Amy Tan Fish Cheeks

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Chinese New Year is the most significant and longest Chinese festival celebrated in Chinese communities worldwide (Chinese New Year 1). Chinese New Year is significant to the Chinese as the fourth of July is to United States Americans. In the short story Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan the main character celebrates Christmas: “What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas” (Tan 184). The American holiday, the fourth of July will be compared to the Chinese Christmas New Year. Why the holidays are important to each culture and the traditional activities will be evaluated and compared to Amy Tan’s short story Fish Cheeks.
Over accumulated years, Chinese New Year and the Fourth of July have become holidays. Chinese New Year is a holiday celebrated …show more content…

The tradition of making large quantities of food runs through Christmas and Chinese New year backgrounds. On Chinese New Year they have a reunion meal with family. From reading the story Fish Cheeks there is evidence showing that family and friends get together to have Christmas dinner: “When I found out that my parents had invited the minister’s family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried” (Tan 184). Chinese food is symbolized during the weeks of Chinese New year just like some dishes in the story. On Chinese New Year the dumpling dish jiaoz can be compared to the squid dish the main character Amy is served: “A plate of squid, their backs crisscrossed with knife markings so they resembled bicycle tires” (Tan 184). The story’s food is not as symbolic as Chinese New Year, but can be related or translated back to the Chinese idea of symbolizing food. The fourth of July can also be related to the Fish Cheeks short story because the fourth of July celebration also revolves around food and family. The burping that is produced by Amy’s father is a form of respect, gratitude, and happiness: “At the end of the meal my father leaned back and belched loudly, thanking my mother for her fine cooking” (Tan 185). Chinese New Year envelopes that are red also mean happiness and can be easily compared through the traditions practice of one’s

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