Amy Tan Essay

Amy Tan Essay
Amy Tan
Amy Tan was born in 1952, in Oakland, California to Chinese immigrants John and Daisy Tan. Her family eventually settled in Santa Clara. When Tan
was in her early teens, her father and one of her brothers died of brain tumors within months of each other. During this period Tan learned that her
mother had been married before, to an abusive husband in China. After divorcing him, her mother fled China during the Communist takeover, leaving
three daughters behind who she would not see again for nearly forty years. After losing her husband and son, Daisy moved her family to Switzerland
where Tan finished high school. During these years, mother and daughter argued over what Tan should do in college and afterwards. Tan
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Soon after its publication in 1989, The Joy Luck Club garnered enthusiastic reviews, and it remained on the New York Times bestseller list for more
than six months. It won both the National Book Award and the L.A. Times Book Award in 1989. Tan continues to publish popular works. She often
emphasizes that she writes primarily to create a work of art, not to portray the Chinese–American experience, that her bicultural upbringing is the
source of inspiration for her work, not the end product.
Contemporary Literature
Amy Tan
The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club contain stories about conflicts between Chinese immigrant mothers and their American–raised daughters. The book mainly talked
About Jing–mei's trip to China to meet her half–sisters, Chwun Yu and Chwun Hwa. Jing–mei's mother, Suyuan, was forced to leave her twin babies on
the roadside during her flee from the Japanese invasion of Kweilin. Suyuan intended to recover her children, but she failed to find them before her
death. Finally, a after her mother's life long search her mother received a letter from the two "lost" daughters. After Suyuan's death, her mothers' three
friends in the Joy Luck Club, a weekly mahjong party that Suyuan started in China and later revived in San Francisco, urge Jing–mei to travel to China
and tell her sisters about their mother's life. But Jing–mei wonders whether she is capable of telling her mother's story. Lindo, Ying–ying, and

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Amy Tan And The English Language Analysis
Education played a key role in both of these essays. Amy Tan and Malcolm X both increased their knowledge of the English Language in two very
unigue ways. With Amy Tan she ways able to learn how the English language works when she was dealing with her mother. Amy also talks about how
by her helping her mother has giving her the ability to learn and experience how language is used as a tool within the social and cultural aspects of
society. She was able to see the differecne between how her family communicates with each other with the broken engliash her mother speaks and how
society deals with the broken english. She was able to use her mother different English, learn from it, and then incorperate it into her wrtitigs. Malcolm
X learned in

Amy Tan Influence
Amy Tan's past and biography have a great influence on her story "The Rules of the Game," because she models the tense relationship between
Waverly and her mother after Tan's own relationship with her mother. Tan and Waverly were both playing a "game" against their mother. Tan gives
Waverly many of the same personality traits and difficulties that Tan experienced herself in her youth and this leads to a parallel of their conflicts.
Amy Tan's mother would always push Amy when she was young, just as Waverly's mother would push Waverly, because bothmothers took pride in
their daughters' success. Yet, both Amy Tan's mother and Waverly's mother had different ideas of success compared to their daughters. Amy Tan's
mother "...wanted Tan to become a...show more content...
A key part of the Chinese culture is bringing honor to oneself and one's family. A part of being honorable is having a sense of independence, this is
why Tan's mother refused to take antidepressants. Tan said, "...what a different childhood I might have had had my mother taken antidepressants"
(Dunick 3). Tan's mother refused to take medication, because it would bring shame to herself and her family. She would be admitting defeat to
depression and illness and this would be unacceptable to the Chinese culture. Tan's mother decided to practice "invisible strength." This shows how
Tan's mother was strong–willed and believed that she did not need help, because it would bring shame. Tan incorporated the same personality traits of
her own mother into Waverly's mother, who strived to be a strong and independent person. An example of this is when Waverly's mother told Vincent
to dispose of the chess set. She said, "'She not want it. We not want it.' she said, tossing her head stiffly to the side with a tight, proud smile" (Tan 3).
Her mother could not accept charity, because it would show weakness and dependence and bring

