Analysis Of Amy Tan's Essay 'Two Ways To Belong In America'

Kamaria
Mikayla
Zacharius
Dan’Nayshia
Intro: A person’s culture can inspire their outlook on the world and the outlook on other people's lives around them in many ways. The outstanding author Amy Tan really shows that one’s cultural identity or cultural background can cause them to try to transform another person’s representation and course of action on whatever it may be. From Amy Tan's story Two Kinds, the quote says “Soon after my mother got this idea about Shirley Temple, she took me to the beauty training school in the Mission District and put me in the hands of a student who could barely hold the scissors without shaking.” This quote shows that her mother decided what she wanted her daughter to be in life based on someone else’s life and career and didn’t really think about

Mira wanted to stay in America because she felt happier in their environment. For example, Mira said “Having my green card meant i could visit any place in the world i wanted to and then come back to a job that is satisfying and that i do very well”. She felt happier because she had more freedom but she still missed India. In the essay “An Indian Father’s Plea”, Mr. Medicine Grizzly Bear talked about his culture and how it impacted his son’s learning ability. For example, he said “ His aunts and grandmothers taught him to count and know his numbers while they sorted out the complex materials used to make the abstract designs in the native baskets. He listened to his mother count each and every bead and sort out numerically according to color while she painstakingly made complex beaded belts and necklaces. He learned his basic numbers by helping his father count and sort the rocks to be used in the sweat lodge- seven rocks for a medicine sweat, say, or 13 for the summer solstice ceremony. ” Culture has a bigger impact on your life than