Preview

Mother Tongue By Amy Tan Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
670 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mother Tongue By Amy Tan Analysis
Amy Tan: Mother Tongue
1. Tan starts with speaking to a group that had her mom in it. This provided details of how she felt with the way all speak in different situations. Another situation was when she described her having a conversation with her mom on the phone. Her mom uses very broken English and I felt like I was standing there listening to both sides of the conversation. I made me remember times talking with my grandma and a couple of her saying. When Tan uses “tell him front of his boss, you cheating me” made me laugh because I connected that to my grandma’s favorite saying “stupidest thing I never saw.” Simple things that bring it to live and gives the reader a detailed picture of what she is relating to.
2. By saying “I am not …show more content…
Barry uses vivid details and verbal text in her narrative that brings the story to life. When she is describing the crypt and the zombie and vampires, with the picture image to go with it makes the reader feel like they are experiencing this with her. Second when she has the police on the phone talking about the maiden sacrifice, it makes you imagination run with her.
2. Using the dialog with the lack of connection helps the reader feel how Barry is not supported and how the general idea of a cartoonist is that they only draw pictures and don’t do much in the way of writing. It shows the lack of understanding of the general population on what a writer is able to do. It also helps show that writers can be humorous, and witty and show the social idioms in the community.
3. Barry’s experiences helped her take a path that many people would never have directed her towards. She found something she loved to do and had a passion for it, when she could have taken a different path. Barry found something she ahd a passion for even if it wasn’t supported by others, and she did what made her happy, if she would have done something different, maybe she would not have been happy. She wouldn’t love what she was doing. With this she loved what she was doing and was happy with
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan
    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page

    Summary Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

    The essay “Mother Tongue” describes a writer who grew up with a mother of Asian origin and the limitations created by her mother’s speech. The author, Amy Tan, defines her mother’s English as “broken” and that it created communication barriers. For example, when Tan’s mother would need to call her boss about work, she would rely on her daughter to make the phone call and use proper english. When Tan decided to go into English in college, it seemed foolish since she was more skilled in math and science. The author also mentions how not everyone’s speech is the same, but that is not a bad thing. Tan decided to start writing fiction, and write a book in a way her mother would comprehend. Though the writing was harshly critiqued, Tan knew she…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Wolvs in the Sitee
    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Wolvs in the Sitee

    With a clever use of illustration and writing the authors draw the reader into wondering the truth about Ben’s world.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sirens: Fiction and Reading Assignment Epilogue
    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sirens: Fiction and Reading Assignment Epilogue

    8. The last sentence of the story has a very cold and harsh edge of reality. Why do you think the author chose to end his story on this note? Does this reflect the overall purpose or theme of the story? Explain.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Shaun Tan Broken Language Summary
    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Shaun Tan Broken Language Summary

    At first in the passage, Tan presents us her thoughts about English that creates a judgement base on their ways of speaking. When she is in a group of different people her English is lot different than the way she talks with her mother. Similarly, the way her mother talks to her she would understand but when her mother talk to someone they wouldn’t understand her “broken” English. Tan stated that the circumstances and struggles when her mother was ignored because how the way she speaks was not understandable. Such case, she pretended to be her mother so the stock broker could understand what was the problem. This demonstrates a person living with broken English requires another person to speak for them so their situation could be fix. Her mother’s language and her is a communication to that she was able to form who she is today. She was able to see the ignorance and the kindness of others because they would understand the struggle and meaning of a person “broken” language.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What Is The Main Idea Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan
    • 197 Words
    • 1 Page

    What Is The Main Idea Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

    Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue” Tan grew up in a home with her Chinese mother who spoke English that she considered “broken”. It was difficult for others to understand what her mother was saying. Tan then realized that when she was with her mother that she spoke English differently than she did. She was trying to figure out how her background affected her life, such as her education; but she eventually learned to except her background. At the same time Tan wanted to become a writer and she found that by spending time with her mother who again spoke “broken” English. Even though she was told that writing was her worst skill by her boss, she was determined to make it work.…

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Amy Tan Mother Tongue Analysis
    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Amy Tan Mother Tongue Analysis

    Amy Tan’s story “Mother Tongue” starts by the affirmation that she is not a scholar of English or literature. She is just a writer and the person who understand the power of language. From Tan’s observations from her daily life, she realizes that there are different types of English that she uses. The first time Tan notices the difference is when she gives a speech on her book “The Joy Luck Club” using academic English, the one that she never uses to talk with her mother. The second time is when Tan talked using “fractured” English unconsciously with her mother when walking down the street. After that, Tan recalls her memories from her early age: the phone call for her mother to the stockbroker, the meeting with a doctor in the hospital for her mother’s CAT scan result to demonstrate her mother’s realization of “limited” English. Then Tan agrees with the idea that language spoken in…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Joy Luck Club Rhetorical Analysis
    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Joy Luck Club Rhetorical Analysis

    In regards to her use of diction as part of her overall style, Tan uses broken English a mother is speaking, and English with fragments of Chinese for when the daughters are speaking. For instance, Mrs. Woo lectures her daughter saying, "You never rise. Lazy to get up" and "You just not trying." This level of English allows Tan to reveal the mother's prominent Chinese heritage. This also establishes her as someone from another country who has experience working endlessly to get to where she is now. The words of the daughters are English, punctuated by Chinese. Rose Hsu Jordan, one of the American raised daughters, complained that she had been "feeling hulihudu" and that her life was "heimongmong,". These phrases translate to feeling puzzled and her life was full of fog. Her speech is a reflection of both her prevalent American mentality and her Asian roots. She weaves in and out of the two languages in a desperate need to be both part of the present and connected to the past in order to find her identity. Through her meticulously selected words, Amy Tan is able to demonstrate the difference between mother and daughter, as well as the problems with which they contend. In the parts of the novel where one of the women mediates on an event in her life, Tan almost always uses metaphysical conceits to compare something tangible to emotional matters, adding to the complexity and the appearance of their intelligence. The sentence structure is also very elaborate in these cases as opposed to when they communicate with people. An example would be this sentence: "I also beg[in] to cry again, that this [is] our fate, to live like two turtles seeing the watery world together from the bottom of the little pond," (Tan 244) the complex structure of it gives the reader a sense of despair and pity, which adds to the distressing tone of the novel. In…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Literary Analysis Of Two Kinds By Amy Tan
    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Literary Analysis Of Two Kinds By Amy Tan

