Lovin' Some Amy Tan Short Stories

Prof. McCauley and I changed the ENGL 112 curriculum for our region this year, so there is more of a literature focus to the writing assignments.  This is actually the fifth semester I have used a lit focus for my classes, and I really like it. In fact the reason why some of the students in THIS class are here is because their love of literature was born, maybe re-born, in ENGL 112.  How about that?

Today I met with two students about their first papers, and we made a plan for the second one.  "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan is the selected story for Katy.  She loved that story as much as most of the students who have read it, especially the women.  No surprise there. Amy Tan has a way of drawing her readers into her stories, making them care about her life, and showing a slice of life that is foreign to many of us, not only because of the ethnic qualities of the story, but also because of the time period in which she wrote.

No matter the nationality or the time period, mothers and daughters conflict.  That is true.  I was in a ongoing conflicted relationship with my mother throughout middle school, into high school, continuing through college even though I was 2 1/2 hours away from home, and on into my adult life. 

As Katy and I were talking, I shared the impressions from the lecture that My Daughter the Librarian and I attended at Purdue several years ago. Amy Tan was the featured speaker.  She was petite, very attractive, quite personal, and very entertaining.  She discussed her life in detail.  She shared experiences as she was growing up in the western part of the United States. She talked about the inspirations for her stories and her novels.

Even though so many of her stories are more interesting to female readers, there are messages for male readers as well.  My juniors read "The Rules of the Game" which we could relate to football, basketball, NASCAR, and just life.  As a follow-up activity we spent a few class periods playing board games.  Why?  Not just an easy lesson plan for a couple of days!  One of the requirements was 'reading the directions' and following them.  Reading the directions.  How many times do we NOT read the directions, and more often how many times do we NOT follow the directions we have read?  What was interesting was that not too many had actually read the instructions for The Game of Life or Monopoly, but many played by their own family set of rules. I often heard "That is NOT the way my family plays it!"  or "My dad says we can't do that...we have to do this!"  Very rarely did anyone play by the rules.

Lesson?  Is that the way life is?  Do we know the rules?  Do we play by them, or do we create our own set?

Yes, Amy Tan shares many of her experiences as she was growing up in a blended culture family on the West Coast, but more than likely she is confirming many of the experiences that we have right here in midwestern America.  Slice of life at its best---from Amy Tan.