Family and Identity: Analyzing the themes of Amy Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets”

“A Pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan is an uplifting story about a unique reunion among Chinese

family members. The story revolves around Jing-mei Woo’s journey to China with her father,

Canning Woo, to meet with her long-lost twin sisters for the first time. In her journey, she meets

her relatives and gains a new perspective of China. She slowly acquires a stronger sense of her

true identity. Throughout the text, significant lessons on family and identity are presented. These

themes, as well as how they can be related to Philippine society, will be the focus of this paper.

Discovering Familial Love Amid Separation

Through the years, familial love is considered as one of the most important kinds of love

in society. “A Pair of Tickets” exemplifies the strength of this love.

The text reveals the identity of Jing-mei’s long lost twin sisters through their letter to their

mother which states, “Dearest Mama. We are alive…Come get us. Please hurry.” The reader starts

to sympathize with them— being young and vulnerable means that they could not do anything

about their current situation. They can only wait for their mother, Suyuan Woo, to come get them.

Although Suyuan has been trying to look for her missing daughters, she had already died when the

sisters replied with their location. Jing-mei then has an internal conflict— she does not know

anything about her sisters, their situation, and what to tell them when they meet.

As the story progresses, Jing-mei discovers more about her mother as her father tells her

about Suyuan’s heartbreaking journey from China to America during the Japanese invasion,

forcing her mother to leave her twin daughters behind. Through the detailed storytelling of her

father, Jing-mei gradually understands her mother and her sisters. She gains immeasurable respect

towards her mother upon learning about the battle she fought to get to America. She slowly realizes

how important it is for her to meet her half-sisters.

 “And although we don't speak, I know we all see it: Together we look like our mother. Her

same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish.” This

statement is a depiction of the true value of family, and the strength of familial love. Many do not

understand the importance of learning about family values, like Jing-mei who used to question her

heritage. Nevertheless, when she learns all the details of her family’s past and finally meets her

twin sisters, she feels whole and peaceful. She realizes that her Chinese blood runs through her

veins no matter what happens— despite the initial separation of their family. She has fulfilled not

only her dream but also her mother’s long-cherished wish.

Defining “Family”: Jing-mei and her Twin Sisters

Family is a basic unit in society that is considered universal; it can be found in more

societies in comparison to other social constructs such as religion and educational organizations.

However, the definition of “family” may differ from one culture to another.

Structural definitions of a family can be defined with the following characteristics: family

members that share a place of residence, members that are related through blood ties, or members

that are connected through legal procedures. A family can also mean sharing resources and

economic property, having a caring and supportive relationship, and committing to or identifying

with other family members. This leads us to question whether the relationship between Jing-mei

and her identical twin sisters can be considered “family.”

In a family, sibling relationships are a fixed unit with children going through their phases

of growth and development together, especially adolescence. Siblings are considered as

confidants, companions, and combatants, which is very similar to friends in terms of social

comparisons. Based on various research, sibling relationships are shaped by factors ranging from

child characteristics to cultural norms and values. Jing-Mei has not known her sisters’ existence

since birth. This fact establishes the unfamiliarity of Jing-Mei with sibling relationships ever since.
Her growth and development were unaffected by her sisters due to their physical separation with

her being in the States and them being in China. This shows that the functional definitions of a

family cannot be used to describe their sibling relationship.

However, humans are creatures who crave social interaction. Whenever we experience

estrangement or rejection, it is comparable to physical pain. Because of this, we try to reconnect

with estranged family members to avoid having these painful feelings even if the act of

reconnection has prospects of discomfort, disappointment, anxiety, or other negative feelings. This

is the reason why Jing-mei was having an internal conflict. She has not known these people for

her whole thirty-eight years of living and yet deep inside her heart, she still has the urge to reunite

with these strangers. When she actually meets her siblings, no words or explanations are needed

to reaffirm their blood ties and familial connection. This proves that the desire for reconnecting

with estranged long-lost family members is much stronger than distrust and doubt.

The relationship between Jing-Mei and her sisters is an unconventional type of family

considering that they have not known each other for the longest time. However, the fact that they

all thought of their mother, albeit differently, remains as one of connections they have as siblings.

In seeing their mother’s face in each other, they immediately connect. She sees what part of her is

Chinese: her family. Her acceptance of her Chinese blood means that she also fully accepts her

Chinese family— she can finally break free from her prejudice against her Chinese heritage.

Displacement of Family Members due to War

Similar to how Suyuan’s family was separated due to the Japanese invasion in China,

displacement is prevalent in the Philippines. Displacement is a phenomenon that forces people to

leave the place they reside in. Various terms are used to describe the different groups displaced

forcibly. People who are persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, and membership of

particular social groups, or political opinions are called refugees. These individuals can also refer
to people who live outside of the country of his nationality and are unable to avail himself of the

protection of that country. Internally displaced persons are those who choose to flee from their

home to prevent getting badly affected by armed conflict, violent situations, human rights

violation, and other war-inflicted man-made disasters. These people, depending on which country

they currently are in, are granted humanitarian leave or other forms of temporary protection.

