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Many people have hated their culture to represent other cultures because they want to fit in. This mostly states about when first the authors parents invited the minister and minister's son to the author's house for christmas then when. The author's mother gave the plates out;however,she had felt embarrassed of what kinds of food she was serving. Finally, her mother gave her a miniskirt that make her be an american on the outside; on the other hand, she still doesn’t have to feel embarrassed or hate her culture. In “Fish Cheeks,” by Amy Tan, Amy Tan and the minister’s son are the two main characters. Amy Tan is a Chinese woman and the minister’s son is a white American and Amy Tan is embarrassed that the minister’s son is going to not like her because of the different foods that Amy Tan eats because he might not be used to it. Amy Tan is trying to teach us to be yourself and to never forget who you are or where you come from. The theme of “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan is One shouldn’t be afraid to show his or her love for his or her her culture because of what others think and the author establishes this theme through her use of the following symbols: miniskirt, minister’s son, and how her relatives use the chopsticks. …show more content…
Amy’s mom said: “She handed me an early gift. It was a miniskirt in beige tweed. But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame” (33-34). This shows that Amy’s mom wants Amy to enjoy the American culture but doesn’t want Amy to forget her Chinese culture.Amy’s mother gives amy the skirt as a gift; Also,gives her a lesson which is you can act like the other American girls,but she can’t forget where she came from and her
The transition from childhood to adulthood can be challenging. There are many things to learn and let go. Sometime teenagers can dramatize certain events to make themselves seem defenseless. Amy Tan, Chinese-American author, makes her Chinese Christmas seem insufferable. In Tan’s passage “Fish Cheeks”, Tan uses diction and details to exemplify the indignity caused by her Chinese culture.
She talks about how she felt ashamed about her culture and the food. In Amy Tan's essay, she had a crush on boy from the minister's family named Robert. They were invited to have Christmas Eve's dinner at Tan's place. Tan was curious about how the minister's family would react when they saw Chinese food instead of traditional turkey and mashed potatoes. She was thinking to herself that what Robert will think about the evening. The minister's family arrived and started digging in on the appetizers. Tan was embarrassed to sit with them at the table because the minister's family was surprised. But as the evening prolonged, Tan's father said “Tan, your favorite" as he served the fish cheeks to her (Tan
In “Fish Cheeks,” Amy’s mom is teaching her to embrace who she is, even if she is different. In the story the mother tells Amy, “You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.” It is important to be proud of your culture because, it's good to be different. Diversity is what makes America an amazing place. America is commonly referred to as the “melting pot,” joining different cultures and religions together. When Amy’s mom talks about being shameful of your culture, she is trying to tell Amy that you have to be confident in who you are. In the story “Taco Head,” Coach Clarke tells Sofia to be confident in her tacos and her culture. At the time Sofia is being bullied by kids in her grade. The tacos really symbolize Sofia’s culture. In the story. Coach Clarke is trying to teach Sofia to be proud of her culture (the tacos). In the story it says, “...eat your tacos proudly, and right in the middle of the cafeteria.” Both of these stories teach a lesson to embrace who you
Throughout the story, “Fish Cheeks,” by Amy Tan, the author speaks of her “worst” Christmas dinner when her family invited Amy’s crush and his family for christmas dinner. Overall, the story was actually telling of her best Christmas dinner ever where her parents taught her to respect her culture and not be afraid to be who she was. The author and narrator, Amy Tan, used tone to convey this message to the audience in a few different ways in the story.
In Fish Cheeks a girl named Amy had a crush on an american boy named Robert, she was afraid that if Robert found out about her chinese culture then he would not like her back. When she found out that he was invited over for dinner Amy was devastated “When I found out that my parents had invited
Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks” describes Tan’s upbringing as a Chinese-American caught in between two cultures. In “Fish Cheeks” Tan’s crush Robert and his family were invited to Tan’s house for Christmas, Amy was embarrassed of Robert’s impression of her Chinese relatives, cuisine, and culture (Tan 110). Tan’s situation is not uncommon as millions of first generation Americans encounter similar situations while living within two cultures. Albeit the extreme embarrassment Tan endured throughout the encounter, she contends that her mother taught her a valuable lesson in appreciating her Chinese culture (111). Ultimately, Tan's purpose was to implore first generation Americans to embrace both of their cultures, in spite of its unique traditions (Tan
Chinese-Americans authors Amy Tan and Gish Jen have both grappled with the idea of mixed identity in America. For them, a generational problem develops over time, and cultural displacement occurs as family lines expand. While this is not the problem in and of itself, indeed, it is natural for current culture to gain foothold over distant culture, it serves as the backdrop for the disorientation that occurs between generations. In their novels, Tan and Jen pinpoint the cause of this unbalance in the active dismissal of Chinese mothers by their Chinese-American children.
