Analysis Of Bind, Ties That Break By Lensey Namioka

In the novel Ties that Bind, Ties that Break by Lensey Namioka, there are many ulterior messages hidden in between the lines. One interpretation of the clandestine meanings is that it takes a great deal of strength and determination to achieve one’s ideal life. However, after the struggle has passed and the ordeal has been gone through, your troubles will pay off. This is demonstrated in the text using our protagonist, Ailin Tao. Fighting against customs that deem her powerless and limited to obedience, oppression, and/or dishonor, she strives against the pressure placed upon her shoulders and the shoulders of all the girls in her society in similar situations. Ailin’s character proves how hard work is always worth it, in the end. When Ailin …show more content…
Many of these include standing up to Big Uncle, when he put her down. Another is when she chose to go off with the Warners when left with no other respectable selection. And a last instance would be her moving to America. The very day after Big Uncle told her, firmly, that she wouldn’t be returning to school, Ailin defiantly took matters into her own hands. She was able to bring about an arrangement with Miss Gilbertson for freelance tutoring to keep her with her studies over the summer. Even knowing of this, Big Uncle technically couldn’t stop her, and Ailin was content. “We were both intoxicated: she by the joy of teaching and I by the joy of learning.” (Namioka 77) It was a way for the both of them to get what they wanted, even though it was not a permanent or even very lasting victory. Far from either, Ailin was forced to cease the lessons and reassess her few life options. But the ones she was presented with were deplorable and depressing, to the point of no compromise. So, again, Ailin stepped forward and found herself a job as an amah, or caretaker, for an American family through Miss Gilbertson. Ailin goes through thick and thin, all as part of her experience with the Warners. But when the Warners’ furlough comes up, once more is Ailin put in a difficult situation. And once more she goes with her intuition and follows them on their journey. “I was no delicate shoot buried in the sand. I was a stalk of bamboo, strong enough to stand against wind and snow.” (Namioka 118) This excerpt is a reflection of Ailin’s, after deciding to go to America, when she thinks of her old cook teaching her about how only tender bamboo shoots could be cooked and yet the ones left out in the sun were too hard and could never be softened again. She compares herself to the toughened ones, because she has dealt with extreme struggles and toughened in such a