Tongue by Amy Tall Kaé Murray-Francis September 2‚ 2011 Florida Memorial University Recently‚ in my College Writing II class‚ I had the opportunity to read‚ “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. I enjoyed reading the essay so much that I decided to write my own analysis. “Mother Tongue” is an essay based on the power of language and the will to communicate. However‚ the essay is not just about language itself‚ but also about the relationship between a mother‚ Mrs. Tan‚ and her daughter‚ Amy Tan‚ who moved
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Composition & Literature | Amy Tan | Professor Blum | JAEL VARGAS 12/17/2012 | This story’s main events take place in Chinatown throughout the 1950s and perhaps early 1960s. The main character of the story‚ who is also the protagonist‚ is the author herself: Amy Tan. The antagonist happens to be her own mother‚ who is always pushing Amy to discover some hidden talent and be someone she is not. There are a few other minor characters in the story. There is Lindo Jong (who she calls
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Amy Tan and Maya Angelou come from extremely different cultures‚ and trying to feel accepted in American Culture. Both authors discuss a feeling of being an outcast and how their cultural differences set them apart. However‚ Amy Tan effectively uses narration and description to depict her sense of isolation from the dominant American culture. Angelou’s story is set in the South during the 1930’s when racism was prominent in society and an acceptable practice. Angelou’s writing mostly describes
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Amy Tan writes‚ in this essay‚ about the language that she and her mother used in their family while Tan was growing up. She makes a great effort to explain that their language‚ English‚ was never "broken" or "simple" as most people would say about it. Although she could speak perfect English‚ her mother could not. But‚ she grew up with her mother’s English way of speaking‚ and therefore learned to consider it as a natural language. She is trying to make a point here by saying that there is absolutely
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Culture affects how we perceive others and the world in many different ways. Culture is constructed by a number of different elements that define who we are. Depending on a person’s culture there are many different positions that often affect what we do on a daily basis. Every culture teaches others how to communicate‚ connect‚ and cooperate with one another. They teach them how to handle situations according to their cultures guidelines. Most cultures often think that their customs should be carried
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when they were younger that left them feeling ashamed or upset. In Amy Tan’s short story "Fish Cheeks‚" the author describes an embarrassing moment with her family that she only came to appreciate later in life. Tan was initially uncomfortable with how her traditional family behaved in front of guests‚ thinking they wanted to embarrass her. However‚ she eventually realized that their intention was to instill pride in her culture. Tan initially felt that her mother and the rest of her family were trying
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only be a mere reflection of skill without its own story‚ as Amy Tan once said "The goal of every serious writer of literature is to try to find your voice and your art because it comes from your own experiences‚ your own pain." Amy Tan herself writes all of her work with her mother in mind as the reader‚ her inspiration. She writes to show the beautiful and passionate side of her mother that people can’t see. In "Mother Tongue‚" Amy Tan describes how all of the Englishes that she grew up with‚ normal
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the fact that people who served her mother did not respect her. Furthermore‚ Tan thought her mother’s English almost had an effect on her possibilities in life. She provided some examples that also applied to most Asian
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English 101 Mother Tongue Amy Tan makes a valid point about the use of different Englishes that are spoken in different places and to certain people. What one says may sometimes vary based on the person‚ situation‚ or event as well. How one speaks and what they pick up on happens in the home and other people see them differently based on the way they speak. Different languages become difficult to translate as well because there isn’t always a similar word in the translating language. Many people
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“Language spoken in the family‚ especially in immigrant families...plays a large role in shaping the language of the child‚” (Tan). Tan uses her own opinions and personal experiences to convey the importance of family language. She explains later how family language shapes her understanding of the world around her. The main language during Amy’s childhood was her mother’s language. She did not have much influence from her peers since she was isolated for being an immigrant. Therefore‚ her mother’s
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