Amy Tan "Fish Cheeks" vs. Maya Angelou's "Champion of the World"

In her essay “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou, she talks about a boxing fight that took place when she was a minor while working at her uncle's store. The fight was between African American and White American. The fight was a huge deal to the black race because they want to prove them that they're equal too like them. The fight wasn’t just about winning to them, it's for their freedom too. Angelou is telling us about how she knew that Joe Louis was more than just a boxer. Louis was a hero to the African American society. She explains how significant it was for Louis to win the fight and what the consequences could be if he did not win.

The two stories discuss different problems within America. One is an African-American woman, while the other one is a Chinese-American woman. Each one has a different historic background. They both have different perceptions. They both learn different lessons. Maya Angelou’s story is the most captivating because it is about fear, while Amy Tan’s story is about assimilating to a different culture.

For millions of immigrants, America has been seen as the land of opportunity where anyone could become anything he or she wanted to be. A family that believes strongly in the American dream can be found in Amy Tan’s short story, “Two Kinds.” The story centers around the daughter of a Chinese immigrant who desperately wants her daughter to become successful. In the story, the author shows the difficult lives immigrants face when moving to a new culture. In this short story, the theme shows the protagonist’s conflict with her mother on the type of daughter her mother wants her to be. The author establishes the theme of how difficult mother-daughter relationships can be through characterization, setting, and symbolism.

Maya Angelou’s poem is all about the theme of identity and prejudice. Some of the techniques Angelou uses are repetition of words, the words ‘I rise, I rise, I rise’ these words emphasise the strength and resolve of Angelou. The resilience of her personality is shown by repeating ‘I rise’ in contrast to the aggression of her opposition, Angelou is clearly emphasising that she will not be oppressed or dominated. Within the poem are the use of metaphors ‘Im a black ocean, leaping and wide’ this suggest that she is a black lady and that she

Maya Angelou acclaimed poet and author wrote a poem entitled “America”. The poem offers words of truth of our country America. The poem begins, “ The gold of her promise, has never been mined.” America, promises us that all men are created equal. The first problem with the promise is we are not all men. The gold of her promise, address equality. Although it is promised to all in this country, its never delivered, when discrimination, of race and gender are still existent. “Her borders of justice, not clearly defined.” We all have our opinions on what justice is, because circumstances differ when we speak of justice in the terms of punishment, to make up for ones wrong doing. Yet, the borders of justice are not

In “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou and “Fish Cheeks,” by Amy Tan, both are about two young adults and how their cultures conflict with the other’s cultures. Though they may have the same basis, they are different in many aspects that creates a different atmosphere for both sources. Altogether, both sources contain areas of similarity and diversity, with being different in tone and alike in theme.

Tan’s parents see the shun of culture in her behavior, and don’t approve of it. They may feel disrespected by Tan’s shun of culture. Tan’s descriptive details of her parents allow the reader to see the drastic difference of how different ethnic background few things. Tan’s mother acknowledges that Amy wants to be an American girl, she continues by saying “But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.” As a mother, Tan’s mother tries to provide words of influence to her daughter allowing her to see and feel how her mother reacts towards the shun of culture. The actions her father takes allows for the idea that Amy may do this for often than not. Her father sees the reaction toward the fish eyes by Tan, and doesn’t pay any mind to it. The contrast of the mother and father reaction towards Tan’s action can show a disapproval and shame of having their daughter deny their culture.

After the guests left, Amy’s mother gifted her a mini skirt as a gift and said “You want to be the same as American girls on the outside... But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.” (Tan 1).

