23 pages • 46 minutes read
Fish Cheeks
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Summary: “Fish Cheeks”
First published in 1987, Amy Tan’s short essay “Fish Cheeks” explores the author’s personal experience with cultural differences during her family’s Christmas Eve dinner, when her Chinese family invites American friends, including a boy Tan has a crush on, over for a traditional Chinese meal. The essay initially appeared in Seventeen, a magazine aimed at teenage girls, and was later collected in a book of essays titled The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings in 2001. Though only one page, “Fish Cheeks” examines important themes such as The Celebration of Difference, Shame About One’s Cultural Heritage, and Generational Differences and the Desire to Assimilate.
Other works by this author include Saving Fish from Drowning, The Bonesetter's Daughter, and Mother Tongue.
The essay opens when Tan, the narrator, is 14 years old. Her crush, Robert, is a minister’s son and very different from Tan: “not Chinese, but as white as Mary in the manger” (Paragraph 1). Tan desires not only reciprocation of her feelings but a more “American” appearance herself, starting with a different nose.
Tan discovers that her family has invited Unlock all 23 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
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