Fish Cheeks and Me

This weekend I read a piece for English called Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan. I read this essay last year and I didn't understand it all. I remember thinking why would you be embarrassed about your culture and where you come from? I couldn't comprehend why Tan wanted to be "'the same as American girls on the outside'" - that is until this year (Tan 95). As I read this piece again I noticed little things that I didn't before. For example, when everyone burped to show their appreciation of the food but the minister and his family didn't. This showed a cultural difference between the two families; one family was loud and "lacked proper American manners" while the other was quiet and had proper American manners (Tan 94). Also, I finally understood why Tan wanted to become an American girl, she wanted to accepted by Americans. As Tan wished for "a slim new American nose" she did not realize that in doing so, she was declaring that she did not like being Chinese (Tan 94). At the same time, Tan did accept certain parts of her culture like the food. At the Christmas dinner Tan's mother had "chosen all [her] favorite foods" to make because she wanted to show her daughter that she did not need to be ashamed of where she came from (Tan 95). Growing up Tan was torn between two cultures, American and Chinese culture. Her mom tried to teach her that it was all right to have the best of both worlds as long as she never forgot where she came from.