Rhetorical Analysis Of Mothers Tongue

Mothers Tongue

Writers like Amy Tan, use rhetorical writing to display emotional appeal, tone, style, and even organization. In Tan’s article, Mothers Tongue, she writes about her experiences with her mother's inability to speak English. She provides examples from her childhood of being discriminated, and stereotyped because of her race. Tan addresses cultural racism without showing any anger or specifically pointing out racism. She makes the reader realize that immigrants have to deal with discrimination, and disrespect in their daily lives. She uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to let the reader see what she went through in her early childhood experiences. Her audience reaches out to families who speak “broken English”, and have to deal with being discriminated, and disrespected.
One of the strategies Tan uses is Ethos. Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. Tan makes personal references to her mother and factual events, along with her accomplishments, like her achievement in English. At the very beginning, Tan talks about her writing career, and states, “Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all – all

the English’s I grew up with”(313). Most people have positive impressions of this career, they may think writers are knowledgeable and they must be very good at English or their native languages. This gives the readers an idea that the author is creditable and her statements are reliable. This is Tan’s use of ethos that she used effectively. She is a knowledgeable figure and the readers should focus on what she’s saying. The audience will probably pay more attention to what the author’s idea is and they are more easily to be persuaded.
One of the other rhetorical strategies she uses is logos and reasoning. Logos is an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason. She reflects back to her childhood, and talks about being stereotyped, and being under-mined because of her mothers “broken English”. She grew up in a time when people of other races were greatly discriminated, and under-minded. In Donna Cross’s article, Propaganda: How Not To Be Bamboozled, she states, “Name-calling can be used against policies, practices, beliefs and ideals, as well as against individuals, groups, races, nations”(Cross). Name calling is found throughout her essay, for example, her mother was discriminated for not being smart, because her “broken English” was very pore, and difficult to understand. She claims, “Some of my friends understand 50 percent of what she says”(313). Tan mentioned that her mother “reads the Forbes reports, listens to Wall Street Week, converses daily with her stockbrokers, reads all of Shirley MacLaine’s books with ease—all kinds of things I can’t begin to understand”(316). It is reasonable to think someone who reads the Forbes report is intelligent, or knowledgeable. This means people who don't speak a fluent language can still be smart. They should be treated the same as others but not disrespectfully. Perhaps the brains of the audience have been convinced. She uses logos effectively, to show how her mother was easily undermined for her intelligence because of her race.
Tan also uses logos to indicate the assumption that it’s impossible for her to master English. The author also talks about how the English language has developed different meanings for her over time. Tan struggled with standardized tests in English saying they were more of a judgement call than a clear cut answer, such as math and science. She starts to recall her test scores in different subjects in school “In grade school, I did moderately well, getting perhaps B's, sometimes B-pluses, in English and scoring perhaps in the sixtieth or seventieth percentile on achievement tests. But those scores were not good enough to override the opinion that my true abilities lay in math and science, because in those areas I achieved A's and scored in the ninetieth percentile or higher”(317). Knowing that her native language isn't English, you can see how unfair it is to be ridiculed of dreaming a life profession with the use of English language. Although she had a hard time with English throughout her life she declared it as a major in college, in a state of rebellion, and began her writing career.
One of the strongest rhetorical strategies Tan uses is Pathos. Pathos is an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response. She uses pathos effectively in her essay, to grab the audience's attention and gets them to realize the discrimination Tan’s mother faced. Tan also speaks about the struggles her mother faced and how hard it was for Tan emotionally. Her mom, who speaks limited English needs Tan to be her “translator” in order to communicate with the native English speakers. Tan states, “I was ashamed of her English”(318). Her mom is like a burden to her, at least in Tan’s early years. This affected Tan emotionally. Growing up, Tan had to care for her mother, when she was in situations where she could not communicate effectively. When her mother was treated disrespectfully, Tan would have to stand up for her mother, and translate for her.
The most apparent Pathos used in this essay is the paragraph describing how Tan’s mother experienced unfair treatment at the hospital. Tan’s mother “was anxious to know the exact diagnosis, since her husband and son had both died of brain tumors”(317). However the staff members showed disinterest in helping her. It’s clear for the readers to perceive how helpless and scared Tan’s mother was at the time. Before Amy showed up, they treated her mother disrespectfully, and even told her they might not find her CAT scan. The staff members responded differently when Amy Tan showed up at the hospital. It is a scene of how an old woman with “broken English” was treated disrespectfully. By using this specific example, Tan is touching the audience on an emotional level.
Tan demonstrates Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show the reader what she went through in her adolescent years.

Both the brains and the hearts of the audience have been convinced. She also used many rhetorical strategies, like emotional appeal to convey her rough childhood to the reader. She gave numerous examples of being discriminated, and stereotyped because of their race. Tan’s audience reaches out to family members who speak broken English. Amy Tan also comprehends that although people may not be able to speak perfect English, they can comprehend what others are saying, and that you shouldn't discriminate others because of their race. A persons understanding of someone who speaks “broken-English” could be very limited, but the wisdom of the “broken English” speaker is

not.