Amy Tan Mother Language Analysis
Childhood offers many difficult challenges, especially growing up in a family that counts English as a second language. Amy Tan grew up in such a
family; including her mother, who spoke substandard English. Tan recalls this in Mother Tongue, where she writes the realization that she possessed
multiple types of "Englishes," she had, professional English full of correct grammar and pronunciation, and her "family talk" informal speech which she
shares with her mother and husband. Tan then goes on to explain that people tend to view her mother as less intelligent because of her "broken"
English. She recounts many stories in which her mother received inadequate service because she did not speak as clearly as others did. Tan states that
she has even received limitations on her learning because of the diluted clarity of her "Mother Tongue." Tan states that authors possess limitations, but,
for a communicator, clarity requires severe attention. Some authors have a limited vocabulary due to upbringing; this alters how people view the
message intended. When speaking about her mother, Tan states, "Some of my friend tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says."
(Tan, 1990, Para. 7) There are moments in communication where meaning can falter because of a lack of words to utilize. Tan also makes this point
when transcribing words...show more content...
Tan explicitly states, "I think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well." (Tan, 1990, Para. 15) Parents
greatly affect the language of their children and if one has flaws, the next certainly will in beginning. Tan later states that her childhood understanding
of English harmed her test taking abilities, "So I never did well on tests like that." (Tan, 1990, Para. 16) Tan speaks about semantic tests, and they
proved difficult due to her understanding of words. Their meaning needed clarification so that she could understand

An Analysis Of Amy Tan's Influences On Writing
Joseph T Nguyen
Period 5
29 February 2016
Bandy
Influences on Writing
Amy Tan, as a child, was born into a very rough life. Her brother and father died of brain tumors at a young age which led her to move from her
"diseased home" to Montreux, Switzerland, where she completed high school. ( Facts on FIle ) It was a huge impact on her life and reflected a turning
point into a whole new world.
Upon returning to California, Tan attended San Jose University as a scholarship student receiving a bachelor's degree in 1973. A year later she got
married to Lou DeMattei and completed a master's degree in linguistics at San Jose State. ( Facts On FIle ) As life went on, Tan continued writing and
needed something to put an impact on her.
In 1987,

Amy Tan Two Kinds Literary Analysis
Literary Analysis: Two Kinds
All of my life, I've been pushed to succeed. It didn't matter what it was, I just had to do well in whatever I did. The main source of this effort was
my mother. Born and raised in Thailand, a country in southeast Asia, she took what she knew with her to America, and part of that was the tiger mom.
Now, my mom has never been extremely strict, but sometimes that culture really comes through. When I look around and see other families with an
Asian influence, I consider myself lucky. The tiger moms I saw were much harder on their kids. I even eventually saw it in literature. Two Kinds by
Amy Tan really captured what it's like to be a kid in the Asian culture, and how sometimes, the expectations can be overbearing....show more content...
The expectation of excelling in our tasks wore us down and made us think we couldn't be whatever we wanted, we could just be ourselves. The stress
and pressure got to be too much, and in turn, hurt our relationship with one of the most important people in our lives. The relationship became coarse,
and we both helped cause it to be that way.
At the end of Two Kinds, Jing–mei's mom offers her the piano for her thirtieth birthday. She refuses, but when her mother passes away, she goes
through her mother's belongings and finds the piano and the old piece she had played at that recital called "Pleading Child" (519). She picks it up
and attempts to play. It's hard at first, but the notes come back to her, and she then tries the next piece, "Perfectly Contented" (519). It's longer and a
lighter tune while "Pleading Child" is shorter and slower, but Jing–mei realizes that they're the same song.
I believe that Jing–mei didn't realize until then how much her mother cared about her like I hadn't until I also had picked up an old piano piece and
started playing about a year later after the incident. Then did I realize that my mom didn't want me to have the childhood she had, coming from a poor
family of twelve. Both of our mothers wanted us to be successful and be able to build wonderful

