In the essay titled “ Why My Mother Can’t Speak English” by Gary Engkent explains much about how his mother has been in restaurant business so many years, and also how she wanted to learn how to speak English before her husband died. Author states how Mrs. Engkent really wants to learn English just to get her citizenship to avoid losing her house and the pension she is getting from the government. That been said, comes the question about Mrs. Engkent visits her husband’s grave with her Citizenship paper, “She has something to tell him.“ Since this question is just an opinion seeking. I believe Mrs. Engkent is going to her husband grave to show her Citizenship paper and tell him how happy she was to receive that paper. Also, she might tell him
Schmitt uses a lot of emotional appeal throughout to show the family is hurt. “The previous evening, my husband Gregg had seen our neighbors crying in the hallway. We’d wondered if the old grandpa, the one with the buzz-cut hair, had died (Schmitt107). She also uses formal writing to get her point a crossed on what happened to the family. “I deflected the offer, using the words I had learned for “don’t want to bother you.” I was aware that the Chinese often extended invites just to be polite. It was my job to refuse. Still, they insisted and insisted, which made me wonder if they were seriously asking me to attend grandpa’s funeral. When they mentioned that it would mean a lot to the deceased, I wavered. And when they told me that everyone who attends will also live a long life, I finally agreed” (Schmitt 110). Schmitt uses all of the families feelings, and how they feel about her coming to funeral to show that they wanted her to come and it would have meant a lot to the
In their articles, Chang Rae-Lee and Amy Tan establish a profound ethos by utilizing examples of the effects their mother-daughter/mother-son relationships have had on their language and writing. Lee’s "Mute in an English-Only World" illustrates his maturity as a writer due to his mother’s influence on growth in respect. Tan, in "Mother Tongue," explains how her mother changed her writing by first changing her conception of language. In any situation, the ethos a writer brings to an argument is crucial to the success in connecting with the audience; naturally a writer wants to present himself/herself as reliable and credible (Lunsford 308). Lee and Tan, both of stereotypical immigrant background, use their memories of deceased mothers to build credibility in their respective articles.
Tan also reflects on how her broken English with whom she shares with her mother is her mother tongue, and how this broken English has shaped who she is today. I am able to identify with Tan’s feelings as my grandmother who is a native Puerto Rican, has her own “mother tongue” as she still speaks in broken English. After my mother passed away when I was three, my grandmother moved in to help raise my sisters and I as we were very young. My grandmother used the same broken English Tan’s mother’s had used and my feelings towards it mirrored Tan’s at an early age. I remember because my father worked during the day my grandmother had to attend parent teacher conferences in his place. As I was still too young, my grandmother dragged me along and made me wait outside. We had waited in line for about two hours before finally being called for my conference. After a few minutes in, one of my teachers walks outside of the classroom and asks me if I know Spanish, to which I reply no. As the teacher walks back into the room I hear a resounding “Ma’am we must reschedule…there are other parents waiting and we cannot understand you, and we are pretty sure you
The funeral was supposed to be a family affair. She had not wanted to invite so many people, most of them strangers to her, to be there at the moment she said goodbye. Yet, she was not the only person who had a right to his last moments above the earth, it seemed. Everyone, from the family who knew nothing of the anguish he had suffered in his last years, to the colleagues who saw him every day but hadn’t actually seen him, to the long-lost friends and passing acquaintances who were surprised to find that he was married, let alone dead, wanted to have a last chance to gaze upon him in his open coffin and say goodbye.
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 those who were unable to understand her mother’s broken english. She tells about her mother’s broken english and its impact on her communication to those outside their culture. Her mothers broken english limited others’ perception of her intelligence, and even her own perception of her mother was scewed: Tan said, “I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mothers ‘limited’ English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say.” (419) The use of standard english was a critical component to Tan’s assimilation into American culture. Standard English was an element she acquired to help her mother but more importantly is was an element that helped in her gain success as a writer. Tan changed her ‘Englishes’ (family talk) to include standard English that she had learnt in school and through books, the forms of English that she did not use at home with her mother. (417-418) Tan realized the ch...
The problem started with her mother because she spoke broken English. She had a hard time during her life when she moved to the US because she couldn’t speak English well. The first reason was mixed the English with Chinese, and they used code. The family didn’t practice the language. On one day Amy Tan 's mother exposed to a lot of attitude and that’s bothering her because when she spoke to the native speaker some people understood 50% and the other did not understand her. Since she wants to order something they didn’t give her a nice service, or tried to ignore her, but Amy Tan always tried to fix the problem for her mother because she can speak the English clearly. Amy Tan 's mother felt depressing and Her daughter decided to make her mother glad, so she made a huge deal for her mother because she made her mother tried to speak English by explaining the English words to Chinese, and that’s made the English for her mother more easily just to be in touched with the American people. Even Amy Tan 's mother was struggling with English, but she plain in her life goal that’s mean nothing impossible to do it, and everything from learning could be possible. If anyone would something they
Language. It is the way words flow into sentences, which flow into paragraphs, which flow into novels. It is the ability of the author to create an intricate web of plot, emotion, symbolism, and relationships through only words. In The Autobiography of My Mother , Jamaica Kincaid uses language in a way that is very simplistic, yet highly effective. Her writing is direct and to the point. There is neither flowery wording not complex sentence structure. Without the distractions of overflowing language, the depth of Kincaid's material comes through with particular effectiveness. It is the simplest of writing elements, that of repetition and opposition, that Kincaid uses to create a novel rich in language and eloquence.
