother looking for her lost children. I thought she was the type of person to never give up. She had a lot of hope thinking her children were still alive, always searching.
5. I think the main conflict is an internal conflict with June and herself. She is worried that her older sisters wont like who she is. The conflict is resolved when she goes to China. She then realizes the true happiness within a loving family.
6. I think the theme of the chapter is that family will always be there for you.
1. Reunited
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. Whooohooo! Finally finished with this book =D I looked forward into reading this chapter the most, and I thought it was a good ending to all the vignettes together. In this chapter we find out what really happened to the twin babies and Suyuan’s real story on why she had to leave them behind. Jing-mei travels back to China and reunites with her long lost sisters at last. The last couple sentences of the chapter ties the whole book together perfectly, “…Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish” (288).
4. The fact that Suyuan literally spent all her life trying to search for her twin babies showed that she loved them. She had to leave them behind, but once doing so, she tried and searched for the remaining days in her life to try to find them, Suyuan was a dedicated and loving mother.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self and it is that Jing-mei has to overcome the anxiety of meeting her long lost sisters. The fact that her mother had passed away before she could meet them made her nervous because she now was told to tell them all about her mother, of which she didn’t really fully know of. In the end she meets them eye to eye, and take a picture together. She feels comfortable at once, realizing that those sisters are family, and the picture kind of made it seem like their relationship will be good. She overcomes this stage and solved this internal conflict.
6. I think the theme of this chapter, or so to say the whole book all together, is that you can’t break the bond between mother and daughter. Even with little knowledge of one another, your mother plays a big role in your life, of you who are and who you become to be. At the end of the chapter the picture then clears up with the 3 sisters who don’t resemble Suyuan in Jing-mei’s eyes at first, in the end all look like Suyuan. After reading the last lines of the chapter I felt that it was like Suyuan was there with them afterall, inside all of them, without them finally realizing until the end.
1. “It’s in our blood”
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. This chapter was really captivating since Jing-Mei was finally going to be reunited with her lost twin sisters. I felt sad that the mother wasn’t able to see her twin daughters. The mother’s story was heart touching as she gave her all in finding her daughters. She gave them jewelry and money to support her lost daughters. But it was sad when she couldn't go back to get her babies, but at least they were taken by a caring old lady. The ending of the book was great, how they all saw resemblances they had with their mother.
4. Suyuan is a very strong and prideful character. After she left her twin daughters in China and went to America, she tried so hard to look for them. She gave all her valuables away meaning that her two daughters had more worth than all her belongings.
5. The conflict in this chapter is internal as June tries to discover her inner self and explain to her sisters what a wonderful mother they had. She is scared she doesn’t know enough about her mother and won’t be able to tell her sister stories about her. However, the conflict is resolved in the end when Jing-Mei arrives at the airport and is greeted warmly by Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa. They take a picture and without telling them, they were able to see their mother’s warmth/face without ever meeting her.
6. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses flashbacks to convey Jing-Mei’s journey back to China. With her use of flashbacks the reader got a better understanding of the pain she went through in order to find her lost daughters, the sacrifices she made when she went to America. She also uses imagery to convey the mood or feeling of the characters when they are reunited, “My sisters and I stand, arms around each other, laughing and wiping the tears from each other’s eyes,” (288) leaving us with a happy feeling.
-Patrick Wong, Period 4
1. "Reunited, and It Feels So Good"
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. Finally! I've reached the last chapter! This was a great ending to the book, because we finally get to hear the rest of Jing-Mei's mother's story. The chapter was just about family and love, and I was happy when JingMei finally met her sisters.
4. A character in this chapter is JingMei. She is very persevering, and she loves her mother a lot. I think that she did a great thing by finding her sisters, and her mother would've been proud of her.
5. I think the conflict is human vs self. JingMei questions about her mother, but ultimately about herself and who she is. She also struggles to find things to tell her sisters about her mother.
6. Amy Tan uses flashback a lot in this chapter, and I think that they're very crucial. Without them, we wouldn't have known Suyuan's story and how the twins contacted JingMei.
1. Epiphany
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. Basically, this chapter gave me a warm feeling. Although it was really long, I like it alottt! It was really nice how Jing-Mei got to finally meet her sisters who were long lost in China all those years. I also enjoyed reading about Suyuan and really learning about her. When she met her second husband, her life seemed to brighten up. And I could really feel how devastated her husband was when she died, even though I’ve never experienced a loss like that. It was really sad too how just months after Suyuan died, her long-lost daughters were discovered and she never got to meet them. But regardless of all the not-so-happy occurrences in this chapter, it was still an amazing one. I loved how Jing-Mei was reunited with her twin sisters :)
4. I saw Suyuan in a whole new light in this vignette. I learned so much about her. For example, why she left her babies. She didn’t do it willingly, and she really cared about them. It’s obvious this is true because she searched for them her whole life, strongly hoping to find them. She was an aggressive, dedicated woman who never gave up hope.
5. I think the main conflict is human vs. self between Jing Mei and herself. She didn’t really feel her Chinese side, and she feared that the twins would blame her for her mother’s death once she met them, and reject and abominate her. Once they met up, though, that didn’t happen at all. She felt a strong, strange connection to them, in fact. She finally understood her Chinese heritage and realized that it’s not external; it’s what’s deep inside.
6. I think the theme here is you should always grip onto your true heritage. Jing Mei spent all her life pretending she was something else, when in reality she was full-on Chinese. It took her going to China and meeting her two sisters to realize just who she really was. I think this chapter was pretty incredible, and it made an excellent ending to the Joy Luck Club.
The Chinese Family Reunion
A Pair of Tickets
1. This chapter was full of action and quite exciting to read, because it focuses on June’s trip to meet her twin half sisters in China. I could relate to June’s excitement and anxiety while riding the train in China because I felt the same way on my first visit to China when I was six. Like June, who marveled at the splendor of the Hong Kong, some of which were even more magnificent than the ones in downtown San Francisco, I was equally appalled at the “luxury” that was evident in the modernized Chinese cities. Even in the 1980’s, Hong Kong was already regarded as one of the most luxuries metropolitan cities in the world, and when I visited Hong Kong in 2000, I could feel the same amount of awe at the splendor of the city. I could also relate to June’s tearful reunion with her sisters because it reminded me of my Chinese relatives picking me up at the airport in Beijing.
2. The main character of this chapter is June, a Chinese American women who visits China with her aging father. June feels an obligation towards finding her mother’s lost daughters and finally meeting them, since that was what June’s mother Suyuan had wished for before she died. June’s mother had spent countless years searching for her twin daughters after being separated from them during the Second World War, but she died before she had a chance to even meet them in person. June discovers much about her mother through this experience of going to China, the place where her parents were born and raised. Even though their relationship had often been strained, June finally realizes the struggles that her mother faced in both China and America. In a way, June ultimately realizes that she had misunderstood her mother all along, and in the process we see that June has finally matured into a knowledgeable adult. The closing scene in which June embraces her sisters highlights the full extent to which June now appreciates and respects her mother, and her Chinese heritage.
3. The main conflict of this chapter is internal, man vs. self, because June is trying to rediscover her Chinese roots by visiting China. During this trip, June encounters a China that was vastly different from the China her mother had known, so June relies on her mother’s stories for understanding. June has so many unresolved questions about her mother and her heritage, but through introspection June gradually connects with her roots. After reuniting with her sisters at the Shanghai airport, June finally realizes how similar she is to her mother, and how deeply she venerates both her mother and her heritage.
4. One theme of this chapter could be interpreted as “One never fully appreciates his or her heritage until they meet it straight in the eye.” Throughout the book, all of the characters relate to their Chinese heritage and how it has caused pain, or joy, in their lives in America, but none of them actually go to China to experience it firsthand. By going to China and finding her relatives, her long-lost twin sisters, June finally can appreciate the legacy left by her mother and her Chinese side. Compared with the other characters in this book, June is able to achieve the most “enlightenment” by physically going to China to meet her sisters, the lost part of her Chinese heritage that her mother had always hoped to pass down to June.
