Mother Tongue by Amy Tan - Essay Summary, Analysis, Review 742 views May 19, 2022 25 Dislike The CodeX Cantina 17.6K subscribers Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get. But I wince when I say that. Tan talks about growing up with different forms of English and how that affected both her childhood and adult life. Her mother's language is colorful, powerful, and direct. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world. Math is precise; there is only one correct answer. How did railroads help boost industrialization? Amy Tan born in 1952 in California to Chinese immigrants. Answers will vary but should include points similar to the following: a. Tan includes the story to give readers an example of just how her mother's English sounds and how expressive it is. Like other children of immigrants to America, the perceptions of her language abilities almost limited her career path in math or science, yet Tan eventually realized her own American Dream of becoming a full-time writer. She is motivated to make this argument to explain her method as a writer and her intellectual, literary, linguistic, and personal progress in uniting her two identities and to show that these identities need not be separated. In literature, tone is the feeling an author conveys to the audience. /BitsPerComponent 8 Describe how others (those who do not know her intimately) see Tan's mother versus how Tan describes her in "Mother Tongue." b. Tan, her husband, and her mother go out together. In "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan uses people's inclination to assume as a way of exploring the subject of identity. . What are some good things Andrew Carnegie did? -wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal "her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts." When this occurred, everyone was much more cordial with Amy than with her mother: promises were made and apologies graciously extended. You had agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn't arrived.". Tan elaborates this idea by scrutinizing her mother's language, her own use of English and society's response to different people's English usage. In "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan explains that she uses multiple "Englishes" in her daily life. /AIS false When Amy first decided she wanted to be a writer, she was not encouraged to do so: English was her second language, and the peculiarities of the language (which confuse native English speakers, such as analogies) often confused her. She recognizes that her mom is in fact able to comprehend complex sentences in English, but just struggles to express herself clearly in the language. 1. Although Tan clearly appeals to pathos through personal narration and characterization, she makes some appeals to logos. This could create a gap in their education "level" as you usually don't absorb much of the content if you've no clue what the teacher is saying. $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ? How do these resemble chapters? You should know that my mother's expressive command of English belies how much she actually understands. I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Consider the story "Mother Tongue." Later, the gangster became more powerful, far richer than my mother's family, and one day showed up at my mother's wedding to pay his respects. From guilty to gracious, annoyed to appreciative, Amy Tan uses a few different tones throughout Mother Tongue. Identify these tones and explain how they are employed (the language used to convey the tones), and what effect it has on the reader. Get started for free! 2. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than "broken," as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. The difference between them not only lies in how they sound when spoken, but which one you speak can impact how others treat and perceive you. Life Span 4 . eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Chinese age I was nineteen. Students in agreement might cite Tan's interpretation of analogy questions and Cisneros's poor school performance but obvious intellect that was nurtured by her family. "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan Flashcards | Quizlet Analysis of "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan: DRAFT - GraduateWay Tan says that her identity as a writer was originally separate from her identity as her mother's daughter. What does Tan mean when she says, "I think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well" (para. Mother Tongue. The McGraw Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. /Subtype /Image c. rout think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well. 1. Discuss how and why parents identities and personalities are often a source of embarrassment or tension when people are young. What strategies does she use to make this argument? Mother tongue commonly means the language first learned by a person, but for the author, Amy Tan, it has a special meaning. 6 0 obj When they called her daughter, who had perfect English, they suddenly found her scan. 7. She talks about the challenges her mother faced with her limited English. What is Tan's strategy behind including a lengthy, direct quotation from her mother (para. Amy Tan - Books, Short Stories & Movie - Biography The author notes that the language her mother speaks is very different than "American English," but that it is deceiving in that her mother understands more than one might think when listening to her speak. A Summary and Analysis of Amy Tan's 'Mother Tongue' At one point, Tan writes about being embarrassed about her mother. Already a member? Tan acknowledges that, whilst she did well in maths and science, subjects with a single correct answer, she was less adept at English. Mother Tongue is a story that describes how Amy Tan's mother was treated unfairly because of her "broken English". Tan uses it with this definition, but also utilizes it to refer to the language her mom spoke (Chinese). Her mother attends her lectures. Who is the intended audience for "Mother Tongue"? ACCTG 205: CH 1 Vocabulary. A good literary analysis might explain these transitions, and how they affect the structure of the piece. Tan is making the argument in "Mother Tongue" that she became a better writer when she began to use both the types of English she spoke to write books her mother could understand. