1.Gender roles: in the novel, the roles of men and women are quite marked, and they are treated differently because of this. For example, in page 15, Hanwei and Ailin discuss: "I'd love to go to a public school," I said. "You can't", said Hanwei. "You're a girl". I don't see why a girl can't go to an outside school!" I protested. But I did feel a touch of doubt. Already I had learned from Mother and my amah that there were certain things boys could do that girls couldn't. Here we see this theme in action.
2. Traditions: the novel deals alot with traditions and customs. The family portrayed in the novel is a very traditionalist family in that time in Asia, where the grandfather (in this case) is always working, and the grandmother and women in the family are left to take care of the chores around the house, taking care of the men of the family and always following the traditions of binding their feet.
3. Marriage (matrimony): the novel addresses as well the theme of marriage. From the beginning of the novel, Ailin is already informed about arranged marriage, although she is not even five years old yet. It is a very important theme in the novel due to the time in which it's set.
4. Xenophobia: xenophobia is present in this novel, and is a recurring theme. In early pages there is xenophobia present-when Big Uncle arrives for dinner- on page 24 when Big Uncle says: "those greedy foreign devils!". There is a hate towards foreign customs and foreigners in general who wish to bring about change in the way they have been living their lives in China.
5. Political change: in the novel we see the change from China being an empire to a republic. This is profoundly important because it marks a change in every aspect of the way of life of the characters in the story and in the way China becomes and is managed.
6. Individual strength or courage: we see this theme develop itself along Ailin and her decision to challenge traditions and reject the webbing of her feet.
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Significance of the book in the literary world.
The book won an ALA award for the Best Book for Young Adults, and it sheds some light on the importance of gender equality, gender roles, and human rights, especially for young adults who live this conflict of gender roles and traditionalism in the flesh. Reading this book gives us more insight on this matter and helps us reconsider these roles and what society tells us.Significance of the title.
"Ties that bind, ties that break" has various meanings, Ties can mean family ties, and ties are also things that tie you down. Family ties can bind people together, and they can also break apart due to conflicts of any sort. The title also means that anything that can bind you to something or someone, can also break you and change you.
