Two Kinds By Amy Tan Analysis

"Two Kinds" Comprehension Questions

1A. The mother in "Two Kids" believed her daughter (Amy Tan) was a prodigy one because they were in America and she believed her daughter had great potential and could be anything she wanted. And two because "Auntie" Lindo has a daughter who is a chess prodigy, so she believes her daughter can also be a prodogy, but better.

1B. The mother in "Two Kinds" would set up tests to see where her daughter was a prodigy in. The tests consisted of knowing the capital of every foreign city without looking it up, multiplying big numbers only in her head, standing on her head without using her hands, and one night the mother made her daughter look at a bible page for only three minutes, then she had to memorize everything she read on that page.

2. The title "Two Kinds" indicates the two opinions of the mother/daughter dynamic. At the end of the story, Tan finds the music she played for her piano recital. After

The mother in "Two Kinds" was a Chinese immigrant who had come to America in 1949 after she lost her entire family. The mother never looked back at this painful time because she believed in her life in America. A couple years later she remarried and had Amy with her second husband.

4. Between Auntie Lindo and Amy Tan's mother, there was a strong rivalry over their children, and who was "more" of a prodigy. The mothers would brag about what the daughters had accomplished, with Amy Tan's mother boasting about things that were not true.

5. At the end of the story, the mother passes away. When the mother passes away Amy Tan sends a tuner over to her parents' apartment, for sentimental reasons. After the piano was tuned, Tan decided to sit down and play some of her old songs. Nothing had been touched and was still where she left it. After her mother's death, she began to appreciate the piano and everything her mother did for her. She loved the piano and appreciated everything