Famed author Amy Tan was born on February 19‚ 1952 in Oakland California. Her father was an electrical engineer and a Baptist minister. Her mother believed in Chinese spirits and left behind three daughters when she immigrated to America. Tan was raised in Northern California‚ but when her older brother and father both died from brain tumors‚ her mother took her and her younger brother to Europe. By the time she graduated high school‚ she had been attended eleven schools. She also got arrested for
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Amy Tan is an author who uses the theme of Chinese-American life‚ focusing mainly on mother-daughter relationships‚ where the mother is an immigrant from China and the daughter is a thoroughly Americanized --yellow on the surface and white underneath. In her book‚ the mother tries to convey their rich history and legacy to her daughter‚ who is almost completely ignorant of their heritage‚ while the daughter attempts to understand her hopelessly old- fashioned mother‚ who now seems to harbor a secret
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After reading the strongly written “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan‚ it shows a great deal of strength from the Asian American culture. Throughout the reading it showed how hard it was and still is for Asian Americans to work through the difficulties of the English language. The essay talked first about the different languages of English that this young lady learned and used through her life. The second part was about the difficulties that she had through school because English wasn’t here strongest subject
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Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan is about a event in Amy’s. Amy is a young Chinese girl that has a crush on the minister’s son. At one point in Amy’s life her mother invites the minister’s family over for a Christmas eve dinner. After being told she was very apprehensive of the minister’s son and his family coming over for dinner. The reason she was so apprehensive was because of the meal that her mother cooked wasn’t a traditional American dinner. But it was all traditional Chinese food. Amy felt that her
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Mother Tongue‚ by Amy Tan I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English language and its variations in this country or others. I am a writer. And by that definition‚ I am someone who has always loved language. I am fascinated by language in daily life. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language -- the way it can evoke an emotion‚ a visual image‚ a complex idea‚ or a simple truth. Language is the
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Character Analysis In “Two Kinds‚” the main character‚ Jing-mei‚ is portrayed as a skeptical‚ independent‚ and strong-willed young girl. These attributes are shown through her lack of faith in herself and her disobedience towards her mother. The first sign of Jing-mei’s skepticism is when she becomes impatient with the prodigy inside her. In fact‚ she imagines her inner prodigy telling herself that‚ “‘If you don’t hurry up and get me out of here‚ I’m disappearing for good”’ (Schilb & Clifford 241)
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In her essay‚ Scar‚ Amy Tan analyzes and speaks about several members of An-mei’s family. She spends most time talking about her mother and grandmother named Popo. When An-mei was very young‚ her mother was shunned and disowned by the family. For as long as An-mei could remember‚ her mother was even called a ghost by Popo. An-mei grew up with her brother‚ Popo‚ auntie‚ and uncle in a large house in Ningpo. The relationships and personalities of An-mei‚ her mother‚ and Popo can all be seen and analyzed
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“Rules of the Game” “Rules of the Game” was written by Amy Tan. This short story takes place in Chinatown district of San Francisco during the 1950’s. Waverly was known as the child prodigy after she grew interest of chess while her brothers were playing it one day. Her brother‚ Vincent‚ had received a used chess set that were also missing some pieces from a Baptist Church Christmas Party that her family had attended. Waverly‚ being six years old‚ learns to play chess and becomes a national
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“A Pair of Tickets” The short story “A pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan is really an interesting story to read. This short story is about June‚ a Chinese girl who travels to China with her father after the death of her mother. June was struggling with herself identity‚ but traveling to China and meting her twin sisters make her realize how much she was missing on her culture. I have experienced many things in life that are identical to this story. June was struggling with her identity because she looks
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“Two Kinds”‚ Conflicts “Two Kinds” is written by Amy Tan and it was first published in 1989. This short story tells the relationship between a mother and a daughter and the conflicts between them. The protagonist Jing Mei has both internal and external conflicts. The internal conflict is whether she wanted to be obedient. Her Conflict with her mother based on cultural difference is external. All these conflicts are expressed through setting and symbolism. The setting of the short story is in
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