Have you experienced any frustration because you cannot express yourself well in another language? How do you deal with the frustrating situation? How is yours similar to or different from Tan’s experience?

While reading Tan's essay "Mother Tongue". I found a lot similarity between Tan and her mother as well as myself. what they have experienced is what I am experiencing right now. I started learning English when I was 16. To be honest, I am not a fast learner at language, so I do speak and write in broken English all the time. Living in a country where you don't master the language is difficult. The frustration of not being able the express yourself and the pain of hovering on the fringe of every conversation drives you to self-isolation. Because of language barrier, sometimes, It made me think it is better to be alone by myself than to feel alone in a crowd. Broken English does make me feel ashamed or embarrassing while in a conversation with others who speak fluent English. When Amy Tan recalls growing up, her mother would have Amy speak on the phone, pretending to be her mother, so that people would take her more seriously. Sometimes, she was forced to ask for information or even to complain and yell at people who had been rude to her. As a reader, I can relate to Amy’s story because I also come from Chinese background, I have done the same thing as Tan did and we do go through rough times like she did, and sometimes people like us are not given the respect we should get like fluent English speakers get. One thing I need to point out is that it is graceful to speak in broken English, because it forces you to learn English better in order to deal with various situation you will be encountered in a foreign country. And I believe one day I will be thankful to my mother because she relies on me and trusts my English.

Why does Walker consider black women “Saints”? Explain, “In the selfless abstractions their bodies became to the men who used them, they became more than “sexual objects,” more even than mere women: they became “Saints.” Instead of being perceived as whole persons, their bodies became shrines: what was thought to be their minds became temples suitable for worship” (351). In Walker's essay, " In Search Of Our Mothers' Gardens" she talks about how women are deemed more than objects, but Saints. Even though people may think the label saints is a good thing, Walker sees it otherwise. Such a great title, it is only to cover up the ugly truth about the limitations in women's lives. She illuminates the feeling of these women who were stripped of the joy and release of expressing oneself through art. She highlights the continuation of the struggle with the line “To be an artist and a black woman, even today, lowers our status in many respects, rather than raises it and yet, artists we will be." however, no matter how harsh their lives are, there is something in their unconscious is driving these women to act a certain way even if they don't like what they are doing.