Both An Invisible Woman by Bharati Mukherjee and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, are stories of women who have been held back and controlled by prejudice. In Mukherjee’s essay, she tells the story of herself living in Toronto and what it means to be a visible minority in big cities. Whereas, Tan speaks of her mother’s English, what it means to be a second generation Canadian, and how language and communication can hold people back. Both essays are based off the theme of prejudice, however, they are told from different perspectives and one woman seems content while the other frustrated and trapped.
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 information in every aspect. This gave the reader a full understanding of the disadvantages Amy and her mother had with reading and writing. The Essay 'Mother Tongue' truly represents Amy Tan's love and passion for her mother as well as her writing. Finally getting the respect of her critics and lucratively connecting with the reaction her mother had to her book, 'So easy to read' (39). Was writing a book the best way to bond with your own mother? Is it a struggle to always have the urge to fit in? Was it healthy for her to take care of family situations all her life because her mother is unable to speak clear English?
The untimely death of my mother was a shocking tragedy that I had to undergo. She did her hard labor to protect our family. But, when the time came to get return for those pain and labor the death took her. As an eldest son of family, I had to perform burial procession which was too difficult to tolerate. And then, I had to perform all the cultural rituals for thirteen days. The situation went worse the moment I tried to communicate that tragic moment with my brothers and all other family members who lived in abroad. Besides these, mother used to be the source of our family bondage and timely reunion. The untimely death of mother took our guardian and sense of belongingness of a family member. The love of mother was the source of our joint family. We lost our family shelter and there by the family fell apart into pieces. In these respects, the death of mother became the death of responsibility within family among family members. The terrible event came in my life as an inexorable moment that lasted forever in my life. Unlike death of my mother, the winning of Diversity Visa Lottery in 2014 by my wife brought another remarkable shift in
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
I knew I didn 't have mother but little mind always felt the scarcity of mother love. I kept on watching my nephew and ices while my sister- in law wrapped them around by her arms, changed their clothes and make them laugh. I was bit older than them and used to be away from them looking and gazing on them and feeling the love of mother. My clothiers were ragged on the right arms. I used to change myself. I hardly remember my age I should be the age of seven years.
In the beginning of the story they mention how their mom look prepared for her death. “The whole pale countenance of the dead woman was so collected, so calm, so resigned that one could feel what a sweet soul had lived in that body, what quite existence this soul had led, how easy pure the death of this parent had been”(1). The kids went least happy she died an unpainful death until they read the reading of the letter. This old fashioned letter let them knew their mother was living a secretive life. She was not happy on what she portrayed to us. These letters were expressing her feeling one letter stated “I love you, I love you! You have driven me mad. My arms open, I gasp, move by a wild desire to hold you again. The man who adores you, the name “Henry” (3). This symbolize a different secretive loved she shared for someone. The son was very upset about the reading of the letters. In the critical article about " A Dead Woman's Secret," critic Ahriel Leavlls argues that " The Dead Woman Secrets" also explain how keeping a secret from someone can change their entire perspective on you if they find out what you've been hidden. It is true that your perspective can change because after reading the mom's letter the kids look at their mother differently then what she portrayed to
In the previous, I don’t pay attention to an English subject as I should. Because at that time, I just think that if I didn’t go abroad, basic English skill is enough for me. Therefore, my English skills are weaker than another friend. Currently, I just notice that I should develop my English skill because I must use it in daily life but, at the beginning it quite difficult to start learning. However, on this day technology take part in our life and can cause many benefits including it can reduce the difficulty of learning the English language until I have better English skill. In this essay, I will share an idea that helps to improve an English skill by Following the 4 main steps that are Prepare, Predict,
My mother is somebody who often irks me. As much as this is true, her role as my mother is to make my lunch, buy me new clothes every so often, do my laundry, feed me dinner, and make sure I am safe at all times. In return, she has expectations of me. I find that these expectations are what cause me to feel that my mother is on my nerves. They include not getting below a ‘B’ on a test, being home by curfew, making sure I text her what I am doing while I am out with friends, and not going out somewhere where she does not feel comfortable with me going.