Question

1. A literacy narrative needs VIVID DETAIL to bring it to life. What main kind of detail does Amy Tan use

in her essay? Point to two of her details that strike you as especially interesting and revealing, and
explain why they do.

Answer 1

Amy Tan's essay utilizes vivid details and descriptive imagery, engaging readers with sensory language and specific cultural elements. Details like conversations and childhood memories reveal deeper insights into her identity, enriching the narrative with emotional content and a compelling narrative voice.

Step-by-step explanation:

In her essay, Amy Tan uses vivid details such as sensory language and descriptive imagery to bring her literacy narrative to life. For example, in the text, there may be passages that engage multiple senses, such as detailing the sound of a mother’s voice or the scent of a particular room, which makes the scenes more immersive. Another striking type of detail Tan employs could be the specific cultural elements that illustrate her personal and familial experience, providing a strong sense of place and social context.

Two particularly interesting and revealing details might include descriptions of a conversation with her mother, employing Tan's unique voice and language variety, and a scene describing a childhood memory filled with sensory details that tie her personal experiences to larger themes. These examples are revealing because they offer insights into her identity and worldview, and interesting because they invite the reader into her life with compelling authenticity.

These details not only engage readers but also deepen the narrative voice and enrich the storytelling through clear, compelling, and specific language that enhances the emotional content of Tan's writing.

Answer 2

The living details that Amy uses are: her mother's experiences with language and how the way her mother spoke affected her language and writing.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most important details of the essay "Mother Tongue" written by Amy Tan, are the experiences that her mother had in relation to language. That's because amy's mother is Chinese and although she understands and reads the English language very well, she doesn't speak the language in the right way. Amy's mother has "broken" English and this has caused her to go through very bad, disrespectful situations, where people devalue her for pretending they don't understand her. These details show a strong linguistic prejudice in the country, where people are insensitive to a language different from theirs, but still valid and effective in conveying a message.

This prejudice affects the writing of many authors and the way in which English, as a science, is taught; because highly refused forms of language are valued, prohibiting people who have access to a simpler English to understand the written works and like them. This prejudice, along with the way that Amy's mother spoke, greatly influenced Amy's writing and her relationship with English, in addition to changing the way she sees language and wants to transmit it.