Name: Instructor: Course: Date: “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan The article “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is mainly about the author’s thoughts and judgments on broken English in comparison to Standard English. Tan is an American writer who was born in China and is torn between two different worlds: the American society and the Chinese society, which have very diverse societal behaviors and values (Tan 142-146). Tan describes how she relates with her mother who, according to her, speaks broken English. She talks about the limitations of her mother’s English including its advantages and disadvantages. This paper provides a summary of the article, including its major themes.
From a Chinese perspective she is seen as a mother who was not strict enough. This cultural clash makes it hard for Amy to successfully raise her daughters without being judged. Throughout the book, Amy describes herself as a Chinese mother. A Chinese mother is a term used to describe a mother who believes that academics should be a main priority and getting less than an A is unacceptable, participating in sports would never be as good as playing the piano or violin, and attending sleepovers or participating in school plays is something they should not even think about, because the answer would always be a no. For someone raised under the western parenting style this is something completely absurd, since this is not letting the kid have a “normal childhood”.
When she travels to China, she discovers the Chinese essence within herself, thus realizing a deep connection to her mother that she had always ignored. She also brings Suyuan’s story to her long-lost twin daughters, and, once reunited with her half-sisters, gains an even more profound understanding of who her mother was.For the most part, Jing-mei’s fears echo those of her peers, the other daughters of the Joy Luck Club members. They have always identified with Americans but are beginning to regret having neglected their Chinese heritage. Her fears also speak to a reciprocal fear shared by the mothers, who wonder whether, by giving their daughters American opportunities and self-sufficiency, they have alienated them from their Chinese heritage.Jing-mei is representative in other ways as well. She believes that her mother’s constant criticism bespeaks a lack of affection, when in fact her mother’s severity and high expectations are expressions of love and faith in her daughter.
Suyuan’s most cherished wish was that she could be reunited with her long-lost twin daughters. The friends urge her to go to China and tell her sisters about their mother. Jing-mei doesn’t think that she’s capable of telling her twin sisters about their mother because Jing-mei isn’t sure she knew their mom herself. She travels to China and realizes that she’s more Chinese than she thought. She learns about her own identity while also learning about her mother.
“A Broken Tradition” The short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan is about contrasting ideals as the title suggests. A mother and daughter, Jing-mei, disagree consistently as they are divided by old traditions and new age cultures. Jing-mei’s mother has an ideal goal set for her daughter and what her daughter should achieve. Jing-mei resents her mother’s ideals about old traditions and new opportunities. This causes Jing-mei to do less than her best throughout her life as she grows into a Chinese woman of America.
Obedient daughter," the mother seems inflexible, stubborn and even a bit abusive. However, the reader do not know what circumstances she was brought up under or any of the problems she has had to endure in order to even have made it to the United States. In the story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, readers are shown the struggles of a young girl Jing-Mei. Her struggle is that of a young girl growing up
Her journey starts with her childhood and progresses through learning her mother’s English, to English in school and concludes with her becoming a writer. Tan grew up the child of Chinese immigrants. Her mother spoke, what Tan refers to as, “broken” English. As a child, she found herself ashamed of the way her mother spoke. This “broken” English limited even Tan’s own perception of her mother; she believed her mother’s imperfect English meant that her mother’s ideas and thoughts must be imperfect as well.
She never reflects on her mother’s difficulties as something that could’ve motivated her to become a writer. It’s possible to think that those unpleasant events might have an effect on her thoughts however. Anyone who sees that his or her parents encounter some serious problems because of their weakness in speaking any language would most likely want to avoid any similar problems in his or her life in the future. In addition, Tan’s essay also gives an important message to people who simply choose science or math because they don’t speak English well. She tries to convince people that no one needs to be really perfect in English in order to become a writer.
The daughters disagree and believe divorce is ok. The Mothers belief stems from old Chinese culture while the daughters belief stems from American culture where divorces are very common. Another chinese belief the mothers believe that every women should be married. That conflicts with the american belief that a woman is not required to get married, this creates conflict among the daughters. The daughters of the members of the joy luck club grow up struggling to balance
The difference is a cultural divide between a mother born and raised in China and her American born daughter. Ni Kan’s mother wants her to be a prodigy in something, and she is not particular about what it is. She believes that you can control your destiny and become whatever you set your mind too. Believing this and wanting only the best for her daughter, Ni Kan’s mother pushes her to try everything from acting to playing the piano. She pressures her daughter to “try” it even though her daughter pushes away from it.