Tan was embarrassed by her family because they were not American, their christmas was not traditional, and their manners were different. Obviously Tan felt embarrassed because she was not American, and thought for Robert to like and accept her she needed to be. She even prayed for a slim American nose for Christmas just to be the kind of girl she thought he would like. Towards the end of the passage her mother tells her "you want to be the same as American girls on the outside." Which shows she was embarrassed to be Chinese. Furthermore she felt embarrassed that her family's Christmas was not traditional. Throughout the story she grimaces and thinks negatively about the food her family, as well has her self, enjoy. At one point her mother brought
