A Pair Of Tickets Literary Analysis

Whether it is about a man out for revenge due to an insult from a friend or a mysterious castle on a hill, setting often plays a significant role in founding meaning in stories. Setting is the when and where, in which the fiction and all of its actions take place. While the setting may seem like a simple part of the story, it can in fact have a huge impact on what is going on in the narrative. “A Pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan, is a story set in the around late 80’s, however the story also manages to draw from events that happen during World War II by way of flashbacks. The protagonist, June May, embarks on a journey with her seventy-two year old father through China to meet her father’s aunt, whom he has not seen for almost sixty-two years

Tan uses color, background, weather and the expression of how the character feels in portraying the image in the reader’s mind. For instance, the landscape, which had become gray, the low flat cement buildings, the hot humid sun on her face as she got her passport stamped, and the splash of children wearing yellow, pink, red, and peach western clothes. Furthermore, during the beginning of the story, the reader is introduce to the section fields of yellow, green, and brown as June May and Canning Woo sit on the train to Guangzhou. The yellow symbolizes that there is hope for June May at the end of her journey. The brown color symbolizes the fact that June May is coming in tone with her ethnic self and the green symbolizes the success in achieving her mother’s wish. The details that Amy Tan creates, describes a positive meaning evoked by the setting, allows the reader to fully experience the narrator’s journey in

The reader learns that Suyen, the name of June May’s mother, means “Long-Cherish Wish” in Chinese. The meaning of the mother’s name is very important because it symbolized the wish of Suyen finding her twin daughter that she left behind in Kweilin. Her name also connects to the fact she her long wish was for June May to learn her root, and get to know her twin half-sisters. Tan also use blood fugitively to tie to the overall theme of the story. In American culture blood represents life, the heart, death, passion, but in “A Pair of Ticket”, it is used to represent her heritage. At a young age, June May denied that she any Chinese whatsoever in her. At end of the story and climax, June May realized that her blood is her family. Her blood connect her to her mother, and twin half-sister. However, as told by June May, the story is unquestionably the daughter’s version of the family romance, in which a mother’s death opens up the space for a daughter’s healing of a lost maternal image