As seen in these definitions, displacement is mainly caused by internal conflicts due to

violence and civil wars. In the Philippines, over 4 million Filipinos have been displaced in

Mindanao alone since 2000, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Though

the Philippine population in 2016 hit more than 102 million, the United Nations High

Commissioner on Refugees reported 348,370 persons of concern in the Philippines by the end of

2016. More than 87,000 of these are internally displaced persons who fled home because of armed

clashes, internal wars, and other forms of violence.

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, “displacement caused by

conflict tends to affect the same deprived communities repeatedly, gradually undermining their

resilience and pushing them further into poverty." After an armed conflict in Cotabato in 2010, 6

barangays with 5,726 persons or approximately 1,042 families were affected. Seven years after

that, more than 400,000 people have been displaced due to an ongoing conflict in Marawi.

The seemingly only solution to displacement issues is an organized and systematic help

from both the government and private sectors. One example of the mentioned organizations is the

International Committee of the Red Cross. They are consistent with their exclusive humanitarian

missions that protect the dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence—

they strengthen humanitarian laws and universal humanitarian principles.

Xenocentrism: “This is communist China?”

Another prevalent theme in “A Pair of Tickets” is xenocentrism, or the desire to engage in

the elements of another's culture rather than one's own. According to an article in the Asia Pacific

Journal of Marketing and Logistics, this mentality is widespread in China; Chinese consumers are

psychologically inclined to purchase Western goods. Throughout the story, the Western influences

seen in China constantly make Jing-mei ask herself, “This is communist China?” With locals

wearing Western drab clothes against the backdrop of high rises and bustling construction,

Guangzhou looks like “a major American city.” To Jing-mei’s surprise, their hotel also seems like

"a grander version of the Hyatt Regency.” While she expects a Chinese feast, her relatives opt for

an all-American menu— hamburgers, French fries, and apple pie à la mode in their hotel room.

Aside from being manifested in material preferences, xenocentrism also dominated Jing-

mei’s past perspective of her character. When Jing-Mei was a child, she insisted that there was no

Chinese at all beneath her skin. She felt as American as all her classmates. She feared that

embodying the stereotypical Chinese traits would only reduce her to a label.

With this mentality, Jing-mei becomes conflicted about her true identity when she arrives

in China. Her passport picture shows a Westernized young woman but in the heat, her face and

hair are plain. Her passport announces that she is an American, though she looks Chinese. The

difference in language also makes Jing-Mei feel like an outsider. Her father and his aunt, Aiyi,

speak Mandarin, while Aiyi's family speaks Cantonese. Jing-Mei understands Mandarin but does

not really speak either language. None of her relatives speak English. However, as she continues

her journey, interestingly enough, it is the same name on her passport, and the same alienating

language that help her discover her identity. The Chinese phrases and names eventually connect

Jing-mei of the West with her Chinese heritage.

Self-Identity & National Identity: Jing-mei’s Journey to Self-discovery

Jing-mei insists that her dad speak Chinese in telling her about her mother’s history. “And

what does Ma's name mean?" Jing-mei asks. “‘Suyuan,’...means ‘Long-Cherished Wish’...Your

name also special, ‘Jing’ it’s...just pure essence. And ‘mei’ [means] ‘younger Sister,’” says her

dad. Soon after, Jing-me muses, “I think about this. My mother's long-cherished wish. Me, the

younger sister who was supposed to be the essence of the others.” This accelerates her journey of

self-discovery. It is in small moments like this— in uncovering the meaning of her name, in hearing

untold stories from her mother’s past, in seeing Chinese traits and values shown by her father’s

relatives— that Jing-mei is slowly able to understand her role and identity.

With a character enriched by both American and Chinese heritage, Jing-mei’s journey to

self-discovery is not easy, nor is it done. In a study on “China’s Search for Cultural and National

Identity,” Werner Meissner (2008) explains why individual and national identities are not static,

but are changing continuously. Meissner claims that “individuals, groups and nations always try

to redefine his/her/its identity when it is challenged, endangered or broken. This is understood as

an identity crisis. The search for and redefinition of a new identity is a process of adaptation, in

which a new equilibrium is sought between traditional elements and new challenges. The identity

crisis is solved as soon as a new equilibrium, however temporary, is achieved.”

Most Chinese who have acculturated to American culture actually experience this process.

