In the story “Mother Tongue” Amy Tan tells the story of her mother and how her use of English within the family affected her early in life. She describes how that limited use of English had the potential to affect Tan’s choice of careers and her influence on literature. She begins by describing how she assumed the role of translator for her Asian born mother‚ who spoke with “broken English.” She describes situations where she assumed the role of translator for her mother. She was thrown into adult
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Amy Tan’s excerpt Mother Tongue focuses on her use of different Englishes when she was surrounded by different people. When surrounded by strangers‚ Tan spoke fluently in grammatically sophisticated English. However‚ Tan referred to the English she used with her mother as being a broken down‚ limited version of the English language. Despite this description‚ Tan didn’t entirely agree with what these chosen adjectives suggested about her mother’s English & intelligence. Tan’s description of the different
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Jing Mei’s Journey Amy Tan’s "A Pair Of Tickets" is about Jing Mei‚ a daughter of a Chinese immigrant who is on a journey to find her identity and to understand her mother. This journey is about her relationship with her mother‚ and also a journey of self-awareness‚ uncovering the truth of where she comes from when she visits Shanghai‚ China. Jing Mei changes as a person throughout the story. Her thoughts as a kid growing up in San Francisco and that of when she is an adult are different‚ especially
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Thesis: In Two Kinds‚ Amy Tan uses defiant americanized Jing-Mei and her native mother’s expectation of obedience to depict the clash of the cultures and its effect on the relationship between the two. I. Jing-Mei is overpowered by her hopeful and ambitious mother who believes that anything is possible and is willing to take any measures to achieve it: however her ambitious nature weighs heavy on Jing Mei and places strains on their relationship. a. “My mother believed you could be anything you
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Story Analysis－Two Kinds In the story “Two Kinds”‚ the author‚ Amy Tan‚ intends to make reader think of the meaning behind the story. She doesn’t speak out as an analyzer to illustrate what is the real problem between her and her mother. Instead‚ she uses her own point of view as a narrator to state what she has experienced and what she feels in her mind all along the story. She has not judged what is right or wrong based on her opinion. Instead of giving instruction of how to solve a family
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In "Two Kinds‚" Amy Tan writes a coming of age story about a young girl in San Francisco and the cultural differences she has with her Chinese mother. The result is conflict between the two from the girl ’s inability to live up to her mother ’s expectations. The mother left China after losing everything and sees America the place where you can have it all. She attempts to make her daughter into a prodigy against her daughter ’s will. After years of clashing the daughter disappoints her mother
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their family culture. In the short story The Rules of the Game‚ by Amy Tan‚ Mei Mei is taught from a young age to always win. Mei Mei’s mother is a Chinese American and raises her by following the Chinese culture. Mei Mei is convinced that she has to win every argument‚ game‚ and even the respect from others. When Mei Mei wins a chess tournament her mother does not congratulate her but instead says‚ “Next time win more‚ lose less”(Tan 121). The simple fun game of chess instantly turns Mei Mei into a
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English‚ which the author believed reflected the quality of what she had to say‚ she was ashamed of her mother. She provided plenty of evidence to support her perspectives: the fact that people who served her mother did not respect her. Furthermore‚ Tan thought her mother’s English almost had an effect on her possibilities in life. She provided some examples that also applied to most Asian
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Amy Tan‚ the author of “Mother Tongue‚” gives the audience a new outlook and better understanding of the struggles that every immigrant who lives in United States had gone through every day. Amy Tan gives the audience the positive view on the “broken” English speakers by using herself and her mother as an example. Her mother did not get respect from the hospital and also the stockbroker due to her limited use of English. In contrast‚ Amy Tan was treated very well because of speaking proper English
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more on what type of intentions others have. When finding your own identity it is easy to get caught up in the materialistic things in life. When one’s identity is being described‚ people tend to think of one’s image. In the story “Fish Cheeks” Amy Tan explained in paragraph one that when she was a teen‚ all she wanted for Christmas was a “slim new American nose.” Meaning she did not like her Chinese image. Throughout the story she admitted that she wanted so badly to be an American and fit in when
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