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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This can lead to inner conflict‚ confusion‚ and even anger. One way to handle the conflict is to cut ties with the first culture including language. But is this the answer? Doing so can create a sense of loss. In the essay “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”‚ Richard Rodriguez shares his personal experience with learning English as a second language. In his linguistic journey‚ the author feels a disconnect between Spanish‚ the language used at home by his Mexican immigrant parents‚ and English
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short story "Two Kinds‚" Amy Tan explores the clash of cultures between a first-generation Chinese-American daughter‚ Jing-mei‚ and her mother‚ Suyan‚ a Chinese immigrant. Suyan is certain that Jing-mei can become a prodigy if she only tries hard enough. At first Jing-mei is eager to try‚ but she always falls short of her mother’s expectations. She decides that the prodigy in her is the girl who would steadfastly refuse to be what she is not. While the mother and daughter reveal their personality
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else; we are then told how english wasn’t Amy’s strongest subject and later on we are told about the difficulties her mother experienced because of the way she spoke english and the prejudice she faced. In the text Tan uses a variety of stylistic devices to express herself‚ tans use of parallel structures is used frequently throughout the piece‚ for example she starts the first paragraph with the phrase "i am not a scholar of english" and the second with "i am a writer"; this contrast implies
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Two Kinds by Amy Tan deals with a girl and a controlling mother.The main character in the story‚ a little chinese girl‚ is taken on a experience that could make or break her life. This girl struggles with meeting her mother’s standards. Amy Tan is able to express both the mother’s and the daughter’s point of views. Tan incorporates a little bit of her story in this great read. This novel deals with the difficulties of trying to be perfect and straining to please those that we love. The
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Conflict occurs between mothers and daughters across all nationalities‚ including the Chinese-American mother-daughter duo in Two Kinds by Amy Tan. Jing-Mei‚ the daughter of Suyuan‚ resents her mother’s efforts to aid in her success‚ and eventually begins to sabotage her own progress. Suyuan does not want Jing-Mei to go through all of the challenges she has faced in her life‚ and tries to do what she believes is best for Jing-Mei. Although at times she may have been inconsiderate of what her daughter
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Mei’s mother believed that you could be anything you wanted to be in America. (p 405) America is where all Jing Mei’s mothers hope lay. She had come to America in 1949 after losing everything in china. The main character of the story is Jing Mei (Amy Tan) who is also the protagonist in the story. Her mother is the antagonist‚ who is always urging Jing Mei to try new things and discover new talents. Jing Mei feels as if her mother wants her to be something she is not. Other characters in the story
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Written in an eloquent manner‚ both Frederick Douglass and Richard Rodriguez have a mesmerizing yet laborious narratives about their early lives. Growing up‚ both authors worked hard to approach literacy and develop their skills. For instance‚ as a former slave Douglass struggles to learn how to read and write without his owner’s permission. Therefore‚ he took every opportunity to use the resources around him. Meanwhile‚ Rodriguez has easy access to books that were ‘essential’ for his education.
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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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distinguish each other by personalities as a whole rather than the color of our skin or ethnicity. In fact‚ according to studies by the Huffington Post‚ by 2042 the racial minorities will become the majorities of the United States population. In Richard Rodriguez’s article‚ “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans”‚ he states how immigrants aren’t getting the credit for what they deserve. In addition‚ he describes how the younger generations are changing and forming the cultures in America. I agree
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