Pearl and May represent a strong contrast in temperament. Pearl’s caution contradicts May’s impulsiveness. Grudges based on sibling rivalry are nurtured for decades and erupt into major arguments are many points in the novel. However, the dramatic confrontations between the sisters do nothing to weaken their essential bond.

Their mutual love is frequently put to the test and reasserts itself throughout the story. When Pearl is on the point of death, May manages to get her to a hospital, pushing her in a wheelbarrow for days on end. When May becomes pregnant and knows that she can’t prove Vern is the father, Pearl takes on the task of faking a pregnancy and raising Joy as her own. She does this even though she once loved the man who fathered May’s child, and every day she will be reminded that he chose her sister over her. Even when May’s disastrous plan to get Sam his citizenship results in his suicide, Pearl forgives her sister’s actions and gains her support for Pearl’s trip to China.

This bond is all the more remarkable since the lives of the two sisters diverge sharply once they get to America.