Mother Tongue by Amy Tan Essay - 1070 Words

Identity and Culture Amy Tan’s ,â€Å"Mother Tongue† and Maxine Kingston’s essay, â€Å"No Name Woman† represent a balance in cultures when obtaining an identity in American culture. As first generation Chinese-Americans both Tan and Kingston faced many obstacles. Obstacles in language and appearance while balancing two cultures. Overcoming these obstacles that were faced and preserving heritage both women gained an identity as a successful American. In the work of Amy Tan’s â€Å"Mother’s Tongue† she provides a look into how she adapted her language to assimilate into American culture. She made changes to her language because her mother heavily relied on her for translation. She was the voice of her mother, relaying information in standard English to†¦show more content†¦My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech using the kind of English I have never used with her.†(417) Overcoming the barrier between languages she spoke aided Tan in building a bridge between cultures. She changed her language to assimilate into American culture while also keeping familial culture. A piece of heritage that uses a language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk. Tan grew up with this language and she still uses it with her mother, husband and in her books. (418) Another method to find identity in a new host society is thro ugh appearance. In the essay, â€Å"No Name Woman† by Maxine Kingston ideals in appearance were passed from generation to generation. Altering ideals when creating identity is noticed in Kingston’s essay. A long held tradition in many Chinese families is that many generations live under the same roof and this can cause a conflict in ideals. Conflicting ideals between generations is shown as Tan tells how the younger generation hid the identities of their sexual color and their character. Hiding these new identities they hoped to avoid potential conflict with generational ideals. Kingston did not hide her identity, she found herself â€Å"walking erect (knees straight, toes pointed forward, not pigeon-toed, which is Chinese-feminine) and speaking in an audibleShow MoreRelatedMother 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 Tan819 Words   |  4 Pages Despite growing up amidst a language deemed as â€Å"broken† and â€Å"fractured†, Amy Tan’s love for language allowed her to embrace the variations of English that surrounded her. In her short essay â€Å"Mother Tongue†, Tan discusses the internal conflict she had with the English learned from her mother to that of the English in her education. Sharing her experiences as an adolescent posing to be her mother for respect, Tan develops a frustration at the difficulty of not being taken seriously due to one’s inabilityRead 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. H er 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 thoughtRead 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 Tan1375 Words   |  6 Pagestrade. And I use them all-all the Englishes I grew up with.† -Amy Tan, Mother Tongue Language is what allows humans to be creative. Creative in the way we express ourselves, creative in the way we put our ideas forward, creative in the way we correspond with each other and in the way we can touch each other’s lives. It is truly a gift that the other species of our world do not possess, at least not to the extent that humans do! Amy Tan is an American writer and her works probe the Chinese-AmericanRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan1290 Words   |  6 Pageslanguage is a difficult and demanding task. In â€Å"Mother Tongue†, Amy Tan expresses the limitations caused by the use of imperfect English in society and her struggles to revitalize it into her life and her writing. Through the use of several rhetorical strategies such as expanding on her own credibility with the use of ethos, appealing to the audience’s emotions using pathos, stating statistics using logos and providing an example of repetition, Tan successfully manages to prove her point on the struggleRead MoreMother Tongue By Amy Tan967 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"Mother Tongue†, Amy Tan describes the several different kinds of English her that she speaks. It is an interesting concept to think about the fact that more than one variation of a single language exist. After reading â€Å"Mother Tongue† I began l ooking at my own life and seeing if I could recognize the different variation of English that I have come in contact with. After some serious thought, I realized that I have not only come into contact with many different kinds of English, but I speak manyRead MoreAnalysis Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan913 Words   |  4 Pages Analysis of Mother Tongue by Amy Tan In the narrative essay, â€Å"Mother Tongue† by Amy Tan, the author sets out the story between her mother, whose English is her second language, and Tan herself can speak native English very well. The essay covers the tonal shift of Amy Tan s psychological change, from grudge to understanding. Although she begins the essay saying, I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on theRead MoreAmy Tan s Mother Tongue1060 Words   |  5 Pagesupon me for my inability to speak English properly. However, in the essay â€Å"Mother Tongue†, the author Amy Tan gives a different, a more optimistic outlook on the various forms of English that immigrants speak as they adapt to the American culture. Using simple language to develop her argument, she casually communicates to the audience rather than informing, which helps the audience understand what is being presented. Tan’s mother plays an important role in her outlook of l anguage because she helps herRead MoreAnalysis Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan1048 Words   |  5 PagesTwo Worlds - One Story In â€Å"Mother Tongue,† Amy Tan reflects on her childhood to describe how her mother contributed to her understanding of language. Tan encounters numerous situations when she feels like she is judged based on how her mother spoke â€Å"broken† English. Nevertheless, she overcame her teachers’ opinion that she should focus on math and sciences and became a writer. I have a similar experience because I have lived in a different country for a long time, and I speak a different language