-Albert Li
Long-Cherished Wish
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I think this chapter was amazing and inspiring. Amy Tan did a good job wrapping up the whole book. This chapter was easy to understand and happy. It was depressing to find that Suyuan did not get a chance to see her long lost daughters. I like how June really respected her mother’s wish and went back to China to find her sisters.
4. June is a great daughter and sister. I believe she grew stronger throughout the course of the book because she was the one that had to break the news to her sisters about their mother’s death. Toward the end, June realizes just how lucky she is to have a father, and two sisters. Although she lost her mother, she is happy she has to fulfill her mother’s wishes and unite the whole family. If I was Suyuan, I would have been proud of June to make the effort to bring the family together so she could rest in peace.
5. I think the conflict in this chapter is a human vs. self. It has to do with June finding her sisters and telling them that their mother died. She does not know what to expect, but resolves the conflict by going to China and uniting with them. At first, June does not know how to tell them the tragic news, but realizes that they resemble her mother. Everyone is happy at the end, as they are a real family now.
6. I think the theme of the chapter is to never stop pursuing a dream. Suyuan dedicated her life and never stopped thinking about her twin girls. She did everything she could to pursue her dream and find them. Although her life is cut short and she isn’t able to find them in time, June helps her to fulfill her dream so that she may rest peacefully, as she watches her family, finally united.
-Jerry
Raymond Glassey
Period 3
1. Three parts of a whole
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. I’m kind of glad this book had a happy ending rather than some horribly depressing story. For some reason though, based on June’s talking, it seems like her sisters are really young even though logically they’re around forty-two or something. It seems quite understandable though how June has all these misgivings about their first interaction and that her sisters will be horrified or sad because June comes instead of Suyuan. Another age problem in the chapter that confused me was how June’s father and Aiyi are very close in age even though she’s his aunt, although I guess its easily possible. I thought it was very interesting when her father explains the double meanings behind both June and Suyuan’s names. June’s name refers back to the “Best Quality” chapter as well, an interesting parallel. One more thing inside this chapter, which seems kind of strange, was how June and her father spent only one day with his relatives. Logically, since you wouldn’t be going to China again any time soon, they should stay longer, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
4. June seems like a really compassionate person who gets along well with others, like how she persuades Lili to come near her with the polaroid camera. However, she’s quite cautious and prone to worrying as well as shown with all her prior fears of how her older twin sisters will react to their mothers death. Eventually though, this fear proves groundless as she and her sisters get along fine and are exulted at being able to meet each other at all.
5. I don’t think there is much of a conflict in this chapter except for perhaps internal Human vs. Self within June. She’s worried about meeting her sisters for the first time, but this conflict is resolved at the end with the enthusiastic greeting and end of the story.
6. The theme of this chapter and book is to know and remember who you are, and where you came from: your heritage. People are the continuation of their ancestors, and their siblings and relatives are all linked by heritage and by blood. Its supported by the quote nears the end that says, “And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.”
finally done.
1. So this is China.
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I felt that this chapter was the easiest for me to read. The vignette felt as if they took a dairy from one of my family members and switched the names around. I’ve been through everything mentioned in the chapter, like how Jing-Mei’s relatives react to even the hotel she lives in. The street that the hotel is located “HuanShi Dong Lu” also happens to be the street I live on. The scenery when Jing-Mei and her father meets their relatives is so much like how it is, when I first met my relatives. For some reason I felt a bit relieved when the story of the twin sisters were being told and the reason why Suyuan left them. I’m glad that the book ended with the Jing-Mei meeting her half sisters so happily, rather than disappointment that Suyuan is not there with them.
4. Jing-Mei seems to care a lot for the half sisters that she’s never met. Throughout most of the chapter, she repeatedly talks about how she’s worried that the twins would be very disappointed to find that Suyuan is dead and it’s not Suyuan coming out of the plane. Her actions displayed though her worries for her half sisters reveal that she’s a very kind and considerate person.
5. I doesn’t really seem like there is any major conflicts in the chapter. I found minor ones, which are Man Vs Man, and Man Vs Society. I believe there’s a bit of man vs man internal conflict when she worries about her half sisters and how they would react. She makes it seem like they’re going to dislike her because it’s not Suyuan they see but Jing-Mei. It’s also a bit Man Vs. Society because Jing-Mei has to adapt to China’s conditions. She had to deal with the humid weather of China, the cramped public transportation in China, the lack of ability to speak Mandarin/Cantonese, and etc.
6. I believe the theme of the chapter is that “people will always resemble their parents in some way .” Suyuan’s friends gave up helping her find her twin babies and claimed that it’s like finding a pin in the ocean. Luckily one of Suyuan’s friends spotted the twins without actually knowing them, but because of a close resemblance of Suyuan. When Jing-Mei got off the plane, she said that she saw her own mother, two of them, which also reveals the resemblance between the twins and Suyuan. Even if one does not want to admit it, they have the traits/looks of their own parents.
JamesYU
3rdperiod
Finally... the last chapter
2) A Pair of Tickets
3) I liked this chapter and thought that it was a good story to end the book. I was happy to read that Jing-Mei was finally adapting to Chinese culture and that this may have also made her mother Suyuan happy. I was also surprised to read what hong-kong looked like in the 1980's. All this time after reading the book, I got used to image that China was very old and rustic. Finally, Jing-Mei's reunion with her sisters was very emotional. After reading page after page of heart break and suffering, it was very nice to finally read a chapter that had a really happy ending.
4) My views on Suyuan changed in this chapter. At first, I was appalled to read that Suyaun basically just left her daughters on the side of a road because she thought that she couldn't take care of them anymore. Although, after reading on, I came to realize that Suyuan did this out of neccecity and tried everything she could to ensure that she would be reunited with her daugters.
5) The conflict in this chapter is Man vs self and it is in Jing-Mei not knowing what to expect when she breaks the news that their mother passed away recently. In the end, the conflict is resolved though when she finds out that her and her sisters resemble her mother and she is happy that she had finally reunited her whole family.
6) I think that the theme of this chapter is that no matter what, family will always play a big part in your life. Acutally I think this is the theme for basically the whole book. But specifically in this chapter, even though she thinks she never had any Chinese in her, she finds out that she does when she goes to China she feels right at home. And, I think this was all because her mother influenced Chinese culture into her all her life.
"Together At Last"
A Pair of Tickets
3) Reading this chapter made me extremely happy. I was overall my favorite chapter out of the whole book. Everything that unfolded in this chapter was nice and comforting. Jing-Mei finally got to hear about the life her mother lived and about her father's life as well. It isn't everyday that a child get the opportunity to travel back to her parents home country and meet long lost family members while also learning different stories about the family. I thought it was sad how Jing-Mei was so nervous to meet her half sisters and not just because she hadn't met them before but mainly because she didn't really have anything to tell them about their mother. The truth is Jing-Mei didn't even know who her mother was until she took this trip back to China. This chapter overall was amazing to read and I just couldn't find the strength to stop reading it!
4) Jing-Mei had it tough in this chapter. I found her to be very strong because not everyone would just put their lives on hold to travel to a whole different continent to meet people who are only barely related to them. What I felt really showed Jing-Mei's strength is the fact that she wanted to let her half sisters know about their mother even though she had the slightest idea on how to tell them. Jing-Mei was the right daughter out of all of them in the book to have this situation placed upon her because, she handled it very well and in the end experienced a trip of a lifetime.
5)The conflict is man vs. self and is internal. Jing-Mei has a hard time searching for information to tell her half sisters about their mother. Jing-Mei also struggles on figuring out who she really is but, by the end of the chapter Jing-Mei has an idea of what to tell her half sisters and she also figures out who she truely is. Jing-Mei ends up figuring out all her problems with the help of her father and his story telling.
6)The true theme of this chapter is knowing who you really are and it was explained by this quote, “And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood,” (P. 331) This quote clearly shows that the theme is saying a person can know who they are just by looking at what's inside them.
Jessica Lee
Period 4
1.“the best quality”
2.A Pair of Tickets
3.I thought that this last chapter was a great ending to the book. I’m glad that in the end Jing-mei find her sisters. I liked that Amy Tan talked more about what happened to Suyuan and her twins in this chapter. I felt a bit disappointed when I read that the twins had checked the Li house only a few years before Suyuan went there.
