In today’s competitive world, one could make the argument that one’s success can be directly correlated to the intelligence they inherit. Yet the question arises as to how intelligence is defined. In our social capital today, it is apparent that most things we consider of value for success are defined by the masses as a one way street. For example, one’s grades in school. A student who has straight A’s in school and devotes near all of their time to their studies is considered among society as one who will inherit great success in the world. But then there are others who may not have those grades but excel in different areas. An example would be a student who builds an engine from scratch or a musician who composes incredible scores. These …show more content…
Naturally, her parents had a challenging venture ahead of them as they had to succeed with knowing very little English. This problem took a larger root against her when she was raised as a child. Due to English not being her parent’s natural language, they would speak Chinese in the household and this is the language that Amy Tan learned growing up. Consequently, Tan had a challenging time in school learning English in school. Her teachers would often nudge her to master mathematics rather than endeavor for success in English because immigrants usually succeed in that subject in school. As Tan points out, “ 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” (Tan). But her natural rebellious attitude motivated her otherwise to master the English language, and in doing so, became a famous writer among the English