A Woman in a Pair of Tickets

Most are the times we take our cultures and our heritage just for granted. Our parents try to civilize us and teach us about the importance of the cultures so we can have a group to associate with. A short story writer by and at the same time a novelist Amy Tan, Narrates the story of a young woman Jing me in form of a novel by the name 'A pair of tickets.' In the story, Amy Tan brings about the bold strong and energetic woman who tries to trace her twin sisters from the less information she gained from her deceased mother and now from her father and Auntie Lindo. Throughout the story, Jing-mei displays her less familiarity with her Chinese cultural heritage and this brings an image of her as a woman with less misunderstanding of who a Chinese is. She says 'I saw myself transforming like a werewolf, a mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered, replicating itself insidiously into a syndrome, a cluster of telltale Chinese behaviors, all those things my mother did to embarrass me…' (133). She appears to be ashamed of her identity towards her ethnic relation. Jing-mei is a woman who grows later and gets interested to understand and bond with his roots, she isa honest, Caring and wise individual who incorporates little knowledge to trace her sisters.

Jing-mei can be seen, to be honest in reference to the short story by Amy Tan. She advises aunt Lindo to write a letter to her sisters and explain to them that their mother is dead. At some point, you find that Jing-Mei's fathers ask Auntie Lindo to write a letter back to the girls and inform them about their mother’s whereabouts but instead, Auntie Lindo takes the letter to the Joy Luck Club and together the two women answer the letter signing Suyuan Woo's name in it. Soon you find Jing-Mei is not contented by the fact that Auntie Lindo wanted to inform the sisters that their mother still existed and at this time she chooses to tell the Auntie to write to them and inform them that their mother is dead. She says “It wasn’t until this was done that they first told me about my sisters, the letter they received and the one they wrote back. “They’ll think she’s coming, then,” I murmured. And I had imagined my sisters now being ten or eleven, jumping up and down, holding hands, their pigtails bouncing, excited that their mother was coming whereas my mother was dead...” (131). This act of being concerned makes her display her side of desiring to tell the truth instead of installing lies to her sisters making them believe in the illusion. You can also find in the story when his father tries to explain to her the Chinese connection she tells him to speak in Chinese meaning she is not there to pretend and finally not get along with the father’s information. She says “no tell me in Chinese…” (139). When she talks about her grieving about her mother she explains it that she forced grief, she forced a physical display that she really cared about her mother forcing herself to ask self-questions which she knew she would never get answers.” …to assure myself that I had cared deeply enough.” (137).

She is wise and pays attention to each and every detail. Every time you find Jing-mei in the story she tries to get about something in her thoughts trying to find a conclusion in her thoughts. Although her mother described her as a lady who failed in finding the direction where she tries many things and ends up being a copywriter you can still understand that her brain is incomparable to others in terms of making decisions and reasoning. She connects what her mother told her to the recent happenings to her and builds it as a foundation. She says “…I saw myself transforming like a werewolf, a mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered, replicating itself insidiously into a syndrome…” (129(. Then later she acknowledges the words of her mother and she carries the spirit with her. She keeps a lot of information said by her mother to her she says 'can't be helped,' my mother said when I was fifteen and I had vigorously denied that…'.

Jing-mei is so inquisitive, she keeps asking questions every time she needs clarification on issues. She never fears to get knowledge by extracting it from people, she is very brave to ask and keep the answers to help herself find a way. You can find after her mother died she says, “But now I ask questions mostly because I want to know the answers.' (137). She appears to be a woman who acts after getting clarification. You can also find that after being cleared in the airport she realizes she is in the midst of people with their suitcases, '…large area filled with thousands of people and suitcases. I feel lost and my father looks helpless” (134). This propels her to bother a man who from her narration he views him as an American to tell her where she can get a taxi, “can you tell me where I can get a taxi?” (134). In one circumstance you find drawing imaginary characters in the window and explains about them. In this instance, Jing-mei questions what her mother’s name meant, “And what does Ma’s name mean…” (138)

Jing-mei the main character “A pair of tickets.” By Amy Tan appears to possess many traits more of which can be said to be positive. She is a woman who gets to know her mother after her death after a story she is told by her father about how she ended up leaving her twin sisters in China, the pain she has undergone and how they ended up in America. Jing-mei is a very inquisitive character from the very start of the narration by Amy Tan she seems to consult more on everything she feels she is not contented with. She is also a woman who appears to possess a vast knowledge on everything happening around her despite the criticism from her mother who tells her she failed in many things she started and never completed. She also appears to be an honest and concerned human who got a heart for her sisters who her mother left in China.