Cultural Acceptance in Amy Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets” Essay

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Introduction

Amy Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets” presents a touching narrative. Suyuan, the mother, must choose between life and death; she abandons her twin kids in search of rescue while fleeing a Japanese occupation of her Chinese nation. She died and would never be able to travel to China to see her twin daughters. June, the daughter, and her father, Canning, plan to travel to China so that he would see his aunt. Moreover, they wanted to visit June’s half-sisters there. In “A Pair of Tickets,” the theme of cultural acceptance can be seen through the setting, characterization, and flashbacks.

Cultural Acceptance in Amy Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets”

In forming the image of China, the author not only shows the Chinese reality of the present time, forming a specific setting. She expands the textual time frame, embodying the knowledge of culture associated with the past. For the author, China in the present is characterized by a constant change taking place under the influence of Western culture and an interest in small everyday details. The promoted artificial value of popular brands enters the consciousness of the local population. An example of this setting is the symbolic mention and use of a Polaroid camera. Here, cultural acceptance is traced through the integration of Western culture and Eastern values embodied in the Polaroid symbolism in this context. On the one hand, this is the benefit of Western civilization and progress. On the other hand, the photographs of this product capture the main prerequisite for the main character to accept her Chinese roots.

Further, for a multicultural literary text, the emergence of a new type of character, surrounded by vivid images, is characteristic. The protagonist is endowed with great opportunities for action and thinking, saturated with the meanings of the native culture of the East. The reception of the otherness of the character allows you to form a plot and acquaint the reader with the national and ethnic color. Moreover, through this characterization, June’s internal conflict, which lies in her unwillingness to accept her Chinese roots at the beginning of the story, becomes more visible. In particular, June recalls, “My mother said when I was fifteen and had vigorously denied that I had any Chinese whatsoever below my skin” (Tan 166). Such expressions indicate her intolerance towards the roots she has. Eventually, this conflict only stresses the significance of cultural acceptance when June is ready to be a part of her Chinese culture.

June started to grasp her Chinese culture instantly after having memories of her mother’s lessons. Particularly, June remembered her mother’s expressions explaining her height, “Height came from my grandfather, who… may have possibly had some Mongol blood” (Tan 170). June continued to recall bits of her culture from her mother when she came to China. Hence, June’s flashbacks also were a foundation for her cultural acceptance, given that her past contained many answers to questions essential for her.

Conclusion

To conclude, the above discussion was dedicated to the topic of cultural acceptance that was explored through the prism of setting, characterization, and flashbacks. These three interrelated dimensions were the basis for June to admit her Chinese roots and recognize peculiarities inherent to her bloodline in this vein. Her story demonstrates to the reader that a person’s memory and blood lineage are keys to defining who they are. Self-identification is crucial for people, and it is inappropriate to neglect the past within the scope given.

Work Cited

Tan, Amy. “A Pair of Tickets.” Sarah-Gambito: Squarespace, pp.166-181. n.d. Web.

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IvyPanda. "Cultural Acceptance in Amy Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets”." April 22, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-acceptance-in-amy-tans-a-pair-of-tickets/.

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