To be sure, Angelou is still concerned with the questions of what it means to be Black and female in America and exactly where she fits into the scheme of things. But her development is reflective of a particular type of Black woman, located at a particular moment of history and subjected to certain social forces that assault the black woman with unusual ferocity. Thus, when Angelou arrives in Los Angeles she complains bitterly that her mother “hadn’t the slightest idea that not only was I not a woman, but what passed for my mind was animal instinct. Like a tree or a river, I merely responded to the winds and the tides” (Gather Together

In the beginning of the essay, I noticed that Tan reveals some of her insecurities by exposing thought-shots. She would constantly feel embarrassed from the moment the American family arrives all through the very end of Christmas Eve dinner. Considering the smelly and gross looking Chinese traditional dishes also the loud and weird-acting relatives, I witnessed a good imagery from the way Amy describes them. The main concerns to Tan are how and what the American family thinks of them. In my life I also struggled with internally wanting approval from the others however I got over it by realizing that the external reality cannot control how I feel.

Amy Tan is a very successful Asian-American writer. Her life growing up has heavily impacted her writing. Her novels focus on bonds between Asian-American mothers and daughters and are also full of Chinese myths and history. Amy introduces characters who are unsure about their Chinese background that move into a deeper understanding of it, much like herself.

Maya Angelou is one out of the best known poets. She has written a lot of poems that inspires and assist people with their lives. She has a “desire humbleness to learn and experience all that life has to offer her” (gale biography in context, “Maya Angelou More than a Poet”) which makes her poems have a meaning to them. In addition, Maya Angelou got a lot of pieces of poems considered equality to her experience as a human of the United States during race times and her experience as a person who worked with other civil right activist. Maya Angelou uses deep themes that leaves the reader to think about the topic is being talked about. In her poem, “Still I Rise” she talks metaphorically about discrimination. In the poem, it states, “does my haughtiness offend you? ( the poetry foundation, “Maya Angelou”). This quote from the poem shows how the rest of the poem is about people believe they is better than other people and that the other people should suffer because they are inferior to the people, but the people being abused should not be embarrassed of who they are and be thankful for life(“Maya Angelou More than a Poet 1”).

Illustrated as an “economically deprived women of color who succeeded in spite of oppression, Angelou represents the “revitalization...and revisioning” of the “American Dream” for African Americans (Dobris,1) Prior to Angelou’s “Harlem Hopscotch”, African Americans were overwhelmed with “shame, guilt, and negativity” from diverse prejudice races and as a result began influencing the regretful black society “to reject parts of their identity” (Dobris,

Born on February 19, 1952, in Oakland, California, Amy Tan is introduced to the world as an American novelist. Amy Tan is known for being a worldwide artist, as she published two of her famous novels, The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God’s Wife. Often, people would think that successful people had a great start at a young age; yet, Amy Tan had experienced a rough childhood until she later became successful. Both of her parents, John and Daisy Tan, are Chinese immigrants at the time she is born, since they were fleeing the war back in China. As Tan grows up, her parents and Chinese culture are a large influence in her life. Amy Tan, whose name is An-Mei in Chinese, is expected to earn good grades and follow her Chinese heritage from her parents. As time passed, many hardships came to light, as her beloved father and her older brother died of cancer, 8 months prior to one another when Amy was 15. With the death of her father and brother, her own relationship with her mother crumbles. Additionally, with the American influence towards Amy, her mother was disappointed towards her, for she knows that Amy is forgetting her own Chinese culture; despite the efforts of her mother trying to force her to follow the past traditions. Later in life, Amy pursues to become a writer, for she secretly dreamt of becoming an artist. Her mother did not live to see all of the accomplishes Amy Tan did, but before she died, she was proud

Jane Austen once said, “I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures” (In Persuasion, Chapter 8). In Maya Angelou’s poem Phenomenal Woman, she expresses her frustration with the conventions of what the ideal women is commonly seen as. The poem also illustrates the importance of confidence and how it affects the perception of others. Angelou showcases a young woman in her poem that fails to meet societal expectations of the ideal physical appearance of women in today’s modern society. Instead, she shy’s away from these expectations by accepting who she is. While growing up, she faced constant discrimination not only as a woman, but also as an African American. Angelou, who was also a well-known civil rights activist, was a strong role model for several young black women. Maya Angelou conveys confidence in her physical appearance despite women’s subjection to society’s impossible standards. Through the use of imagery, symbolism, and repetition Angelou illustrates hurdles in her journey to become a confident woman.