Exploring Identity and Language in Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue"

Summary Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan Around the world, most people tend to leave their homes and try to search for a better life. The immigrants who come to a new country might struggle emotionally or physically adjusting to a new environment. The reading "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan and "Always Living in Spanish" by Marjorie Agosin has an inspiring message. In both readings the authors witness struggles, reflect on something or reconnecting back to cultural roots, yet these two strong women were motivated to overcome the struggles. In "Mother Tongue" Tan talks about her Chinese mother who is struggling to speak proper English. Thus, when she tries to speak the language then people tend to disrespect her because she speaks the language in an incorrect way. After all Tan says, "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"(635). I guess people see the mother as an immigrant who is not trying to learn the language properly and tend to disrespect her. Similarly, Agosin talks about her personal experience as a ...show more content... The argument may be true, but they are both come from an immigrant background. Both of these authors had a unique trait, which was to be motivated to better themselves. When Tan saw her mother being mistreated because she could not speak the proper English and the stereotypes she heard as a child. She wanted to prove people wrong that a first generation immigrant child can become whatever she wanted to be even though her mother struggles with the language. Similarly, Agosin came to America and barely spoke the English language. She work hard on improving her language skill, but she made sure that she kept her cultural roots. Both authors were motivated to prove to the world that immigrants can achieve anything they want by working Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Amy Tan Mother Tongue Essay In 1990 Amy Tan released "Mother Tongue", an essay of Tan's personal view and history of her mother's struggles as a Chinese immigrant with "limited English" (Tan 77). The culture and people around her mother in America were not accepting of her English skills, or lack thereof. She was viewed as unintelligent, inferior, and treated less courteously. Tan is a critically acclaimed author following her best–selling novel The Joy Luck Club released a year earlier in 1989. Tan's perception of her mother is entirely different than what the population around her sees. She views her mother's English as a "language of intimacy, a different sort of English" (Tan 77). However, in order to persuade her audience, she cannot use her background as a successful ...show more content... She does this by displaying the use of incorrect English as suitable for the situation. Even as an author with her level of success, Tan still uses English in ways that would be considered improper. She consciously caught "[herself] saying this [to her husband]: 'Not waste money that way.'". This "different sort of English...relates to family talk, the language [she] grew up with". Growing up around this certain style of language is how it "helped shape the way [she] saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world" (Tan 77. Context and the relationship between the individuals engaging in conversation is much more important than proper usage of English. Tan utilized the idea of family to further connect her audience to her argument. She introduced an element that could create a common bond between her and the audience. As the successful author Tan is, it is imperative she creates a common ground between herself and the audience. It would be impossible for the audience to believe that incorrect English would be more appropriate in this situation of being with her family. However, she also displayed the inverse of using improper English to further solidify her different approaches to Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Amy Tan Mother Tongue Essay Language is a very power thing; it can create change or destroy someone or something. Immigrants will always be made fun of because the way they sound. No matter how advance civilization will get, racial profiling will always exist. In the essay 'Mother Tongue', by Amy Tan, she has shared her experience growing up in an immigrant household, where everyone in her house talked a different version of English, and that she learned a different version at school. Growing up, Tan was many time asked to communicate with others over the phone, as if she was the mother, which made her feel shameful. That even though her mother speaks broken English, she still understands her well. These stories and experience help Tan prove that just because one cannot ...show more content... Language is a very powerful thing; it can provoke emotions out of anyone. For example, the way you talk, and the words you say, can be harmful to someone, or can be compliments to other. In the essay, Tan says, "I spend a great deal of my time thinking about power of language–the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth" (34). The way you speak is important because, anything you say, it creates an image in their minds. It can be anything, from fairytales to a kid, to a crime report to people watching T.V. at home, words will automatically convert into an image. For instance, when a religious people read a bible, they will automatically begin to picture a beautiful forest, with a men and women, enjoying pleasures of life. In the essay Tan says, "Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world" (35). Tan was understanding her mother well by visualizing, and imagining, the way she spoke with her. Not everyone can speak the same, but there are always some who can understand the troubled ones Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Essay on Amy Tan’s A Mother’s Tongue Amy Tan's A Mother's Tongue The purpose of Amy Tan's essay, "Mother Tongue," is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks "limited English" (36) as Tan's mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others. As Tan's primary care giver, her mother was a significant part of her childhood, and she has a strong influence over Tan's writing style . Being raised by her mother taught her that one's perception of the world is heavily based upon the language spoken at home. Alternately, people's perceptions of one another are based largely on the language used. Tan was born to a pair of Chinese immigrants . Her mother understood English extremely well, but ...show more content... This was because her mother's version of English and its modified rules caused Tan to be confused on some of the questions. Tan employs cause and effect when she is talking about her experiences with IQ tests and the SATs. The fact that her mother spoke English the way she did made it very difficult for Tan to envision what the test was asking, as with the questions where she could not identify one singular correct answer. In her experience with language, maybe she had heard her mother would say something a certain way, even though, technically, it was not grammatically correct. Her perceptions of things, specifically the rules of language, were different because of the language used at her home. She also incorporates problem and solution when she is describing how she had to talk for her mother. Her belief is that people will not take you seriously if you do not speak proper English, and to prove this, she shows how her mother encountered that kind of attitude often. Tan describes how she had to call the stockbroker because her mother was concerned about not getting a check, and how the hospital would not look for a lost CAT scan until Tan was called to mediate. Even though the mother speaks English, Tan still needs to act as a translator. Compare and contrast comes in to play at the very beginning of the essay when Tan is describing her mother listening to her giving a lecture. Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan Despite growing up amidst a language deemed as "broken" and "fractured", Amy Tan's love for language allowed her to embrace the variations of English that surrounded her. In her short essay "Mother Tongue", Tan discusses the internal conflict she had with the English learned from her mother to that of the English in her education. Sharing her experiences as an adolescent posing to be her mother for respect, Tan develops a frustration at the difficulty of not being taken seriously due to one's inability to speak the way society expects. Disallowing others to prove their misconceptions of her, Tan exerted herself in excelling at English throughout school. She felt a need to rebel against the proverbial view that writing is not a strong ...show more content... I had to always disprove that Asian–Americans are not just good at only math and science. My capabilities of acquiring a stellar English skill are not much different from the average American kid next door. Luckily for me as the years went by the doubts began to diminish, especially in the minds of my classmates. I have accomplished what I set out to do and that was to rid the qualm from skeptics' minds. Slowly I have become more comfortable incorporating two opposing forces in my life, just as Tan did with her writing styles. As person living with the gift of dual language, Tan's essay allowed some insight into my own life. She argued that a person's limitation on language does not reflect their perspective on society or events of the world. The limitation is more of a token than a deficiency, people having these language issues must come up with an exclusive way to portray thoughts and ideas; therefore, enhancing their perceptual knowledge of the world around. Growing up listening to my mother's English, I have learned to adapt and am able to fully understand her, even though I constantly catch myself trying to correct her. The way she conveys her thoughts and ideas is what makes her unique and who am I to change her by correcting her idiosyncrasies. Although I have become accustomed to my mother's English there are certain things she says that even Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Essay on Amy Tan's Mother Tongue Amy Tan's Mother Tongue In Mother Tongue, Amy Tan talks about how language influenced her life while growing up. Through pathos she explains to her audience how her experiences with her mother and the Chinese language she came to realize who she wanted to be and how she wanted to write. The author, Tan, has written the books The Joy Luck Club, and The Kitchen God's Wife. She is Asian–American, her parents are originally from China, but moved to Oakland, California. The audience in Tan's essay is people 20–35 years old who are culturally diverse. Tan focuses on this audience in order reach out to those who are in her past situation. In her house, there were two languages spoken: English and Chinese. Tan knew how to speak ...show more content... She wants the audience to know right away that even though she is about to tell you the story of a difficult childhood, she did reach her goal in the end. After making this statement, Tan dives into her past and how she came to be where she is today. Her mother is the next most important point of discussion. Her mother influenced her writing style as well as her beliefs about her culture and heritage. ?Just last week, I was walking down the street with my mother, and I again found myself conscious of the English I was using, the English I do use with her? (Tan, 2002, p. 36). The broken up English her mother uses is the next issue Tan focuses on. ??everything is limited, including people?s perceptions of the limited English speaker? (Tan, 2002, p. 36). Lastly, she talks about her education and the role it had on her deciding what she wanted to do with her life. ?Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving assumptions made about me? (Tan, 2002, p. 39). By structuring the essay in order of importance, Tan reinforces her message that you can be anything you desire even with a different culture than the norm. The main rhetoric appeal used by Tan is pathos, the appeal to emotion. Language becomes an obstacle for Tan because her mother speaks limited English. Amy must be an interpreter for her mother in instances where her mother cannot communicate effectively. ?And sure enough, the following week there we were in Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Amy Tan Mother Tongue When reading Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" literacy narrative, I was perplexed by the way that she wrote about her mother's way of speaking. The author main focus was on her mother and the way she speaks. The author illustrated how the way her mother spoke shaped the way that Amy wrote her novels. Her mother was a Chinese native living in America, so she spoke English but used her own dialect. Her mother spoke English how it would sound being translated from Chinese, what some would refer to as "broken" English. In the beginning, Amy starts off by describing how she used to be embarrassed of her mother's form of English and how she used to hate having to speak on her mother's behalf to other people. This is a normal thing for teenage daughters and sons to do. But as the years went on and Amy got older, she realized that the way her mother spoke English had a sort of "unique beauty" to it and was not broken. Amy realized that she also spoke like her mother at times and that she had inherited her "mother's tongue". The way that she began writing her books was influenced by her mother in the sense that she wanted them to be easily read by people of all nationalities. ...show more content... I can relate with Amy Tan's experience growing up with a parent that spoke their own form of English because my father is from Haiti and in Haiti they have their own way of speaking. Your mother or father's tongue is very influential in the way you become literate because they are the ones that read to you and they are also the ones that you learn your first words from. People always like to point out how I speak differently from Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Amy Tan Mother Tongue Thesis Essay rough Draft "We are a country where people of all backgrounds, all nations of origin, all languages, all religions, all races, can make a home. America was built by immigrants" Hillary Clinton stated. What she means in this quote is immigrants had a huge influence on America. America would be extremely different without them, without the diverse population here we would not know or be exposed to the different cultures, languages, and religions that we know today. Culture is something that immigrants brought to America with them. Culture does not depend on race , culture is what makes a person who they are, culture is someone's traditions, morals, values, food, etc. People often identify each other with their race instead culture which should not happen according to Richard Rodriguez, the author of the argument "Blaxican". Rodriguez said "Culture is fluid. Culture is smoke. You breathe it. You eat it." When Rodriguez said this he was saying that culture is what is around you and you can not get away from it. For example, if you live in a ...show more content... In Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue" She was explaining her life growing up with an immigrant mother that did not speak English that well. Tan's mother often received discrimination for not being able to speak English well, Tan tells one story when she had to speak to her mother's doctor about her lost cat scan results. "So she said she would not leave until the doctor called her daughter. She wouldn't budge. And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English– lo and behold–we had assurances the CAT scan would be found, promises that a conference call on Monday would be held, and apologies for any suffering my mother had gone through for a most regrettable mistake." This goes to show how America treats immigrants if they are not 100% assimilated into the American Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Mother Tongue by Amy Tan Essay Identity and Culture Amy Tan's ,"Mother Tongue" and Maxine Kingston's essay, "No Name Woman" represent a balance in cultures when obtaining an identity in American culture. As first generation Chinese–Americans both Tan and Kingston faced many obstacles. Obstacles in language and appearance while balancing two cultures. Overcoming these obstacles that were faced and preserving heritage both women gained an identity as a successful American. In the work of Amy Tan's "Mother's Tongue" she provides a look into how she adapted her language to assimilate into American culture . She made changes to her language because her mother heavily relied on her for translation. She was the voice of her mother, relaying information in standard English to ...show more content... 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."(417) Overcoming the barrier between languages she spoke aided Tan in building a bridge between cultures. She changed her language to assimilate into American culture while also keeping familial culture. A piece of heritage that uses a language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk. Tan grew up with this language and she still uses it with her mother, husband and in her books. (418) Another method to find identity in a new host society is through appearance. In the essay , "No Name Woman" by Maxine Kingston ideals in appearance were passed from generation to generation. Altering ideals when creating identity is noticed in Kingston's essay. A long held tradition in many Chinese families is that many generations live under the same roof and this can cause a conflict in ideals. Conflicting ideals between generations is shown as Tan tells how the younger generation hid the identities of their sexual color and their character. Hiding these new identities they hoped to avoid potential conflict with generational ideals. Kingston did not hide her identity, she found herself "walking erect (knees straight, toes pointed forward, not pigeon–toed, which is Chinese–feminine) and speaking in an audible Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Mother Tongue The line " I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with" is a very powerful line in the essay ( Tan 337). Tan's personal struggle of having a mother who knows English as a second language creates issues for her throughout her life, but this line shows that she has learned to get past this hardship. Tan learning to embrace this side of her life lets other people in the same situation know that it shouldn't be a bad thing. The whole line wraps up the essay in a neat little bow by playing on the Pathos of Tan's life and drawing the essay to a nice conclusion thus showing how one little phrase can make a piece of literature great. The 10,000 Hour Rule The statement " Truly distinguishes their histories is not Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary Cortnie Ludwigson In Amy Tan's Mother Tongue, Tan examines the value judgement placed on speech, and how different forms of English are used to effectively communicate in different settings. Growing up in an immigrant household, Tan has first hand accounts of how "broken speech" can affect how people perceive who you are. Through personal anecdotes, the author discusses how different people have treated her mother as though she were inferior due to her "broken" speech. Tan has often had to act as a sort of "bridge" for communication for her mother. At first, these instances were a source of embarrassment for Tan; she felt as if "her English reflected the quality of what she had to say... Because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were ...show more content... There is the English that one uses with their peers (and in fact our peers are the ones who affect our speech the most); then there is the English that we use with our family, dubbed "family talk." Tan explains this type of English, saying that it is "our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk (453)." To prove her point, Tan switches between two Englishes in the text; the first consists of perfectly orchestrated sentences with clear, concise diction. The second English is made up of short, slightly stilted sentences that one could find in a conversation with the author's mother. In fact, the author admits that while she is writing, she is directing it at a very specific audience– her mother. "I began to write with all the Englishes that I grew up with: the English I spoke to my mother, which for lack of a better term might be described as 'simple'; the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as 'broken' Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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The Purpose Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan Amy Tan is a popular American writer who likes to focus on mother daughter styles. Tan would normally get story situations and ideas from her personal experiences with her mother. Tan writing on the level of english she had began to make her notice the amount of variation in the english language. Growing up with her mother helped her notice this with how her mother would speak english compared to her friends and this gave her idea to write "Mother Tongue". Tan's purpose for writing "Mother Tongue" is that americans can be unaccepting of different languages and often lead to stereotypes or misconceptions being created. Tan demonstrates this purpose through use of personal experiences while using a critical or disheartened tone. Amy Tan ...show more content... Tan had wrote the piece in a highly critical or upset tone. Tan never expressed aggression towards her mother's troubles and moved on. During her mothers problems troubles at the doctors she mentions "She did not seem to have any sympathy when she told them she was anxious to know the exact diagnosis, since her husband and son have both died of brain tumors" (Tan 1014). Tan brought up how the doctor had little care for her mother not in an aggressive manner but one of a disheartened or upsetting mood. Another example of Tan showing a disheartened tone was when describing how her mothers broken english was limiting her potential in the literacy field. "Asian– American students whose english in the home might also be described as 'Broken' or 'Limited.' And perhaps they also have teachers who are steering them away from writing and into math and science, which is what happened to me" (Tan 1015). Tan describes 2 separate problems caused by mother's broken english to americans that were serious issues and only resolved when Tan would speak her english for her mother. She described in a more disheartened tone to match that of the reader. Reading about her troubles would touch the readers heart in a soft or upset mannar rather than being angry and likely drawing readers to not believer her Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Summary Of Mother Tongue By Amy Tan In the essay, "Mother Tongue", Amy Tan lays out examples of noticing the different Englishes in her life and how she incorporates them into her writing. She also breaks down the different versions of English that have taken root in her life. Tan notes that she includes all the Englishes of her life in her book, The Joy Luck Club . Tan, the daughter of immigrants, learned to navigate between the "perfect" English of her professional life and the "broken" English of her youth. The