Hsu Family

Acey, David, Kelly, Keon, Jasmeen, Michelle, Phuc,

Robert

Background• In 1923 An-mei (mother) leaves her aunt and uncle’s household to go with her mom to Tientsin, China• An-mei immigrated from Tientsin, China to California• Mother of An-Mei was a ghost (a person who is looked down upon and considered not worthy enough to

talk to) becuase she married another man after her husband died• An-mei’s grandmother (Popo) died• An-mei had 7 kids with George• Rose (daughter) married an American, Ted, a dermatologist• An-mei’s youngest son, Bing, died

Family TreePopoPopo Grandfather

Ghost (Fourth Wife)Ghost (Fourth Wife) First HusbandWu-Tsing

An-mei

An-mei’s brotherSyaudi

George

Rose JaniceRuth MatthewMark LukeTed Bing!

= terminated

Mother’s Thoughts• Believes her mom (the ghost) is a good person

• She knows her mother is a good person and is assured when her mother cuts a piece of meat from her arm to put in the soup for Popo

• Thinks her aunt and uncle have a miserable household• Believes God will bring Bing back from the waters

• “And now I have come to take Bing back” (Page 136)…after the prayer, her faith was so strong that she saw him.

• No longer believes in God• “But later, after my mother lost her faith in God, that leatherette

Bible wound up wedged under a too-short table leg, a way for her to correct the imbalances of life.” (Page 122)

• Believes divorce is unnecessary for Rose and Ted• Thinks it is useless for Rose to go to a psychiatrist

Mother’s Words

• An-mei’s call for her mother changes her life • “Ma!” (Page 244)• An-mei does not want to spend the rest of her life in

dark riddles and suffering from her aunt and uncle so she leaves

• Talks to Rose about her divorce and how she has to save it• “Then you must save it” (Page 123)• She wants Rose to save her marriage and not

swallow her bitterness like she had in her own life

Mother’s Actions

• Moves to Tientsin with her mother when she was 9 years old• “As I walked away from my old life• The fact that her aunt and uncle’s household was

miserable might have impacted her decision to leave with her mother

• Writes Bing’s name in the ‘deaths’ section in hope he will come back• “On the page before the New Testament begins,

there’s a section called “Deaths,” and that’s where she wrote “Bing Hsu” lightly, in erasable pen. (page 140)”

Daughter’s Thoughts• Very confused about Ted

• She can’t decide what she wants to do about the divorce

• Can’t decide for herself on anything so her mother says that she is “without wood” (Page 213) because she listens to too many people besides herself

• Has a lot of dreams with Mr. Chou in them• Believes her mom doesn’t understand anything about

her• Her mother asks Rose to talk to her instead of a

psychiatrist but Rose believes the psychiatrist is better than her mother’s help

Daughter’s Words

• Rose finally stands up for herself in the divorce• It was difficult for her to say anything at first because

she didn’t know what to do and was too confused• “I say I’m staying, and my lawyer will too, once we

serve you the papers” (Page 219)• The dream with Mr. Chou, An-mei’s constant

nagging, and her own courage were factors that led to Rose stand up for herself

Daughter’s Actions

• Blames herself for losing Bing• Stands up for her self in the divorce

• “I say I’m staying and my lawyer will too, once we serve you the papers” (pg-219)

• Marries Ted• “The month before Ted started medical school at UCSF we

were married in the Episcopal church, and Mrs. Jordan sat in the front pew, crying as was expected of the groom’s mother.” (Page 125)

Symbol The staircase symbolizes the relationship Rose and her mother, An-mei, share. It shows that even though they were born and raised in different environments along with some different values they are still identical. An-mei even admits that “all of us [Rose, An-mei, and Ghost] are like stairs, one step after another, going up and down, but all going the same way (page 241)”, which lets you see the prominent feature between the mother-daughter relationships.

Chapter 1 – “Scar”An-Mei Hsu

• The title signifies the two different emotional and physical scars that the mother and daughter obtain

• In this chapter An-mei’s mother comes back to help her dying mother, Popo. Even though Ghost does everything in her power to prevent Popo’s death, she dies.

• An-mei’s mother had left because she had married another man after her first husband had died and so she was banned from the house.

• An-mei recieves a scar from the soup

Chapter 2 – “Half and Half”Rose Hsu Jordan

• The title points to Amy Tan’s words about fate, which were that “fate is half shaped by expectation, half by inattention” (Page 140)

• Rose tells An-mei that she is getting a divorce with Ted• The story also flashbacks to when Bing died • Talks about the bible under the table that her mother

keeps.

Chapter 3 – “Without Wood”Rose Hsu Jordan

• The title is derived from An-mei’s words about Rose, stating that she is “without wood” (Page 213), or listened to too many people besides herself showing that she has no backbone

• Rose talks about her dreams and the guardian, Mr. Chou, of those dreams. She has a dream about Mr. Chou again when she stays in her house for three days

• Rose and An-mei go to China Mary’s funeral• Rose finally stands up to Ted and tells him that she is

getting a lawyer for the divorce settlement

Chapter 4 – “Magpies”An-Mei Hsu

• The title refers to the birds of joy (magpies) that feed on someone else’s tears

• In “Magpies”, An-mei laments her daughter's helplessness over her marriage.

• Has flashbacks to when she left her aunt and uncle’s house after Popo’s death

• She learns many new things about her mother. She finds out that Syaudi is her mother’s son

• An-mei’s mother kills herself so that An-mei and Syaudi will be given the best care possible

Theme

• The theme for the Hsu family is finding your own identity. Rose has trouble seeing herself as an individual, especially without Ted by her side. An-mei also feels uncertain of herself when she first moves to Tientsin, China with her mother.

Surprise!!!