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I am responding to “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan.  A quote that really grabbed my attention was “I was ashamed of her English.  I believe that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say.  That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect.  And I had plenty of empirical evidence to support me. . . “  I chose this quote because I feel that it is a huge statement and realization of Amy Tan.  She didn’t realize when she was young that her mom did have important things to say, even if she couldn’t communicate them perfectly.  It is very important to the whole essay as well.  If Amy had never made this realization, today she would not have the same perspective and surely wouldn’t have written this essay.  It also relates to how she hears her mother clearly now.  I believe that the writer’s thesis is how she uses different types of English such as how she speaks with her mother, her husband, and how she speaks when she gives speeches to large groups of people.  An example of how Amy Tan supports her thesis is when she is giving a speech to a large group of people about her book, The Joy Luck Club, and she sees her mom in the room.  She realizes that she uses totally different language in her speeches.  She was using perfect English, something her mother probably didn’t understand too well.  But to Amy, her mother made complete sense and was very clear.