Differences And Similarities Between Amy Tan And Maya Angelou

Amy Tan and Maya Angelou both grew up as minorities in America. They both understood the feeling of being an outsider. However Tan and Angelou share their feelings in very different ways. While Tan displays a very heavy feeling of embarrassment for her family and her culture, Angelou, on the other hand, shows a sense of pride knowing that someone of her race was able to come out on top.

Amy Tan was a thirteen year old Chinese-American girl who fell in love with Robert, a white boy. She wanted him to like her back but was afraid that he wouldn’t like her because of her race. When she finds out that he and his family will be coming to her house for Christmas she is mortified. She immediately thinks of what Christmas is like at her house, knowing

full well it’s nothing like a traditional American Christmas. She thinks of her relatives, whom she says lack proper American manners, being noisy. Tan is clearly embarrassed by the thought of Robert coming to her house and finding Chinese food for dinner instead of turkey and sweet potatoes. She was horrified by the food her mother was preparing. Although this was normal cuisine in her life she saw it from the point of view she thought Robert would take. At dinner she was even more disgusted by not only the food but also her family’s behavior. She describes her relatives licking their chopsticks then dipping them into serving plates. Tan wishes her family her family behaved more like other Americans not only in manners but in the food they eat and serve. She believes if she were more American Robert would like her. Tan describes her culture overall in a very negative way, while at the same time romanticizing American culture.
Maya Angelou, on the other hand, has a very different take on being a minority in America. While Tan feels like an outsider looking in and wants to be more American, Angelou is proud to be different and expresses great joy when someone of her race comes out on top. Angelou’s story centers around a boxing match her and a large group of people are listening to on the radio. She describes the air of the room early on as apprehensive. Everyone is listening closely, waiting to see if a black man will really beat a white man for the title of heavyweight champion of the world. Although everyone was worried about the outcome, they were all optimistic that Joe Louis would win. They had pride and hope for this man that was probably seen as an underdog because of his race. The atmosphere grew even tenser when it seemed that Louis would lose the match. However, when Louis was crown heavyweight champion of the world everyone in the store rejoiced. Angelou made a point to say that this man, a black man, some black mother’s son, was the strongest man in the world. He proved that he was just as good, even better, than the white man.