Summary

In the first chapter of The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan, the main character Violet is confident of her identity as an American. At school, a girl accuses Violet of being Chinese because she speaks in a combination of Chinese, English, and the Shanghainese dialect. When Violet’s mother tells her that her Chinese is beautiful, Violet is troubled she has been able to learn the language so easily. She soon regains her belief she is American because of her fair skin, green eyes, and disbelief in the Chinese superstitions.

Violet grows up in a Shanghai courtesan house. The house Violet’s mother has turned into Hidden Jade Path formerly belonged to a poet, Pan Ku Xiang. Legend says that one of the poet’s mistresses set fire to the house, killing Xiang’s wife and burning his work. Lucia...