In Ling-chi Wang’s study on “Roots and Changing Identity of the Chinese in the United States”

(1991), five types of identity have appeared among the Chinese in diaspora: the Sojourners who

have been seen as parasites; the Accommodators who employ a survival strategy in an alien setting;

the Uprooted or those who are part of the "brain drain" phenomenon; the Assimilators or the

American-born generation who become ashamed of their Chinese heritage and seek acceptance

from white society; and the Ethnically Proud who demand a rightful place in the United States for
all Chinese Americans, creating a new breed of Chinese writers and artists, including the author

of the text itself, Amy Tan.

These different types of identities are products of China’s rich history and its ever-evolving

role in the global context. Hence, self-identity cannot be separated from national identity. Both are

multifaceted and fluctuating, and one cannot be defined without fully understanding the other. This

is seen in how Jing-mei’s rich Chinese-American heritage is even made more colorful by China’s

history of war with the Japanese, bringing about a significant aspect of her life— her long-lost

twin sisters. Throughout the story, readers can see how Jing-mei has shifted from being an

Assimilator to being Ethnically Proud by revisiting her past, and embracing the family, values,

and behavior that come with it.

The Filipino’s Conflict: Colonial Mentality

The conflict of identity does not only apply to Chinese migrants. According to a research

done by Kevin Nadal (Decena, 2014), Filipino-Americans also go through this kind of identity

crisis as a consequence of colonial mentality. Colonial mentality exists when the colonized prefers

the colonizer’s ideologies and beliefs over their own— “a form of internalized racial oppression”

(Decena, 2014). Its cause can be linked to the country’s colonial history— from the Spanish

colonization to the American occupation.

In Nadal’s research (2011), he created the Pilipino American Identity Development Model,

“a nonlinear six-stage ethnic identity development” of Filipino Americans. These stages are: (1)

Ethnic Awareness, when one is only aware of his/her own ethnicity because of the lack of exposure

to other cultures, (2) Assimilation to Dominant Culture, when one has preference of the dominant

culture over one’s own, (3) Social-political Awakening, when one starts to notice and question the

racial and social inequalities, (4) Panethnic Asian American Consciousness, when one accepts

his/her being Asian, (5) Ethnocentric Realization, when one identifies the existence of Filipino
marginalization in the Asian American community, and lastly (6) Incorporation, when one

recognizes his/her Filipino identity with pride (Decena, 2014).

Like how Jing-mei is able to become “Chinese” through her visit to China, some Filipino-

Americans are also able to reach a stage when they accept and acknowledge their ethnic identity.

It is important to note that Nadal’s model gives way for decolonization, a way of breaking free

from the xenocentric view. Another scholar, Leny Strobel, identifies three stages wherein we can

decolonize (Decena, 2014). The first step would be to identify the presence of internalized

oppression. The second step involves reflecting on the colonizer’s influence on one’s perception

of their own culture. This can be done by looking back at the country's history, grounding oneself

to ethnic roots, understanding the role of the Filipino community, and being aware of the purveyors

(e.g. educational system and media) of such mindset. The last stage would be action, acceptance

and empowerment of the Filipino community (Decena, 2014).

What is the Philippine’s National Identity?

In line with colonial mentality, the issue of defining our national identity arises. Philippine

history is very rich, and this has a lot to tell about our being Filipino. From the pre-colonial era to

the colonial period, different influences have affected our identity. There was influence from our

Austronesian-speaking neighbors during the pre-colonial period. The 333 years of Spanish

colonization have also greatly affected our language and lifestyle. We were also colonized by the

Americans, which molded our norms and standards today. Since we are also an archipelagic

country, we have various regions, each with their own identity (Angeles et al, n.d.). With all these

different layers of our culture, there is a struggle on how we can interpret it: does this mix define

the Filipino identity or does it erase the “true” Filipino identity?

In an effort to unite Filipinos, we have laws to define our identification. For example, we

have a national language, anthem, and hero. We also have strict rules about “Philippine ancestry
to determine who can participate in politics, athletics, and industry” (Sinogba, 2012). We also have

our passports and birth certificates to mark our identity— but how about half-Filipinos or Filipino-

born immigrants? Do they still pass as the “ideal” Filipino? When the generated Filipino identity

is faced with inconsistencies, we suddenly do not know where to place it (Sinogba, 2012).

In conclusion, our search for national identity has not ended, and with this, every Filipino’s

search for self-identity continues. As Amy Tan’s story teaches us, national and self-identity cannot

be seen as separate entities. One greatly influences the other, and both are constantly evolving.

Jing-mei’s trip to China, her reunion with her sisters, and her acceptance of both her Chinese and

America roots teach us that the road to self-discovery is long and full of challenges. Jing-mei’s

journey has only begun, yet with an open-mind and a fresh perspective, she is bound to succeed.

The layers of our nation’s history make the journey even harder for us Filipinos, yet similar to

Jing-mei’s difficult homecoming, this will make it all the more rewarding.

Members:

Louise Ferrer

Juan Carlo Justo

Nina Morales

Jessa Quindoy
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