Mind Games Rhetorical Analysis

Mind Games “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” That quote was said by one of the most widely known authors in the world, and his name was Dr. Seuss. Many people are faced with the challenge of peer pressure and changing to fit the views of society to be accepted and liked. They turn their back on their heritage and traditions just because they think people will not like them anymore because of it, but in most cases this actually is not true. You should just be yourself; you should not be ashamed of who you are. In the passage written by Amy Tan, the author uses details and diction to reveal that an embarrassing experience in her youth changed her attitude toward her family’s heritage and culture by making her realize that her feelings of shame were based on other people’s responses more than her own feelings.

She knows that her Chinese Christmas is different from the “regular” American Christmas, but she does not know how they will react. Therefore, she thinks of the worst. Tan helps us imagine, “a bowl soaking dry fungus back to life” (p.3). She over exaggerates how the mushrooms look to make it seem more disgusting than it actually is in reality. The author also helps us picture, “a slimy rock cod with bulging eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pan of hot oil” (p.3). Tan does not just tell us about the dead fish they are about to eat, but of the stunned look of death on its face as they are getting ready to eat it. She wants it to seem the least bit appealing as possible. She does not believe that her family’s version of a Christmas dinner will be accepted by the “normal” American family, and she feels ashamed because of