Alone On A Hilltop Analysis

Cultural Lessons I feel that a lot of cultures are being lost in America as generations go by because we are taught to adopt Americans customs. Second and third generations of people who have migrated to the U.S. are no longer speaking their families native language. When I read, “Alone On A Hilltop” by John (Fire) Lame Deer and Richard Erdoes, “The Men We Carry In Our Minds” by Scott Russell Sanders, “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Medicine Grizzlybear Lake, and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan I noticed that these four essays try to teach their audience about personal success through one's cultural roots by telling us their own experiences with their cultures. “Alone On A Hilltop” teaches us that to be successful you have to persevere and stick to your cultural …show more content…
From a young age, Tan noticed that her mother was treated poorly because her English didn’t sound “normal”. There was one instance at a hospital that really bothered her. Her mother called in to check on her CAT scan results and they told her they had lost them and there was nothing they could do about it. Tan’s Mother was distraught because her family had a history of cancer and she was afraid that she might’ve had cancer as well. When Tan called and they heard her perfect English, the whole situation changed and the doctor told her that they’d immediately call in a meeting and find out what happened to the CAT scan results.(Tan 361) Because of situations like this, Tan’s Mother often made her talk on the phone instead. Tan understood that just because someone's English doesn’t sound perfect, it doesn’t mean their thoughts are imperfect. Her experiences growing up with her mother also made her a more successful writer, because she started envisioning her audience as people like her mom so that everyone could read and understand