Amy Tan’s essay deals with her mother’s use of English. However, the essay also explores the way that our current culture stereotypes Asians and possibly other ethnicities. Tan might even seem to argue that society’s imposition of English standards is just another way of characterizing different ethnicities as being either lazy, dumb, or untalented. How fair is our current culture in the way it treats people from different cultural backgrounds? Does contemporary American society’s use of ethnic stereotypes (particularly those associated with language use) push people of different ethnicities into particular jobs or societal roles, or are work or cultural opportunities in our society relatively open to people of all backgrounds