4.I think that Suyuan was a really brave mother. She struggled to look for her twin girls for years and years, but kept trying until she passed away. She didn’t give up hope in finding her daughters, even though the chances were nearly impossible for her to find them.
5.I think that the main conflict in this chapter was human vs. self, Jing-mei vs. her Chinese heritage. She was straining to find the Chinese side of herself, “I’ve never really realized what it means to be Chinese.” (pg. 268)
6.This chapter relates to the allegory because both talk about hope. Suyaun almost lost her hope when Jing-mei’s father had met her in the hospital. “And I wondered which I would lose next. Clothes or hope?” The grandmother in the allegory wanted her daughter to learn to not to lose her hope.
1. Time to Get Together!
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I really liked this chapter because it made me think of when my idiotic brother came home from college or when the whole family goes back to Taiwan and China to visit my relatives. It's just like a family reunion. In this chapter, Jing-Mei hears the story of her mother and the twins and visits the twins in China. It is very emotional and I enjoyed reading it.
4. I chose to write on the husband of Suyuan and also father of Jing-Mei, Canning Woo. He is very passionate and loves his wife dearly. He tells the story his wife told him before she died to his beloved daughter, Jing-Mei. This really shows his love for his wife. Even when she was alive, he loved her and cared for her, not wasting any moment.
5. The main conflict of this chapter is internal, man vs. self. between Jing-Mei and herself. Jing-Mei searches for who she is and hopes that her sisters in China will like her when she goes to visit them. She was scared of what they will be like or what they will think of her. Fortunately, when she arrived at China, her sisters greeted her with love and treated her dearly.
6. I believe the theme is about your heritage. Your heritage is something you cannot deny. It's part of your blood and you are what you are. Jing-Mei has always denied her Chinese culture but when she arrived at China, she didn't have any choice but to accept how Chinese she was. Looking at the picture she and her sisters took together, she saw that they all looked like their mother and they couldn't change any of it.
1) "Heritage"
2) A Pair of Tickets
3) Finally, we have finally finished the Joy Luck Club. I liked this chapter. I thought it was a great way to wrap up the book. This chapter really adds on to some things that we were confused about, such as details as to what happened to the twins when Suyuan left them and how they finally were able to find their mother in America. I felt bad when I was reading about how Lindo Jong was telling June to not tell the twins their mother was dead. I'm glad Lindo told them they were dead because if they found out their mother was dead at China they probably would have been really devastated by the news. Overall I really liked this chapter and how Amy Tan wrote about the events building up to when June met her half-sister twins.
4) I will be focusing on June. This character has been through a lot. From Waverly giving her crap for not being as successful as her, to her mother dying from a blood vessel that bursted. June has probably had it the worst out of all the Joy Luck daughters. I would say June is pretty brave for going to visit her half-sisters in China. I figured it would be pretty rough to see 40 year old half sisters and not knowing anything about them.
5) The conflict is an INTERNAL conflict. It is man vs. society (?). June, including all the other joy luck daughters have struggled to fit into their Chinese heritage throughout the book. June finally finds this when she finally arrives in China. She feels as though she is home.
6) I think the theme in this chapter is about our heritage. That in order for a person to know themselves, is to go back to their roots. June finally realizes and embraces her Chinese roots when she arrives in China.
1. “‘Forever Never Forgotten’”
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This vignette was a good vignette to wrap up the book. I was happy that the book was finally done, because that meant no more blogs. Anyways, now that June was in China, she wanted to take a part of their culture. When her dad was telling her mom’s story in English, she asked him to say it in Chinese. From her dad’s story, people could tell that Suyuan didn’t want to leave her daughters. She left them because she thought that if they stayed with her, they would suffer and die. She thought that they had a better chance of living if she left them behind. I still think that it was wrong for her to leave them like that, but now I understand why she did it. I think it was sort of sad that they went all the way to China just to eat hamburgers, French fries, and apple à la mode. Waiting for the Polaroid to develop was a good way to end the book. Finally seeing her sisters in the Polaroid, June realized how much they resemble their mother.
4. Suyuan was a very strong and determined person. Even though she lost her daughters, she still lived her life. She was determined to look for her daughters and she never gave up. She was also a loving mother, even though she left her twins on the road. She believed that they would have a better life. She gave them jewelry and money to make sure that someone would take of them. She had perseverance and never gave up the idea that one day she would find her daughters.
5. The conflict was internal between Jing-Mei and herself. Most of her life, Jing-Mei never acted like she was Chinese. She didn’t really show her Chinese side. She was nervous about meeting her sisters. She thought that they would blame her for her mother’s death and they would not like her. Once she arrived in China, she felt like she was transforming. She finally understood “what it [meant] to be Chinese.” When she arrived at the airport and saw her sisters, she was excited. She was connected to them. She finally realized how similar she was to her mother.
6. The theme of this vignette is that certain experience brings out your heritage. June didn’t really know her heritage. She fathomed what being Chinese was all about. She was “as Chinese as [her Caucasian friends] were” (267). Not until she went to China did she realize her Chinese ways. June was never aware how similar she was to her mother. Once she saw the Polaroid she saw the resemblance she and her mother had. She finally fathom that a part of her was Chinese and it was in her blood.
Jessica Hartono, Period 4
1. Bonded Together
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I thought the chapter was a bit slow, yet it was fast. There was a lot of detail when it described Jing-Mei’s mother during the past. The scene when Jing-Mei’s mother trudged on the road for miles showed her love for her children. Leaving behind everything except the babies until she was forced to leave them behind. When she puts valuables and pictures in it, it showed that even though she left them behind, she did not want to let them go.
4. Jing-Mei Woo seems to want to go back to her roots. This is shown when Jing-Mei enters China through a train and feels that she is becoming Chinese. The main part reason that shows she wants to go back to her roots is when she learns her mother’s story and her determination to go find her sisters. This is also shown again when she asks her father to tell her the story in Chinese, their native language.
5. The main conflict seems to be being able to know who you are. The conflict is internal because it is Jing-Mei wanting to go back to her roots. This is a human vs. self-conflict because it is between Jing-Mei and herself trying to go back to her ancestral land. In the end the conflict is settled when Jing-Mei finally finds her sisters. She finds out that they all have traits their mother, which is one of their roots.
6. The theme of the chapter is, you must know your roots and where your people came from because that is your true homeland. It means that wherever you go, it will never be your true home because that place is not one of your roots. Your true roots show who and what you are. The true roots cannot be changed and they will be there forever, so you have no choice but to accept it and accept who you are and where your family came from.
Benjamin Ly
Long Cherished Wish
"A Pair of Tickets"
In this chapter, Jing-Mei finally fulfills her mother's wish by going to China and visiting her long lost sisters. Overall this chapter was very heartwarming, especially the end when they are finally united.
I think that spending time with her Chinese family allowed Jing-Mei to learn a lot about herself. She was able to finally "dig into her heritage" when her father told her things about her mother that she had never even knew before. I think it's great how well she gets along with her father's side of the family for the first time.
The main conflict in this chapter would be man vs. self. At first Jing-Mei is nervous when she thinks about facing her half-sisters, because she is scared that she can't continue her mother's legacy. She says, "It seemed as if I wanted to sustain my grief, to assure myself that I had cared deeply enough." I'd be nervous too if I were in her position.
In conclusion, the theme of this chapter is about family. You can never break the family bond, because it is in your blood, even in your bones. Even though Jing-Mei had never met her half-sisters, she instantly recognized them at the airport. The family bond had been created by her fulfulling her mother's "long cherished wish."
There and Back Again.
Chapter: A Pair of Tickets
1) This by far the best chapter I have read in this entire book. The others were sometimes abstruse and made it difficult to understand. It was a very straightforward story yet it brings a buoyant atmosphere mingled with sorrow. The chapter starts out with Jing-Mei and her father on a train to Guangzhou. I think Jing-Mei must've felt very out of place in China as she had grown up in America all her life without ever learning the Chinese ways from her mother. When her father met his Aiyi, I personally rejoiced with them because to see and recognize each other after decades without communicating, the joy of seeing one another must be intense. Then they talk about the story of the two babies. Jing-Mei's mother had always stopped with "I lost everything," but now she can finally hear the truth. I can't imagine having to carry two children while running away from the advancing Japanese. The pain of leaving them on the side of the road must have been devastating and I don't think Suyuan ever recovered from it. However, the babies were taken good care of by the people who found them. It was touching how even though in their own dire conditions that Mei Ching and Mei Han would take the babies in and take care of them. Maybe if Suyuan held on to her babies a little longer they could've both been saved by the foreigner along with herself.