    Two kinds is a fictional story written by the Chinese-American author Amy Tan. She was born in Oakland California. In this story, the writer explains the conflict and the problem of the mother-daughter relationships and also reveals about American life and the American dream. In this story, Nikon is shown as the main protagonist and the whole story is all about the writers feeling towards event during her childhood. The author also tries to explain the mother-daughter relationship and reveals the generational gap in between the mother and daughter. The author also illustrates the feeling of the children when their parents try to force them to be obedient rather than following their path. According to writer's mother everybody can…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Army Tan Mother Tongue Analysis
    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Army Tan Mother Tongue Analysis

    Mother tongue by Army Tan employs the aspects of simplicity to appeal to the audience. In her introduction, she brings herself to the same level as his audience which makes them attentive and desires to know more. The author uses easily understood English which makes the readers easily relate to what she is saying. The author employs the aspect of the flashback where she tells her audiences about her experience speaking broken English and where this makes today, her viewers curious and to listen more. The author uses rhetoric to appeal to emotion to capture his audiences, in that her being limited to English is because of the influence of her mother this displays the personal experience.…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Amy Tan Mother Tongue Citation
    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Amy Tan Mother Tongue Citation

    In the article, "Mother Tongue" by author Amy Tan, she uses its context to persuade readers not "Judge someone's intelligence by their English" (Tan, 20) but instead treat others the way you would want to be treated, therefore acceptance is essential because it helps us respect other people who are different than we are, to avoid misconceptions about another person, and to accept others for who they are regardless different ethnical backgrounds.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The leveson inquiry
    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The leveson inquiry

    The Leveson Inquiry is an ongoing public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal. The Prime Minister announced a two-part inquiry investigating the role of the press and police in the phone-hacking scandal on 13 July 2011. On 6 July 2011, when the Leveson inquiry was setup, Prime Minister David Cameron announced to the Parliament that an inquiry would be setup under the Inquiries Act 2005 to investigate further on the affair. On 13 July, David Cameron appointed Lord Justice Leveson as Chairman of the Leveson inquiry to look into specific claims about phone hacking at the News of the World, the initial police inquiry and the accusations of illegal payments to police by the press, and a second inquiry to review the general culture and ethics of the British media.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rogerian Essay
    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rogerian Essay

    Throughout the essay, Tan includes several of her past experiences allowing the reader to sympathize for Amy and what she had to go through with her mother and the forces that shaped her life and her relationship with her mother. By appealing to pathos and empathy as humans, she creates a connection between the events that happen in her life as well as the readers of her essay. In one of her past experiences, Tan says, “She said she had spoken very good English… no mistakes. Still, she said, the hospital did not apologize when they said they had lost the CAT scan and she had come for nothing.” and through this excerpt readers relate the fact of the mother not originating from America and her English to the reason of why people treat her the way they do. Even…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis Mother Tongue Amy Tan
    • 307 Words
    • 1 Page

    Analysis Mother Tongue Amy Tan

    After reading “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, it was rigorous for Asian Americans learning the English language. The article discusses the different languages of English that Tan had learned and frequently used throughout her life. Then the difficulties that she had learning in school because English wasn’t her best subject. Additionally, were issues that follow along her, due to the way Amy’s mother spoke English. English as a second language for Tan was very difficult, but through her mistakes, she succeeded. When she became a writer, it got easier after she realized the variety of languages she had already spoke throughout her lifetime. She constantly used diverse languages with multiple people and had absolutely no idea she was. It became easier for Amy to differentiate and correct herself. Tan’s life was hard for her to become the aspiring writer she wanted to be. As an Asian American, to succeed in something that no one believed she could was foolish. And even though English wasn’t Amy’s first language, in the long run it changed her understanding of the English language. Tan’s purpose was to show us how language can separate, unite, or isolate those who don’t speak perfect English. Literacy should have no limitations on how people view other people.…

    • 307 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of Amy Chua's Article 'Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior'
    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of Amy Chua's Article 'Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior'

    What becomes ethical and what becomes necessary for success? These are the two major forces driving, parenting techniques today. Raising a successful child becomes an important matter as numerous controversial opinions concerning parenting spring up from time to time. Amy Chua, in her article, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”, argues that to a great extent that the Tiger Mom approach to parenting is the best way to raise a successful child. In contrast, her western critics believe that nurturing a child’s self esteem propels them into a world where they want to be successful on their own.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan
    • 175 Words
    • 1 Page

    Analysis Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan

    In “Mother Tongue” (1990) an essay written by Amy Tan, a Chinese-American author who has written a lot of beautiful novels, Tan argues that all languages have a purpose and value. Tan tells us how every language has a purpose by giving us examples from her own life, specifically, she talks about the way her and her mother talked; her mother wasn’t very fluent in English, but the little English she could speak she could say smart and brilliant things like, “ . Tan uses personal examples in order to make us believe in the importance of language. The people she directs this story to is to people who grew up in English homes from birth to see just because someone doesn’t talk perfect English doesn’t mean they don’t know things, they do have brilliant…

    • 175 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics