Amy Tan's Literary Criticism

“If you can’t change your fate, change your attitude.” (Tan 190) This is one quote that helps describe my author best. Amy Tan (1952-present) is a postmodern author that has wrote many different works including poems and many novels. The postmodernism period is known for their general distrust of theories and ideology. Tan’s association with this literary period and her upbringing in a Chinese household help lead to the amazing author that we have today.

Tan lived a very trying life growing up, and had many things that influenced her writing. One primary element is that Tan was raised in a solely Chinese household. She uses this in many of her novels, which are based on Chinese lifestyles. Another influential event in her life was the loss

of her brother and father at the young age of 15. Tan uses the feelings of grief she felt during this time in many of her different works, allowing the readers to feel a little more deeply than most novels that they read. The last significant detail about Amy Tan is that, after the loss of her Father and brother, She argued frequently with her mother. This is used a lot in her most well known work, Joy Luck Club. Through all of these experiences, Tan is able to be a very imaginative and influential author.
In her literary critique, Your Mother is in Your Bones, Scarlet Cheng gives her views on Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club.

Cheng states how she enjoys the imagery and ability Tan has to describe what the setting of her novel is. “It helps us to see what life truly is like through the eyes of a Chinese immigrant.”(2 Cheng) I agree with Cheng on this. There are many quotes and details that will help to clarify this. One is a quote from the novel, and it says “It was one of those Chinese expressions that means the better half of good intentions.” This supports the critic in that it shows how she was raised in a primarily chinese household. Another quote from Joy Luck Club “They see daughters who grow impatient when their mothers talk in Chinese.” This is an example of the previous point that Tan incorporated her feelings towards her mother in her youth into her works. The last supporting point from the work is an example of imagery. “I could see why my mother was fascinated by the music. It was being pounded out by a little Chinese girl, about nine years old, with a Peter Pan haircut. The girl had the sauciness of a Shirley Temple. She was proudly modest like a proper Chinese child. And she also did this fancy sweep of a curtsy, so that the fluffy skirt of her white dress cascaded slowly to the floor like the petals of a large carnation.” This amazing use of imagery help to see why the critic thought so highly of Tan’s

work.
The chinese heritage and upbringing of Tan, along with her literary period, helped shape her into the creative artist that we now have. Through all of the different experiences, she also gained valuable lessons and traits that helped her writing career. Tan’s work has helped so many people, and can help us all if we are able to see the world in a more beautiful view.