Comparing Fish Cheeks And The Rights To The Streets Of Memphis By Richard Wright

People normally don’t think of teenagers as kids who always agree with their parents. Teenagers can have a difficulty relating to their parents and are often in conflict with them. Many teens feel embarrassed by their parents or have a hard time understanding what it is like to be an adult. In the stories “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan and “The Rights to the Streets of Memphis” by Richard Wright, the authors both say that mothers care for their teenagers deeply and want to teach them important life lessons, although “Fish Cheeks” displays this relationship with a calm mother who teaches her child Amy through emotional lessons and “The Rights to the Streets of Memphis” describes a stern and tough mother who teaches her child Richard through physical and violent lessons.

Teaching life lessons through experience is a strategy used by both mothers. In “Fish Cheeks,” Amy’s mother lectures her about the Chinese dinner with the minister and his son. She says, “Your only shame is to have shame” (Tan, 176). The mother wants Amy to be proud of her family’s customs instead of embarrassed. The story “The Rights to the Streets of Memphis”

The mother in “Fish Cheeks” wants her daughter Amy to not wish to be someone she is not. She tells Amy, “You want to be the same as American girls on the outside. But inside you are always Chinese” (Tan, 176). Amy’s mother doesn’t want Amy to have childish desires to be an American girl, and instead embrace her Chinese qualities like an adult. While Amy’s mother encourages adult maturity through pride and self-esteem, Richard’s mother teaches him to grow up with a stern and violent method. When she sees that Richard wants to hide from the gang, she tells him, “Don’t come back into this house until you gotten those groceries.” (Wright, 115). In doing this, she teaches Richard not to run away from his problems, but to face them, just like an adult