Never Too Late to Be Proud Being who you are is easier said than done. We all have heard this lesson before, but it is much harder to actually do this in front of friends, and relatives. In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, and “Taco Head” by Viola Canales, both narrators face the struggle to fit in. They come from smaller cultures rather than the larger American culture. In the end, both girls learn a valuable lesson to be independent, and to be proud of who you are. In “Fish Cheeks” and “Taco Head” the similar lessons the narrators learn is, to be proud of who you are. However, the stories are different because in “Fish Cheeks” being American on the outside is okay, but you must remain Chinese on the inside. In “Taco Head” the lesson teaches that …show more content…
you should embrace your Mexican culture on the inside, and the outside. Finally, another difference is, the advice given to the Amy from “Fish Cheeks,” comes from her mom. But in “Taco Head” the advice is told by someone who comes from a different culture than Sofia (her coach). Both “Fish Cheeks” and “Taco Head” are similar because their lessons both teach to be proud of who you are.
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 …show more content…
are. One difference between the two stories is that in “Fish Cheeks” being American on the outside is okay, but you must always remain Chinese on the inside. In Taco Head, the lesson teaches to embody the Mexican culture on the inside and outside. When Amy’s mother talks to her after dinner, she hands her a “miniskirt in beige tweed”. Amy’s mother tells her that it's okay to be American on the outside, because she still wants her daughter to fit in. Another quote in “Fish Cheeks” is, “You want to be the same as American girls on the outside...But inside you must always be Chinese.” This is different from “Taco Head” because when Coach Clarke gives Sofia advice, she tells her to stay Mexican on the inside and outside, and that you should not care what people think of you. “It wasn’t long after my lunches with Coach Clarke that some other Mexican American kids started eating their food out in the open too.” This quote shows that Coach Clarke’s advice showed Sofia to eat her taco’s proudly. By doing this, it made a difference in other people’s lives, as well as Sofia’s. She became a leader. In both stories, the girls are given advice from supporting adults.
But what’s different is that the advice in “Fish Cheeks” comes from Amy’s mom, she is the same culture as Amy. In “Taco Head” the advice comes from Coach Clarke, and she is American, not Mexican. In “Fish Cheeks,” Amy’s mother is Chinese, so she understands her daughter’s feelings. “For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen all my favorite foods.” Amy’s mom really understands Amy by choosing her favorite foods. She herself understands what Amy is going through, Amy’s mom might have even gone through this herself. On the other hand, in “Taco Head” the advice that Sofia gets comes from Coach Clarke. A coach from school that is American (not the same culture as Sofia). “ ‘Those look good,’ Coach said, reaching for a taco. ‘Better than any stupid sandwich I’ve ever had. See for yourself. Take a bite.’ ” Even though Coach Clarke is not Mexican, she can relate to Sofia’s struggle with her cultural
identity. The stories, “Fish Cheeks” and “Taco Head” are similar in many ways, yet different. In both stories the main characters learn to be independent and proud of your culture. Although in “Fish Cheeks,” the focus is on the importance of embracing new culture, while staying true to who you are. In “Taco Head” the lesson is to keep your original identity even if it means to be different. Finally, another difference is the lessons come from different points of view in each story. In “Fish Cheeks” the lesson is taught by Amy’s mother where she is Chinese. But in “Taco Head” the lesson is taught by Sofia’s coach, where she is American. Though both stories are very different, they both share very important lessons that people can relate to and learn from. This quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald, really relates to both stories, “For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over again.” Being yourself is so important, this quote relates to “Fish Cheeks” and “Taco Head,” because both girls are trying to hide their differences. This quote is saying that you should be who you are all the time, and if you're not... you might as well start over.
