Relationship between mother and daughter.
Mariana Berisha
Text and Context 2
Dr. Bowen
February 19, 2013
Love and War between Mothers and Daughters
A mother and daughter relationship can be either good or bad, but it’s definitely one of a kind. People say this kind of bond is unbreakable because of what they shared during pregnancy and birth, but others say this bond doesn’t last for long or maybe never really grew. Your mother is your best friend and your daughter is your first priority, but bumps in the road can either make your relationship stronger or weaker. Despite the differences in these two works, “A Pair of Tickets” and “Hanging Fire” the two pieces are alike because each girl yearns for their mothers love but one gets it and the other doesn’t.
In “A Pair of Tickets”the character Jing-mei, is an American woman on a pilgrimage to China to meet her half-sisters, who were also abandoned by her mother in China during World War II. She didn’t want to go back to China and meet her sisters because she was afraid that her half-sisters will blame her for their mother’s death. For example, when she was speaking to her aunt about how she couldn’t tell them that her mother was dead through a letter. She explained how she felt as though her mother’s dead was her fault. “They’ll think I’m responsible, that she died because I didn’t appreciate her.”(Tan 266) Jing-mei didn’t worry much about her mother while she was alive. She didn’t pay much mind to the things her mother would tell her, for example during a conversation they had Jing-mei denies at all being Chinese. Her mother responded with, “It’s in your blood, waiting to be let go.” (Tan 263) Her mother knew all about genetics and always said, “Once you were born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese.”(Tan 263) Jing-mei didn’t believe in any of this and wouldn’t until she actually experienced what her mother was trying to tell her all on her own.
The poem “Hanging Fire” is written from the point of view of a 14 year old girl
Text and Context 2
Dr. Bowen
February 19, 2013
Love and War between Mothers and Daughters
A mother and daughter relationship can be either good or bad, but it’s definitely one of a kind. People say this kind of bond is unbreakable because of what they shared during pregnancy and birth, but others say this bond doesn’t last for long or maybe never really grew. Your mother is your best friend and your daughter is your first priority, but bumps in the road can either make your relationship stronger or weaker. Despite the differences in these two works, “A Pair of Tickets” and “Hanging Fire” the two pieces are alike because each girl yearns for their mothers love but one gets it and the other doesn’t.
In “A Pair of Tickets”the character Jing-mei, is an American woman on a pilgrimage to China to meet her half-sisters, who were also abandoned by her mother in China during World War II. She didn’t want to go back to China and meet her sisters because she was afraid that her half-sisters will blame her for their mother’s death. For example, when she was speaking to her aunt about how she couldn’t tell them that her mother was dead through a letter. She explained how she felt as though her mother’s dead was her fault. “They’ll think I’m responsible, that she died because I didn’t appreciate her.”(Tan 266) Jing-mei didn’t worry much about her mother while she was alive. She didn’t pay much mind to the things her mother would tell her, for example during a conversation they had Jing-mei denies at all being Chinese. Her mother responded with, “It’s in your blood, waiting to be let go.” (Tan 263) Her mother knew all about genetics and always said, “Once you were born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese.”(Tan 263) Jing-mei didn’t believe in any of this and wouldn’t until she actually experienced what her mother was trying to tell her all on her own.
The poem “Hanging Fire” is written from the point of view of a 14 year old girl