She recalls when her own mother lost her faith. One day many years ago, the entire family — parents and seven children — had gone for a day at the beach. Rose was assigned the care of her four brothers — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Bing. The three elder boys could amuse themselves, but Bing was only four years old and difficult to amuse. Momentarily distracted, Rose's eyes left Bing and he fell into the ocean and drowned.
Everyone took the blame for the tragedy. The next day, Mrs. Hsu returned to the beach with Rose to find Bing. With her Bible in hand, she implored God to return Bing. She even threw her own mother's blue sapphire ring into the ocean as a sacrifice. Finally, with utter despair and horror, she seemed to accept Bing's death.
Rose knows now that her mother never really expected to find Bing — just as she herself knows that she can never save her marriage even though her mother tells her that she must try. She looks into the Bible and discovers that her mother has entered Bing's name under "Deaths" — inscribing it gently, in erasable pencil.
By now you should realize that Tan uses the titles of these various stories to link themes and convey meaning. The title of this particular story, "Half and Half," can be understood on a number of levels, as can the titles that we have encountered so far. As a couple, Ted and Rose are "half and half" — part American, part Chinese. In some instances, a dual heritage can be a source of strength, but not in this particular instance. Together, Rose and Ted do not "fit" into either culture. They are shunned by his mother, who mistakes Rose for Vietnamese instead of Chinese. Later, she cries bitterly at the wedding, convinced that her son is marrying beneath his social status.
