Amy Heckerling

Apple Pie Fourth of July: Picture Book Analysis The picture book Apple Pie 4th of July. Written by Janet S. Wong and illustrated by Margret Chodos-Irivine, is a piece of literary work that presents itself with many important themes that any child may, at one point in their early lives, find themselves struggling with. Wong does a very excellent job of trying openly address the issue that is confliction of identity and of having to conform to societal ideals or in our protagonist’s case the idea…

Everybody goes through major conflicts. It’s a part of life. It could be as small as what clothes you should wear today, or it could be as big as what college you should go to. Conflicts can arise from anything. In The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, many of the characters go through internal and external conflicts that greatly affect their life. Eventually, they resolve that conflict. For example, the relationship between Lindo Jong and Waverly Jong has some conflicts that go along with it. They…

the 2016 calendar with the women not fully clothed, the photos of Serena Williams and Amy Schumer, use the semi-nudity to add to the meaning of the photo. In the case of Serena Williams, the lack of clothes is meant to display her physical form and the effort and dedication it took from here to get to the point of being the best in the world for her sport rather than to simply sexualize and dehumanize her. Amy Schumer’s nudity in her photo also serves a purpose rather than objectifying her: as…

Joanna Dreby, author of The Burden of Deportation, and Hyeyoung Kwon, author of Intersectionality in Interactions, both discuss the unique, yet different, challenges that non-White children of immigrants face in the U.S. Dreby discusses the challenges of forced separations, children’s families struggles, and the threat of deportation, while Kwon discusses the challenges of passing as American adults, shielding parents from racialized nativism, and posing like middle-class adults. In Dreby’s…

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a novel written by Lisa See about Chinese life and culture in the 1800s. Not only is this book about life in general but mainly the hardships and struggles of being a woman and living within a culture such as the ancient one depicted in the novel. Being born in China in the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, Lily was exposed to a lot of Chinese history originating from various ancient dynasties in Chinese history. (thesis) As people have learned over time, not…

The Same Sky and The Secret Language of Sisters, are two novels that have many similarities and differences regarding many diverse topics. The Same Sky, written by Amanda Eyre Ward, is a two storyline book where the main characters face very difficult times in both of their lives. On one end of the story, Carla, a eleven-year-old girl dreams of crossing the Mexican-American border; escaping violence and conflict. On the other end, Alice, the wife of a popular chef of a well-known BBQ restaurant…

In Amy Tan’s essay, Mother Tongue, Tan discusses her struggles growing up as an Asian-American born to Chinese immigrants. She examines certain aspects of the language she speaks and writes, against the language her mother speaks and writes. Amy has a keen grip on “proper” English, most likely due to her being raised in America. Alternatively, Tan’s mother speaks in fragments of English due to her being an immigrant who fled China’s Cultural Revolution (Amy, 1990). Tan realises her different…

This “broken” English has brought her closer to her mother and has given her that well-built connection in order to overcome a live a day to day life. Amy Tan did not want to be part of a society that misjudged those that aren’t efficient English speakers. Well educated people might think of these people as not willing to learn, but this is not always their choice and like Amy’s mother they are always…

Can you survive in the woods, alone, in the cold? In order to survive in conditions like those you have to have extreme survival skills. In the articles “My escape from N.K.”, “Trapped,” and the movie “Lone Survivor,” these characters had these skills to survive. It takes courage, endurance, and intelligence to be a survivor. Courage is used in survival because if you don’t believe in yourself then you won’t think that you are going to survive. Courage is used in the story, “My escape from…

The poem “Mama” by Claire Kageyama introduces the reader to the life of a Japanese immigrant who immediately becomes a wife upon her arrival to America. The poem goes through the stages of her life as wife, mother and grandmother. The poem is told from the perspective of the “rice child”, (the youngest grandchild in the extended family). The “rice child” shares with the reader the many stereotypes the world has about families from different culture. “I followed her/ to Save & Save/ where we…