Two Kinds Character Analysis Essay

Shell did not give her daughter a set of instructions, because she wanted to examine her daughter 's reaction to boredom. She noticed that her daughter became frustrated, because she did not know what to do with her free time. The girl then began to explore different ways to entertain herself. Shell realized that allowing her child to think for herself, made her feel like she had something to offer. Shell concludes by stating that letting children become independent opens doors for them to become successful.

Grasping the same idea, she held onto her hard time back in her home. Jing-mei is her last hope to prove that her homeland can be just as talented as Americans. To follow through with this objective, her mother bends over backwards in search of the "right" kind of prodigy for her daughter. Although Jing-mei determinedly upsets her mother 's desires to make her a prodigy, it was as if it were decades afterwards in life that she picks up the understanding into her mother 's basic motives. This exposition will endeavor that "Two Kinds" is a compelling story to bring to light on the issues of identity.

For example, in the first few paragraphs, we get a hint of how Connie’s mother is constantly nagging and complaining about how vain she is and how she is nothing like her sister. Speaking from a logical standpoint we can say that this negative backlash from her mother is upsetting to her, as it should be for any normal human being. Since she is receiving such negative attention in her home she goes out to seek “positive” attention. Her mother’s continuous praising of how great Connie’s sister June is, and how much better she is than her can be draining and irritating. Connie could just be going out to get the praise and attention that she needs or “deserves”.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” - Aristotle. Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun with many subjects in mind, including how to address topics such as racism, sexism, poverty, and self-discovery. Her character Beneatha Younger, an ambitious, selfish, childlike woman, hopes to become a doctor while simultaneously trying to “find herself”. The rest of the Younger family, including her mother, brother, and sister-in-law, view Beneatha as an eccentric young girl who refuses to grow up. Despite her family’s views of her, Beneatha shows maturity when the time calls for it and proves to everyone, even herself, that maturity comes when you find yourself.

“Two Kinds” a short story out of Amy Tan’s book “The Joy Luck Club” is a representation of the pressures immigrant children face from their parents. In the story, we follow a young girl named Jing-Mei as she embarks down the road to becoming a Prodigy. Her mother believed that “you could be anything you wanted to be in America” (Tan). For Jing-Mei that meant her mother believed she could become instantly famous. “Of course, you can be a prodigy, too”, her mother told her (Tan).

The story has a conflict that is related to opposition. The narrator disagrees with what her mother wants her to be, since the narrator felt that her mother was controlling her for years. For instance, the mother in the story suggests that her daughter would become the perfect girl and she would become famous. The traditional daughter relates to the American icon, “Shirley Temple”. Furthermore, the narrator goes through a rough time during the story because her mother feels like she can be good at something and stick to it.

When a distraught and angry Antigone first brings her plans to Ismene, the only response she receives is a simple question: “What good am I to you?” (47). Ismene seems to betray her sister’s principles, passively standing by rather than taking action against injustice. Twice more during their conversation, Ismene gives off an aura of weakness that contradicts Antigone’s determinedness. Ismene first appeals to the social norms of the time, insisting that she “must obey the ones who stand in power/Why rush to extremes?/ It’s madness, madness” and that she has no choice but to follow Creon’s decree (79-81). She then insists that she has “no strength” for joining Antigone’s plot, seemingly making up as many excuses as possible to keep herself out of danger, no matter how weak or contrived her excuses may be (93).

The narrator attempts to release the alleged woman from the wallpaper, can be understood as the narrator’s attempt to release herself and express her imagination. We see that the narrator is an imaginative, highly expressive woman. She remembers her peculiar imagination as a child. Yet as part of her cure, her husband forbids her to exercise her imagination in any way. Both her reason and her emotions boil, and she turns her imagination onto the seemingly neutral object—the wallpaper—in an attempt to ignore her growing frustration.

In addition, under the influence of her neighbor’s cousin Ames who is an educated youth, she is reluctant to be a traditional woman. At her last growth phrase, she pays attention to her spiritual world. To sum up, Carrie certainly grows in a way. From the pure little girl to a superstar in theater, she had given up her body in exchange for material life and higher social status. After experiencing two fake and wrong relationships, she eventually realizes what her really power is.

In the book “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, it’s about a little girl who is pressured by her mother to become something she doesn’t want to be. Jing- mei , the daughter, is forced to become a prodigy(child actress), by her mother, and she doesn’t want to be one. In the story, Jing- meis’ mother uses allusions such as Shirley Temple to push her into becoming a prodigy. Although at first Jing- mei is excited to become a prodigy, she later realizes its something she just doesn’t enjoy doing. Consequently, the uses of allusion in the story help Jing- mei discover to not be a prodigy and that what her mother wants for her is not always important.