author's main claim of there being no perfect way of speaking English is one that can be easily recognized because Tan gives clear examples of the diverse versions of English in her life, she pinpoints moments in which she sees the differences and discovers how to accept and acclimate these differences to her life and career. The author's purpose in writing this essay is to show that there are different forms of English – there is no one way of speaking the language. The moment of realization for Tan occurs when she is speaking to a group of professionals and notices that she is speaking to them differently than she would her mother. Tan obviously sees the difference in her speech pattern when she notes, "Just last week, as I was walking down the street with her, I again found myself conscious of the English I was using, the English I do use with her." (Tan, 2006) In spotting her different versions of English with her mother, Tan proves the point of her essay. She is correct in her theory that we speak to different people in our lives in a variety of different manners. She brings to light an occasion with her mother's stockbroker where her mother's "broken" English would have caused confusion and Tan had to represent her mother with a clearer English to make the point adequately. In that one memory, Tan integrates the English people believe they should hear and the English that exists in her life. The author realized that her mother's form of English is one she automatically slips into when she is around her family, it is her "intimate" form of English. As Tan and her mother are looking in furniture stores and debating prices, she begins speaking to her mother using the "imperfect" English she grew up with. She states, "We are talking Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Amy Tan's Mother Tongue Essay Amy Tan's Mother Tongue The Essay written by Amy Tan titled 'Mother Tongue' concludes with her saying, 'I knew I had succeeded where I counted when my mother finished my book and gave her understandable verdict' (39). The essay focuses on the prejudices of Amy and her mother. All her life, Amy's mother has been looked down upon due to the fact that she did not speak proper English. Amy defends her mother's 'Broken' English by the fact that she is Chinese and that the 'Simple' English spoken in her family 'Has become a language of intimacy , a different sort of English that relates to family talk' (36). Little did she know that she was actually speaking more than one type of English. Amy Tan was successful in providing resourceful ...show more content... This essay could very well be aimed toward people who have to take care of their parents, as if they are exchanging rolls with their parents. A lot of the time Amy had to handle situations, at a very young age, where she was the middle person between her mother and another person who did not understand anything her mother was saying. Reversing rolls with the parent can have a heavy impact on a child?s life. I don?t feel Amy needed to be introduced to something like that at such an impressionable age. As a parent, Amy?s mother should have taken a stand and practiced her English to better herself and family. I feel that during that time, there were not a lot of options for her mother, and she did the best she could, but could have improved on this situation. Amy Tan?s purpose in the essay is to inform and express her beliefs and new discovery of the language of intimacy. She wants to provide this new innovation of language and closeness it creates within the family atmosphere. She wants to acknowledge that people who speak broken English are often misrepresented by their tongue as being a dense individual; an unintelligent person. This is a very common misconception by people; don?t let the language fool you. Providing the subjective point of view, it is clear that Amy feels very strong and passionate with the connection to her mother. She has a very strong advantage that Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary Amy Tan's literacy narrative "Mother Tongue" is about the different dialects of English, she is familiar with. She explains that her intelligence is judged by the way she speaks. Amy Tan, explains memories from her life where she encounters many forms of English. Her mother, a Chinese immigrant spoke "broken English." She describes her mother as someone who was able to understand English, well the mother claims that she understands everything, but when it came to speaking, she spoke without the correct grammar. Due to her mothers broken English, Amy Tan has adapted to the type of English her mother speaks, their own type of English language. Tan feels as if the English she is speaking with it outside world is more complex than the English she Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary In the essay, "Mother Tongue," by Amy Tan, there were issues regarding with her mother's limitation of English. Due to being an immigrant, it's tough because you're learning the wrong way of speaking and writing English because of the environment your use to listening too and gathering informations from. Even though I was born in America, I was living in a household where Tagalog was prominently the language to speak with amongst the elders. In addition, there were themes regarding with acceptance. For example, at the end of recollecting all of the hardships of living at an environment where your mom is an immigrant and you learning her way of English, it can play a major role on your English. But, after sulking up her problems, Tan then Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Amy Tan 's Mother Tongue In the essay "Mother Tongue" Amy Tan, the author, gives a different, a more upbeat outlook on the various forms of English that immigrants speak as they adapt to the American culture. Using simple language to develop her argument, she casually communicates to