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Amy Tan Fish Cheeks

338 Words2 Pages
Amy Tan elaborates her feelings and struggles she faces being chinese in her short story, “Fish Cheeks”. In Tan’s story her family makes her feel trapped in the Chinese culture when they invite the ministers family over for Christmas Eve dinner. Tan has an epiphany at the end of the story when her mother embodies, “Your only shame is to have shame”. Throughout the story, Tan can be described as shameful.
Amy exaggerates her culture when describing events that happen from the beginning of the story. When Amy’s mother prepares dinner, she feels her mother has “outdone herself” as she enters the kitchen with shock. Tan describes the food as “slimy”, “fleshy”, and “rubbery”. She was embarrassed; she was not expecting her traditional chinese food
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In the passage written by Amy Tan the author uses adjectives and feelings to reveal that an embarrassing experience in her youth changed her prospective on her heritage by showing her she needs to always be reminded of her heritage. One of Amy’s emotions in this passage is she feels embarrassed that her Chinese family that came over would get up to get their while the American would wait patiently for the food to be passed. One thing that made Amy embarrassed was when her dad took the fish cheek and said “Amy your favorite.” Another emotion was she was scared that the boy wouldn’t like their Chinese food or wouldn’t like there Chinese Christmas. But Amy’s fear was realized because the ministers family didn’t eat a lot nor did they talk.

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Amy in the autobiography “Fish Cheeks” is a dynamic character. This can be inferred because of evidence in the text. For example, in the beginning of the story she is nervous and worried about Robert and his family coming over for Christmas dinner. In addition to being nervous and worried, Amy is mortified that her relatives lack American manners. As a result, Amy becomes proud of her heritage and embraces her Chinese culture.

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The author Amy Tan, in her text she deals with living in the American society more than the other author because she gives the reader a clear idea of what she is going through at the moment. In the story “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, it says “What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked poor proper American manners?” Tan

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In Seventeen’s reflective anecdote “Fish Cheeks,” appeared in the magazine in 1987 and was written by a woman of Chinese descent about a distinct Christmas when she was fourteen, the author utilizes ashamed diction to demonstrate her disappointment and utter embarrassment in her family’s Chinese traditions, appalled imagery to describe her thoughts toward her crush’s feelings about her mother’s food, and desperate parallel structure to convey her insatiable thirst to fit in and be accepted by the minister’s son, in order to explain her former horror of her crush’s judgment and how, later in life, she learns that preserving her family’s culture is

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367 Words | 2 Pages

To begin with, both Tan and Crutcher utilize characterization to pursue the shared theme, that a strong sense of self is crucial when under the pressure of the expectation of others. In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, Amy feels propelled to conform because she feels judged for not being “normal”. Tan states, “What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas” (2). Also, it’s obvious Amy was self-conscious about the Chinese style of cooking and in this sentence she’s self-conscious because she says, “For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired boy, and a slim new American nose”(1). In the first quote, she was over thinking and doubting that Robert would not like “our shabby Chinese Christmas” though in the end she was correct about Robert

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912 Words | 4 Pages

When Amy sees the boy’s reaction to their unusual chinese Christmas dinner she immediately becomes embarrassed when her family isn’t showing proper “American Manners” by reaching and grabbing at the food with their used chopsticks. After that her father brings out a steamed fish and points out that the fish cheeks are her favorite part, and she feels annoyed that he pointed it out. Then when her father belches at the dinner table she wants to hide away because she doesn 't want the boy to think she is weird just because of her heritage. After the family leaves her mother tells her that she shouldn 't be ashamed of her heritage, should should embrace it instead. The topic of this story is embarrassment of where you 're from.

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Even as a young child, she was incredibly observant and noted that other Chinese girls did not speak either, and so she drew the conclusion that “the silence had to do with being a Chinese girl” (166). Kingston does not say that all Chinese children found themselves in silence – only the girls did. She does not only have to find her identity as a Chinese American, but as a girl, and to figure out how these two facets of her identity work together to define her. Brave Orchid’s cutting her daughter’s tongue resulted in a physiological change; however, Kingston’s issue with speaking proves to be more psychological.

