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Labeling someone based on their background inflicts their choice of career path. This is the case of two women who challenged their cultural norms for doing the same thing. Sandra Cisneros and Amy Tan's culture influenced them through their family as American writers, obstacles they faced, and ultimately rebelling against stereotypes.
To begin with, Cisneros and Tan's family inspired them as writers. Cisneros' father's stories "surfaced in The House on Mango Street" and her brothers and their male friends were "important characters" in her stories (Passage 1).
Cisneros was inspired by her father also her brothers' personalities and created stories around them, which influenced her to become a writer.
Similarly, Tan decided to "envision a reader for the stories" and agreed to imagine the reader as her mother by using all the "Englishes" she grew up with (Passage 2).
Tan was inspired to create her mother's accurate language that captures "her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts." Both women used their family members as inspiration for their narratives.
Additionally, Cisneros and Tan confronted hard impediments.
Cisneros was never sociable and was "the girl in the picture with skinny arms and a crumpled skirt and crooked hair" and received "an avalanche of C's and D's" in her fifth-grade report card (Passage 1).
Growing up as a shy, introverted girl with low grades, no one would ever think she would become a successful author as a Mexican woman coming from a poor family. They were capable to overcome their challenges and achieve their opportunities.
Furthermore, both Cisneros and Tan rebelled against stereotypes.
In Cisneros' culture, "men and women don't leave their father's house except by way of marriage" (Passage 1). For this reason, she left away from home before her six brothers causing her to "[break] a terrible taboo" (Passage 1).
Cisneros went against the stereotypical role of women in her culture which was the first step for her to become an author. She was opposing the type of what Latina women were supposed to be. Tan wonders "Why there are not more than Asian Americans represented in American Literature?" "Why there are few Asian Americans enrolled in creative writing programs?" (Passage 2).
Asians were better in Math than English and misguided educators directed them, including Tan, away from writing because of their "broken" English. The stereotypical Asians excelling in Math driven Tan to prove herself and others that Asian Americans could speak, read, and write just as good as any other American.
Overall, Cisneros and Tan defied their cultural norms to become American writers. It inspired them within their families, overcoming difficulties, and defying the stereotypes. You can be anything you desire even with a different culture than the norm.
Sandra Cisneros and Amy Tan Short Story. (2019, Dec 16). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/sandra-cisneros-and-amy-tan-short-story-essay
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