Essay on Amy Tans Mother Tongue - 845 Words

Amy Tans Mother Tongue In Mother Tongue, Amy Tan talks about how language influenced her life while growing up. Through pathos she explains to her audience how her experiences with her mother and the Chinese language she came to realize who she wanted to be and how she wanted to write. The author, Tan, has written the books The Joy Luck Club, and The Kitchen Gods Wife. She is Asian-American, her parents are originally from China, but moved to Oakland, California. The audience in Tans essay is people 20-35 years old who are culturally diverse. Tan focuses on this audience in order reach out to those who are in her past situation. In her house, there were two languages spoken: English and Chinese. Tan knew how to speak†¦show more content†¦She wants the audience to know right away that even though she is about to tell you the story of a difficult childhood, she did reach her goal in the end. After making this statement, Tan dives into her past and how she came to be where she is today. Her mother is the next most important point of discussion. Her mother influenced her writing style as well as her beliefs about her culture and heritage. ?Just last week, I was walking down the street with my mother, and I again found myself conscious of the Engl ish I was using, the English I do use with her? (Tan, 2002, p. 36). The broken up English her mother uses is the next issue Tan focuses on. everything is limited, including people?s perceptions of the limited English speaker? (Tan, 2002, p. 36). Lastly, she talks about her education and the role it had on her deciding what she wanted to do with her life. ?Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving assumptions made about me? (Tan, 2002, p. 39). By structuring the essay in order of importance, Tan reinforces her message that you can be anything you desire even with a different culture than the norm. The main rhetoric appeal used by Tan is pathos, the appeal to emotion. Language becomes an obstacle for Tan because her mother speaks limited English. Amy must be an interpreter for her mother in instances where her mother cannot communicate effectively. ?And sure enough, the following week there we were inShow MoreRelated Amy Tans Mother Tongue Essay1106 Words   |  5 PagesAmy Tans Mother Tongue The Essay written by Amy Tan titled Mother Tongue concludes with her saying, I knew I had succeeded where I counted when my mother finished my book and gave her understandable verdict (39). The essay focuses on the prejudices of Amy and her mother. All her life, Amys mother has been looked down upon due to the fact that she did not speak proper English. Amy defends her mothers Broken English by the fact that she is Chinese and that the Simple English spokenRead MoreAmy Tans My Mother Tongue1796 Words   |  8 PagesIn â€Å"Mother Tongue,† Amy Tan describes how her mother’s English impacted her views of the world as she was growing up, which made her experiences more valuable. With Chinese parents growing up in America, Tan noticed some issues her mother came upon with the English language, such as how society assumes that language and intelligence are equivalent of one another. Describing her mother’s English, she explains the struggles of others compared to herself as â€Å"Some say they understand none of it, as ifRead MoreThis is a summary for Amy Tans Mother Tongue.773 Words   |  3 PagesSummary for Amy Tan s Mother Tongue The essay is chiefly about the writer s own rumination and judgment about how broken English compared to Standard English. Moreover it came to her sense that language not only authorizes individuals to participate as members of a designated community, it is also a essential key in enabling individuals to establish and define the dimensions of their identity. Though a lover of language and an erudite lover of language she is, she has never recognized thisRead MoreAmy Tans Mother Tongue and Jimmy Santiago Bacas Coming Into Language1011 Words   |  5 PagesAmy Tans Mother Tongue and Jimmy Santiago Bacas Coming Into Language In the course of reading two separate texts it is generally possible to connect the two readings even if they do not necessarily seem to be trying to convey the same message. The two articles, â€Å"Mother Tongue† by Amy Tan, and â€Å"Coming Into Language† by Jimmy Santiago Baca, do have some very notable similarities. They are two articles from a section in a compilation about the construction of language. The fact that theseRead MoreComparing Amy Tans Mother Tongue and Gloria Anzulduas How To Tame A Wild Tongue733 Words   |  2 Pagessimilar situations as Gloria AnzaldÏ a and Amy Tan. Going to high school where personal image is a big part of a student s life is very nerve racking. American Values are often forced upon students and a certain way of life is expected of them. Many times, in America, people look down on people who do not accept the American Way of Life. The struggle of fitting in and accepting the cultural background is a major point in both essa ys, _Mother Tongue_ by Amy Tan and _How to Tame a Wild Tongue_ by GloriaRead MoreMaxine Kingstons Making of More Americans and Amy Tans Mother Tongue: A Controversial Addition in Literature1298 Words   |  5 PagesMaxine Kingstons Making of More Americans like Amy Tans Mother Tongue has been a controversial addition to Asian American literature. The writer has tried to answer the critical question of Chinese American identity and hence been criticized for adopting an orientalist framework to win approval of the west. Similarly Rendezvous by Frank Chin and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan also speak of a culture that neatly fits the description of the Other in the orientalist framework. It appears alien, remoteRead MoreMother Tongue1199 Words   |  5 PagesRhetorical Analysis of â€Å"Mother Tongue† written by Amy Tan â€Å"So easy to read†(p.4). Amy Tan ends her essay, â€Å"Mother Tongue† with this short and even grammatically wrong sentence. She tells us this mother’s brief review is a proof of success of her writing. Why does she think that easiness is an essence of her writing? She suggests answers to this question by her essay. In her essay, Amy Tan effectively convinces her readers that â€Å"broken English† is not an inferior language, but justRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan883 Words   |  4 PagesIn Amy Tan’s essay â€Å"Mother Tongue,† it is obvious that language plays an enormous role in our life. Language can influence and give us an insight into another culture different from our own. Amy Tan discusses the many ways in which the language she was taught and native to was important and powerful throughout her life. Language can be defined in various forms, but I hold and acknowledge Amy Tan’s explanation: â€Å"Language can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.† I canRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan1553 Words   |  7 Pages(Date) â€Å"Mother Tongue† Response Essay In the essay â€Å"Mother Tongue,† Amy Tan emphasizes the idea that the language we are taught in childhood plays an important role in our lives. She writes about the profound effect language has on her life and how she is inspired by her mother’s â€Å"impeccable broken English† to become a writer (317). Tan describes her mother as an educated person who can read sophisticated and technical literature written in English with ease. However, Tan’s mother is oftenRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan1306 Words   |  6 Pages Mother Tongue is a story that describes how Amy Tan’s mother was treated unfairly because of her â€Å"broken English†. As the second generation of Chinese immigrants, Tan faces more problems than her peers do. Her mom, who speaks â€Å"limited† English, needs Tan to be her â€Å"translator† in order to communicate with the native English speakers. Tan has felt ashamed of her mother â€Å"broken† language at first. She then contemplates her background affected her life and her study. However, she changes her thought