Native Tongue

The issue of gender roles is one of the central themes of this novel. All the main characters of the novel spend their whole lives trying to conform to the standards of masculinity and femininity expected of them by the society. The inability of the main character of the book to meet the expected stereotypical roles not only causes them personal turmoil but also makes their social life miserable. They try to fit in the ascribed gender roles of their Dominican culture, but are simply incapable of doing that. However, the society does not understand their incapability and makes them pay for their nonconformity.

There are both positive and negative aspects of learning a language, but people are likely to equalize two sides and try not to lose the relationships with their family and the society. Amy Tan, in “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez in “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” explain how they viewed their private and public languages through their experiences and how they managed these two languages and established themselves in the society. Tan initially felt ashamed of her private language and favored the public language; however, in the end she showed that she could manage the balance between the languages and finally utilized both in public. On the other hand, Rodriguez preferred his private language which made him feel comfortable;

Language: In On the Equality of the Sexes, there are a few phrases that seem to show some importance. “There is something new under the sun” is italicized in the text. She is saying that there is going to be some change coming soon with women’s education. She also uses the word superior, or superiority, quite a bit in the text. She questions whether or not mental superiority between sexes actually exists. She also talks about imagination a lot. She makes the point that society constricts how women use their imaginations. The way she uses domestication in the text is in a negative way. She uses the phrase “fertile brain of a female” and by doing this she is trying to show that females’ brains are productive and capable of becoming so much

There is an absence of men in the novel. James is one of the few men seen throughout the story and because of this, the story suggests that he holds a lot of power. He is a difficult character to understand because his true intentions and feelings are hidden beneath what is being portrayed on the outside. James begins as someone who is displayed as positive, respectful and loving of women, but as the story progresses, it is revealed that he views women more as a sexual object or a slave to men. He tricks the reader into believing that he values and considers women as equals to

In the article Why My Mother Can’t Speak English by Garry Engkent, the men appear to hold more power than the women. The son shows that men have the power by taking control away from his mother and making decisions for her. The father shows this by preventing the mother from learning English and forcing his opinions onto her. Feminist theory examines how women in a piece of writing may be marginalized (Kennedy). It is important to examine this piece of writing with feminist theory because of the way that the dynamics in the relationships reflect patriarchy.

Demetria Martínez’s Mother Tongue is divided into five sections and an epilogue. The first three parts of the text present Mary/ María’s, the narrator, recollection of the time when she was nineteen and met José Luis, a refuge from El Salvador, for the first time. The forth and fifth parts, chronologically, go back to her tragic experience when she was seven years old and then her trip to El Salvador with her son, the fruit of her romance with José Luis, twenty years after she met José Luis. And finally the epilogue consists a letter from José Luis to Mary/ María after her trip to El Salvador. The essay traces the development of Mother Tongue’s principal protagonists, María/ Mary. With a close reading of the text, I argue how the forth

3. In paragraphs 10 through 13, Tan juxtaposes her mother’s English with her own. The point these quoted passages make is to show how different was her mother’s English from her English.

There are many bilingual and multicultural people in the world today. For many, the choices of which language they use, and how they use it, correspond to what social or cultural community they belong to. Amy Tan, a Chinese American novelist, portrays this well in her short essay "Mother Tongue." Tan grew up in two vastly different worlds, using different "Englishes." The first world, which consists of her close family, she speaks what we may call "broken" or "limited" English. The second world, which is her business and professional world, Tan speaks and writes perfect standard and academic English. Having to "shuttle" between these two communities with very different languages has had many different positive and negative effects on

There are numerous bilingual and multicultural individuals on the planet today. For some, decisions of which language they utilize, and how they utilize it, relate to what social or social group they have a place with. Amy Tan, a Chinese American writer, depicts this well in her short exposition “Mother Tongue”. Tan experienced childhood in two unfathomably unique universes utilizing diverse English’s. The primary world, which comprises of her nearby family, she talks what we may call “broken” or “constrained” English. The second world, which is her business and expert world, tan talks and composes culminate standard and scholastic English.

The theme of female struggle against male dominancy is presented throughout the novel and the narrator,

gender roles. After the preliminary distinction of the characters, the author proceeds to reunite the

Did you know, “men and women talk differently because they are raised in something like two different cultures: a male culture from which young men learn to speak like men and a female culture in which young women learn to speak like women?”(Cooper and MacDonald 9). Well, not actually from two separate cultures, but the idea of men and women being opposites as pointed out in the opening. Deborah Tannen has made her theory that a male culture and female culture each exist, very popular with the human population and has written an extensive book on her theory.

A week ago I found myself reading Patricia Hill Collins, “It’s All In the Family: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Nation” and it made me reflect on the ways in which both gender and race are socially built out of distorted interpretations of family. Collectively constructed as opposed to an innate understanding. We have grown dependent on dysfunctional projections of family, giving rise to a hierarchy which aims to serve all: “…a male headship that privileges and naturalizes masculinity as a source of authority…mothers comply with fathers, sisters defer to brothers, all with the understanding that boys submit to maternal authority until they become men.” (Collins 159) The commitment towards this flawed assemblage of characterizations, has in a way, normalized the social hierarchy. However, this expectation has become unrealistic. Many females find that they are not adequately prepared to survive in a male dominated country, although there is little rebellion against these imposed values.

Throughout the story we see the protagonist struggle with the gender roles placed upon her by her society; specifically the role she is supposed to play as

In the first line of the novel (and once more later in the book: "dear sirs" page 62), the narrator introduces the reader to a male-dominated world by suggesting his audience is masculine;