Amy Tan’s protagonist Jing-mei Woo, the adult daughter to Chinese immigrant parents, accompanies her father to his homeland to connect with her long-lost twin half sisters after her mother’s death. Her entire life, Jing-mei has been dismissive of her heritage, preferring to fit in with her American friends, but during her trip to China, she learns to appreciate her culture and family. The acceptance of her Chinese identity ultimately cements her dynamic transformation illustrated by characterization. Jing-mei’s characterization slowly reveals her latent familial traits, traits shared with her aunts, father, mother, and sisters, which demonstrates that nature overrides nurture in the age-old debate.
Initially, Jing-mei concludes there is nothing Chinese about her personality, as mentioned in a high school anecdote:
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Before, she vehemently rejected her origins, but now she seems to truly care about her history as she stays awake after midnight to listen to her father and aunt reminiscing. Jing-mei’s father is recounting her mother’s story of the war, when she was forced to abandon her twin babies, Chwun Yu and Chwun Hua. Jing-mei interrupts: “I had been planning on using just the familiar ‘Sister’ to address them both. But now I want to know how to pronounce their names…‘What do the names mean?’ I ask…‘And what does Ma’s name mean?’” (Tan 189), showing her intrigue. Her father switches to English, but she insists, “‘No, tell me in Chinese,’...‘Really, I can understand’” (Tan 190). Later, she adds, “I lay awake thinking about my mother’s story, realizing how much I have never known about her, grieving that my sisters and I both lost her…How can I describe in broken Chinese about our mother’s life? Where should I begin?” (Tan 194-5). Jing-mei’s desire to connect with her family, especially her sisters, in their language is evidence that she has altered her attitude, a crucial step in her character