| Plot Summary of Ties That Bind, Ties That Break |
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"Ailin wants to get married. She wants to have the perfect husband, the perfect house, the perfect life. While her grandmother discusses her betrothal to Hanwei, a boy of 7, Ailin runs around barefoot, pestering everyone. She hasn't had her feet bound yet. At dinner, there is talk of change in China. Hanwei is being sent to a public school, cloth is being made by machines, and women are wearing skirts, a foreign fashion. That night, Second Sister shows Ailin her bound feet, and Ailin vows to never ever get her feet bound. Many attempts are made, but Ailin resists them all.
Ailin is accepted at a public school and for the first time, she meets the “big Noses,” or the foreigners. She is especially gifted at languages and picks up English very quickly. However, when her father dies, Big uncle decides to stop her schooling. Miss Gilbertson, Ailin's English teacher, continues to give Ailin free tutoring sessions. Big uncle soon makes a decision about her future: she can marry a farmer, become a concubine, or spend the rest of her years at a nunnery. Miss Gilbertson helps Ailin by setting her up with the Warner family. Mr. and Mrs. Warner are missionaries and they need an amah, or nanny, who speaks English to watch over their children. She accepts their offer to become their amah, and moves in with them. Ailin, now Eileen, as she is called by foreigners, teaches their two children, Billy and Grace, and watches over them. After three years, the Warners are going to go back to San Francisco, and they invite Eileen to come with them. She accepts.
America is different than anything Eileen has ever imagined. Will she be able to adjust quickly enough? Will she ever be able to go back to China? Will she ever feel like she belongs?
"
Katharine Schwab, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Ties That Bind, Ties That Break |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- upbeat
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Inside culture (main char)
- Chinese
Culture clash?
- visiting a culture in other country
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Age 11-14
Outside culture (society)
- American Pacific Coast
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Woman's story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- teacher
Age:
- a teen
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
Age:
- long-lived adults
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- China
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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