Question

1. How does the idea of Tan’s reconciliation with her mother’s informal English develop over the course of chunk 1?

Answer 1

From the short story "Mother Tongue"written by Amy Tan: Growing up, Amy struggled with the feeling of being in two language zones; on the one hand she used the simple English with her mother, who spoke English in an unclear  way , according to others, and on the other hand she used the English she learned at school which was more sophisticated. There were times when she felt embarrassed by her mother's use of English, especially when her friends could not understand what she was saying. But her mother knew English very well because she could read sophisticated books in English. It was only her delivery of the language that was lacking. Later in life, Amy came to accept the positive aspects that she learned from growing up in an immigrant family, from her mother, and be grateful for the teachings of her two worlds.