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The fish cheeks symbolize a celebration of Amy’s culture in this story and by offering them to Amy, her father is telling her to be proud of being Chinese. However, Amy’s mother also recognizes that Amy wishes to be American, and so gives her a mini-skirt, which in this story symbolizes Amy’s desire to be American.
What point of view is the story Fish Cheeks told from?
The author’s point of view is first-person singular. In her narrative essay “Fish Cheeks,” novelist Amy Tan describes and chronicles a past experience of colliding cultures in order to convey how we should not be shameful of our cultural background but instead accept and embrace it.
Why did Amy not enjoy her favorite foods at dinner?
pretest: Why did Amy not enjoy her favorite foods at dinner? She was too worried about what Robert would think. What does the menu description in paragraph 3 reveal about how the narrator views her family’s cultural traditions? She views them as disgusting.
What is the narrator’s attitude toward her Chinese heritage and family Fish Cheeks?
She is embarrassed by her family’s Chinese customs, and this shame influences how she describes the food and her family’s behavior.
What is the tone of Fish Cheeks?
In the story Fish Cheeks, Amy Tan uses the tone of an embarrassed teenage girl to convey the values of being who you are and realizing that later in life you understand and value the embarrassment brought upon you by yourself and your family.
What is the main conflict in Fish Cheeks?
The major conflict of this story is Amy trying to impress Robert, but cannot do so because she finds her family and Chinese culture embarrassing compared to the American one.
What does food symbolize in Fish Cheeks?
What does the food symbolize in Fish Cheeks? Food symbolizes identity and heritage in Fish Cheeks. The cultural dishes are not the typical Christmas cuisine. Amy’s mother serves up fish, squid, and tofu in lieu of turkey and other traditional American holiday foods.
What is the falling action of the story Fish Cheeks?
Falling action: she didn’t agree with her that, but she eventually understood her lesson. Resolution: she realized for Christmas eve that year, her mom had chosen all of her favorite foods. Amy dreams to be American but she’s not and she’s ashamed of it.
Why does Amy want a slim new American nose?
like her because her Chinese heritage makes her different. She also prays to have a slim, American nose because she thinks that this will help her to fit in. Soon, Amy finds out that her parents had invited Robert’s family over for her traditional, Chinese Christmas Eve dinner.
What was the gift that the author received from her mother in Fish Cheeks?
Even though her father explains this to their guests, Amy is terribly embarrassed and cannot wait for the evening to be over. When the guests have left, Amy’s mother gives her an early Christmas gift: a skirt in the style that is popular among the other girls at school.
What does paragraph 2 reveal about the narrator’s point of view in Fish Cheeks?
Answer: Paragraph 2 shows that The narrator feels that her families traditional Chinese food would be a disappointment to the ministers family.
Where does Fish Cheeks take place?
The narrative takes place on Christmas eve, when the author was 14 years old. Her Chinese family had invited American friends, a minister’s family including a boy Tan has a crush on, for a traditional Chinese dinner.
How does the narrator’s embarrassed attitude towards her culture?
How does the narrator’s embarrassed attitude towards her culture affect the way she describes events in the passage? She describes the food as foreign and unappealing. She focuses on her desire to be more “American.” She focuses on her crush’s reactions to her family.
How does Tan draw the reader into her story right from the beginning fish cheeks?
how does Tan draw the reader into her story right from the beginning? Tan’s statement “For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired boy, Robert, and a slim new American nose.” show directly from the beginning what Tan’s true desire is for, she wants to fit in with the culture around her.
Which word best describes the tone of paragraph 3 fish cheeks?
(Fish Cheeks) How does the narrator’s description of the cod in paragraph 3 impact the tone of the passage? She describes it as “slimy” and pathetic, which contributes to the angry tone of the passage. She describes it as “slimy” with “bulging eyes,” which contributes to the horrified tone of the passage.
Why did Tan name this passage Fish Cheeks?
Why did Tan name this passage “Fish Cheeks”? Fish cheeks are the best part of the fish according to Chinese culture. . Fish cheeks remind Tan of her father, who gave them to her at Christmas.
Which excerpt from Fish Cheeks uses a simile?
Which excerpt from “Fish Cheeks” uses a simile? He was not Chinese, but as white as Mary in the manger.
What is the thesis of Fish Cheeks?
Thesis Statement
In the story “Fish Cheeks”, author and protagonist, Amy Tan had a lack of pride in her ethnicity and her culture created an embarrassing moment for her during a dinner she had with a boy named Robert.
Why is the narrator worried about her mother’s Christmas Eve dinner menu in Fish Cheeks?
Why is the narrator worried about her mother’s Christmas Eve dinner menu? She thinks the food will seem strange to the guests. In what part of the plot does the narrator describe the unusual food that awaits the minister’s family?
What literary devices are used in Fish Cheeks?
Amy Tan’s essay ‘Fish Cheeks’ explains the difficulty of deciphering where the determinant lies between fitting in and forgetting who we are by using literary elements like diction, imagery, and simile.
Who is the protagonist in Fish Cheeks?
Amy tan is the author and protagonist in “Fish Cheeks”. Amy Tan uses Indirect characterization so that the audience can interpret the personality of fourteen year old Amy. Amy uses this literary element to show her frustration, humiliation and angst she experience during the dinner.
What does it mean by your only shame is to have shame?
What did Tan’s mother mean when she said to Amy, “Your only shame is to have shame”? Her mother is attempting to point out that Amy should not be embarrassed about her culture. Amy’s actions at dinner were embarrassing to her mother. Amy embarrassed the entire family by taking the fish cheeks.
What is the effect of the imagery in this passage Fish Cheeks?
What is the effect of the imagery in this passage? It makes the food seem like something that should not be eaten. It shows how hard the mother works to please her family. It gives important information about Chinese culture.
What does this show us about Tan’s relationship with her mother?
Explanation. Despite the hardships people placed on Amy Tan and her family, Tan’s relationship with her mother grew stronger because of it. To others, Tan’s mother spoke a “broken” and “fractured” English, labeling her mother as limited when it came to the English language.
What does the miniskirt in beige tweed symbolize?
Moreover, “Miniskirt in beige tweed” (Tan 95) is a representation of her mother’s pride in Chinese culture. The miniskirt is a gift that Tan was given by her mother who insisted that she must she should wear like Chinese and not ape the American girls.