Montano’s describes growing up half White American and half Mexican American. Montano did not have a proper place in his family. One side called him the “white one” and the other side called him the “Wexican” (Montano). At a young age and utilized cooking to channel his biracial frustrations. He became more frustrated when he and his Mexican father needed a hotel room, and they were refused service. It was at that moment he said, “I hate white people” (Montano). That began Montano’s fathers teaching a lesson. The lesson continued when Montano’s dad took him to a small restaurant from his hometown where the nacho meal was invented. His father correlated the Aztecs’ corn and the Spanish colonies dairy as the fusion of two societies coming together. “This recipe morphed” becoming the nacho created in that Mexican restaurant of the 1950’s served in the “hangout for Mexican and Texas politicians” (Montano). Montano grew and visited Argentina which he found to lack in anything Mexican. Montano missed his spicy food and began cooking. He treated his friends to his authentic Mexican dishes. Cooking was no longer to relieve the frustrations but served as an enjoyment in his heritage. It was through the frustrations as a biracial child and lesson taught by his father using nachos as a metaphor (probably not
The main idea of this story Fish Cheeks was understanding and appreciation and having pride in one own unique culture. Tan mother invites the minsters family who happens to be her crush at the time who is Robert the minister’s son. Tan felt despaired during the entire evening, feeling ashamed of her family and non- American ways at dinner. At the end of the evening Tan’s mother tells her that she understands that she wants to like all the other American girls and handed a gift. Tan’s mother points out to her that she must not be ashamed of her difference, however, embrace these differences that she has found shame in. Overall the main idea was the differences that we are often ashamed of are the differences we should take pride in, because
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
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.
We don't see many people in the world who express individuality. However, we see popularity and amount of followers we have on our Instagram to represent our reputation in the public. In the novel, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, we can see that individuality can still be expressed even if the whole school despises you. The main character, Stargirl, demonstrates how to be yourself and how it's better to be yourself than to become someone else.
She has never had to experience the idea of fitting in with her own culture. Being American is simply natural and a way of life for her. Traveling to another country, especially to one that was nothing like she expected it to be, helped to her stumble upon some important insights. She states being away from her own culture did not change her but made her able to realize what values and habits were the most important to her. In the other story, author Patricia was of Korean descent, but was born and raised here in America. Due to her Korean descent Patricia never really knew for sure where she belonged. She used a name to describe it, “hyphenated Americans,” because she looks like she is from another country but was born and raised here. People right on the streets of New York will ask her where she is from and compliment her on her good English skills. This makes it difficult to truly identify as an American. To really know what values and habits are her own. Traveling to Korea, visiting what they have called her homeland, taught Patricia some important insights of her own.
Reading Catfish and Mandala reminded me of my cultural closeness through food. Due to being bi-ethnic I learned how to cook food from both my ethnicities, however there were times when I found myself acting like a foreigner towards certain dishes. A prime example was when I had Chitlins or pig intestines. I had eaten menudo, thanks to my Hispanic mother and this was the first time I had Chitlins, an African American dish via my paternal grandmother. Unlike Menudo, which to me has an appetizing smell and taste, Chitlins were a gray stringy putrid smelling dish. Remembering the utter dislike I obtained from that African American dish, reminded me of Pham’s experience with Vietnamese food. While there are some dishes people can’t stand, most usually embrace a dish from their culture and that helps ease some of the pain or discomfort.
In this article, Eric Liu presents his life as a native immigrant to an Asian American individual. He shares his experience through his reflection of ideas and emotions. Along with his story, it relates to the ideas of people’s journey from adolescence to adulthood. Eric’s inspirational experience is directed towards minority groups who try to adapt to the American culture and lifestyle. His parents emigrated from China to America, before he was born which he later became exposed to the freedom and diverse society. This results in beneficial effects for his individuality, career opportunities, and lifestyle. Although his parents have lived in a different culture than him, his life in America has made him assimilated into the American society
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.
Traditionally, Twinkies are usually thought of as cream-filled yellow sponge cakes. To Chinese Americans, a different image is conjured. When Chinese Americans integrate with the American culture so much that their Chinese culture is much less apparent, they are known as “Twinkies”: yellow on the outside and white on the inside. In Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue” and Elizabeth Wong’s essay “The Struggle to be an All-American Girl”, both girls are Chinese American trying to fit in with the American society while their Chinese mother’s are very traditional at home. Tan and Wong are trying to please their image in America and their mothers at the same time. While these essays are similar because they focus on the native languages used in America and the struggles of being a Chinese American in America, they differ in both their attitudes toward their mothers and personal reflections of being Chinese American.
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.
Amy Tan’s ,“Mother Tongue” and Maxine Kingston’s essay, “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 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.
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother’s expectations. Being a first-generation Asian American, I have faced the same issues that the daughter has been through in the story.