On Christmas Eve I saw that my mother had outdone
herself in creating a strange menu. She was pulling
black veins out of the backs of fleshy prawns. The
kitchen was littered with appalling mounds of raw
food: A slimy rock cod with bulging fish eyes that
pleaded not to be thrown into a pain of hot oil. Tofu,
which looked like stacked wedges of rubbery white
sponges. A bowl soaking dried fungus back to life. A
plate of squid, their backs crisscrossed with knife
markings so they resembled bicycle tires.
-"Fish Cheeks,"
Why does Tan use imagery that has a negative feeling
associated with it?
Oto show that her mother always prepares this sort
of food
O to show that she and her mother have very
different tastes
to show that she is disgusted by what her mother
has chosen to serve
Amy Tan