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. As the second generation of Chinese immigrants, Tan faces more problems than her peers do. Here's what she said in part: "Du Yusong having business like fruit stand. Mother Tongue is an essay by Amy Tan, an American author who was born to Chinese immigrants in 1952. It's my mother tongue. -7 space 17 space. Mother Tongue Essay - 795 Words | Bartleby The story helps the reader understand Tan's later comments about what to call her mother's English-words like limited or broken affect people's perceptions of her mother and her mother's abilities. She said she had spoken very good English, her best English, no mistakes. On what were these descriptions and perceptions based according to paragraphs 15-16 of "Mother Tongue"? In the following sentence, underline each misspelled or misused word and write the correct spelling or word above the incorrect word. Be sure to focus on specific language, punctuation, and imagery used to create the overall tone. In dividing the essay into sections, she is able to flow through to her points clearly and subtly. Explain the meaning of Tans title and how it relates to her own identity as both a Chinese American, a daughter, and a writer. 7) How does this story help you better understand the point Tan is making in her essay? /CreationDate (D:20210407080443+03'00') Tan uses points from her personal life and from her work to show that there is no need to separate one's language and identity. Why or why not? She is just as special a person, despite what language she uses or how she uses it. A scholar would push to discover and learn about their particular subject, while the writer is to take their findings and put them into practice. When Tan was growing up, how did her mother's use of English affect Tan's perception of her? The same was true with word analogies, pairs of words in which you were supposed to find some sort of logical, semantic relationship -- for example, "Sunset is to nightfall as is to ." The difference is in the application of the phrase, which is between general and specific. What does Tan mean by "the power of language" (para. from Oxford University Ph.D. from St. Andrews University, Amy Tan, like many children of immigrants, has more than one identity, and these identities are primarily defined by language. -she explains that the stories she writes are about mothers This shows how the way English is spoken affects how one is treated. a. fragment Still, she said, the hospital did not apologize when they said they had lost the CAT scan and she had come for nothing. In a country where English is the dominant language, all of the school lessons are taught in it. Cite the text as needed to clarify and support your response. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Describe what the fighting is like and what you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of your army. And my mother was standing in the back whispering loudly, "Why he don't send me check, already two weeks late. Language is a powerful tool, and our ability to use and understand it as humans is one of the main aspects that separate us from other species on Earth. Latest answer posted March 28, 2020 at 9:26:15 PM. As for accents, it's usually a stereotype of some sort. Accept any answers that address the concern of the question and are elaborated by examples or details from the literature or from life. Cell Bio Exam 1. What is the author's purpose, style, and tone in the story? And here you would be presented with a list of four possible pairs, one of which showed the same kind of relationship: red is to stoplight, bus is to arrival, chills is to fever, yawn is to boring: Well, I could never think that way. Focus your studying with a path. "Mother tongue," as it is used in the title of this piece, is a pun on the traditional idea. 6. Identify them and describe their effect. M.A. Tan wrote Mother Tongue in 1990, a year after her novel The Joy Luck Club was a runaway success. What organizational pattern does Tan use in "Mother Tongue," and how does she control her tone? mother tongue amy tan chinese american writer amy tan, whose mom moved from her homeland china to america to make better life for her daughter, struggles with 3-2 Writing Plan 5-3 Feedback and Test. In Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue", Tan reveals how she was sculpted into the successful writer she is from the struggles of language speaking her mother had to face. 22 terms. 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. The title of Amy Tans essay is a pun on the expression mother tongue, referring to ones first language. She points out that her mother is intelligent and reads things which Tan herself cannot begin to understand. To see how other students have handled their analyses, check out these example essays on Mother Tongue.. "9 [5 She says it provides imagery and emotions that standard, grammatically-correct English cannot. 5. nNSm`NO8 SL6x 9 tG%rzo=>ca3`!VW19>:HmoM!>? _E nYKyrO [%eLm ii+;t9xt;md/C?dSh[`N:)$9HAJI%i2. Why? "How Poetry Comes to Me" TPCASTT // Gary Snyd, "Common Ground" TPCASTT // Judith Ortiz Cofer, SpringBoard English Language Arts: Grade 10, myPerspectives: English Language Arts, California (Grade 9, Volume 1), Glencoe Literature Course 4: The Readers Choice. Envisioning her mother as the reader allowed Tan to write with more fluidity. \text { Who was John Wilkes Booth? } It's my mother tongue. Her mother, too, was clearly aware of how her use of the language affected how seriously people took her, for she used to get her daughter to phone people and pretend to be Mrs Tan. /Height 155 Its not about how long a story is, but rather about its content. What is Amy Tans primary identity according to what she says in paragraphs 1-3 of "Mother Tongue"? eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Log in here. This is not to say that people of other countries do not learn English as well, but