Introduction to Literature.ppt

Introduction to Literature Lesson Seven: Amy tan Family Relationships Contents Amy Tan biography “Two Kinds” discussion Amy Tan Joy Luck Club (喜福會) One of the most highly acclaimed writers of our day. “No one will deny the pleasure of Tans seductive prose” Tan and Immigrant Family Her parents escaped from Shanghai. Her Main Topics: Generational Conflicts, War between the sexes, assimilation. Told by an Chinese-American narrator, who tries to find a balance between her Chinese culture and what the American society expects of her. This happened to my Egyptian students, too. They had to find a balance between their Egyptian culture and Geneva society. Asian-Americans face pressures also because they look different; they are seen as ethnic others. Early Life Born February 19, 1952 in Oakland, California. Grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Her family lived in several communities in Northern California before settling in Santa Clara. Parents Father, John, an electrical engineer and Baptist minister from Beijing who fled the country for the US. Mother, Daisy, who had been in an arranged marriage, was trying to flee with John. Captured, raped and thrown into jail before she was able to escape. Had to leave her daughters with their father. Early success, early tragedy 8 years old became a published author wrote an essay on the public library that was published in a local paper. Father and oldest brother both died of brain tumors within a year of each other when she was in high school. Move to Switzerland Mrs. Tan moved her two surviving children to Switzerland, where Amy finished high school, graduated from high school in Montreux, Switzerland. During this period much friction between mother and daughter. Amy Tan talks about how this was her very rebellious period University Originally attended Baptist college in Oregon chosen by mother Left and followed her boyfriend to San Jose City College (California) Mother and daughter did not speak for six mo