Analysis Of Amy Chua's Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother

In 2011, Yale Law School professor, Amy Chua, took the world by storm with her work: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Her writing was displayed through television, radio, and news, giving it the fame it now possesses. Chua’s popularity is not all positive, though; in this essay she discusses her point of view on parenting styles and how she brought up her kids. This struck controversy because she believes in what she calls a “Chinese mother’s” way of raising children, which involves a very strict and controlling approach to parenting. While she effectively brings up some legitimate points, Chua’s overall view of raising children strikes me as excessive and extreme. Chua begins her essay by explaining certain rules and restrictions that she

The most outstanding tactic from the start, is her use of statistics showing the contrast between Western and Chinese mothers to validate her argument. Another way Chua’s presentation finds success is through her many examples of her own experiences as a parent. She describes the decisions she made involving her children in order for them to understand the importance of persisting in academics and the arts. One of her examples involves her daughter, Lulu, attempting to learn a complex piece on the piano; Chua continues to describe the ways in which she basically threatened her daughter for the sake of getting her to master the song. By stating exact examples like this one, Chua gives the reader awareness of how some of these tactics actually come into play in real life. Though her methods are quite harsh in my opinion, the way in which Chua describes the situation almost makes me believe that this way of parenting is in fact, effective. While she delivers it very well, and manages to bring up some truths, the majority of the content discussed in Chua’s writing, is

She is not wrong that the majority of American parents are more lenient when it comes to rules, grades, and behavior. She once describes that while “Chinese parents can order their kids to get straight As. Western parents can only ask their kids to try their best,” (Chua, 306), which is quite true in American culture. Many parents in this country are more worried about how their children feel about themselves academically and socially, rather than how successful they truly are at that given time. Chua is also correct in saying that all parents really just want what’s best for their kids, they just have different beliefs about how to do that. While these ideas are true, the rest of Chua’s claims do not come across quite as