2) Jing-Mei. This chapter really reveals a lot about Jing-Mei and her mother. Jing-Mei had grown up in America, neglecting all the Chinese ways and heritage that her mother had tried to pass on to her. She was ashamed to be Chinese and wanted nothing to do with the old fashioned Chinese ways. However, as she steps into China on this journey to see her sisters, she regrets that she did not listen and learn to appreciate all the wisdoms that her mother had tried to impart to her when she was a child. Jing-Mei met her sisters, worrying about how she won't be able to tell them anything about her mother but after hearing the story of how her mother left her babies, and how she sought so hard to retrieve them, she was no longer afraid. After she saw her sisters, it was as if she could feel her mother's presence and see her spirit inside the her sisters and herself. She was able to fulfill her mother's long-cherished wish.
3) Conflict. I think there wasn't much of a conflict in this chapter besides the fact that Suyuan might have struggled deeply with herself when she gave up her babies. I believe that left a deep wound and scar inside her heart, she was never able to fully recover from the guilt of leaving her babies on the side of the road. It had to be a long and hard self-inflicting conflict to be able to finally come down with that harsh decision. Jing-Mei in this chapter was facing the conflict of regret within herself for not appreciating her mother's presence when she was alive. Now as she travels in China to see her long lost sisters, she feels tinges of sorrow for not understanding her mother when she was still alive.
4) Symbols. I believe the symbol in this chapter was her mother's name, Suyuan. When her Aiyi says that it means "Long Cherished Wish," it let me know that her name symbolized her wish. Suyuan's long cherished wish was to see her daughter, and her name symbolized her longing and never ending spirit to fulfill her wish. The spirit passed on to Jing-Mei and even though she did not inherit much of anything from her mother, she did inherit her spirit of fulfilling her wish. It lead her to China and to her long lost sisters.
A Pair of Tickets
1) Two Tickets Please
2) A Pair of Tickets.
3) This chapter is a jovial one. It ends the novel and means I don’t have to blog or think or even touch The Joy Luck Club anymore. This chapter is also jovial because of the fact that June has finally come to terms with her identity crisis. It is sad, however, that she was only able to come to terms when her mother had died.
4) The character I am focusing on is June. She really changes a lot in the story. She starts from being really depressed and not knowing what to do with her I.D. crisis, but by the end knows that she is Chinese and that what she is comprised of is her mother.
5) The conflict in this story is between June and herself. She cannot bear to tell her half-sisters that their mother is dead. She cannot face the fact that maybe her sisters would be disappointed in her due to the fact that she is nothing like her mother. By the end of the novel after taking the Polaroid pictures, June finally realizes who she is and her worth.
6) The symbol in this chapter can be the Polaroid picture. The Polaroid picture can symbolize June’s identity. When she takes the picture with her two sisters, and she sees herself forming on the picture, it could symbolize June finally finding out who she is, her identity finally being “formed” in front of her eyes. She was only able to find this out with her two sisters in China, which means June’s Chinese heritage had helped her find out who she is.
1.) heheheheh
2.) “A Pair of Tickets”
3.) Finally made it through the book, this last chapter was a perfect wrap up and had much to show of Chinese culture, and gives off the well deserved feel of completion that’s usually not there when I’m done with other books. Jing-mei finally goes to China to meet her two younger siblings, and after reflecting and thinking she ponders about how she’s going to tell the tall tale of her mother, thinking that she knows barely anything about her. At the end the three take a picture, and she states that she can clearly see the resemblance of their mother in all three faces.
4.) After reading and completing this book, Suyuan is shown to be a caring mother who never gave up looking for her young even after leaving China. Even as she left, she never gave up calling and attempting to contact with her children which demonstrates persistence and perseverance, Suyuan is clearly a mother who cares.
5.) I’d have to say that the issue of this chapter would have be man vs self, June feels uncertain about meeting her siblings because she didn’t know her mother that well, and seems to be ashamed of her ignorance.
6.) The theme of this chapter is the culture of our origins is stuck inside of us no matter how little we know about it, or how much we resent it. June has no clue what Chinese people’s lifestyle is like, but once she visits China she feels the culture in the air, the sights, the smells, and feels welcomed.
Reunited at Last
"A Pair of Tickets"
3. First of all, I thought this chapter was long! I didn't know if it would ever end! Overall, I really liked this chapter. It was interesting! I thought it was terrible how Jing-mei's mother had to give up her baby girls. I can't even imagine doing such a thing. It was a good feeling when June got to reunite with her long lost sisters she barely even found out about. This chapter was also about how Suyaun spent her young years in her life and how she met her Second husband, who is June's father. By the text, you can tell that he really cared for her, which was a nice feeling as well.
4. In this chapter, Suyaun was introduced to us in a new manner. The text explains alot more about her., like why she gave her poor babies up. Suyuan is a strong woman, which is obvious because she wanted the best for her daughters so she gave them up. Searching for them and always keeping hope, this shows a new side of Suyaun as well; her courage.
5. The main conflict in this long vignette was human vs self, between Jing Mei and herself. When the Joy Luck Club sisters were sending out a return letter to the sisters in China, they had told Jing Mei that she had to tell them their mother was dead. Jing Mei responded in such a way saying that the sisters would blame her for the death of their mother and abominate her. That was not the case at all though. When she finally met her older sisters she didnt know, it seemed like they clicked right off the bat and had a strong connection.
6. In this chapter, Amy Tan uses flashbacks which help us definitely understand the story more and finally be able to put pieces together. In these flashbacks, there waas a lot of key memories that had happened in Suyaun's life. For example, Tan flashed us back to where she had to give up her babies. I think these flashbacks really helped me as a reader to understand the story better.
1. Mama’s Spitting Images
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This chapter was really heartwarming and deep. I think after reading this I feel like I now have a much better understanding of Suyuan and Jing-Mei and their characters. I also feel sad that Suyuan wasn’t able to meet her two twin daughters before she passed especially since they went to China a few years before Mei sent the two twins to the factory place. I wonder how the story would’ve changed if Suyuan was still alive.
4. Jing-Mei Woo didn’t really know Suyuan that well and when Suyuan told her things she always felt they were in riddles, but in this chapter Jing-Mei says something along with the words, “now I ask the questions mostly because I want to know the answers,” I think this shows that Jing-Mei was once ignorant, but after the death of her mother was able to realize that once a person is gone their stories and life is taken with them.
5. I think the main conflict in this chapter is internal between Jing-mei and herself. That makes this conflict a man vs self conflict. I think that Jing-mei was distressed about not knowing her mother and felt guilty that she hadn’t taken time to learn about her mom. But I think at the end of the chapter she finds closure after her dad tells her the story of how Suyuan left her two daughters on the road and also when she sees her two older sisters she recognizes them and has a feeling that she has known them throughout her whole life even though that isn’t true.
6. A) I think the theme in this chapter is that you don’t realize the importance of something until you no longer have it there. Jing-mei was not really interested in getting to know her mom better until her mom passes and she realizes that she didn’t really know her mom. In the line where Jing-Mei says she never understood what her mother meant. I think this shows that before her mother’s death she didn’t realize how much the role of her mother’s life really affected her and how much impact having memories of a passed love one really helped her. Therefore going back to the idea that people don’t realize the impact or importance of something until they lose it or it is put into an unreachable place.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!"
(a.k.a. A Pair of Tickets)
3. I didn't really have much of a reaction to this chapter as to the others in this book. It was a horrible thing to have to leave your own undeveloped children on the side of the road like that, only to be rescued several moments later without them in a miracle. What is OSHA? Lili sounds cute, sort of like my little cousins! & dang, that fancy hotel for only $34 per night? That's cheap! It's ironic how Jing-Mei comes to China, expecting all those authentic Chinese delicacies, yet she ends up eating "hamburgers, french fries, and apple pie a la mode" (278). It's quite tragic how almost directly after Suyuan dies, her old schoolmate coincidentally bumps into the twins at the mall. Yay, happy ending! <3
4. Auntie Lindo does not do what An-Mei wants: write to her twin sisters that their mother had died. Auntie Lindo is stubborn in this manner and believes that what she thinks is the best, that her own point-of-view is what should be done, not anybody else's. Once again, she thinks she knows everything, but she doesn't. Nuh-uh.
