Found

2. A Pair of Tickets

3. This chapter was extremely long and I actually got tired and had to put it down. I felt sad that Jing-Mei had lost so much of her Chinese heritage. One should always know their culture and where they come from. I felt happy for Jing-Mei because she wanted go back and find her Chinese heritage by visiting her family in China. The family reunion was so happy! I always smile at the sign of families getting along with each other, so when I read that Jing-Mei’s family was happy to see her, I felt warm inside. The story about how Suyuan was forced to give up her children was heart-breaking to read. She was so attached to her children and no mother should be forced to give up her children. Although I knew it was for the good of the children and that would be the only way they could survive, I was heartbroken when I read how Suyuan felt. Thankfully, the children grew up in a safe home and were able to meet their half-sister. Again, it was heart-warming when Jing-Mei was reunited with her sisters. They were so happy that they had found part of their mother and could see her again.

4. The relationship between Jing-Mei and her family is a strange one. Even with the language barrier, they’re happy to see someone that they’ve never even met. They spent time together and didn’t care that they couldn’t understand what each other was saying. The love between them is strange because it’s so unconditional. Even though they’ve never met each other, they’re warm to each other and show no signs of resentment or dislike. Although this relationship is strange, it’s the very best kind, because this is how families should be.

5. A writing technique that Tan uses in this story is flashback. The entire story about Suyuan’s travels is told in the form of flashback. If it had just been Jing-Mei’s father telling the stories, we wouldn’t have received the full story. He might not have known every single detail, so telling it in the form of a flashback is much more preferred.

6. The conflict in this story is mostly internal. Jing-Mei is scared and nervous of meeting her family because she’s afraid of the language barrier and that they won’t like her. She is also debating how she’ll tell her sisters about her mother. She is unsure and confused throughout the chapter. This conflict melts away when she sees her half-sisters and is reunited with them.