hughesfvhs56

=Amy Tan by Carlea Painter=

   Amy Tan is a Chinese-American author who began writing fiction as a form of therapy. Her first and most famous book, //The Joy Luck Club//, was published in 1989. Her writing incorporates nonfiction, poetry, biography, autobiography, and history to explain different time periods and national geographies. In her books she explores the development of mother-daughter relationships in fiction, focusing on the conflicts that result between those of different generations and cultures. The book //The Joy Luck Club// exemplifies this in every way. In the novel, the various mothers and daughters attempt to communicate their own concerns about the past and the present and about themselves and their relationships. Female authors that have different cultural backgrounds also play into their writing style, and the impact it has on the reader as well. Amy Tan is        a writer that gives us a deeper look at the role of feminism in literature, by writing from her Asian background. Feminism is the belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men. She shows us how tough it can be for a women growing up in American culture with parents who desire her to hold on to her roots. To achieve success, she is required to be something but to hold on to her culture requires something different. Her parents wanted big things for her and yet she wanted the freedom to forge her own path, something that is not readily accepted in her culture. The book //The Joy Luck Club//       shows us the battle that women often face when they strive for equality with men. Asian American literature shares with other literature a theme of concerns, such as love, acceptance, and a desire for personal freedom and a struggle against oppression and injustice. In the 1850’s the Chinese who had immigrated to the United States illustrated the difficulties of maintaining a dual culture identity. Amy Tan grew up as an assimilated, the adoption of the beliefs and way of life of the dominant culture, Asian American. She was aware at an early of contradictions between her ethnicity and American culture. Her books incorporate a combination of genres and styles that relies heavily on a Chinese oral tradition called “gong gu tsai” (“talk story”) in which women tell stories that combine folktale, poetry, and song into entertaining and instructive narratives. “Talk story” is her primary literary device. It is also a way of communicating wisdom through the use of parable, proverbs, and biographies of heroines and heroes.

Amy Tan’s vision was to combine her Chinese heritage with her own American culture. She uses “talk story” as part of her Chinese heritage and feminism as part of her own American culture. They are both part of the books she writes and will continue to influence her in her writing.

"Overview of Amy (Ruth) Tan." //DISCovering Authors//. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Gale. Fuquay Varina High School/WCPS/. 21 May. 2008 <   [|http://find.galegroup.com/servlet/srcx <span]

The article “Overview of Amy Tan” gives an insight into Amy Tan’s life and how she became a writer. The article gives you a preview of books she has written and the type of style she typically writes about. The information in this article will help me with the trading card. I would recommend this to someone because it gives the reader information on her books not just her life. 

Parini, Jay. "Amy Tan."__American Writers Supplement X__. 2002.   The encyclopedia __American Writers Supplement X__ by Jay Parini gives you background on both Amy Tan and her mother. The information is well developed and useful. The information I found in the encyclopedia will help me with my essay. This encyclopedia is for anyone who needs a useful source for Amy Tan.

"Tan, Amy." __Literary Encyclopedia__. 2005. 21 May 2008   [|http://search.ebscohost.com <span]

The article “Tan, Amy” contains in depth information about her life and books she wrote. The article is written in short paragraphs, so it is easier to follow and has highlighted Amy’s name when she is mentioned in a sentence. Anyone who needs an article with in depth background information this article is what he or she is looking for.

Wiener, Gary. __Women's Issues in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club__. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2008.

The book __Women's Issues in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club__ by Gary Wiener contains biographical information about the author and views on her work. The table of contents is in chronological order and lists the women’s issues involving Amy Tan past’s works. This information will help me write my essay and gave me information for my trading card. I recommend they add more pictures of the authors life sense she focuses her writing on things that appeared in her life. I would recommend this to someone because it gives a lot of useful information about the author Amy Tan and helped me learn about her background. The article “Tan, Amy” contains in depth information about her life and books she wrote. The article is written in short paragraphs, so it is easier to follow and has highlighted Amy’s name when she is mentioned in a sentence. Anyone who needs an article with in depth background information this article is what he or she is looking for.