5. The main conflict has to be An-Mei vs. herself (internal: man vs. man). She believes that she is not Chinese, when really, "once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese". This proves true through An-Mei's attempts at haggling at the first thought of a misunderstanding and taking pictures at memorable moments. At the end, the conflict is definitely resolved. An-Mei realizes "what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood" (288) and knows that she will always be Chinese.
6. I believe the pair of tickets symbolizes "Spring Water" and "Spring Flower", An-Mei's two twin older sisters. With the pair of tickets, she was able to fly back to China, to return to her heritage; her twin sisters helped her realize that her Chinese heritage was always within her, because it was the part that her mother had left for her. The tickets also was a way to get onboard the plane, to fly away from her Americanized lifestyle and come back to who she really is.
Emily Huynh, Period 4
Long-cherished Wish
A Pair of Tickets
3. I thought this chapter was a nice way to end the novel. It was heart felt, comforting, and it brought warmth to the reader. The first thing I noticed was that Jing-Mei was the narrator; she was also the narrator of the first chapter. This was a smart strategy for Amy Tan because it really wrapped everything together. At first, I kept wondering what was going to happen and how Tan chose to end her greatest work of literature. Now that I’m finished, it’s safe to say I am one hundred percent satisfied. I thought Jing and her father’s trip to China was exciting; Jing’s father got to reunite and reminisce with his family while Jing got to meet her two half-sisters, fulfilling her mother’s biggest wish. The storyline was just overall just magnificent. And one more thing, I really liked how the chapter ended with “her long-cherished wish” (288) because that was what Jing’s mother’s name meant. Way to remind the reader, Amy Tan!
4. The main character in this chapter was Jing-Mei Woo, an American-washed thirty six year old seeking to find her half-sisters in China, but most importantly, trying to uncover her inner Chinese. She and her father take a trip to China, her dad reminisces with his relatives while she lets her mind wander about her half-sisters her mother talked so greatly about. When she discovered her half-sisters were alive and that it was her mother’s biggest wish to find them, she felt it was essential she fulfill the wish herself. That is exactly what she did. For that reason, I think Jing is a very strong character. Out of the other Chinese daughters in this novel, she is the only one who accepts her heritage and tries to unlock it. She finds her half-sisters, and in them, she sees her mother, she sees her Chinese heritage. She never had to find it because all along, it was within her family.
5. I think the conflict in this chapter was man vs. self internal because Jing searches for something inside her, something that will reassure her of her Chinese ethnicity. There’s always the saying “you never appreciate something until it is no longer there,” which I think applies to this chapter. Jing never took pride into her Chinese heritage until her mother’s death. After her mother died, she felt obligated to find the Chinese in her, something her mother always tried to hang on to. To do so, she takes a trip to China, and during it, her mother’s past is revealed. After her father’s stories about her mother’s life, Jing finally understands her. She makes up for her Americanism by fulfilling her mother’s long-cherished wish, and doing so, she realizes her inner Chinese will always be with her as long as family is around.
6. I think the theme in this chapter is similar to the previous chapter “Double Face.” It is to hold on to your heritage and realize its importance. Jing didn’t pay attention to her heritage; it only came apparent to her when her mother died. It was then that it hit her that she must find her inner Chinese, which she did through her family members. The importance of family is also portrayed in this chapter because Jing couldn’t have reached her half-sisters if it wasn’t for the support of the members of the Joy Luck Club, practically her second family and the guidance of her father. No matter what, family will always be there for you, and Jing’s family, although they had just met her for the first time, treated her as if they knew her their entire life. With family and your heritage, I don’t think one will fail to remember who they truly are, what lies underneath their skin and in their blood.
Linh Vuong
3rd Period
THE MOTHERLAND!
A Pair of Tickets
1) This chapter was a big eyeopener, not only for June, but for me as well. I found the story of Suyuan and her twin daughters very touching. The couple who took them in were very generous and the effort they put in to find the real mother put them in my book of honorable people. It's ironic how she walked all those miles to meet her husband, giving up everything she had to find that he had already died. I found it funny that Jing-Mei was expecting a genuine Chinese dinner but had to eat American food instead. I thought this was a great ending to a great book.
4) In the flashback, Suyuan told Jing-Mei that because she was Chinese, no matter how hard she would try to not be, she would always think and act like a Chinese person. When she arrived in China, she felt like she had arrived home. I can see a sense of Suyuan in Jing-Mei, as if she was there herself. The ending of the story and chapter was that she had found her sister, but I believe that it was a journey for her to actually find her inner self as a Chinese person.
5) The conflict in this chapter was between Jing-Mei's American culture and Chinese culture. It is an internal culture. In the end, it is resolved that she found her Chinese culture that had been lost.
6) A theme in this chapter, is that no matter how much you try to change your heritage always sticks to you and defines you.
Alvin Lee 4th period
1. Long-cherished Wish
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. For this chapter, I think there was too much time spent on the journey to June’s sisters and not enough time where they actually met up. Did Amy Tan do this on purpose for a reason? On the other hand, there is a lot of detail spent on describing her mother and the situation in which she has to tell her long-lost sisters that their mother has passed. From this chapter, I can see that, as June goes to China to reunite with her sisters and tell them about their mother, she reveals the Chinese side of her personality. Also, I feel bad for June having to go through all the pressure from the aunts to go to China and tell her sisters the truth, not the lies in the letter. I liked how the chapter ended with a reunion of the family represented by the photo which shows June’s mother’s wishes.
4. June, the main focus of this chapter, goes through a lot of pressure but she also learns a great deal about her mother by going back to China and talking with her family. At the beginning of the chapter, June questions her Chinese self but, by reuniting with her sisters, she discovers that the Chinese side of herself is located with her family and blood. Also, June fulfilled her mother’s wishes by finding the sisters and reuniting with them.
5. The conflict in this chapter is internal, between June and herself, because she fights to find out the part of her that is Chinese. June struggles through her journey to discover how she is Chinese and how she is different from the many others in America. This conflict is resolved because she realizes that the Chinese part of her is found within her blood relations, her family, and by meeting them, she understands more about her mother and her own Chinese side.
6b. I believe the Polaroid images, or pictures, symbolize unity, family, and togetherness because the pictures of her father are compared to June. Also, at the end of the chapter, the final picture of June and her three sisters represent their mother’s wishes as they are finally reunited as a family.
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1) Long at last!
2) A Pair of Tickets
3) I really enjoyed this chapter, probably because it's the last one! Also, this chapter seemed calming, as if all the problems and worries became resolved. The opening of the chapter was funny--it was just like how Waverly was afraid of becoming Chinese. I realized that most or all of the daughters in Joy Luck Club try to repress their Chinese heritage, from marrying a Caucasian husband to not caring for Chinese traditions. However, I think June is one of the better girls, at last she finds the sisters and fulfills her mother's life-long goal.
4) June May's father, Canning Woo, displayed amazing dedication and love in this chapter. Even at the ripe old age of 72, he still returns to China with his daughter to find the two daughters, Suyuan's life-long wish. This proves he really loves his family and the scene where he tears up while talking about Suyuan reveals his sensitivity. Lastly, Canning Woo is pretty much the only father in the book that is actually mentioned in depth, unlike Tin Jong.
5) The main conflict in this vignette is man vs. self, between June and herself. She worried about the difficulties and consequences of going to China like how to communicate with the daughters, and she had to reach deep within her to draw out the courage to convince herself to go. In the end, she felt that it was her duty to do this for her late mother and also for herself. The trip helped June find herself; it opened her eyes. She could finally accept her Chinese heritage and feel at peace, instead of hiding it or pretending it wasn't there all along.
