Themes, The importance of the book and Significance of the title.

Themes

*Gender roles:  In the novel it is possible to identify gender roles. For example, women are meant to be uneducated, illiterate. They must not think by themselves and refuse to follow the traditions. Women, in contrast men can go to school, go to work and think further from to the statements established by traditions. Men were supposed to control everything Including family money. Within the text, the reader can notice how archetypal characters portrait the way Chinese culture considers the role of men and women in their society.

*Traditions: The novel reveals a critic point of view of the traditions that run a specific society, in this case, Chinese culture. The main character can notice how traditions can be wrong. In the text, traditions are shown as the base of their culture. Also, it is possible to analyze how people do not allow themselves to learn about other cultures because of their traditions.

*Marriage:  the novel shows marriage since the very beginning. Although the main character is aware of how marriage work, taking in account that when the novel starts she is a child. Therefore, this theme could be related with gender roles within Chinese culture

*Political issues: The novel has a political background that let the reader know about the novel’s context. This aspect considers how people react to their social environment and reality. Within this them, is possible to build characters’ perceptions to highlight the role they have and what they think about a social condition.

   

The importance of the book

The book won an ALA award for the Best Book for Young Adults. Far from that, the book has no a particular importance in the literary world. The author is recognized for giving the people who have experiences that kind of conflict the opportunity to find themselves in her literature.

 Significance of the title.

Ties that bind refers to both the ties that used to tie their feet, and the bonds that the girl feels to follow that tradition, to have to be submissive and not be able to be themselves because of the possible rejection of society. And ties that break, it's the same, a metaphor to the ties that broke, she broke those ties and was free in her way