Analysis of "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan In the narrative essay, “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, the author sets out the story between her mother, whose English is her second language, and Tan herself can speak native English very well. The essay covers the tonal shift of Amy Tan 's psychological change, from grudge to understanding. Although she begins the essay saying, " I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the
Tongue” by Amy Tan is insightful because she shares the struggles of growing up as a bilingual Asian-American, where in her home English wasn't the primary language. She expresses the challenges she faces in her life growing up hearing her mother using broken English. Amy Tan can speak fluent English she proves this by starting off her writing by explaining the first time her mother heard her speaking in the English she doesn’t use at home(Amy Tan, 20 ). She grew up using the limited English that was
Rhetorical analysis of “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan an American writer, shares her experience growing up with the family where no one speaks perfect English, and how it affected her education and her life. As the second generation of Chinese immigrants, Tan faces more problems than her peers do. Her mother, who speaks limited English needs Tan to be her “Translator” to communicate with the native English speakers. Tan states, “I was ashamed of her English” (2). Her mother
In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan recalls “all the English that she grew up with,” all of which influenced her perception of the world and her own English. By revising past occasions where her mother spoke in her “Broken English,” Tan explains how people developed preconceived notions of her mother’s intelligence based on solely on how fluently she spoke. Using casual analysis, juxtaposition, and comparison, Tan suggests that she spoken word is meant to capture an individual’s “intent,” “passion,” “imagery
“Mother Tongue” the author Amy Tan wrote about her experiences with the English language and how it, depending on how it’s used, can signify one’s “worth” in the eyes of others. Throughout the essay, Tan highlights her mother’s use of language, how people and she herself, as the daughter, perceived her mother to be based on her “limited” English. “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan has a lot of strengths and weaknesses. Amy Tan is a writer, but she isn’t a English major, so she has her own
Rhetorical Analysis of “Mother Tongue” written by Amy Tan “So easy to read”(p.4). Amy Tan ends her essay, “Mother Tongue” with this short and even grammatically wrong sentence. She tells us this mother’s brief review is a proof of success of her writing. Why does she think that easiness is an essence of her writing? She suggests answers to this question by her essay. In her essay, Amy Tan effectively convinces her readers that “broken English” is not an inferior language, but just
One of the most complex relationships is that of a mother and daughter. Amy Tan is an author who writes about her life growing up as an Asian-American in Chinatown. Her novel The Joy Luck Club is a series of short stories about Chinese mothers and their assimilated daughters. One of these stories is “Two Kinds,” which looks into the life of Jing-Mei Woo and her struggle to gain a sense of self. Some key themes in The Joy Luck Club are the generational and intercultural differences among Chinese-American
In “Mother Tongue” author Amy Tan states, "Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all--all the Englishes I grew up with." Tan clearly discusses her many Englishes, when she uses them, and why. Her relationship with her mother has been greatly impacted by these different versions of English and this has directly impacted her writing along with people’s perception of her. In this essay, Tan tells of how, throughout her life, she has been through various scenarios that go to show that patience
"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan is an essay written about and to the author's mother. In it, Ms. Tan highlights the different "Englishes" that she uses in her life in contrast to the English she speaks with her mother. She explores the difference between her mother's English and that of other people, as well as her own English when speaking with her mother versus others. The author also addresses the way that her mother is seen by the outside world because of the way she speaks and the judgment and discrimination
Amy Tan's essay ¨Mother Tongue¨ is about language and the barriers it can create when people cannot speak with perfect accuracy or the way that is known as the norm. She uses examples of how language impacted her mother so that she could reach out to others who have had similar experiences and show them that they are not alone; that this happens to other people more often than they might think. Additionally, she uses these examples to show people who aren't affected by a language barrier what this