Twinkies :: Sociology, Chinese Americans

Traditionally, Twinkies argon usually thought of as cream-filled yellow sponge cakes. To Chinese the Statesns, a different image is conjured. When Chinese Americans integrate with the American culture so much that their Chinese culture is much less apparent, they are known as Twinkies yellow on the outside and white on the inside. In Amy Tans essay Mother Tongue and Elizabeth Wongs essay The Struggle to be an All-American Girl, both girls are Chinese American trying to fit in with the American society while their Chinese mothers are very traditional at home. Tan and Wong are trying to please their image in America and their mothers at the same time. While these essays are interchangeable because they focus on the native languages used in America and the struggles of being a Chinese American in America, they differ in both their attitudes toward their mothers and private reflections of being Chinese American.An individuals background is where one comes from and how he or she is rais ed. Tan is Chinese American. She has a traditional Chinese mother who speaks mortified English. Tan states that, It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than broken, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed. . . (Tan 43). Tan is an American school girl. As Tan listens to her mother use that type of dialect, it causes her perception of her mother to be distraught. Tan believed it . . . reflected the quality of what her mother had to say (Tan 43). For instance, section store clerks, bank employees and restaurant workers will ignore her mother when they can not understand her. Tan is a writer who loves the use of language. She says, Language is the instrument of my trade. And I use them all-all the Englishes I grew up with (Tan 41). She is able to adapt her dialect to her audience. With her mother, she uses broken English with her colleagues, she uses correct English grammar.Similarly, Wong also grew up in America with a traditional Chinese mot her. In contrast, Wongs upbringing involves her mother forcing her into attending two different schools. After her American school day, Wong continues on with Chinese school to learn both cultures. Her mother felt it was her duty to . . . learn the language of her heritage (Wong 144). This puts a burden on Wong as she starts to despise the Chinese culture.