Sense of belonging to a place is defined as a fundamental part of the human psyche that causes people to experience connections and relationships with other people, groups, places, communities, ethnicities, or religion. Jing-Mei in Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets, undergoes a mix of emotions while trying to understand her Chinese heritage. San Francisco is the only life she has ever known, but she feels disconnected from her true Chinese heritage because everyone else around her looks different. For one to develop the sense of belonging, they have to develop understanding of oneself. In Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets, Jing Mei not only gets an opportunity to visit her true origins, but also helps her develop a sense of home by delving deeper into her mother’s true Chinese heritage and the struggles she faced to ensure her children would have a future to embrace their culture.
Jing Mei feels as if she is not Chinese despite her strong resemblance with her ethnical origins. She has lived a large portion of life in San Francisco, living under a new culture surrounded by people who did not look like her. The author uses her character to illustrate how the places people grow up shape up the individual being and how the homeland or ethnical heritage forms their identity. Jing Mei remembers openly revealing to her mother, Suyuan, that she does not feel Chinese (Tan, 2006). She denied every attempt her mother made to introduce her to her Chinese roots. Jing Mei has constructed her individual being based on her interaction with life in San Francisco but she feels a lack of identity due to her weak Chinese roots. Upon meeting her sisters, she develops a natural sense of belonging because they all resemble their mother. One can learn that heritage is not only tied to the places they live, but also the people they are related to.
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Jing Mei has lived in denial of her true heritage for most of her life. She was confused on which heritage she was supposed to align herself with. At the age of 15, she denied claims that she had a Chinese lifestyle. The afore-highlighted can be seen in her confession. She admits, “Cannot be helped, my mother said when I was fifteen and had vigorously denied that I had any Chinese whatsoever below my skin. I was a sophomore at Galileo High in San Francisco, and all my Caucasian friends agreed: I was about as Chinese as they were” (Tan, 2006). Jing grows up around white friends and only two Chinese people, her father and mother, which led her to adopt an American identity. She is afraid that her Chinese genetics will soon be activated due to her conflicting emotions on her heritage. Her mother’s death is the most vital turning point in her development journey. Jing realizes she can no longer hide from what she truly is. Denial is a psychological defense that only pushes one further from the truth because it builds up the fear of facing reality.
Jing Mei’s character develops as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery to China. Jing has lived her entire life with a vague understanding of what being “Chinese” means. People often share deep subconscious connections with their places of origin. Whenever individuals are away from such a place, it creates a feeling of unhappiness. She admits that, “The minute our train leaves the Hong Kong border and enters Shenzhen, China, I feel different” (Tan, 2006). By visiting China, Jing feels instant effects and a connection with her true heritage as she and her father enter China. The journey helps her in reflecting on everything she had believed Chinese heritage to be. The environment begins to make more sense to her as she sees more of it. Unknowingly, she begins to understand that being Chinese has always been a privilege and helps her embrace her true heritage. Jing’s change shows that one can never outrun their past because it will always catch up with them.
Amy Tan uses the character of Jing to portray the theme of appearance and reality clearly through a journey of discovery and acceptance. People can be more than what they appear to be on the outside. Jing denied her Chinese heritage for most of her life until her mother died, bringing her to the realization that she was more than just her self-constructed belief of being American. Tan shows the reader that a person’s behavior and lifestyle is directly connected to the place they grow up, while cultural heritage remains deep within their hearts. Through her journey, Jing finally understands that identity is a precious part of being human and finally fulfills her mother’s dream that she would eventually embrace her half-sisters and their Chinese heritage.
Reference
Tan, A. (2006). The Joy Luck Club . New York: Penguin Books.
