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Amy Tan's Motifs In Fish Chines, By Amy Tan

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In amy tan’s “ fish cheeks “, Tan’s uses a motif to express her main message. The motif that is carried throughout the story is culture and a message she ties into that is that always keep culture close to who you are. In the short story tan tells us something she learned from her mom was if you are “want[ing] to be the same as american on the outside… but [on the] inside you must always be chinese.” ( tan 7 ) tan tells us this because she wants us to realize that it doesn't matter who or what we are; meaning if we are wanting to be american great but keep your culture close to and apart of you.

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