One example of gender roles in Ties That Bind, Ties That Break is when Ailin is talking to Hanwei about school. When Ailin was almost five, her parents arranged an engagement with Hanwei Liu, and while they are meeting each other, the topic of school comes up. Ailin then tells Hanwei how she wants to go to a public school. She knew school was not something she was supposed to show interest in but she didn’t care. While Ailin is talking to Hanwei, he says, “you can’t you’re a girl.” In response, AIlin thinks, “Already I had learned from my mother and amah that there were certain things boys could do and boys couldn't.” In this quote when Hanwei says, “you can’t, you’re a girl.” This shows how much gender roles affected children. For instance,