generally there is a language specific to the place where they were born: this is their mother tongue. Then evaluate her message. c. The story helps readers understand one of Tan's points: her mother's English does have intent, passion, imagery, and rhythm, and it shows the complexity of her thoughts. Amy Tan "Mother Tongue" How do you want to study today? Write a journal entry from the perspective of Richard the Lion-Hearted during the Crusades. Tan is making the argument in "Mother Tongue" that she became a better writer when she began to use both the types of English she spoke to write books her mother could understand. Eliasib. In Amy Tan's short story "Mother Tongue," explain the essence of what "mother tongue" signifies in the story. How is Amy Tan's use of the phrase "mother tongue" ambiguous? her mother How does the author describe her mother's English early in the essay limited She says even her husband started speaking this kind of English together and that it has come to represent intimacy. She said they did not seem to have any sympathy when she told them she was anxious to know the exact diagnosis, since her husband and son had both died of brain tumors. Tan does illustrate each category she identifies 4. But Tans language, or tongue, has been shaped by her actual mother, whose first language (or mother tongue) was not English, but Chinese. 3 0 obj But I wince when I say that. What would be the impact of omitting one of them? She says even her husband started speaking this kind of English together and that it has come to represent intimacy. Latest answer posted October 28, 2019 at 10:43:03 PM, Latest answer posted May 19, 2020 at 7:56:33 PM, Latest answer posted November 08, 2020 at 3:49:32 AM. And how they tend to excel in mathematics and science due to language barriers. On what were these descriptions and perceptions based according to paragraphs 15-16 of "Mother Tongue"? It is not simply, as she first thought, that one type of English is correct and the other incorrect. 6. What motivates her to make such an argument? Tans autobiographical revelations in Mother Tongue show us that her own mother struggled to be taken seriously among Americans, and Tan diagnoses this struggle as a result of her mothers different way of speaking. -uses quotes to give an example of her mother's English First, she points out that she uses the same language with her mother and her husband. Amy Tan | Biography, Books, & Facts | Britannica tests, and the SAT. /SMask /None>> This establishes ethos as she admits that her specialty is in being a writer. It has always bothered me that I can think of no other way to describe it other than "broken," as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. Chinese way, came only to show respect, don't stay for dinner. How many subjects does Tan explore in the essay? How does Tan avoid stereotyping Asian Americans in general and Chinese in particular in this essay? Jing-mei's mother quizzes her on various topicsincluding state and national capitals, complicated mathematics, and weather predictionin hopes that she might possess a talent like the children. Accessed 2 May 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. The different forms of English that mother and daughter speak are also a product of their backgrounds: whilst Tans mother is a Chinese immigrant to America, Tan was born in the United States and has grown up, and been educated, in an English-speaking culture. The talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. So she said she would not leave until the doctor called her daughter. Our experts can deliver a "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan essay tailored to your instructions for only $13.00 $11.05/page 308 qualified specialists online Learn more Main text Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email. Include in your discussion examples and observations from your own experience or Amy Tans Mother Tongue.. Get started for free! >> Symbolism is when an author uses an object, person, or place to represent a deeper concept. Each story holds a key to understanding her main argument points. What is the author's purpose, style, and tone in the story? The local people call putong, the river east side, he belong to that side local people. The difference is in the application of the phrase, which is between general and specific. I gone to boy's side, they haveYMCA dinner. d. Her mother is the audience (reader) for The Joy Luck Club, a book about mother-and-daughter relationships. According to Tan, why are so many Asian Americans encouraged to study math and science in college? Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. (para. What Tan is classifying in this essay is the different kinds of English she uses. How does she establish ethos by this juxtaposition? Now all you have to do is analyze them. 8, Tan)". Amy Tan's Messages in "Mother Tongue" Short Summary - GraduateWay b. Unlike most of the other literature youve read for class, Mother Tongue by Amy Tan is short and pretty easy to breeze through. What are the "different Englishes" (para. 4 0 obj How does Tan feel about her mother's tongue, -her mother's "limited English" limited her perception of her mother. I didn't see, I heard it. What is similar between Tan's more contemporary version of the American Dream and the novel Of Mice and Men? Paraphrasing her mother's words would take away from the audience's understanding of the exact type of language boundaries they were dealing with. When her mother told her that what she had written was easy to read, Tan knew that she had succeeded in her aims as a writer. Every piece of literature, whether its an epic novel or a haiku, has some sort of structurewhich is simply the organization of the material. And Tan drew on all the Englishes, plural, that she knew: the broken English her mother used, the simple English Tan used when talking to her mother, the watered-down Chinese her mother used, and her mothers internal language which conveyed her passion, intent, imagery, and the nature of her thoughts. After youve written your literary analysis, and you dont feel very confident in it, pass it along to one of the Kibin editors. Learn. Latest answer posted March 29, 2020 at 10:08:05 AM. In both cases, the perception based on her mother's "limited" English gave people the idea that Amy's mother wasn't very bright, or worse, was not worth their time. In fact, Tan uses the same tone in the beginning and end of her storythe reader starts at a homebase, sees the journey Tan is leading them on, and returns right back to where they started but with more insight than before. 