Theme Of A Pair Of Tickets By Amy Tan

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A Pair of Tickets by Amy Tan tells about a daughter, June-May, who travels to China to meet her twin sisters and announce the death of their mother. The issue at hand is that June-May has never been to China, nor has she ever met her twin sisters. June-May worries of not fitting in and standing out as an American is China. She has lived her life under the impression that nothing other than her parent’s origin makes her Chinese. This all changes once she is in China. It is in China that she begins to realize the meaning of love and self identity. The true transformation begins to set in once she learns of her mother’s hardships and meets her family members in China for the first and the last time. By the end of the store, June-May has not only become her mother but has also become China.
June-May receives a letter from her twin sisters shortly after her mother’s death. However, her sisters do not know their mother is dead and have been searching for her for years. June-May takes the letter to Auntie Lindo who writes back pretending to be their mother and says that they are coming to visit. June-May protests saying “They’ll think I’m responsible, that she died because I didn’t appreciate her,” (Tan 149). She believes that her sisters will hate her when she shows up without their mother and has to announce her death. As a result, Auntie Lindo writes back announcing the passing of the mother and announces that instead their sister, June-May, will be coming. It is during this trip that June-May fulfills her mother’s dream, “carrying with me her dreams of coming home. I am going to China,” (Tan 147). By doing this she gains another part of her mother. However, it is when June-May reunites with her sisters that she fully becomes one wi...

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...une-May’s own blossoming as a spring flower and foreshadowed her self-identification acceptance.
June-May fulfills her mother’s name and life goal, her long-cherished wish. She finally meets her twin sisters and in an essence fulfills and reunites her mother with her daughter through her. For when they are all together they are one; they are their mother. It is here that June-May fulfills the family portion of her Chinese culture of family. In addition, she fully embraces herself as Chinese. She realizes that family is made out of love and that family is the key to being Chinese. “And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.” (Tan 159). Finally, her mother’s life burden is lifted and June-May’s doubts of being Chinese are set aside or as she says “After all these years, it can finally be let go,” (Tan 159).

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