Journal Entry #1

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Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" 
I chose to write about Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" because I seemed to relate to it seeming that my mother also speaks “broken English”. I connected with Amy Tan because although many others couldn’t understand her mother’s English, she was able to, which is the same for me. Almost everything Amy Tan mentioned from speaking on the phone for her mother to speaking English a certain way to certain people, I was able to relate to it greatly. This happens with many people I know whose parents are immigrants and didn’t grow up speaking English. I disagreed greatly when Amy Tan’s teachers took notice that her English skills were not up to par and instead of helping her improve her English, drove her towards another path. But with the determination that Tan had, she challenged herself and others in proving that she can be a great writer and that was my favorite part of the writing.

Becoming literate helped Amy Tan better function in society because she’s doing something she enjoys doing. If Amy would’ve taken a career path in Math and Science, she probably wouldn’t have been as content and that could’ve led her to perform poorly at what she decided to do. Also, becoming literate would open more opportunities for her in the sense that she can speak “proper” English and others can understand her well. If one speaks the language of the majority, one will be able to achieve, grasp, or communicate things that others might not be able to.

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