Question

On Christmas Eve I saw that my mother had outdone herself in creating a strange menu. She was pulling black veins out of the backs of fleshy prawns. The kitchen was littered with appalling mounds of raw food: A slimy rock cod with bulging fish eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pain of hot oil. Tofu, which looked like stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges. A bowl soaking dried fungus back to life. A plate of squid, their backs crisscrossed with knife markings so they resembled bicycle tires.

—“Fish Cheeks,”
Amy Tan

Why does Tan use imagery that has a negative feeling associated with it?

Answer 1

Amy Tan uses negative imagery in "Fish Cheeks" to express her discomfort with her cultural heritage and the cultural clash she experiences during a family dinner.

Step-by-step explanation:

Amy Tan uses imagery with negative associations in her short story "Fish Cheeks" to convey her feelings of embarrassment and discomfort about her Chinese heritage, especially in the context of American culture. This stark description of the traditional Chinese dishes serves as a literary tool to highlight the cultural clash and Tan's struggle with her identity during a Christmas Eve dinner. By presenting the food in an unappealing light, Tan effectively communicates her sense of alienation and the conflict between her desire to fit in with American society and her family's cultural traditions.