In Mother Tongue, written by Amy Tan, Tan recounts her experiences with her mother as she realizes that speaking proper or broken English does not correlate to an individual’s intellect. Her essay is directed to her fans and people from an immigrant background such as herself, a second-generation Chinese immigrant. She argues that people shouldn’t judge or presume things based on someone’s race or language level. Using her mother as an example, Tan is able to display that although she doesn’t speak English clearly, her understanding and her ability to convey a message are not subpar to anyone else. Tan’s mother simply had her own way with words and Tan was able to perfectly understand her. In addition to language, Tan also brushed up on the topic of race. Being Chinese she was always directed towards the study of Math and Science even though her English skills were adequate. The way you speak and the way you look impacts how the world interacts with you; Tan was a rebel and decided to focus on being a writer.  Throughout her personal essay, Tan examines the situations in her life that resulted from her mother’s lack of proper English and her background, being Chinese. She recalls having to talk on the phone at fifteen pretending to be her mother as she talked to a stockbroker. Her mother knew that her English was not good and needed Tan’s help to clearly communicate with the broker. Tan illustrates her mother’s English comprehension when she said “Why he don’t send me check, already two weeks late. So mad he lie to me, losing me money.” demonstrating that she understood how the business worked. Foreigners and immigrants, people that typically do not speak the language of the country they are staying at, can easily relate with Tan through the story she shares. It is common to see or hear stories of foreigners being mistreated or tricked in society. In some European countries taxi drivers upcharge fares when they realize that their passengers aren’t from there and especially if they don’t speak the language. Which can be seen as a slight reverse of Tan’s mother’s situation. Where these taxi drivers would instead take advantage of the fact that someone is not from the same place as them and assume, these visitors must then have more money. Tan proceeds with her text by presenting another similar event involving the hospital and a CAT scan, this time she bridges the topic of language and race, and how the public interacts with non-English speaking people. Her mother stated that she spoke to the staff clearly and to the best of her ability but no one wanted to help her. The staff could have treated her this way due to her inability to speak clearly or because she is Asian. However, once Tan came to her mother’s defense sporting proper English the issue was resolved immediately. Living in America, especially in NY for many years seeing discrimination is, unfortunately, a common occurrence. Due to the ongoing pandemic, discrimination and violence towards Asians and Asian-Americans alike can be clearly seen as people are blaming and attacking the innocent. Tan’s essay doesn’t just speak to the oppressed but also those that can make a change by bringing to light how society views and treats immigrants. Congruently she also urges people to take their own path much as she did in order to break away from the views of societal shackles.

While the current flavor of the month hate is now floating around our zeitgeist, it cannot be forgotten that issues like this are a common day occurrence. Many immigrants and even second or third-generation immigrants are met with situations and outright hate that would embarrass some less savvy people in our current generation. It is easy for people from separate cultures or situations to believe that these moments are overplayed, but these differences fuel their passions. Much like it did with Tan.

Going against the grain, Tan focused on becoming a writer. She enjoyed the idea of challenging people’s views and assumptions about her, thus she decided to be an English major her first year of college. Looking back at her writing career, she moved from nonfiction to fiction and gave the readers a sample of her writing at the time when she was trying to show her mastery of English. “That was my mental quandary in its nascent state.” A sentence I’m sure most English speakers wouldn’t be able to read or even understand. Tan leaves off with a lesson for fellow writers who read her work about choosing their audience and informs them who her audience shall be in the future. With all the reflecting she has made, she decides that her future works will be directed towards her mother so that her works can be more accessible and understandable to a wider audience whether they be fluent or not in English.

Though focusing on Asians many people from other minority groups can relate to what Amy Tan experienced. As I read Tan’s work and was in the process of writing my own paper, I quickly realized the similarities in experiences we had. Though not as serious as a broker or CAT scans I had my own situations to deal with. My father is Haitian and much like Tan’s mother doesn’t speak English clearly. His English has improved a lot throughout the years but when I was young, I found myself often having to be the translator to any calls he received from the hospital to schedule meetings. Math and science often have one solution and a strict way of dealing with problems thus when learning a second language or not using English as your primary it is easy to fall behind when it comes to English class while excelling in Maths and Sciences. Tan however refused to walk down the path people expected for her and focused on English to become a writer. With enough dedication and hard work, Tan proves that you can overcome social expectations and follow a path of your choosing.