The main message of "Pretty beyond Belief" by Amy Tan is beauty is subjective. This is best exemplified when she states in the final paragraph, "Why do I long to look like my mother?" (Tan, par. 11).

The pervading tone is Tan is infatuated with beauty, but doesn't know why, best exemplified when she states in the final paragraph, "Why do I long to look like my mother?" (Tan, par. 11).

Important characters: Mom and Amy. The biggest contribution made is by the mother, because she helps Amy to decide she is beautiful when she states, "You look like me," (Tan par. 10), making her ecstatic, because she has always idolized her mother, who is beautiful.

The story is set in Oakland, California in the 60s. The setting develops the plot by explaining the beauty standards of the time. Such standards are displayed when Tan states " I believed that I was not attractive according to an American aesthetic based on Marilyn Monroe as the ultimate sex goddess" (par. 1).

"If beauty is bad luck, why do I still want it? Why do I wish for reasons to be vain?" (par. 11). Concluding with questions explains that the author wants to know answers about herself even she doesn't know.

A noteworthy feature of the text is the dialogue. The dialogue in the text directly tells the effect Tan's mother's words had on her. For example, when her mother says, "To Chinese person, you not beautiful. You plain" (par. 2), her mother immediately makes her upset because her mother's words are law in her mind.

The main message is that words have power that Maya Angelou explains is that, "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning" (123).

The narrator's most utilized tone in the story is meticulous, the narrator constantly remembers and tries to be more Ms. Flowers stating, "Remembering my manners, I took nice little lady like bites off the edges" (155).

Important characters - Mrs. Bertha Flowers, Momma/Mrs. Henderson, Grandmother, Marguerite/The narrator. The most important character of the story |besides the narrator themselves| is Ms. Flowers, as not only is she Marguerite's inspiration throughout her early years, she teaches her valuable life lessons when she grows up, saying, "She encouraged me to listen carefully to what country people called mother with. That in those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations" (163).

The story's setting takes place in Arkansas during summer the narrator at the beginning clearing states, "on the Arkansas summer days" (5).

The narrator's greatest revelation is when Ms. Flowers teaches her, "Language is man's way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animals." (118) and with such depth taken into view Marguerite quickly views words differently alongside their power. She even says right after, "That was a totally new idea to me, and I would need time to think about it" (120) literally confirms the entire way she views most things in life.

The story's greatest strength is its imagery as the author is able to create excellent examples relating to Ms. Flowers' lady likeness creating that easy to imagine image in our head. For example, "She appealed to me because she was like people I had never met personally. Like women in English novels who walked the moors (whatever they were) with their loyal dogs racing at a respectful distance." (46) Maya Angelou constantly adds imagery to connect lady likeness to women from movies, shows, constantly using the certain stereotype.

The message is learning the meaning of forgiveness in Japan. "I intended to do my very best to respect the cultural differences, avoid sensitive topics I might not comprehend, and, in short, be anything but an Ugly American (Kingsolver, line 9)

The tone is that she is anxious about fitting in. "I was struggling through my days and nights in the grip of boredom's opposite--i.e., panic" (27)

important characters: Great Aunt Zelda, the narrator, the airline official, and the narrator's friend. The narrator's friend has the biggest contribution to the narrator because she teaches the narrator how to forgive and what it means. Her friend says, "To forgive, for us, is the highest satisfaction. To forgive a foreigner, ah! Even better. She smiled. "You have probably made many people happy here" (57).

The setting is in Kyoto, Japan, where the narrator learns about Japan's respectful culture the hard way. "And so it came to pass that I arrived in Kyoto an utter foreigner" (16)

"I took the startled gentleman by the hands and practically kissed him. "you have no idea," I told him, "how thoroughly I forgive you." (89) This is the prime moment when the narrator finally experiences and understands the feeling of forgiving someone.

A noteworthy feature of the story is the tone. The tone in the story, being she is apologetic and anxious, makes the story feel more negative, until the end when the tone flips to being more positive. "When I went to Japan I took my Abject goodwill, my Baleful excuses, my Cringing remorse... So I gave myself away instead, evidently as a kind of public service. I prepared to return home feeling empty-handed." (74)

to find one's place in the world this is shown at the end when he thinks "I realized i had not come out to her as myself."(Jones 98)

the tone is one of reluctance and fear, he is afraid of how his mom will react this is shown when he thinks "I cried whenever I thought about it."(Jones 95) this shows how he is afraid of even thinking about how to tell his mom.

the narator's mother, The narator, Rob and The speech kids. i think the most important character is the mother because her words impact the main caracter the most, this is showen when the character reflects on their conversation "my being gay was never actually the burden"(Jones 98) the mother's words made the main chacter realize that him being gay was never the burden on him which is the main resolution.

the setting is at the narrators college but most the scenes take place outside. the setting afects the story because nature underlines the most important scenes to the plot this is first showed in this scene "I stared at the mimos trees while my mother and I chatted" and is showed again at the end "after i hung up, her words seemed to hang in the air, hovering amid the fireflies"(Jones 97) these two scenes show how the setting of the outdoors among nature are weaved in with the plot.

the lines that best represents the narrator's reflection on something they learned are "my being gay was never actually the burden"(Jones 98). and "I realized I had not come out to her as myself"(Jones 98). these two are the best because the incompase the most of the story.

a noteworthy feature of the story "How We Fight For Our Lives" by Saeed Jones, The imagery plays an integral part in signifying when he is facing his feeling by telling his mother "I stared at the mimosa trees while my mother and I chattted aimlessly"(98).