Amy Tan Thesis
"My mother's English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It's my mother's tongue," stated Amy Tan, while expressing her thoughts on how other
people view her mother's speaking habits (Tan 53). The author emphasizes that she was oblivious towards the unusual manner in which her mother
spoke English. However, once she recognized the "watered down" edition of English her mother spoke, Tan sought out to write pieces based on what
her mother could understand (Tan 56). Her thesis states, "I later decided I should envision a reader for the stories I would write. And the reader I
decided upon was my mother, because these were stories about mothers" (Tan 56). Tan employs the developmental strategies of exemplification, cause
and effect, and narration throughout her essay by providing insight as to why her mother became the main audience for her writing....show more
content...
The author incorporates stories that she has experienced with her mother, which includes the exotic way her mother speaks. "When I was fifteen,
she used to have me call people on the phone to pretend I was she," expressed Tan (Tan 54). The author continues to explain the story of having to
call a stockbroker in New York and demand them to cash out her mother's account. Tan also narrates a scenario from a time she had to go to a
hospital where her mother had a CAT scan performed. "She said she had spoken very good English, her best English, no mistakes," included Tan (Tan
54). Unfortunately, Tan's mother's way of speaking did not satisfy the medical staff because they claimed that they had "lost the CAT scan and she had
come for nothing" (Tan 54). The author goes on to conclude that once she spoke grammatically correct English to the medical staff about her mother's
CAT scan, the staff apologized for the inconvenience and reassured they would find the

amy tan Essay
Amy Tan's "Two Kinds" is an autobiographical look into her childhood that shows the conflict between Tan and her mother, the difference between old
and new cultures, the past and the present, and parents' expectations vs. reality. Couples of opposing elements comprise the basis of the entire story; to
another extent even the title itself, "Two Kinds," shows the friction that Tan creates. The strongest argument that Tan suggest is that this may not only
be a look into her own life, rather it may be the struggles that every child and parent goes through as they come into age. As the story advances, Tan's
journey of struggle through the relationship with her overbearing mother is unraveled. A sense of emotional growth and mutual respect can...show more
content...
Such a sad, ugly girl! I made high – pitched noises like a crazed animal, trying to scratch out the face in the mirror." Tan expresses these emotions, as
she is upset with not being as good as her mother is expecting. Her mother makes her feel as if she is not as good as she should be, though this strong
attack maybe as simple as a failed attempt of Tan's mother trying to make her realize that she is not fulfilling her own potential.
The most important parts of the story come in regards to the piano lessons that Tan is "forced" into taking. During the course of the piano lessons Tan
and her mother unleash their vented emotions in a strong exchange
"Why don't you like me the way I am?" I cried. "I'm not a genius! I can't play the piano. Mother slapped me.
"Who ask you to be genius?" she shouted. "Only ask you be your best. For you sake. You think I want you to be genius? Hnnh!
What for! Who ask you! So ungrateful,"
This strong exchange is large basis for argument of the misinterpreted attempts of each character. Tan herself is only trying to be do her best as her
mother wants, even though her mother thinks that she is not trying as much as she really can.
The next large

Amy Tan Classification And Division
Amy Tan used classification and division to organize her essay when she specified she used different Englishes. When she would speak to a large
group of people, her english would be carefully wrought grammatical phases. For instance, Amy Tan stated: "There intersection of memory upon
imagination (Tan par 3)." Whereas, when she would speak to her mother, her english would be the opposite. For example, Amy Tan stated:
"Not waste money that way (Tan par 4)." The two main categories she divides the languages she employs is standard English and intimacy

Fish Cheeks By Amy Tan Essay
How can Christmas dinner be so embarrassing?
In the essay "fish Cheeks", the essayist Amy Tan conveys that the main character is worried and embarrassed. "What would Robert think of our shabby
Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners?..." (Tan). After Amy is informed that
the Minister's family is coming over for Christmas dinner, she silently begins to debate how the night will go with a multitude of what if questions.
She is worried how Robert, and his family will react to some of her family's customs. "... I knew that she understood how much I suffered during the
evening's dinner" (Tan). Amy says she suffered during Christmas dinner because she was embarrassed on how her family

Amy Tan 's Relationship With Her Mother
Background Amy Tan was born in China on February 19, 1952. She was one of three children to her parents. Amy was born to her mother's second
husband. Later on, her family escaped China on the last boat before the Communist takeover of China in 1949. Her mother left behind three other kids
from a previous marriage. Amy finished high school in Switzerland, and fought with her mom the whole time. She went to college at a Baptist college.
She then defied her mother by leaving that college and following her boyfriend to San Jose State University. She further defied her mother by
abandoning her pre–medical degree for an English and linguistics major. She eventually married her boyfriend, Louis DeMattei, and they moved to
San Francisco. Amy Tan started to repair her relationship with her mother, once she was deathly ill and in the hospital. Amy made a promise to take
her mom to China to find the children that she left behind. This allowed for Amy to finish her book and get closer to her mother. She went on to
write many books and essays after her time with her mother. What caused that dramatic of a change in major for Amy? What caused the rift between
her and her mother? Summary "Her language, as I hear it, vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the
way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world" (7). The author talked about her personal experiences with the different kinds of English.
She talked about how her

