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out past sunset, catching a chill at night, which that would finally prove I had mastery over the
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turns into feverish pneumonia as punishment, English language. Here’s an example from the
DIFFERENTIATION Identity which indeed did happen to me. first draft of a story that later made its way into
The Joy Luck Club, but without this line: “That
Connections to Text • • • was my mental quandary in its nascent state.”
An excellent companion piece to Tan’s I have been thinking about all this lately, about A terrible line, which I can barely pronounce.
essay (and to any discussion of identity) is my mother’s English, about achievement tests. Fortunately, for reasons I won’t get into
Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk “The Dan- Because lately I’ve been asked, as a writer, why today, I later decided I should envision a
ger of a Single Story,” in which Adichie there are not more Asian Americans represented reader for the stories I would write. And the
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
describes how having a single vision of a in American literature. Why are there few reader I decided upon was my mother, because
culture is dangerous to a civilization. After Asian Americans enrolled in creative writing these were stories about mothers. So with this
watching the video, ask students to exam- programs? Why do so many Chinese students reader in mind — and in fact she did read my
ine how the line of reasoning in Adichie’s go into engineering? Well, these are broad early drafts — I began to write stories using all
argument mimics Tan’s. Adichie and Tan sociological questions I can’t begin to answer. the Englishes I grew up with: the English I
both open their pieces describing the evo- But I have noticed in surveys — in fact, just last spoke to my mother, which for lack of a better
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
lution of their writing. Throughout, they week — that Asian students, as a whole, always term might be described as “simple”; the
both use personal and universal anecdotes do significantly better on math achievement English she used with me, which for lack of a
to substantiate their arguments. Finally, tests than in English. And this makes me think better term might be described as “broken”;
they both conclude with a meaningful look that there are other Asian-American students my translation of her Chinese, which could
at how their identity has developed and has whose English spoken in the home might also be certainly be described as “watered down”; and
at how their identity has developed and has
been shaped by these experiences. You described as “broken” or “limited.” And perhaps what I imagined to be her translation of her
could also ask students to apply the idea of
could also ask students to apply the idea of they also have teachers who are steering them Chinese if she could speak in perfect English,
a “single story” to the questions Tan away from writing and into math and science, her internal language, and for that I sought to
received about Asian Americans in which is what happened to me. preserve the essence, but neither an English
paragraph 18. Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in nor a Chinese structure. I wanted to capture
nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving what language ability tests can never reveal:
assumptions made about me. I became an her intent, her passion, her imagery, the
DIFFERENTIATION English-major my first year in college, after rhythms of her speech, and the nature of her
being enrolled as pre-med. I started writing thoughts.
Connections to World nonfiction as a freelancer the week after I was Apart from what any critic had to say about
The 1995 AP Language Argument prompt told by my former boss that writing was my my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it
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highlights James Baldwin’s ideas on lan- worst skill and I should hone my talents toward counted when my mother finished reading
guage as the most important factor in account management. my book and gave me her verdict: “So easy
determining a person’s life prospects. You But it wasn’t until 1985 that I finally began 20 to read.”
might ask students to write an essay in to write fiction. And at first I wrote using what I 2003
response to this prompt, perhaps incorpo- thought to be wittily crafted sentences, sentences
rating Amy Tan’s narrative as evidence.
Do students see truth in the idea that Understanding and Interpreting
language forecasts a person’s life?
1. Rhetorical Situation. What does Amy Tan mean by “the power of language” (par. 2)? What
TRM Suggested Responses does that phrase mean to you?
Suggested responses to the questions for 2. Rhetorical Situation / Reasoning and Organization. What are the “different Englishes”
this reading can be found in the Teacher’s (par. 3) Tan describes in this essay? How does each of these relate to the idea of community?
Specifically, how does language offer entrance to a community — and, conversely, how does
Resource Materials. it work to exclude people from a community?
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DIFFERENTIATION
Mode of Expression
Understanding Q2. To help students explore
their voices as writers and to consider the
rhetorical situation, you might ask them to
identify two different “Englishes” they know,
and then to draft a short text in each of them.
(Perhaps they could write about reading Tan’s
essay in their English class.) They could then
share their drafts with partners and talk about
the different choices they made as writers.

178 chapter 4 / Identity

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