Jordan Morack

Shannon Lynch

English 1010

6 September 2015

Literary analysis of Fish Cheeks

In the short fiction, “Fish Cheeks”, Amy Tan spins a tale of the awkward years of every

child’s youth. The author writes a relatable story about a young girl’s crush and her fear that she

will seem weird. In the story, Tan writes about the many different oriental foods in great detail to

fully drive the point that the narrator’s family is not a typical American family. The story

describes the tableside manners of the Chinese family being very different. The author does this

to give the reader insight on the life styles of a particular culture and to help the reader to

understand why the narrator might be embarrassed.(Tan 118) Tan gives the reader a lesson on

the importance of heritage and that one should be proud of what makes them unique. (Tan 119)