A Pair Of Tickets Theme

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, where, an action in fiction takes place. While the setting in a story 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 that is set around the 80’s. 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 year and also to fulfill her mother’s wish of reuniting with her twin half-sisters. The physical and symbolical setting plays

In the beginning of the narrative the reader can see form June May point of view, that the antagonist in the story is her mother, because she is at odds with her. In June May’s eyes the mother is just an old-fashioned woman, who only know how to embarrass her in public by pecking her mouth with tooth pick and arguing with other store owners (Tan 266). When her mother was alive, June May never ask questions from her mother’s life or try to know her mother’s culture or her beliefs. It is not until the Father tells her mother’s story that June May empathize with the narrator’s mother, who had to abandon her babies while fleeing from Kweilin. Ironically, it took the death of her mother for June May to appreciate her. Also, the reader gets a glimpse of Jung May’s thoughts, which she describe of being anxious, and fearful of meeting her two half-sister because she thinks that they will blame her for their mother’s

It is important to note that in order for one to know who they are, they first have to know where they come from, and what makes them who they are. This journey symbolizes her self-identity, and her self-worth. As the story continues June May visualizes her sisters' letter to their mother and gradually recovers her Chinese past through fragments of stories told by her father as well as remembering stories her mother had told her; these enable her to weave her generational story all the way back to China. Boelhower calls this a memnotechnical strategy of recovery. Here, June chooses to splice memory with the project at hand, which requires her to go forward (Mistri). In addition, visiting Guangzhou helps her better understand and appreciate being Chinese; however, this visit also show the reader how June May has been influence by American beliefs and culture. For example, June May could not believe that China of all places has a magnificent hotel. She keeps on saying “This is communist China?” (Tan 269). Furthermore, she understand the Chinese language but due to English influence, she cannot speak Chinese