the audience rather than informing which helps the audience understand what is being presented at ease. Her mother plays an important role in her outlook of language, because she helps her realize that language not only allows one to be a part of a culture but create one's identity in society. Amy Tan shares her real life stories about cultural racism and the struggle to survive in America as an immigrant without showing any emotions, which is a wonderful epiphany for the audience in realizing how a non–native English speaker handles everyday situations. Through the effective use of rhetorical devices and the mindful organization of this essay, Amy Tan persuades the audience to keep an open mind about the topic. The audience that Amy Tan is trying to reach with her message in the essay includes many types of people. One group that this essay addresses is those that speak "broken" English like her mother. They are the people that are looked down upon intellectually in the community. Another group of people that is being addressed consists of people that do not sympathize with or have misunderstanding of non–native English speakers. Also those that are like Amy Tan, who help the "broken" English speakers resolve any Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Identity In Mother Tongue, By Amy Tan Everyone is born with a unique identity. The way we understand our self is influenced by our identity. Our identity goes beyond daily and can be influenced by many things, such as the environment we live in, dreams or culture. In Amy tan's essay mother tongue, she discusses about society views on Asian stereotypes. Amy rejects the identity of a foreigner because she does not want to be labeled as what society views Asian Americans as. Amy also uses what the English language symbolizes for her. Amy rejects the identity of a foreigner because she doesn't want to b what everyone assumes. She feels that she isn't that person because she has her own personality. Her whole life she has been a translator for her mom and she had to grow up learning Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Amy Tan's Mother Tongue : The Power Of Language In our life, not all people speak the English language speak it the same way. A language can be subdivided into any number of dialects which each vary in some way from the parent English language. "Mother Tongue," is the article based on the power of language; In her essay Mother Tongue, Amy Tan wrote some anecdotes of her mother and the influence of her mother's limited English on her early development, expressing her understanding of mother tongue. The evidence suggests that there are three messages conveyed in this essay, which is that mother tongue helped her understand her mother step by step, find her culture root and then achieve a balance between American culture and Chinese culture, and shape her thinking system. In the article, Amy Tan is that mother tongue is a door to her mother's heart, it helped her change her view about her mother. Amy Tan disliked and felt ashamed of her mother's English:" I know this for a fact because when I was growing up, my mother 's "limited" English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English.." But as she grew up and got used to this limited English, she began to understand her mother, and her limited English, she viewed it as a symbol of intimacy:" It has become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk, the language I grew up with." So it is evident that mother tongue helped her understand her mother. In our life, have many different languages, native language is Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Mother Tongue Essay Not all people who speak the English language speak it the same way. It is very uncommon to find two people that speak the exact same English because there are so many different forms of the language. This is the argument that Amy Tan makes in her story, "Mother Tongue". Tan uses pathos to portray to her audience how through her experiences with her mother and the Chinese language she came to realize who she wanted to be and how she wanted to write. In "Mother Tongue", Tan discusses the many ways in which the language that she was taught affected her life. Throughout the story, she describes her relationship with her mother, who speaks "broken" English, and how her perception of language has changed due to her mother. Whenever Tan was ...show more content... Amy Tan also felt that standardized tests could not accurately determine a person's intelligence. She effectively makes her argument by using rhetorical devices such as, "I wanted to capture what language ability tests could never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts" (Tan 768). When she said that standard tests cannot determine a person's true intelligence, she was trying to say how people have different ways of thinking and different types of intelligence, and yet these standard tests only can measure a certain type of intelligence; therefore it really is kind of unfair, for lack of a better term. Overall, the main idea of Tan's story is to stress that just because someone cannot speak English to perfection does not in any way make them less intelligent than someone who is born in this country and understands and speaks English fluently. Tan has judged and has been judged by her language, and has seen her mother disrespected because of how she speaks but these experiences have shaped her whole outlook on life. Through her essay, Tan wanted to send a powerful message of how we ought to view people by their beautiful side and not by their shortcomings. Everyone has a message to say, it may be different from yours and it might be grammatically incorrect but it does not make the message wrong, it just makes it Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Amy Tan Mother Tongue Essay

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