Mothers and daughters generally clash in the tween and teen years; imagine going through those years trying to figure out who you are and being a second generation immigrant. Aimee Nezhukumatathil takes a look at what it would be like to grow up with first-generation parents in America. She shares stories that come from the truth that she knows of having a Filipino mother and all the folklore and stories of that culture. There is an obvious cultural difference and with it a fear in their differences, be they food, social or ethical. The poems "Hell Pig" and "Fishbone" demonstrate the fear, cultural confusion, and identity crisis that first-generation immigrant parents instilled in their children. In these stories, the mother is a vehicle of communication, a tool in the formation of identity as her daughter negotiates with the culture into which she was born as a Filipino and the culture that surrounds her as an American. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Identity is something that tends to be a difficult concept to understand coming from a first generation immigrant family, but the answer to this mystery can most likely be traced back to food. In “Fishbone,” the daughter tries to determine what her identity is as she witnesses two cultures develop at the dinner table: “At dinner, my mother says if one gets stuck / in your throat, roll some rice into a ball / and swallow it Totally. She says things / like this and the next thing out of her mouth / is did you know Madonna was pregnant?" (Nezhukumatathil, 1-5) Her mother is trying to relate to her daughter and the American pop culture surrounding her life, but her daughter can't stop making fishy eyes. She compares her breakfast to a normal American breakfast, cheerios: "I wonder why we can't/have normal food for breakfast like at Sara's house...". .. "Safe. Handsome. / Nothing with the eyes." (Nezhukumatathil 10-11, 14-15) At this point in the poem, the comparison to safety can go a couple of different ways. The obvious would be that his breakfast isn't safe because he's eating a whole fried fish, and when you eat fish sometimes little pieces of the spine break off and get stuck in your throat That's why the mother in the poem advises her daughter to roll up a rice ball and swallow it whole From the point of view of the poet, however, feels more secure by eating a traditional American breakfast, nothing strenuous or difficult to show to new friends, but her mother's effort to find this struggle of her identity. balancing the two worlds at the beginning of the poem allows the poet to grow into the abnormality of her culture, fully accepting it as she "springs from the next head." stayed out late at night, the Hell Pig would follow her daughter: "To keep me from staying out late at night, / my mother warned of the Hell Pig. Black and full / of hot drool, eyes the color of a lung: he would follow me / home if I stayed past curfew. (Nezhukumatathil, 1-4) This is a cultural folklore that personifies the mother's fear while instilling the child's fear of a monster: "It's not as if the pig / had special powers or could bite me / from the leg - just assurances that it was simply / it's a scandal to be followed home.” (Nezhukumatathil, 8-11) Parents incorporate advice and rules for their children through stories and fables as the simplest form of communication: “A single black hair flickers awakens the ear / of the animal.