Amy Tan used symbolism to reveal the cultures and how it interacted with the conflict of the story. One example was she used the game of chess as more than just a game. She illustrated it as a game of life and a way of her adaptation into her new American culture. This was demonstrated when Waverly’s mother read the rules of chess but did not understand them. Mrs. Lindo said, “Every time people come out from foreign country, must know rules… They say, don’t know why, you find out yourself” (502). This quote demonstrated the culture gap in the family, because the mother grew up with Chinese beliefs. Symbolically, when they received the American game of chess for Christmas they were excited and
Similarly, Wong also grew up in America with a traditional Chinese mother. In contrast, Wong’s upbringing involves her mother forcing her into attending two different schools. After her American school day, Wong continues on with Chinese school to learn both cultures. Her mother felt it was her duty to “[. . .] learn the language of [her] heritage” (Wong 144). This puts a burden on Wong as she starts to despise the Chinese culture.
Oftentimes the children of immigrants to the United States lose the sense of cultural background in which their parents had tried so desperately to instill within them. According to Walter Shear, “It is an unseen terror that runs through both the distinct social spectrum experienced by the mothers in China and the lack of such social definition in the daughters’ lives.” This “unseen terror” is portrayed in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club as four Chinese women and their American-born daughters struggle to understand one another’s culture and values. The second-generation women in The Joy Luck Club prove to lose their sense of Chinese values, becoming Americanized.
The second and third sections are about the daughters' lives, and the vignettes in each section trace their personality growth and development. Through the eyes of the daughters, we can also see the continuation of the mothers' stories, how they learned to cope in America. In these sections, Amy Tan explores the difficulties in growing up as a Chinese-American and the problems assimilating into modern society. The Chinese-American daughters try their best to become "Americanized," at the same time casting off their heritage while their mothers watch on, dismayed. Social pressures to become like everyone else, and not to be different are what motivate the daughters to resent their nationality. This was a greater problem for Chinese-American daughters that grew up in the 50's, when it was not well accepted to be of an "ethnic" background.
The Chinese mothers, so concentrated on the cultures of their own, don't want to realize what is going on around them. They don't want to accept the fact that their daughters are growing up in a culture so different from their own. Lindo Jong, says to her daughter, Waverly- "I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents' promise. This means nothing to you because to you, promises mean nothing. A daughter can promise to come to dinner, but if she has a headache, a traffic jam, if she wants to watch a favorite movie on T.V., she no longer has a promise."(Tan 42) Ying Ying St.Clair remarks- "...because I remained quiet for so long, now my daughter does not hear me. She sits by her fancy swimming pool and hears only her Sony Walkman, her cordless phone, her big, important husband asking her why they have charcoal and no lighter fluid."(Tan 64)
Lindo Jong provides the reader with a summary of her difficulty in passing along the Chinese culture to her daughter: “I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix? I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it's no lasting shame . . . You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head . . . In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you. . . . but I couldn't teach her about Chinese character . . . How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best”(Tan 289).
In the story, "Fish Cheeks" it talks about how Amy Tan's Chinese family invites an American boy's family over for dinner. Amy Tan wants to impress him and thinks that he wont like the food her mother made even though it is her favorite food. She can tell that he doesn't like the food and she is embarased. So, Amy wants to fit in.
June-May fulfills her mother’s name and life goal, her long-cherished wish. She finally meets her twin sisters and in an essence fulfills and reunites her mother with her daughter through her. For when they are all together they are one; they are their mother. It is here that June-May fulfills the family portion of her Chinese culture of family. In addition, she fully embraces herself as Chinese. She realizes that family is made out of love and that family is the key to being Chinese. “And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.” (Tan 159). Finally, her mother’s life burden is lifted and June-May’s doubts of being Chinese are set aside or as she says “After all these years, it can finally be let go,” (Tan 159).