Comparing Champion Of The World And Amy Tan's Fish Cheeks

In Maya Angelou’s Champion of the World and Amy Tan’s Fish Cheeks both convey their struggles with identity. Both authors are from minority cultures, and describe the same harsh pressures from the dominant culture. They share situations of being outcasts, coming from different racial backgrounds and trying to triumph over these obstacles. Tan and Angelou speak about the differences between their childhood selves and white Americans. Tan talks about the anxiety of a teenage girl who feels embarrassed about her Chinese culture, and who wants to fit in with American society. Angelou’s explains the racial tension and hostility between African and white Americans.
In the essay Champion of the World, Maya Angelou talks about a boxing fight that

took place when she was a child while working at her uncle’s stores. The fight was between African- American Joe Louis v. Primo Carnera. The match was being broadcast by a radio her uncle had at the store. It brought African- Americans together as a community. The event was taking place when there were still racial conflicts against African- Americans. Joe Louis was the representing all the African-Americans around the world. The fight was long and in the end Joe Louis won the fight. He proved to the world that “African-Americans were the strongest people of the world and that had made all his people proud of their race” (Angelou 107).
Yiyun Li's experience is somewhat similar to Amy Tan's experience in the essay Fish Cheeks.

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

100).
In Angelou's Champion of the World, Maya Angelou is an outsider in the white world, amongst the several others in the shop. They all share this oppression of the white race and their hero, the "Brown Bomber" is helping them to establish themselves as equals into the world by trumping the white people as a boxer (Angelou 105).
Angelou does not desire to be a part of this particular ethnicity, but fights against the injustice of racism. The false physical and religious accusations of the African- American race set Angelou and her people from the dominant culture. Angelou portrays the African- American race in connection with the great boxing fight of Joe Louis. Not just an ordinary match, but the author illustrates the boxing fight as a battle for equality and advocacy of the African- American culture's capabilities. In addition, the events that each author presents exemplify different points.
In contrast, Amy Tan's essay, Fish Cheeks talks about how Tan feels embarrassed of her culture.

She used food as a life lesson to tell us about how she tried to fit in the American society and felt ashamed for the unorthodox Christmas Eve dinner. ""You want to be the same as the American girls outside, but inside you must always be Chinese" says Tan's mother" (Tan 100). She teaches Tan a lesson on how she should not feel ashamed about her culture and should be proud of being different. Tan realized when the night was over, her mother made all her favorites for the Christmas Eve dinner. Tan desires to be accepted, whereas Angelou wanted for the equality and the success of her people. The purpose of each differs as well. Angelou's purpose is to describe how the African-American culture has proved them-selves, yet they are still faced with prejudice. Tan dislikes her culture because of how others will judge her for it, but she learns that she should be proud to be

different.
In conclusion, never be ashamed of your own culture or tradition. Both Angelou and Tan used their experience to narrate their own stories and their lifestyles. Tan was embarrassed by something that is a tradition in their family and tried to fit into a different society. Trying to fit in a society where you don’t belong will never feel the same as you feel in your own society. People try so hard to fit in other societies that they forget about what is happening around them.