Jing-Mei Woo-->A Pair of Tickets: Chapter 16-term: epiphany

Queen Mother of the Western Skies

The last chapter of the book is about Jing-Mei going to China to find her long lost sisters.  She starts out wondering what about her makes her Chinese.  She is frustrated and confused with the different cultures and where she belongs.  After thinking back to what her mother said about it being in her blood, she has an epiphany.  Jing-Mei exclaims, "And whens she said this, I saw myself transforming like a werewolf, a mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered, replicating itself insidiously into a syndrome, a cluster of telltale Chinese behaviors..." (267).  She realizes that her mother was right all along.  The chapter continues with their long train ride to see her father's aunt.  They stop to visit with her awhile while they are in China.  Jing-Mei starts to get nervous to meet her sisters.  She does not know exactly what she is going to say.  Finally, in hope to fulfill her mother's dream, she meets her sisters.  She says she doesn't see a trace of their mother in them, but they look familiar.  She says, "And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood. After all these years, it can finally be let go" (288).  I felt like this sentence wrapped up the book perfectly, because the whole book has been about the importance of family.  This last chapter reminded me of brothers and sisters that are reunited later in life.  This book really taught me the importance of family and culture. 

An-Mei Hsu-->Magpies: Chapter 13-term: fable

Queen Mother of the Western Skies

The narrator now switches back to the mother An-Mei Hsu.  We had a glimpse of her childhood in the previous story, Scar.  The beginning starts out with her mother telling her a fable about a turtle.  Her mother says, "'The turtle said, 'I have eaten your tears, and this is why I know your misery. But must I worn you. If you cry, your life will always be sad'" (217).  The story about the turtle taught An-Mei that her tears will be someone else's joy.  The Chapter goes on to tell you about An-Mei and her mother escaping Auntie and Uncle's house for good.  An-Mei was miserable there and her mother knew it.  They travel to Tientsin where her mother was living.  They live in a huge house where their are "five wives". An-Mei does not quite understand at this point that her mother was a prostitute.  She lives comfortably with her mother until she begins to feel uncomfortable.  She notices her mother dislikes the other wives.  The arrival of Wu Tsing made An-Mei feel strange.  She later knew that he was using her mother.  Her mother ends up dying, but she learned a lot from her.  An-Mei says, "My mother, she suffered. She lost her face and tried to hide it. She found only greater misery and finally could not hide that. There was nothing more to understand. That was China. That was what people did back then. They had no choice" (241).  This quote seemed important because it showed how many people in China were miserable on the inside.  Although it looked like her mother had everything in the world, she was suffering inside.  It reminds me of when Mr. Ray told us about the icing on the cake, and The Great Gatsby.

Rose Hsu Jordan-->Without Wood: Chapter 11-term: irony

 American Translation

The tenth chapter is about Rose and her divorce with Ted.  She talks about how her mother is such a strong person, and she believed everything her mother said.  She talks about her childhood nightmares of being alone.  Rose and her mother attend a funeral for an older lady at their church.  During her and her mother's conversation, their is irony. Rose's mother says, "'You are getting too thin,'...'You must eat more.' and Rose says, 'I'm fine...And besides, wasn't it you who said my clothes were always too tight?'" (187).  It is ironic that her mother is saying she is too think and her clothes are tight at the same time.  Rose goes on about how she cannot even remember what she saw in Ted or why she married him.  She looks at the house and thinks about all the old times they had.  Her mother tells her that she does not stand up for herself.  It seems to be a reoccurring theme with the Chinese women in this novel.  They do not stand their ground.  Rose's mother says, "You must listen to your mother standing next to you. That is the only way to grow strong and straight. But if you bend to listen to other people, you will grow crooked and weak. You will fall to the ground with the first strong wind" (191).  This quote shows the many lessons that she learns from her mother.  A theme that is coming up a lot is important lessons to learn from your mother.  This reminds me of times where I did not know what to do in a situation, and all I had to do is listen to my mother.  My mother has experience and knows a lot more than I do, even when I don't think so.  The chapter ends with Rose standing her ground and telling Ted the house is hers, not his.