Literary Analysis Of Two Kinds By Amy Tan
For millions of immigrants, America has been seen as the land of opportunity where anyone could become anything he or she wanted to be. A family
that believes strongly in the American dream can be found in Amy Tan's short story, "Two Kinds." The story centers around the daughter of a Chinese
immigrant who desperately wants her daughter to become successful. In the story, the author shows the difficult lives immigrants face when moving to
a new culture. In this short story, the theme shows the protagonist's conflict with her mother on the type of daughter her mother wants her to be. The
author establishes the theme of how difficult mother–daughter relationships can be through characterization, setting, and symbolism.
Primarily, Tan establishes the theme of the story through characterization. The protagonist, Jing–mei, finds it difficult to live up to the high
expectations her mother has set for her. After seeing so much disappointment in her mother's face, Jine–mei "look[s] in the mirror above the bathroom
sink and when [she] saw only [her] face staring back – and that it would always be this ordinary face – she began to cry" (Tan 2). This bring Jing–mei
and her mother into conflict with Jing–mei eventually screaming at her mother that "'[she] wish[ed] she were dead. Like them'" (Tan 8). As she
matures, Jing–mei becomes a little more level–headed; she then understands her mother only wants the best for her. Through diction and language, the
author creates a character that is

Identity In Mother Tongue, By Amy Tan
Everyone is born with a unique identity. The way we understand our self is influenced by our identity. Our identity goes beyond daily and can be
influenced by many things, such as the environment we live in, dreams or culture. In Amy tan's essay mother tongue, she discusses about society views
on Asian stereotypes. Amy rejects theidentity of a foreigner because she does not want to be labeled as what society views Asian Americans as. Amy
also uses what the English language symbolizes for her.
Amy rejects the identity of a foreigner because she doesn't want to b what everyone assumes. She feels that she isn't that person because she has her
own personality. Her whole life she has been a translator for her mom and she had to grow up learning

Amy Tan Mother Tongue Essay
In 1990 Amy Tan released "Mother Tongue", an essay of Tan's personal view and history of her mother's struggles as a Chinese immigrant with
"limited English" (Tan 77). The culture and people around her mother in America were not accepting of her English skills, or lack thereof. She was
viewed as unintelligent, inferior, and treated less courteously. Tan is a critically acclaimed author following her best–selling novel The Joy Luck Club
released a year earlier in 1989. Tan's perception of her mother is entirely different than what the population around her sees. She views her mother's
English as a "language of intimacy, a different sort of English" (Tan 77). However, in order to persuade her audience, she cannot use her background
as a successful...show more content...
She does this by displaying the use of incorrect English as suitable for the situation. Even as an author with her level of success, Tan still uses English
in ways that would be considered improper. She consciously caught "[herself] saying this [to her husband]: 'Not waste money that way.'". This
"different sort of English...relates to family talk, the language [she] grew up with". Growing up around this certain style of language is how it "helped
shape the way [she] saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world" (Tan 77. Context and the relationship between the individuals engaging in
conversation is much more important than proper usage of English. Tan utilized the idea of family to further connect her audience to her argument. She
introduced an element that could create a common bond between her and the audience. As the successful author Tan is, it is imperative she creates a
common ground between herself and the audience. It would be impossible for the audience to believe that incorrect English would be more
appropriate in this situation of being with her family. However, she also displayed the inverse of using improper English to further solidify her
different approaches to