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For instance, her famous novel ‘The Joy Luck Club’ depicts the Chinese mother and her American daughter relationship where they go through various circumstances trying to understand each other including the evolvement that comes in their relationships as the daughters know more about their mother’s life stories. Secondly, Tan considers the theme of identity in terms of Chinese immigrants and their life experiences as an immigrant in the United States. She reveals how the children born to the immigrants strive in an environment which is a mixture of American and Chinese influence. Moreover, Tan is found to have explored identity issues through her fictive creations and tackled the issue of authorial identity (Becnel, 2010). Similarly, romantic love is another subject included in the literary artworks of Amy Tan which considers the relationships and romance an important aspect of human’s life.

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Many negative experiences the characters face in “American Born Chinese” reflect the theme of how wanting to belong and be accepted can change how one perceives their own identity and how it can affect one’s relationships. This is evident

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Essentially, Amy, upon hearing that Robert and his family were visiting for Christmas dinner, worried what “Robert would think of… [her] shabby Chinese Christmas… What would he think of [her] noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners… What terrible disappointment would he feel upon seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food” (Tan 353). The way Amy fretted about Robert being disappointed with her cultural differences gives you an image of Amy’s personality: Insecure, vain and embarrassed by her culture. Also, Amy describes her culture as if it were a bad thing, and describing the American culture as a good and proper thing: She did not want to fit into her Chinese culture, but instead Robert’s American culture. Through the use of indirect characterization, the author shows the reader that trying to fit in never really works.

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721 Words | 3 Pages

Amy was embarrassed by the selection of food her mother prepared being that her guest was American. She figured her dad didn’t display manners instead he acted like a pig by poking her favorite fish in the eyeballs and made a loud burp. By the looks on the minister’s son face, she knew she wouldn’t get a chance with him after. Amy mother said “You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.”

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487 Words | 2 Pages

Journal #6, Tan In Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks,” she expounds her embarrassment at her Chinese Christmas family dinner with her crush, the Minister’s son. Tan realizes years later that her mother prepared that Christmas dinner because it was all of her favorite foods. Tan was facing conflicts between the two cultural differences and becomes aware that she should embrace her Chinese culture, while living in the American culture.

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137 Words | 1 Pages

In "Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan, the author utilizes the symbolic beige tweed miniskirt to represent the main characters yearning to be the same as American girls. After her parents invited her crushes family over for dinner she is apprehensive as to what he will presume about her traditional relatives and culture. The text states,"What will he think of our Shabby Chinese Christmas"(2). Which reveals that she wants to be like traditional Americans and doesn 't appreciate the unique differences about her culture. She also spends too much time caring about what the boy will think of her relatives and the non-american food served, that she doesn 't fancy over the fact that all her favorite foods were served.

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2019 Words | 9 Pages

Thesis Statement: In the short story, Two Kinds, Amy Tan develops a narrator who as a child seeks her mother’s approval of her, but develops into a child with her own mind, and by the end of the story embodies a woman who realizes that her mother has her own expression of love for her daughter. Thus, Amy Tan depicts a message about Jing-Mei, the narrator, accepting that everyone, especially her mother, has their own expressions of love. This will look different depending on who a person is and their background. Even though Jing-Mei does not always feel her mother loves her, she learns that her mother loves her by reflecting on her childhood and struggles.

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694 Words | 3 Pages

At the end of the dinner Amy's father burped loudly as it is a sign of respect towards the cook showing gratitude for the food. After everyone had left, Amy’s mother noticed her embarrassment all night and said “You want to be the same as American girls on the outside.” She the handed Amy an early gift, It was a beige tweed colored mini skirt. After she told Amy that she must always be Chinese on the inside and to be proud of who she was, because the only shame is to be ashamed. It took Amy years to truly figure out what her mother was trying to teach her, and after she figured it out she was proud of her ethnicity.

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