Makayla Harvey
M. Schroeder
English Comp 101
October 21, 2016
"Fish Cheeks"
by Amy Tan is a short story that holds great weight. The story is a
young Chinese girl, who has an uncanny crush on blond-haired, very
white American. As the story proceeds, her family invites this boy's
family over for a Christmas Eve dinner. Much to the girl's horror her
family's traditions were appalling to this young man. After the
course of dinner ended, the young girl is presented with an early
gift from her mother. Her mother says, "You want to be the same
as the American girls on the outside. But inside you must always be
Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to
have shame." (quoted in Bedford Reader pg 111) During this
dialogue, the mother hands the girl a miniskirt, same as the
Americans. The author, Amy Tan, masterfully designed an all too
common issue in the perfect way. All too often people are readily
embarrassed of who they are, because they want to be accepted by
others. This short story makes the point that no matter how much we
change our outside for acceptance, we can never change who we are on
the inside. As the young girls mother put it, "Your only shame
is to have shame." You should never be ashamed of who you are,
and it's to your shame if you are ashamed.
"Superman and
Me" by Sherman Alexie is also a beautifully written piece that
shows the importance of reading. The short story begins with a young
Indian boy, who's father loves books. Because of this boy's love for
his father he is determined to read. As the boy grows older, he
begins to read everything he can, unlike his other Indian friends.
Because he is a reading Indian boy, he is ridiculed by Indians and
non-Indians alike, but he doesn't stop. As the boy grows up he
becomes a writer, and teaches others the power of reading. Why? As he
so powerfully states at the end of the story, "'Books,' I say. I
throw my weight against their locked doors. The door holds. I am
smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives."
(quoted in the Bedford Reader pg 585) The purpose of this text is
showing the freedom that reading brings. Reading brings new ideas.
Reading is the ability to express yourself. Reading is the ability to
learn many things. Reading is freedom. The author pushes the
importance of reading by telling the story of how it saved a boy's
life.
Choosing between
these two essays for my analysis essay is difficult because both
messages have such a strong message. Personally, I can relate to one
over the other, which is why I am choosing the "Fish Cheeks".
I can personally relate to the message that this story tells, because
I've lived it. As a writer, I cannot write about something that I do
not feel passionate about. Being yourself and not changing who you
are for other people is something that I feel very strongly about,
and I believe is a topic that needs to be discussed. It's a downfall
for so many people to live their lives this way. We bow our lives to
someone else when we need to be who we are. Therefore, I am choosing
"Fish Cheeks" as my article for my Division and Analysis
Essay.
I commented on Jordan and Starlena's blogs.