Two Kinds by Amy Tan Essay
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a
prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the
theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do
what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find
herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother's expectations. Being a first–generation Asian American,...show more
content...
At first, the daughter was to become a Chinese version of Shirley Temple. When that didn't work, her mother told her that she would be attending piano
lessons.
The daughter did not like the idea of playing the piano. "Why don't you like me the way I am? . . . I am not a genius! I can't play the piano. And even
if I could, I wouldn't go on TV if you paid me a million dollars!" (492–493). Here, Tan is conveying the fact that parents and children have
disagreements on what the child should do, and who the child is to become. For example, parents may have an idea where they want their child to
attend their college education. The child, on the other hand, may want to go to a different college as suggested. Ultimately, it is the decision of the
child. We cannot live how others want us to live. It is the path of our own making that truly makes us happy.
Some may see the mother trying to live her life through her daughter. She invests time trying to make her daughter a prodigy because she was her last
hope. The mother lost two children in China and moves to a new country. Coming to America, she felt that immigrants have to prove that they are as
talented as or more talented than Americans. This belief is supposed to be the basis for the determination, that the mother has, for Jing–mei to become a
prodigy.
The mother in the story tries everything in her power to make Jing–mei famous in some way. Yet Jing–mei was content to being herself.

Essay on Amy TanвЂ™s A MotherвЂ™s Tongue
Amy Tan's A Mother's Tongue
The purpose of Amy Tan's essay, "Mother Tongue," is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks "limited
English" (36) as Tan's mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others. As Tan's primary care giver, her mother
was a significant part of her childhood, and she has a strong influence over Tan'swriting style. Being raised by her mother taught her that one's
perception of the world is heavily based upon the language spoken at home. Alternately, people's perceptions of one another are based largely on the
language used.
Tan was born to a pair of Chinese immigrants. Her mother understood English extremely well, but...show more content...
This was because her mother's version of English and its modified rules caused Tan to be confused on some of the questions.
Tan employs cause and effect when she is talking about her experiences with IQ tests and the SATs. The fact that her mother spoke English the way
she did made it very difficult for Tan to envision what the test was asking, as with the questions where she could not identify one singular correct
answer. In her experience with language, maybe she had heard her mother would say something a certain way, even though, technically, it was not
grammatically correct. Her perceptions of things, specifically the rules of language, were different because of the language used at her home.
She also incorporates problem and solution when she is describing how she had to talk for her mother. Her belief is that people will not take you
seriously if you do not speak proper English, and to prove this, she shows how her mother encountered that kind of attitude often. Tan describes how
she had to call the stockbroker because her mother was concerned about not getting a check, and how the hospital would not look for a lost CAT scan
until Tan was called to mediate. Even though the mother speaks English, Tan still needs to act as a translator.
Compare and contrast comes in to play at the very beginning of the essay when Tan is describing her mother listening to her giving a lecture.

Amy Tan Character Analysis Essay
Amy Tan grew up to become a socially powerful young lady. However, Amy experienced several hardships throughout life that shaped Amy's present
personality. Previously, living in the United States, Amy had a troublesome time fitting into the American Society. In fact, in an interview with Elaine
Woo, Amy admittedly told, "I felt ashamed of being different and ashamed for feeling that way." Ashamed for partaking of thefamily's Chinese heritage,
Amy as a young girl was determined to appear as American as possible. In addition, Amy's parents had elevated standards for Amy's prosperity. Amy's
guardians concluded that Amy should be a full–time neurosurgeon and a part–time concert pianist. In the past, Amy Tan was once a person that took
the advantage

Personal Experiences In Amy Tan's Story
As Tan continues with her story, she expresses the hardships that she and her mother went through when she was younger as well as when she was
in college herself. She explains how her mother was often not seen the same by other people because of her language barrier. "did not take her
seriously, did not give her good services, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her" (Tan, 2006, P.3). This was Tan's
personal experience of her mother being shunned and avoided for not speaking the right kind of English. Later Tan would experience the same type of
treatment from her employer attempting to steer her away from her career in writing. She writes "I started writing nonfiction as a freelancer the week
after I was told

Analyzing Amy Tan's 'Is That So?'
"Is That So?" Thesis: During the time when the Japanese girl–mother's family would have been thriving because of profit from their food store, she, her
parents, and their neighbors, unlike Zen Master Hankuin who was selfless by taking care of the baby, did not show an enlightened way of thinking.
Supportive Statement 1 Zen Master Hankuin put the needs of the baby before his own needs and did not care about his self–image. ––Supportive
quote (doc) In the story, it says that "he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him" (Reps 1). Supportive Statement 2 The Japanese girl–mother
did not have an enlightened way of thinking because she needed guidance from others. ––Supportive quote (doc) The girl had to receive help from her

Amy Tan Essay

Amy Tan Essay

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