Lena St. Clair-->Rice Husband: Chapter 9-term: maxim

American Translation

The Rice Husband chapter is about Lena's husband, Harold.  Her mother comes to their house to visit for a week.  Lena remembers old childhood events that are affecting her current marriage.  Her marriage with Harold is not as it used to be.  They argue over the littlest things and are not as loving as they used to be.  The chapter begins with a saying Lena's mother says.  Lena says, "She has a Chinese saying for what she know. Chunwang chihan: If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Which means, I suppose, one thing is always the result of another" (149). This introduction to the chapter is a maxim because it offers advice to the reader.  Lena's mother is known to predict all the bag things that will happen.  She always predicted Lena would have a bad husband, because of the rice she left behind in her bowl.  Lena and her husband work at the same company except her husband is in a higher position.  Even though they are married, they split the cost of everything.  They make a list on the refrigerator that says who had paid for what.  Lena begins to think this is a bad idea, and it starts to get in the way of their relationship.  She does not know how to tell her husband, but finally she confesses it all.  She is not quite sure what she wants, but she is tired of the list.  Lena says, "...I start to pick up the broken glass shards. 'I knew it would happen.' and her mother says, 'Then why you don't stop it?'" (165).  This quote really brought the chapter together because it has more than a literal meaning.  This shows that Lena never stood up for what she thought or stopped her bad husband.  She let things go how he wanted.  This chapter reminds me of how many people stay in unhappy marriages or abusive relationships.  When is it time to call it quits before its too late?

Jing-Mei Woo-->Two Kinds: Chapter 8-term: rhetorical question

The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates

This chapter is about Jing-Mei's mother wanting her to be a prodigy.  It starts out where her mother is throwing out a bunch of ideas for her to become famous.  She wants Jing-Mei to try out to be a Chinese Shirley Temple.  After that doesn't work out, she drives her to learn the piano.  Her mother was always in competition with Waverly's mother.  They competed over whose child is the best.  Jing-Mei takes piano lessons from Mr. Chong.  Mr. Chong is deaf so Jing-Mei can get away with many mistakes on the piano.  Her mother signs her up for a recital, and it becomes a disaster.  After this, Jing-Mei finally tells her mother how she really feels.  They exchange some hurtful words.  The author uses a rhetorical question to give the heated situation emphasis.  Jing Mei's mother says, "' For you sake. You think I want you be genius?"' (136).  Her mother believes that she is ungrateful, but in reality she just wants to be nothing but herself.  The quote I picked was towards the end.  Jing-Mei says, "The lessons stopped. The lid to the piano was closed, shutting out the dust, my misery, and her dreams" (143).  I felt that this was very important because it says her dreams, meaning her mothers, not hers.  It is so important to know what your child wants to make them happy.  This chapter reminded me of the very good gymnast that could have possibly went into the Olympics.  Before she got the chance, she stopped doing gymnastics totally because of the huge amount of pressure coming from her dad.  It was her dad's dream and not hers anymore.  The chapter ends with Jing-Mei getting out the old piano and playing.

Rose Hsu Jordan-->Half and Half: Chapter 7-term:diction

The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates

The chapter starts out with Rose talking about her mother's faith.  Her mother's faith has faded quickly over the years.  Rose talks about how she is getting a divorce from her husband Ted.  They got married pretty young and realized it was never going to work.  The majority of the chapter is Rose telling a childhood memory of her brother Bing dying.  They took a family vacation to the beach.  Her mother believed in nengkan which meant you can do anything you set your mind to.  Rose says, "It was this belief in their nengkan that had brought my parents to America.  It had enabled them to have seven children and buy a house in the Sunset district with very little money. It had given them the confidence to believe their luck would never run out..." (121).  This quote made me think of the popular Bible verse: I can do all through Christ who strengthens me because it was the same idea.  It is also important in the type of people the Hsu family was.  They spend the day at the beach and try to relax.  Rose explained, "And we children sat huddled shoulder to shoulder on the blanket, reaching into the grocery sack full of bologna sandwiches, which we hungrily ate salted with sand from our fingers" (123).  This sentence in the chapter I thought had great diction. The arrangement and way the author put this stuck out to me.  The family ends up losing their little boy Bing, because he falls into the sea.  The mother and Rose search for Bing, until they lose hope.   

The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates: A book about certain dangers that will happen to children on certain days

Lena St. Clair-->The Voice from the Wall: Chapter 6-term: dialogue

The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates

In the sixth chapter, the narrator is Lena St. Clair.  She talks about how her mother would tell her stories about horrific incidents that scarred her for life.  Lena always thought of events in the most negative way possible because of the stories her mother would tell her as a child.  Lena says, "My mother never talked about her life in China, but my father said he saved her from a terrible life there, some tragedy she could not speak about" (104).  It seems to be a theme throughout this book that no one wants to talk about their past life.  They often keep it hidden as long as possible.  Lena's father seems to be the opposite of his wife.  He always did what he could to make situations better.  Lena begins to hear fighting on the other side of her bedroom wall from the neighbors.  She assumes it to be even worse, killing.  She also starts to realize that her mother acts very weird all the time.  She is very protective of Lena.  She tells her stories, sometimes fake, so she will stay away from danger. The dialogue in the book makes her mother's feelings clearer. 
                     Her mother says, "'You must not walk in any direction but to school and back home,' warned my mother when she decided I was old enough to walk by myself.
                     'Why?' I asked
                     'You can't understand things,' she said" (106).

Towards the end, Lena realizes her mom is pregnant.  Her mom loses the baby and is never the same again.  Lena's mother is going crazy.