Amy Tan develops the character of Jing-mei in “A pair of Tickets” through the plot, setting changes, and she provides a satisfying conclusion. First, there are several conflicts in the story, both internal and external, that add to the plot of the story. One of Jing-mei’s major struggles in the beginning of the story is her own identity. Although she is Chinese, Jing-mei has never felt it because she was born and raised in America. After the death of her mother, Jing-mei begins to feel different pangs of guilt.
She spanks Sophie as she tries to discipline her, and by the end of the story when Natalie and John find out, they ask her to move out of the house and her contact with Sophie is forbidden. In Two Kinds, the narrator Jing-mei is a young first generation American with a Chinese background. Her mother has a very utopian and positive view of America. She wants what is best for her daughter. Jing-mei resists her mother’s desire to make her a musical prodigy.
Even though it is within the same culture, the film shows how Chinese immigrants are forced to “adjust” and give up much of their identity in order to thrive in America. Imagine moving to a foreign country and raising children who don’t speak your language, understand your history, believe your beliefs, or share your values. The Joy Luck Club opens with a short story about a Chinese woman who desires to move to America, believing her future daughters will be treated more fairly there than they would be in Chinese society. “Nobody will look down on her,” she says, “because I will make her speak only perfect American English.” In America, she hopes, her daughter can leave behind the
The Joy Luck Club Analysis of themes, characters and setting Question: ‘June felt she never knew her mother, yet she has to tell her sisters about her. What does she learn about herself – and her mother – by the end of the film?’ The Joy Luck Club is an emotional story about four women who saw life as they had seen it back in China. During 1930s China, women were treated as second class citizens and were often abused. Through sad and painful experiences, these four women had tried to raise their daughters to live the American dream by giving them love and support; such things which were not available to them when they were young. These women expose their individual experiences in narrative form as they re-lived it in their memories, to teach their daughters about what they went through.
Kingston’s story “A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe” employs numerous fantasy elements in depicting her separation from the restrictiveness of China and further, her discovery of harmony between her ancient family’s culture and her new American one. Navigating through confusion and anger, Kingston is ultimately able to remove herself her Chinese bindings and find a sense of accord between her past and her future. Kingston’s rhetoric conveys her struggle with the complexities of her Chinese culture and her inability to come to a core truth. Furthermore, she gravitates toward American culture for its simplicity. Kingston is having difficulties sorting fact from fiction in her mother’s story about Moon Orchid’s encounter with her husband.
In this narrative the readers see that Charlie considers his culture and nationality much more superior to his wife’s but Christie values both the cultures equally because they represent the two individuals. Both of the readings content combined helps to understand how ones nationality strongly fits under their individuality. In Edith Eaton’s piece called “Its Wavering Image” she uses this short narrative to project her real life experience as a half Chinese and half British girl growing up in a Western society and her search to finding her true identity. In this story a young girl named Pan, a half white and half Chinese girl, whose mother had died and so she lived
Growing up in the United States Jing-Mei was extremely comfortable with American culture. This caused her to resist her Chinese culture even though both of her parents were Chinese immigrants. However, despite resisting her Chinese culture Jing-Mei’s mother continuously reassured her before she passed that her heritage is unavoidable “Someday you will see, it is in your blood, waiting to be let go”. Therefore, the setting taking place in China causes Jing-Mei to realize that she is Chinese and that her heritage is apart of her whether she chooses to embrace it or not. The setting also helps Jing-Mei to understand her mothers past life.
Throughout the course of the story, Sourdi grows and matures, however, Nea has a hard time dealing with the change. The story ends in a similar why that it begins in that Nea suspects that Sourdi’s arranged husband abuses her, and she tries to save her from the suspected violent marriage. In the story, there are many references to abuse and women’s lack of rights, specifically in the Asian culture. This theme is prominent throughout the story of “Saving Sourdi”. May-Lee Chai originally lived in Asia, and her family came to America in search of a better life.
One of the key examples of external conflict in this story occurs when Jing-mei's mother scheduled piano lessons for Jing-mei without her consent. Jing-mei's mother decides she wants Jing-mei to try her hand at being a pianist so that she can be famed like the little Chinese girl on the Ed Sullivan Show. Jing-mei was upset when she heard this, she said, "When my mother told me this, I felt as though I had been sent to hell. "(Tan, 48) Jing-mei's reference to "hell" shows the antipathy against her mother's decision. Jing-mei wanted to be her own person so she was determined not to try hard at the piano lessons.
Another American dream opportunity she had was that her husband wished for her to go to college, although she wanted to work in the store. The possibility of her going to college was an American dream in itself since most girls in India did not get this opportunity. Girls in India were expected to marry the man their fathers chose for their arranged marriage and be a wife running a household. Sumita shows that being in an arranged marriage is something that is expected of Indian women and should be viewed as an honor to be chosen, however, she also shows that it’s possible to fall in love. Sumita never says in the story that she loves her husband, but it is evident.