6) The theme of this chapter has to do with our roots and family. Unlike the marital relationships in this chapter, the strong bonds between family such as mother-daughter are universal, be it American or Chinese. Sometimes, going back to our roots may be the best way to reconnect or find our culture and heritage. After we realize that it is in our blood, spirit, and being, then like family, it will always be a part of us and will never go away.
1.We Meet At Last
2.A Pair of Tickets
3.Even though it is tragic that Suyuan dies right before she can meet her long-lost daughters, this story has a happy ending. The daughters of Suyuan finally meet each other after years of separation. Suyuan’s long cherished wish comes true. I feel happy that this story has a happy ending and is relieved that the book is over at last. The story ties up at the end quite nicely and gives me a contented feeling inside. It is like Suyuan is revived at the conclusion of the vignette. The scattered parts of Suyuan (the daughters) find each other and are reunited.
4.Suyuan is a loving and determined mother. Knowing that it is unlikely that her lost daughters are even alive, she continues to search for them until her death many years later. She does not give up hope even though she lost pretty much all contact with China. She and her husband even searched China and everywhere bordering China. When she was an old lady, she still wanted to go back to search one last time. Suyuan really loves her missing daughters and does not give up and has unwavering hope until the end. Her belief in finding them is so strong that after she dies, her spirit finds the daughters and allows all of her daughters to reunite.
5.The main conflict is internal, man vs. self. She is afraid that Chwun Hwa and Chwun Yu will not accept her and that she will not know her mother well enough to describe her mother’s life to the sisters. June is worried. She imagines the sisters rejecting her and seeing their disappointed, pained faces. The conflict is resolved in the end when the sisters finally meet each other. They embrace each other just like long-lost sisters and are overjoyed.
6A.I think one of the themes is accept your heritage and you will find your true self. June realizes this when she sees “what part of [her] is Chinese. It is [her] family. It is in [her] blood” (288). June realizes that her family makes her who she is.
Jodie Chan
Period 3
“A wish fulfilled- I’m coming to meet you my blood”
“A pair of Tickets- The Joy Luck Club”
My Reaction-
I was very content with the ending; it was almost a fairytale in pages- a real life fantasy. Very, very relieved Jing-Mei finally met up with her half- siblings. I was most glad, however, that my conception of Suyuan was completely untrue for the better of things. She didn’t leave her babies behind to save her own life, but rather to save the life of the twins because she hoped that they would receive a life she could never give them. This was an ultimate sacrifice that I would never be able to do and it really shows me how strong a parent must be if they want the best for their children.
My View-
Jing-Mei finally goes to see her half siblings with her father and it’s not at all how she expected it to be. Instead of a traditional Chinese city, she finds herself in another concrete jungle. I kind of felt relieved but at the same time a little bit sympathetic to Jing-Mei for not getting what she expected. However, I am happy she has finally met her sisters. Although her sisters didn’t get their mother as they expected, they still accepted Jing-Mei with open arms and showed the true unrequited love that all people with the same blood racing through their veins do.
The Conflict-
The main conflict here is Man vs Himself with Jing-Mei at the center. She’s angry at herself for never really learning more about her mother until it was too late. Because of this, she’s afraid of what her sisters will think of her, a person who never knew her own mother even though she was graced with living next to her. The conflict is resolved when Jing-Mei is united with her sisters and realizes that’s all that matters, and that’s all her mother really wanted for her.
The Theme-
I think that the theme of this chapter is that one’s heritage will always be who you are. Even if we feel we have not inherited anything from our ancestors, it is there. Undoubtedly it will be there in our blood. This is shown in the final scene where Jing-Mei sees her mother in the picture of herself and her half-sisters. The picture is a link bonding together people from a thousand li away with each other.
"At last, We meet"
"A Pair of Tickets"
1. Wow! What a great ending to the chapter. It really tied everything together and re-emphasized the dire importance of Heritage in one last vignette. I realy liked how Amy Tan can really close the story with a fantastic symbol and how she does not jump the gun and get to the end right away. It felt really nice being eased into the ending, as June spends quite a bit of a time in China prior to meeting her sisters. I was a little confused about why they would stay in the Hyatt to order western food, when there are countless traditional Chinese restaurants around them in the country of China. Letting June finally realizing her true identity and how much her heritage should be a part of her life was a great way to tie everything up and leave the book with a perfect ending.
2. A big character in this book was June. She was a dynamic character that changed throughout the story, since at first, she did not want anythign to do with her Chinese culture. She only admitted that she was Chinese on the outside, but on the inside, she was 100% American. This apparently changed, as she really seemed to want to experience the Chinese cultures and customs during her trip to China. Although she spends her time there in a Hyatt Chain hotel eating western food, her amazement of the area really showed that Jing-Mei now has a new perspective on Chinese culture. She even preffered it when Canning told his story in Chinese, since she did not want to hear him tell it to her in English.
3. A conflict in this story was Jing-Mei's hesitation and stubborness in realizing her Chinese culture, but this vignette had a perfect ending that appropriately concluded the whole book. This conflict was gradually resolved as Jing-Mei begins to let the Chinese culture seep into her body during her trip to China. She now also has a desire for the traditional chinese cuisine and customs and when she finally admits meets her sisters and clearly see that she IS chinese. That a part of her was still left in China with her sisters, the conflict was finally resolved.
4. The photograph in the story was a symbol of Jing-Mei's breakthrough in her heritage. As a child, she was never proud of being Chinese, and never had any concern for the eastern side of her lifestyle. Like the polaroid camera's undeveloped film, her Chinese heritage was dark and invisible. It was virtually nowhere to be found. As the film continues to dry and reveal images of her the photo, Jing-Mei is gradually able to grasp her heritage and realize its true importance and impact on her life. The picture gets even clearer, as it symbolizes her newfound knowledge in her mother's history and her sister's identities. Finally, the picture is fully developed as Jing-Mei is now able to CLEARLY see three faces looking back at her as if it was her mother in the photo. She is now able to see her heritage, her mother, and herself.
Reunited At Last.
A Pair of Tickets
this chapter was heart warming, but very long. it was good that it was long, though. i liked the story and felt that i wasnt ever really bored. i was interested in the fact that Jing-Mei is finally goingto see her sisters, whom were left from her mother in China. it was too bad that her mother didnt live long enough to see them. i also felt really sad though. Jing-Mei never really knew her mother and that made me feel like talking to my mother a bit more everyday. it's always tragic when you lose someone so close to you and not knowing anything about them to keep in your memories.
after all this time, i always wondered, "who is this mother?" & "what did she do?". i finally found out at the END of the book, and found that it wasnt all just a heartless mother giving up children that she didnt want. She actually loved her babies but she had no other choice. i couldnt imaging the pain she went through and not knowing anything about them til it's too late.
i think that the theme is, "you'll never really realize what you had til it's gone". something that seems like nothing to you will be something once it's been missed, or been taken advantage of and you cant take it back til it's too late. Jingmei, unfortunately never got to know anything about her mother and realizing that it was too late when her mother had died. it's the worst feeling a person can have.
1:Last Chapter
2:A Pair of Tickets
3:In this sad, final chapter of the book, the story wraps up. WE find out what actually happened to Suyuan's twins. Jing-Mei reunites with her half-sisters and they're all happy. After hearing her dad tell her the story, Jing-Mei now knows why her mother left those babies on the side of the road.
4:Suyuan Woo, is a strong woman. In the beginning chapters, we see her trying to make Jing-Mei do all these weird stuff, but now we see a new side of Suyuan. She abandoned her babies because she knew that if she still had them, they would only die with her. So she thought it would be safe for the babies to be taken care by somebody else, which they were. She, unfortunately, dies before she gets a chance to see her twin daughters. In the end of the novel, Jing-Mei comments that the three sisters' faces resemble their mother, Suyuan.
5:A conflict in this chapter is man vs. self, Jing-Mei vs. herself. She doesn't know what to do once she see her half-sisters and is afraid that they might reject her because their mother is dead and Jing-Mei barely knows her mother.
6:A theme is that family bonds are the strongest, even if you're on the other side of the world. Even though Jing-Mei has never met her twin sisters, when she sees them , they all run up to hug each other.
