Chinese Mothers Are Superior By Amy Chua

In the writing of, America’s Top Parent, Elizabeth Kolbert outlines the parenting strategies of different mothers. Most notably, she talks about the “Chinese Mother,” which does not technically mean this individual must be of Chinese descent. Throughout the essay, Kolbert talks about another essay, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. The author of that essay, Amy Chua, believes in a binary world. Meaning that there are two kinds of mothers, “Chinese Mothers”, and “Western” mothers. Chinese mothers believe in extreme parenting, whereas Western mothers “think they are being strict when they insist that their children practice their instruments for half an hour a day” (Kolbert). On the other hand, Chinese mothers have much more specific rules

In Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, the author Amy Chua uses ethos, logos and pathos to persuade her readers that the Chinese style of parenting is superior to the Western method; however, I do not believe that her argument is effective.

Amy Chua stirs up a controversial topic of the differences between Chinese and Western parenting styles in the article “Adapted from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”. One may believe that the Chinese way is too harsh as others may believe Western parents are too lenient. Any parent can relate to one or both parenting styles that Chua is discussing. This article is reaching out to parents who are unaware of the Chinese and Western parenting styles. To give the readers a better understanding of how each parenting style works. This article was based on Chua’s personal experiences as a Chinese parent.

It is true that the ways the parents raise their children will decide how well the children grow, especially the mothers who impact their children the most. There is no right or wrong in how a mother takes care of her children. All of them want the best for their children. The only difference is the level of intensity in how to raise a child. In Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, Amy Chua, a professor at Yale Law School believes that the ways Chinese mothers raise their children are the most effective ways. Her main purpose of this article is to state the differences between Western mothers and Chinese mothers which

The stories "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior" by Amy Chua and "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan portray how children are raised in Chinese-American culture and what beliefs predominate in Chinese-American communities. In Chinese-American culture, mothers approach raising their children differently from many other American parents. While there are many similarities among these Chinese parents, variation can still be seen in the level of persistence and determination each individual parent pours into their parenting. These differences in persistence can be what make the difference in the results.

Mother Tongue is a story that describes how Amy Tan’s mother was treated unfairly because of her “broken English”. As the second generation of Chinese immigrants, Tan faces more problems than her peers do. Her mom, who speaks “limited” English, needs Tan to be her “translator” in order to communicate with the native English speakers. Tan has felt ashamed of her mother “broken” language at first. She then contemplates her background affected her life and her study. However, she changes her thought at the end since she realizes things behind language might be more valuable than language itself sometimes. Through the various different literary devices and rhetorical strategies such as the ethos, pathos, and logos appeals, as well as a

English is an invisible gate. Immigrants are the outsiders. And native speakers are the gatekeepers. Whether the gate is wide open to welcome the broken English speakers depends on their perceptions. Sadly, most of the times, the gate is shut tight, like the case of Tan’s mother as she discusses in her essay, "the mother tongue." People treat her mother with attitudes because of her improper English before they get to know her. Tan sympathizes for her mother as well as other immigrants. Tan, once embarrassed by her mother, now begins her writing journal through a brand-new kaleidoscope. She sees the beauty behind the "broken" English, even though it is different. Tan combines repetition, cause and effect, and exemplification to emphasize

Questions have been raised on whether Chinese parenting raises more flourishing children than Western parenting. Despite what people think, in Amy Chua's essay “The Roar of the Tiger Mom”, she portrays the differences between the beliefs of Chinese parenting and Western parenting. Chua introduces the views of a Chinese parent compared to the views of a Western parent. The methods used by Chinese mothers in raising their children are drastically different from Western mothers. Each defends their methods and believes the other group is doing their job poorly. In the end, both types of parents just want one thing-- successful children.

The author states that “Even when Western parents think they're being strict, they usually don't come close to being a Chinese mother”(Chua, 2). Chua is proving American society’s point on how Asian mothers are viewed. Her opinion on these parenting skills are shown once she mentions, “What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences” (Chua, 2). According to the Harvard Crimson, “Chinese mothers” have proven so successful in raising hardworking, intelligent offspring because of the immense esteem they hold for education and because of the sacrifices they are willing to undertake” (Nedzhvetskaya, 1).

Each one of these Chinese-American mothers is subjected to the predestined gender roles, and each one responded differently. How they respond determines how they relate to others, their sense of self and what they hope to teach their daughters who they see are going through the same experiences.

Four Chinese mothers have migrated to America. Each hope for their daughter’s success and pray that they will not experience the hardships faced in China. One mother, Suyuan, imparts her knowledge on her daughter through stories. The American culture influences her daughter, Jing Mei, to such a degree that it is hard for Jing Mei to understand her mother's culture and life lessons. Yet it is not until Jing Mei realizes that the key to understanding who her

In the article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” the author Amy Chua believes that by not allowing their kids to do a lot of things that normal children can do, Chinese mothers produce the smartest children. Some of the things they don’t allow their children to do are attend sleepovers, be in a school play, get a grade less than an A, and choose their own extracurricular activities. Chinese mothers are not superior but abusive because their methods seem to seclude them from learning the communication skills needed for success in their child's adulthood, it can hinder the relationship they have with their children, and can sometimes lead their children to develop thoughts of suicide.

To many Westerners, the parenting of a Chinese figure would largely be considered as tiger parenting because of it’s growing fame in the media. This style of parenting is generally defined as a child having absolute obedience while being forced to excel in any field of the parent’s choosing. Many would think that tiger parenting is a common practice in Chinese households because of the seemingly successful Asian community. However, not all Chinese homes are centered primarily around academics and instruments. Large works that attribute to giving the Chinese community this dreadful connotation are Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and Amy Chua’s “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”. Both the novel and article damages the reputation of Chinese

8). These 10 things are exemplary examples of her authoritative method of raising her kids. And as she argues that she pushes her children out of their comfort zone and is “letting them see what they’re capable of” (l. 179), one might just as well argue that she does the opposite. It’s highly probable that there are socially and culturally related matters you have missed out on if you never attended a sleepover, a school play or a team sport by the age of 22. These are all social situations in which people are pushed beyond their natural limits. If you grew up only making homework and playing instruments repeatedly, you would probably never face the fear of new encounters or actually realise what you were really capable of. Moreover, kids might never find peace because of their habits with constant competition. As it’s perfectly agreeable that a parent should be “arming them [kids] with skills, work habits and inner confidence” (l. 180), you still risk that children’s constant competition with themselves or others in their upbringing, consequently, is the only thing they will find themselves doing in their whole lives. As a result of that, they might never be able to find harmony, peace or be satisfied simply by their

On January 27, an article was published, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” by the Wall Street Journal. It brought attention and promotes extreme controversy. Chua sparked debates over the differences in parenting styles of American and Chinese heritages. “Chinese Mothers” used in a broad statement and “Western Mothers” used for every other party. Americans began to raise questions. Chua’s article referring to herself as a Tiger mother stands to have both negative comments and some positive.