he Interruption that Amy tan’s “Mother Tongue” Illustrates
Our identity is very important because they define who we are. It is in our human nature to want to control how other perceives us. However, we often become stressed trying to meet the standards set by other. This stress comes from Interruptions in our identity. In “Amy’s Mother Tongue”, Amy Tan was faced with a type of interruption called that forced her to have multiple identities. Stet wrote in his article, “Identities and Their Operations”, “Individuals continually adjust behavior to make and keep perceptions of self -relevant meaning congruent with their identity standards or references” (77). Tan’s culture caused her to act a certain way around her mother and family, and
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She had high expectations for herself, but she viewed her mother’s English something that could hold her back. She makes this clear when she writes, “I think my mother’s English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well (394).” Tan goes on to explain how she thinks It affected her results on IQ test and the SAT. The reader could understand that Amy has high standards for her grades, as she says a B plus is moderately well. Her standards affect her use of interruptions, and as Stet writes, “People who view themselves as “good” want to get feedback that they are “good” (Burke 76). Her standards lead to a change in her actions because she wants to excel in her English classes. Although throughout this story Amy demonstrated interruptions, at the end she embraces her all her identities. She decided to write a book that included her mother’s English and her peer’s English. Amy says, “Apart from what any critic had to say about my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict “So easy to read”. Amy seems to have pride being able to include both identities at the same time. She learned she did not have to, as stet says, “Turn it on and off” (Tan
Every type of person struggles with a thing we call, identity. Personal identity come from multiple factors from our race to our own personal beliefs. Some people say we have the choice to choose our own identity, but is that always true? No, in fact other people can affect how we look and essentially identity our self’s. In the article called.
Amy introduces the reader to her love for reading early on in the story. “…Isn’t that excellent? I read it again. Sometimes
Later on, she learns to overcome it, thus gaining control over her own life. Living life just to please others is not something one should be living by, especially if it is to please men. From the very beginning, most of the narrator’s actions are to please men. Her father, for instance, has been a major influence on her. “You should learn to swim,” (Strutt 124), just one sentence and the narrator takes up swimming.
Quote “The hospital did not apologize when they had lost the CAT scan.” (Tan 3) secondly “me, who spoke in perfect English - lo and behold - we had assurances the CAT scan would be found.” (Tan 3) and finally “people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.” (Tan 2). These quotes are evidence of Amy Tan’s mother’s not being taken seriously, discriminated against , and ignored - all which lead to alienation.
In her writing, Tan often describes her experiences as the child of Chinese immigrants, growing up in northern California and living in American culture. Tan explains how she has learned to embrace the many Englishes her mother speaks and how her background has also caused her to have different Englishes. While others classify her mother's English as "broken" she finds no fault in it. In Tan's view, just because something is broken does not necessarily mean that it is in need of fixing. In her essay, author Amy Tan addresses the connections between languages and cultures in describing the different Englishes her mother uses.
One will eventually come across the day where they are able to figure out who they truly are as a person. A discovery like this will lead to new chapters of life and start new beginnings. Although finding one 's identity can be difficult to understand and accept, it is crucial in life to discover oneself. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a teenage girl, who had to overcome and deal with an awful tragedy, takes readers on the long journey she walked before finding meaning and value in who she is as a person.
She struggles occasionally from day to day tasks. Since Tan’s mother English was poor, she tends to ask Tan for help “...she used to have me call people and the phone and pretend I was she” (300). Tan’s mother would tell Tan to pretend to be her to complain, ask for more information, and even
The environment in which an individual grows up in can affect life greatly. Our surroundings influence one’s personality, self-expression, and individuality, otherwise known as identity. Finding one’s true self is the most grueling stage of life and expectations of family and society make the process even harder. One’s true identity can sometimes clash with hopes of others, thus breaking tradition and/or family ties. Pressure to change will always be present, but staying true to uniqueness will prevail.
For numerous amounts of people, with English being their second language, they have been described as having "Broken English". " Broken English" refers to a poorly spoken or ill-written version of the English language. One article called "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan discusses the effects of growing up with a Chinese mother who has "Broken English". In fact, Tan deliberates about the limitations and criticism of growing up with her mother. Although Tan speaks articulate English, she still can comprehend with her mother 's "Broken English".
The identity a person holds is one of the most important aspects of their lives. Identity is what distinguishes people from others, although it leaves a negative stereotype upon people. In the short story Identities by W.D Valgardson, a middle-aged wealthy man finds himself lost in a rough neighborhood while attempting to look for something new. The author employs many elements in the story, some of the more important ones being stereotype and foreshadow. For many people, their personal identity is stereotyped by society.
Later, the cultural critic Stuart Hall has opined about the changing nature of identity. He says that there is no fixed identity that can be attributed to an individual for his life period; it evolves through several changes in each phase of life. So it can be understood that formation of identity involves several steps: construction, reconstruction and deconstruction. The politics behind this formation may depend on the nature of identity that an individual tries to hold. Indeed, the cultural critic Kobena Mercer reminds us: “One thing at least is clear - identity only becomes an issue when it is in crisis, when something
Amy explains the many variations of English that she had been exposed to and still uses. She points out even though her mother, Mrs. Tan, uses the "broken" version of English, Amy still understands her mother. I agree because Amy never stated she had any
Summary of "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan In "Mother Tongue, Amy Tan writes about how her mother 's broken English affects her life. She begins this narrative essay by talking about the day she became aware of the different forms of English that she was using at home and during formal events. Amy says, "The talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech, using the kind of English I have never used with her" (Tan 1).
Her personal experience is socially and theoretically constructed and emotions play an essential role in the process of identity formation. Her identity is not fixed, which is portrayed by inquisitiveness that her own mother and Aunt thought she was possessed, enhanced and made this story an enriching experience. The family is the first agent of socialization, as the story illustrates, even the most basic of human activities are learned and through socialization people
Paul- Michel Foucault was a French philosopher also known as a historian of systems of thoughts whose influence extended across a broad array of disciplines especially in the humanities and social sciences and a social critic. He created his own title when he was promoted to professorship at one of the most prestigious colleges in France “College de France” in 1970. He is perhaps best known for his ruminations on power, self identity, epistemology, and the evolution of systems of thought and meaning. He is often described as post-structuralist or post modernist, however Foucault himself rejected such titles, preferring to analyse their significance rather than identifying with them.