With a title like Fish Cheeks who wouldn't wonder

Amy Tan has a rather blunt writing style, thank god. Straight to the point, no messing around. A change after reading dramatic poems, stories, that have an average of 10 words per sentence. After reading her anecdote about the assimilation problem she faced and also the confusion on how to accept that she was from both the Chinese and American cultures, I didn't have to try to hard to take a walk in her shoes. I'm also a kid that was brought up with two different cultures. Thinking back to the time when I first had to learn English, accept that the little American kids in kindergarten just didn't pray before eating their snacks, and nor did they wear two little braids slick with oil was slightly awkward for everyone. Nevertheless, without the awkwardness, I don't think I would have ended up the way I am, fully immersed and proud of the influence of two headstrong cultures. Amy Tan describes the palpable awkwardness to near-perfection with her short sentences, expressing her teenage thoughts of sheer embarrassment, "I was stunned into silence for the rest of the night"(Tan 95). Each reaction of the minister's family and Amy is recorded with these same short precise sentences. Especially Robert, who has the literally the shortest sentences, "Robert grimaced" (Tan 95), that's it, two words. The interesting aspect is that none of the reactions of Amy's family are recorded in that syntax. The Tan family is shown through the actions in longer sentences that transition freely, quite like their simple actions. Through the syntax, the two families and Amy are characterized by how they approach the meeting of two cultures. Granted that this takes place with Chinese relatives, Chinese menu, and Chinese home, the reactions may have been more at ease if the scene took place at the minister's home.

I couldn't help but nod along and at the same time wonder at this: "Your only shame is to have shame" ( Tan 95). No analysis here, just a sense of finality. Slightly vague quotes are the bomb and the favorites of English teachers everywhere. How deep can you take that quote?