Summaries and Analysis Choice

In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, she tells the story of one Christmas experience she’d never forget. In summary, she had a crush on a boy who was invited to her Chinese family meal, along with his family. Embarrassed at the eating preference by her, as specified, father, who made the comment about her liking for fish cheeks, this was her worst fear. After dinner, her mother gave her a skirt, and said that she maybe be American on the outside, but will remain Chinese on the inside and shouldn’t be ashamed of it. The purpose of this is to teach the lesson that you should never be ashamed of who you are, no matter what you do or believe in, and should especially shouldn’t change for anybody. I think it might also teach that we can often be blinded by other people and situations and fail to realize that no matter what, we will always be who we are on the inside.

In “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, he explains his struggle in being an Indian boy on a poor reservation but how tenacious he was about reading. Admiring his father and viewing him as a role model in the process, Alexie learned to read by creating his own story lines in the Superman comics and by studying the physical structure in writing pieces, such as paragraphs. Despite the ridicule he experienced and the lack of confidence he was given by people who thought Indians couldn’t get be anything more than ‘dumb’, that never stopped Alexie from going to public schooling and furthering his education in reading and writing. The purpose of this is to teach the lesson that you can do anything you put your mind to, despite what people may think or believe about you. Another lesson that is important is that there are people that will think a certain way about you, but it’s vital to distinguish their thoughts from the actual reality of who you are.

I’m going to choose “Superman and Me” for my analysis essay. I think the message might be more relevant to society today, and even me personally. Though “Fish Cheeks” also teaches a crucial lesson, and one I thought would have a bigger impact on me, I feel like the lesson taught in “Superman and Me” serves a more long-term, life-changing moral. I enjoy the persistence in striving for what Alexie wanted in life and am very inspired by it. 

I commented on Emma's and Starlena's blogs.