Wai Chan
period3
1. “Reunited”
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. This chapter was a great, happy and satisfying ending to the novel. Being so disconnected with her mother and her heritage, June finds her Chinese blood when she arrives in China. She learns about her mother’s past and finally meets her sisters. This is definitely an emotional chapter, but fortunately, it was out of joy. Though the sisters have lost their mother, they can still find her within each other. The reunion reminds me of my own experiences when I’ve met my relatives for the first time. Though we barely know each other, everything feels right, automatically like family.
4. June undergoes a great transformation throughout the novel. She begins with under appreciating her mother, feeling regret after her death. Without fully understanding her mother and her past, June does not “feel” Chinese and wishes to abandon her heritage. She realizes that she has sisters in China and is able to reconnect with them. Going to her homeland, June finally matures, receives clarification of her mother’s history, finds her identity, and most importantly, feels her Chinese blood.
5. The main conflict in this chapter is the internal man vs. self conflict between June and her lost identity. Originally, she doesn’t feel “Chinese” and wishes to discard her heritage. She has many unanswered questions, especially about her mother. However, after being informed of her mother’s past, she gradually rediscovers what it is to be Chinese when she arrives in China, realizing how alike she is to her sister and mother.
6. Amy Tan, once again, incorporates flashback into the story. It helps the reader fully comprehend the characters and their actions, decisions and thoughts. It makes everything more understandable and we get to see all points of views.
1. Long Cherished Wish
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This has to be my favorite chapter. It really tied all the loose ends up and connected the whole story together. I really loved the ending, it was very wonderful and happy. It was unexpected. I think June finally understand who her mother was, she knew along who she was deep down inside. June also found herself. Her heritage that she never really wanted is now brought out in her family and she sort of finds herself. This book seems to be all about finding your true self and dealing with the clash of cultures. I am glad the whole story is told to June of what really happened to her babies. She always thought her mother was cruel and abandoned them like they were nothing but her mother couldn’t do anything else. It was the best choice at the time. It was Ironic how she wouldn’t have lost her babies if she just kept them for a little while longer. In the end, they grew up fine. Maybe it was best for them to be raised by this other family.
4. June all along doesn’t know who her mother is, doesn’t know who she is. She finally faces her fears and faces her sisters. The outcome is way better than ever expected. June must have some respect for her mom if she was able to do this for her. I think all along June was missing something and when she finally met her sisters she felt complete.
5. I think the conflict is man vs. self. June is constantly battling her negative thoughts. She thinks her sisters will think it’s her fault her mother is dead. She thinks they won’t want to meet her, and only want her mother. She feels bad she never really truly knew her mother because she can’t even tell them much about her. In the end, her sisters are happy to meet her.
6. I think the theme is that your family will always be your family. June believes her sister will not like her but she finds they have a family bond. It is in her blood. They all share different features of their mother. They are family and nothing can change that.
Kathy Nguyen
Per 4
1) "My Mother's Wish is Now Fufilled"
2) "Pair of Tickets"
3) This was the best way to end the book! Some parts were confusing, but it eventually lead to the point that was needed to be made. When June finally met her sisters, I felt happy that it finally happened. And finally after reading the other vignettes, we learn why June's mother had to leave her twin babies, what happened during the war, and how June's father and Suyuan tried to find her lost sisters. Even though the twin sisters knew their mother died, they were still happy to see their sister, also the daughter of their mother.
4) June's Chinese side of her begins to reveal itself as she goes to China to see her sisters that have been found. She doesn't know much about her mother and her past, so she asks her father who tells her what he knows. June then understands the cause of her mother's actions in the past and laments on her mistakes she made. When she meets her sisters though, they bring upon a warm atmosphere.
5) I think the main conflict is man vs. self, because June is anxious of what will happen when she meets her sisters. She wonders if the outcome will be bad, because of their mother's death. June tries to figure out who she is and her mother is. She finds out through the stories her father tells her of what happened to her mother and her sisters, how Suyuan met June's father, and how Suyuan continued to look for her children. The conflict is resolved when June meets her sisters. They are not angry, but are glad to finally meet their sister.
6d) Amy Tan uses flashbacks to tell us Suyuan's story and how she lost her babies. And also how June's sisters were able to make contact after many years of Suyuan searching for them. Without the flashback, the chapter would have been more confusing as to how June was related to her sisters, and what was the purpose of meeting them.
1. Long-cherished Wish
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. I thought this chapter was really touching and emotional, especially the last part when the three sisters saw each other at last, all connected through their mother and their heritage. I liked how there was another flashback to explain Suyuan’s reason for abandoning her children but the irony of her being rescued right after she left her children was very saddening. When Jing-mei went to see her sisters and tell them of the loss, they understood without her saying anything. The picture of all three of them showed that they were connected, not only because they looked similar to Suyuan, but also underneath their skin, because they shared the same heritage.
4. I think in this chapter, Jing-mei finds her identity and heritage on the trip to China. She “feels different” as if she’s “becoming Chinese” for the first time (267). Throughout the trip, she reacts emotionally to the sceneries and people that she sees, as if they were memories from a long time ago. As Jing-mei meets her aunt and other relatives, and learns more about her mother from her father, she slowly finds her heritage and identity.
5. I think the main conflict in this chapter is human vs. self. Jing-mei was scared of what might happen when she sees her sisters without their mother and how they would react. Jing-mei had several dreams about it; she thinks that her sisters would be despairing and angry and hate her. Jing-mei was also struggling to find her own identity. She wanted to learn more about her mother because she never had a chance to when her mother was alive. Her father told her more about the twin babies that her mother Suyuan had left behind. From the story, Jing-mei later felt more connected to her mother. The conflict was resolved by the end of the chapter because Jing-mei found her heritage and identity with her relatives in China, and when she met her sisters, they understood and did not blame her.
6a. I think the theme in this chapter is that your heritage will also define who you really are and to appreciate it. Jing-mei, who had never been to China before, found the trip to be very emotional, as if she already had memories from it before. I think it shows that her heritage was always inside of her, but she didn’t realize it until she traveled back to China and faced her culture head on.
Alice La, Period 4
1.Together at last.
2.Jing-Mei Woo: A Pair of Tickets
3.I definitely give this chapter two thumbs up! I like how Tan let us learn more about Suyuan. I learned that she was an extremely good mother that loved her twins and was only trying to do what was best for them. I thought it was sad when she couldn't go back to get her babies, but I was glad to find out that the twins were taken by someone caring. I found it was funny how Jing-Mei was expecting her first real Chinese dinner when she arrived, but instead of that, she received a typical American fast-food meal! I was extremely glad when Jing-Mei finally got to meet her sisters, but it was really depressing that their mother couldn't be there for the reunion. I loved the ending and I loved how they finally saw their beloved mother in themselves.
4.In the previous chapters, it was always about the mother and the daughter, but in this chapter, Jing’Mei’s father caught my attention because this was the most any of their fathers was mentioned. Seeing that Jing-Mei’s father’s eyes were always moist when he talked about Suyuan, I concluded that he loved her very much; I also felt a little sad for him when he always talked about her name being “Grudge.” I also found him very understanding because instead of forcing Jing-Mei to speak in Chinese, he spoke to her in English.
5.The main conflict in this chapter was internal, man vs. self because Jing-Mei was trying to find her Chinese heritage inside her. While her mother was alive, she never appreciated her culture, so when her mother passed, she felt the need to find that bit of Chinese culture within herself. After Jing’s mother’s past is revealed when she takes a trip to China, Jing-Mei begins to understand her mother and she fulfills her mother’s wish to find Jing’s twin sisters. At the end of this vignette, June comes to a conclusion that there will always be Chinese blood and culture running through her veins and she’ll always be reminded of it as long as she is around her family.
6.I think the theme of this chapter, as well as the entire novel, is that one should cherish the relationship they have with their mother. In “A Pair of Tickets,” Jing-Mei goes to China not knowing anything about her mother’s hardships. Because of Suyuan’s untimely death, Jing-mei is left uneducated with her mother’s life story. Although, when Jing-Mei is united with her older twin sisters, they discover that they all share a common love for their mother. I, and I’m sure many others, got a warm feeling and sense of value towards their mother at the end of this chapter.
