Amy Tan's A Pair Of Tickets

A Dream Come True
The short story "A Pair of Tickets" written by Amy Tan is the representation of liminal characters between two cultures. When talking about Liminal character, it means the characters that are in battle in searching for their true identity. People have to search for their true identity because of the difference of cultures they are raised in; being part of two different cultures makes it hard for someone to identify themselves. Therefore, the feeling of being confused and lost will always be around. In this case, Tan introduces the main character, Jing-mei, as the daughter of a Chinese woman who immigrated to the United States because of the war there was "when the Japanese took over Kweilin" (212). Consequently, Jing-mei was raised in the United States. All she wanted to be was American, but she never understood her mom's culture until she met with her relatives.
Tan wrote this short story to explain how hard it was for her, as an adolescent, to be raised with a mix of cultures and the relationship that there is between mother and daughter.
Tan identifies herself with the protagonist of the story sharing with the readers her mixed feelings and her relationship with her mother. After the death of Jing-mei's mother, she went to China with her father to meet her family and her twin sisters. Jing-mei met her family for the first time while arriving to China. Because of the family reunion, Jing-mei's father talks about her mother and the story about how she left her twin sisters behind. He also explained the power she put in to look for the twins, and how she never gave up. Therefore, Jing-mei realizes she is fulfilling her mother's dream; she is meeting up with her sisters after many years. When meeting with her sisters, she finally understands why her mother always said she had Chinese in her. Tan uses photographs as a symbolism, Jing-mei takes pictures of the family and later of her sister making her realize the three of them made her
mother.
The beginning of the story, Tan states that Jing-mei denied her Chinese culture; she always wanted to be American even though all her Caucasian friends said she was Chinese. "All my Caucasian friends agreed: I was about as Chinese as they were" (205). Jing-mei was embarrassed by the Chinese culture because of her mother's way of acting and living. "All those things my mother did to embarrassed me- haggling with stores owners, pecking her mouth with a tooth pick in public, being color-blind to the fact that lemon yellow and pale pink are not good combinations for winter clothes" (205).
The trip that Jing-mei made to China was helpful for her to understand her mother's culture. While they were in the room, Jing-mei's father explained to her why her mother had to leave the two babies behind. At first, the protagonist felt abandoned but not after she heard the story, she realized how strong of a soul mother had. "I lay awake thinking about my mother's story, realizing how much I have never known about her, grieving that my sisters and I had both lost her" (216). After this conversation, the only thing Jing-mei could have thought of was how she was going to explained to her twin sisters her mother's life.
Finally, Jing-mei meets with her twin sisters in Shanghai. Her mother now could rest in peace because her dream finally came true. Jing-mei felt a mixture of feelings when meeting with her sisters. When she looked deeply into of her sister's eyes, she saw her mother but when they finish hugging she felt different, "I see no trace of my mother in them. Yet they still look familiar" (217). After all these experiences, Jing-mei had felt a bond with her mother and finally she found her true identity. "And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood" (217).
Tan has presented us with a story where the protagonist had a culture conflicts within her. After going to China and visited her relatives, she had realized the Chinese culture was not bad after all. Also, she saw her mother in a different way before she met her family. Now, she sees her as a wonderful woman with a strong soul. She had finally found her true identity after 36 years and understood her mother's saying: "Once you are Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese" (205). Being able to identify ones identity and getting to know more about ones heritage is very important because that is the only way people understand more about themselves and their family.