Revision
Exemplar A: Excellence
Research topic:
What’s on Amy Tan’s Mind?
Research questions: ▪ What issues stand out in Amy Tan's writing? ▪ How do the narrative techniques used highlight these issues? ▪ Why does Amy Tan highlight these issues?
Research Notes:
The Kitchen God’s Wife Author: Amy Tan.
ISSUES
Sense of self identity: ▪ Revelation of her mother's secret past brings the identity of who Pearl's biological father really is. ▪ To Pearl this news is horrific especially when she was conceived from rape and violence from a man who had tormented her mother for many years as her arranged husband. She passionately hated him. ▪ “And I thought, then it's true. Wen Fu was my father, That awful man, the one she hated. His blood is running through mine. I shivered at the thought.” Page 707
Family secrets: ▪ Pearl’s mother kept her unhappy former marriage secret. She did not want the family to know how of things past, the rape and violence. ▪ “So I never told him. I never told anyone. And nine months later, maybe a little less, I had a baby. I had you.” Page 705
The Bonesetter’s Daughter Author: Amy Tan.
ISSUES
Sense of self identity: ▪ Luling is upset when she cannot remember her family name. She feels a loss of identity and connection with her ancestors. ▪ “She nodded towards me and said with her hands: My family name, the name of all the bonesetters. She put the paper name in front of my face again and said, Never forget this name . ... And the name was - Why can't I see it now? I've pushed a hundred family names through my mouth and none comes back with the belch of memory.” Page 6
Family Secrets: ▪ Luling has kept many secrets from even those she loved the most to protect them and herself. Her hidden past of marriage, unfair treatment and her mother’s true identity are all hidden for decades until the truth must be told to set the record straight. ▪ “Luling answered: `this
Research topic:
What’s on Amy Tan’s Mind?
Research questions: ▪ What issues stand out in Amy Tan's writing? ▪ How do the narrative techniques used highlight these issues? ▪ Why does Amy Tan highlight these issues?
Research Notes:
The Kitchen God’s Wife Author: Amy Tan.
ISSUES
Sense of self identity: ▪ Revelation of her mother's secret past brings the identity of who Pearl's biological father really is. ▪ To Pearl this news is horrific especially when she was conceived from rape and violence from a man who had tormented her mother for many years as her arranged husband. She passionately hated him. ▪ “And I thought, then it's true. Wen Fu was my father, That awful man, the one she hated. His blood is running through mine. I shivered at the thought.” Page 707
Family secrets: ▪ Pearl’s mother kept her unhappy former marriage secret. She did not want the family to know how of things past, the rape and violence. ▪ “So I never told him. I never told anyone. And nine months later, maybe a little less, I had a baby. I had you.” Page 705
The Bonesetter’s Daughter Author: Amy Tan.
ISSUES
Sense of self identity: ▪ Luling is upset when she cannot remember her family name. She feels a loss of identity and connection with her ancestors. ▪ “She nodded towards me and said with her hands: My family name, the name of all the bonesetters. She put the paper name in front of my face again and said, Never forget this name . ... And the name was - Why can't I see it now? I've pushed a hundred family names through my mouth and none comes back with the belch of memory.” Page 6
Family Secrets: ▪ Luling has kept many secrets from even those she loved the most to protect them and herself. Her hidden past of marriage, unfair treatment and her mother’s true identity are all hidden for decades until the truth must be told to set the record straight. ▪ “Luling answered: `this