-Melani Cabanayan; Period 3
Together at last
A Pair of Tickets
Reaction: I think chapter was a great way to end the book because it was basically the conclusion of all of the adventures and stories that had been told and built up. I liked how the aunties and family members had planned out everything for the long lost family to meet up again. Jing Mei finally found her true self and accepted her Chinese culture. She embraced her heritage even after many years of her mother’s death. The three sisters took a photo together and all three showed resemblances of their mother. This could show for their acceptance of their mother.
Character: Suyuan was a strong and devoted mother. She took every opportunity to look for her long lost daughters she had left behind in China. At first, her decision to abandon at babies behind was abstruse to me because they were so still so young. I now understand why she had to do this and I accolade her bravery because it must’ve been hard for her. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to care for both them and had to make a tough decision on leaving them in China. I know she still thought about her daughters and care for them even if she didn’t have connections with them for many years.
Conflict: The internal human vs. self conflict displayed itself in this chapter. June felt blinded and scared for meeting her sisters for the first time. She didn’t know how to interact with them and talk to them since they didn’t know that their mother had passed away. She knew that she had to somehow carry out her mother’s dreams and wishes of reuniting with her kids again. The conflict resolved itself because everything turned out well and in China June was able to find herself and finally accept who she was. She no longer had to carry her mother’s burden since her dream became a reality.
Imagery: In this chapter, Amy Tam used an abundance amount of imagery to help us understand the feelings that the characters are going through. It also brought the scene and mood to life. When Amy Tam described Jing-mei’s father as they were going to see his family with, “a young boy, so innocent and happy I want to button his sweater and pat his head.” This was describing a seventy-year-old man, but he was so full of happiness and energy that he exuberated a sense of youth. Doing this pulled us into the story and helped the mood through the images she presented through her choice of woods.
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1. Together
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I thought that this chapter was a nice closing to the story. We finally get some closure and truly understand more about Jing-Mei's life back in China, instead of wondering how could she be so cruel and just leave the babies on the road. The way that Jing-Mei's father described his story was great, and he really made the mother seem like a very caring, lovable person. The finally reunion was also a very touching and heartwarming scene.
5. There wasn't much conflict in this chapter, but the main one was human vs self. Jing-Mei was unsure about finally meeting her long lost sister, mostly because Jing-Mei doesn't feel like she knows their mother at all.
6. I think one of the major symbols in this chapter was the photograph taken. The way how it was blurry at first and took awhile to develope into a clear photo represented what her mother had left them. In each of the faces, Jing-Mei could see her mom in each of them.
1. “A Fulfilled Wish”
2. “A Pair of Tickets”
3. This chapter wrapped up the novel very nicely. Out of all the vignettes I’ve read so far, this one was captivating. The reunion between the Jing-Mei’s and her long lost sisters was also heartfelt. The chapter also tied any loose ends left and focused on the importance of family and heritage, a reoccurring theme which can be found throughout this novel. The etymology of Jing-Mei’s and her sisters’ names are given which I thought was a nice addition. At the very beginning of the novel, I couldn’t fathom as to why Suyuan chose to abandon her babies in Kweilin. After reading this chapter, I came to realize the hard decision she had to make as a sacrifice for them. Jing-Mei being reunited with her sisters helped her to finally accept her Chinese heritage.
4. Jing-Mei‘s is a nice and compassionate person. The reader can see this when Jing-Mei frets over how she plans to break the news of Suyuan’s death to her sisters. She is also able to accept her culture after remember her mother and seeing her sisters for the first time.
5. The main conflict is June trying to accept her heritage. The clash of cultures between Chinese and American values make it that much harder for Jing-Mei. Her Chinese side is able to manifest itself when she sees how much she and her sisters resemble her mother.
6. I thought the theme was one that has been one that’s been reemphasized numerous times: that one has to embrace their heritage. Even if you try to run away from it, it’s a part of your own identity and that gives shape to who we are as people. Like I mentioned before, there’s a clash between the Chinese and American cultures throughout this novel, but only by embracing BOTH of them, are the characters able to find themselves.
Brian Yang
Period 4
Long-Cherished Reunion
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. This vignette was pretty short, but it really conveyed a clear message to the reader using different techniques. Also, this chapter helps wrap up the story and it had, in my opinion, the clearest symbolism in the whole book. It was straight forward and not confusing, tortuous, and twisting like some of the other chapters. It brought forth a lot of information about why June's mom had to leave behind her babies and what happened to them after she ran away. I thought it was stupid that if Jing-Mei's mom had just taken the babies for a little longer, she would have been saved by the religious American women. I guess that's irony for you. It was awesome how the three sisters finally got to see each other again. I think that the sisters in China had already suspected that their mother was dead, even without anybody telling them.
4. One of the more interesting characters in this story is Jing-Mei Woo. She does many things that reveal her true self and how, in the complementary form of Waverly, she embraces her Chinese culture. She tries to get her dad to talk in Chinese and tries to use her limited Chinese to communicate between them as well as others. June doesn't hate her Chinese culture or use it because it's popular and trendy; rather, she feels it's part of her, encoded into her genes.
5. First off, I want to say that I did not see a lot of conflict in this chapter. Mostly, the problem was the lack of the ability to communicate. Because June did not fully know Chinese, she couldn't be completely immersed in the Chinese culture that she had so loved. This type of conflict was human vs. self and was mostly internal. She fought inside of her mind about what to do, how she would tell her half-sisters about their dead mother. The end result was actually nothing like she had expected. Just like her, her sisters had grown up and were not small children. Also, their hearts weren't crushed when the news was broken to them like Jing-Mei thought they would be and like she saw them in her vision.
6. I think that the theme or life lesson in this particular chapter to be true to yourself. You should embrace your culture and not reject it like Waverly did. I felt that was extremely wrong of her to do so. This is why I favored June over Waverly as she didn't just push away Chinese side of her life. June was also way more understanding, in general, than Waverly.
-Calvin Ho
Period 4
1. Tearful Greetings
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. I've been waiting to hear about this story since the first chapter. It was sad how her mother left her two children behind her. When a couple adopted them, they later were able to read what was written, but refused to give them up. Maybe if she had shown up sooner Jing-Mei's mother would have been able to be reunited with her lost children.
4. Jing-Mei doesn't know what to tell her sisters about their mother. All her life, she took her mother for granted always ignoring what she would say. Now that her mother is gone, she regrets that she can't ask her about the hidden deep meaning in all the things she did. Jing-Mei wishes that she could have known her mother more and learn to appreciate her sooner.
5.The conflict in this chapter is human vs self. Jing-Mei is flabbergasted on what she should tell her sisters about their mother. She never took the time to ask her mother about their culture, and now regrets it deep within her heart.
6. You will never know how to appreciate someone until they're gone. Jing-Mei now regrets all those years growing up never asking her mother about their culture, or all the questions that she has now. Jing-Mei never asked about the meaning behind the jade that she gave her, and now will never know. She never asked about her mother's past, and how hard it was to let go of her children. Jing-Mei regrets all the things she said to her, and now knows that it pierced her mother's heart.
-Diana
Period 3
1. Roots Bloody Roots
2. A Pair of Tickets
3. And so, with the conclusion of the book, I came away a bit underwhelmed. It was a bit longer than the other chapters, but the only notable thing it had was the elaboration of Suyuan's past. It was interesting, but it didn't really give much in terms of new insights into the narrative. With the final few pages, I think it could have been a bit better, though its obviously Tan's book and the end is fine as it is. Anyways, the chapter didn't really deliver anything new and what happened was pretty obvious from the start of the book.
4. Jing-Mei initially tries to distance herself away from her Chinese heritage. Even her white friends remark that she is about as Chinese as they are. She then starts to believe that she is becoming a true Chinese person after her mother tells her that its part of her genes. When she gets to China, though, she starts to worry she isn't Chinese enough. In the end, she comes to find her Chinese heritage.
5. The conflict is an internal one, man vs self, as outlined above. It deals with Jing-Mei's search of identity and is resolved when she meets her sisters and realizes she can be Chinese and American.
6.A. I think the theme of this chapter is that no matter where you go, you will always be attached to your roots. Though Jing-Mei is born in America and tries to reject her roots, when she goes to China, she comes to connect with her Chinese identity, which, though she would have before denied it, has always been there.
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