3. Her first novel, The Joy Luck Club, is a collection of related stories told by four mothers and four daughters and was later turned into a film. -talking to her mom "My mother was in the room", Tan quotes a "terrible line" she once wrote "That was my mental quandary in its nascent state." Mother tongue is usually referred to the first language a person is taught, however I think Tans use of the word mother tongue is much more intimate in a sense that she feels that ere English or her mother tongue is unique to her, and that the variation of English she speaks to her mother is her mother tongue. This is a key part of Feathers from a Thousand Li Away, and it helps us to understand Tans conflicted attitude towards her mothers use of language as explored in Mother Tongue. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. You can read Mother Tongue here before proceeding to our summary and analysis of Amy Tans essay below. I've heard other terms used, "limited English," for example. Tan says she uses simple English around her mother, and while this isnt the same form that her mother speaks, it symbolizes the bond between her and her family. Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. How would you characterize Tan's tone in the essay? In "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan uses people's inclination to assume as a way of exploring the subject of identity. Amy Tan says that she has come to realize that something unusual goes on with languageat least her own, based upon the Chinese her mother grew up speaking, the English her mother uses as her "second language," Amy's use of this special version of her mother's English, and her own perception that her mother's English was somehow "broken"at least this is how Ms. Tan used to feel. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Because she was in a family where their home language wasn't English, her scores in English weren't as good as the ones she received in math. Already a member? Her mother gave her praise that meant a great deal to Tan: I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: 'So easy to read.'. What incident in "Mother Tongue" makes Tan aware of the different Englishes that she speaks? More recent to this story, her mother had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, but when she went to the doctor's office, the CAT scan was lost and no one was remotely concerned with her need to understand her prognosishaving lost a husband and son, both to brain tumors. -describes how her mom influenced her writing and this is why her mom is the audience. What is the author's purpose, style, and tone in the story? I knew what the tests were asking, but I could not block out of my mind the images already created by the first pair, "sunset is to nightfall"--and I would see a burst of colors against a darkening sky, the moon rising, the lowering of a curtain of stars.And all the other pairs of words --red, bus, stoplight, boring--just threw up a mass of confusing images, making it impossible for me to sort out something as logical as saying: "A sunset precedes nightfall" is the same as "a chill precedes a fever." A Summary and Analysis of Amy Tan's 'Mother Tongue' By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) 'Mother Tongue' is an essay by Amy Tan, an American author who was born to Chinese immigrants in 1952. taylor_garrett36. Sample answer: Communication is more about intent than specific words and word usage. -however, later she decided that she wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal "her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts. What organizational pattern does Tan use in "Mother Tongue," and how does she control her tone? The nature of the talk was about my writing, my life, and my book, The Joy Luck Club. ~"iW]JL^kP(K/N\' |! Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan Comprehension 1. Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent. When Amy Tan recalls growing up, her mother would have Amy speak on the phone, pretending to be her mother, so that people would take her more seriously. Tan notes the difficulty of finding a term to describe the style of English her mother, as a Chinese immigrant to the United States, speaks. So mad he lie to me, losing me money. I hesitate to use the word plot in the case of Mother Tongue because it doesnt seem to have much of one, at least not in the traditional sense that most fiction stories do. Tan speculates that because Asian Americans score so much higher on math achievement tests than on English tests, they are encouraged to pursue math and science in college. Discuss how Tan broadens the essay's relevance by going beyond just her personal experience and raising issues that would be germane to her audience. WhowasJohnWilkesBooth? What is the context of Mother Tongue? check out these example essays on Mother Tongue.. The mother tongue shapes. We used a similar routine just five days ago, for a situation that was far less humorous. Where "mother tongue" usually refers euphemistically to someone's first language, here it refers. endobj Latest answer posted March 28, 2020 at 9:26:15 PM. Mother Tongue - CR - Student Copydone 1 1 .doc - Course Hero How could I go about writing four pages about the essay "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan, citing two or more different authors to support my claims? Stephen Crane Amy Thompson Amy Tan Anne Tan 2. Remember this quote as you read through and relate the rest of the content to this idea. Tan believed that her mother's English reflected the quality of what she had to say-that the imperfections in her speech meant that her ideas were just as imperfect.
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