Amy Tan Fish Cheeks Summary
In American households during the holiday, we have our own traditions, but have you ever thought about the traditions of other cultures? Americans all have their own way of doing things during the holidays because every family has their own traditions. If you went to China, the things they ate and how they acted would seem strange to us because we are not used to their styles. In the Chinese culture now, their food and manners differ from Americans; Amy Tan shows the contrast of cultures in “Fish Cheeks”. Chinese New Year food and manners are different from the way we’re raised as Americans. The Chinese prepare food for the holidays that many of us haven’t even tried in our lifetime, yet they eat it more than once a year. During the dinner,
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The main character becomes very embarrassed when Robert comes over, since their cultures have such differences. Amy describes the scene and it was evident she was not excited about how her family was acting: “Dinner threw me deeper in despair” (Tan 185). Her mother was cooking large shrimp called Prawns, some slimy codfish, and squid. Amy was worried about what Robert’s family was going to think of their strange food. The minister’s family was American, so they are used to the simple ham and pudding meal. The families got together to sit down for the meal and Amy got even more embarrassed and ashamed then before. Her family was acting like they would normally do but in the American culture they don’t act anything like that. Her mother sets the plates on the table and their family digs in with their personal chopsticks. During the meal, the minister’s family showed their cultural traditions when Amy said: “Robert and his family waited patiently for platter to be passed to them” (Tan 185). They were not used to just serving themselves whenever they wanted. Usually they pass the plates and take turns. The situation got even stranger for Robert when Amy’s dad belched very loud at the end of the meal. He explained to Robert that they are supposed to show satisfaction at the end of eating and that is his way of doing so. Obviously that is not part of the
The main character becomes very embarrassed when Robert comes over, since their cultures have such differences. Amy describes the scene and it was evident she was not excited about how her family was acting: “Dinner threw me deeper in despair” (Tan 185). Her mother was cooking large shrimp called Prawns, some slimy codfish, and squid. Amy was worried about what Robert’s family was going to think of their strange food. The minister’s family was American, so they are used to the simple ham and pudding meal. The families got together to sit down for the meal and Amy got even more embarrassed and ashamed then before. Her family was acting like they would normally do but in the American culture they don’t act anything like that. Her mother sets the plates on the table and their family digs in with their personal chopsticks. During the meal, the minister’s family showed their cultural traditions when Amy said: “Robert and his family waited patiently for platter to be passed to them” (Tan 185). They were not used to just serving themselves whenever they wanted. Usually they pass the plates and take turns. The situation got even stranger for Robert when Amy’s dad belched very loud at the end of the meal. He explained to Robert that they are supposed to show satisfaction at the end of eating and that is his way of doing so. Obviously that is not part of the