Syntax And Diction In Amy Tan's Fish Cheeks

Do you have a favorite type of American short story? The author's style describes the way the author uses tone, words, the structure of sentences, and language to set a mood for the reader. In Amy Tan’s short story, “Fish Cheeks”, we learned about the author’s Chinese Christmas dinner and how she was embarrassed by her culture since her crush was there. In Edgar Allen Poe’s story, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, we learned about a guy that had to kill his landlord because he had an evil eye and not greed. In “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe and in “fish cheeks” by Amy Tan, the authors use diction, syntax, imagery, and symbolism to create meaning in their work. First, syntax and diction are elements of the author’s style. The syntax shows the arrangement of words and diction is the sentences and word choice. Amy uses syntax and diction in an informal way, with short sentences, and easy word choice and it sounds like a teenager.
“When I found out that my parents had invited the minister’s family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried.”

That helps us easily and quickly empathize with her feelings. The author's word choice is informal and sounds like a teenager talking, which makes the reader get clues about her age. Mixed short and long sentences but there are more short, Mostly easy words, Short sentences are more used during conversations, Long sentences contain more details and a lot of suspense. “There was no reason for what I did” - short “And the sound, too, became louder. It was a quick, low, soft sound, like the sound of a clock heard through a wall, a sound I knew well.” The use of long sentences shows more description which helps understand how the old man feels and the environment. The short sentences show more direct information, it has conversational