A Pair of Tickets (Pg. 119)

Amy Tan – A Pair of Tickets

                I choose this story because I was curious on reading about a Chinese author, and what I came out was a heartfelt story.  A story of searching for one’s family and a unification of one’s self. 

1.)    Who Is the main character or protagonist of the story?

a.       The Protagonist is Amy herself, because she describes her journey on finding herself and who she is. 

2.)    Make a quick list of the character’s physical, mental, moral, or behavior traits.  Which seem especially significant to the action of the story?

a.       She was quite tall for a Chinese women standing at 5’6, and her mental mindset was that she really did not think she was all that Chinese

b.      Her Moral was the most important part of the story, because the first time she stepped into Chinese land she was changing and though she was nervous on the thought of meeting her twin sisters.  Her strength and courage grew as she got closer to the meeting place. 

3.)    Does the main character have an antagonist in the story?  How do they differ?

a.       The antagonist is actually herself and I come up with this conclusion because throughout the story she is constantly disbelieving herself, and rejecting ideas that her twin sisters will welcome her.  This creates her imagination that they would hate her because they thought she didn’t appreciate her mother enough.   Once her father started talking about how her mother kept on searching for them, she was able to defeat her doubt and look forward to meeting her twin sisters. 

4.)    Does the way the protagonist speaks reveal anything about his or her personality?

a.        Yes you Cleary get an insight of how she is thinking when she learns about the meaning of her name from her mother these are her thoughts. “My mother’s long cherished wish.  Me, the younger sister who was supposed to be the essence of the others.  I feed myself with the old grief, wondering how disappointed my mother must have been.” (pg. 130)

5.)    If the story is told in the first person, what is revealed about how the protagonist views his or her surroundings?

a.       The start of the story begins with her arrival to china.  “The minute our train leaves the Hong Kong border and enters Shen-zhen, China, I feel different.  I can feel the skin on my forehead tingling, my blood rushing through a new course, my bones aching with a familiar old pain.” (pg. 120)

6.)    What is the character’s primary motivation? Does this motivation seem reasonable to you?

a.       Her primary motivation is learning her about herself, and also to find her missing twin sisters for her mother’s sake. 

b.      Her motivation is very reasonable, because what she is aiming to do is discovering who she is. 

7.)    Does the protagonist fully understand his or her motivations?

a.       At first she has difficulty understanding why she is going to China, however as she learns more about her mother and family she is inspired to keep on learning more about her history, and that motivated her to ultimately look forward to meeting her sisters. 

8.)    In what ways is the protagonist changed or tested by the events of the story?

a.       Amy really changed as she actually got closer to her destination.  From the first encounter to her father’s aunt, and seeing her great aunt’s family to hearing about her mother from her father.  How her mother didn’t abandon her children for herself, but she was going to try to search for some food, and even after she was saved she attempted to find them.  Her mother’s compassion for her children led her to see her mother in a new light and changed her to wish to finally meet her twin sisters. 

I would choose Crystal Liu to play the protagonist of this story.