Two Kinds By Amy Tan Literary Analysis

The short story Two Kinds by Amy Tan outlines the conflict between Jing-mei, an American-born girl, and her Chinese-born, strong-willed, and industrious mother who rests her faith in the limitless opportunities that America offers. Like many immigrants, her mother abandoned her tragic life in China for the sake of providing a better future for Jing-mei. Staying true to her optimistic beliefs, Jing-mei’s mother tells her nine-year-old daughter, “Of course you can be prodigy, too, [...] You can be best anything” (715). However, after numerous tests and disappointing results, both Jing-mei and her mother begin to lose sight of the prodigious image they once envisioned. Jing-mei becomes discouraged and convinces herself that she could never hope

As a child growing up in an Asian household, I shared many of the same experiences that Jing-mei had: being compared with others, forced to study and play the piano against my will - the typical experiences of an Asian child with strict and imposing parents. Likewise, I often tried to whine my way out of unfavourable situations, in hopes of avoiding the task forever. In retrospect, I realize the foolishness of my younger self and I understand the kind-hearted intentions of my parents’ actions, which is what Jing-mei ultimately failed to do.
Drawing from my experiences, I believe that Jing-mei should have attempted to mend the tensions between them by apologizing and having an honest and sincere conversation with her mother about things moving forward. To Jing-mei, cooperating with her mother’s wishes was out of the question: “I didn’t have to do what my mother said anymore. I wasn’t her slave. This wasn’t China” (723). She hated being made to feel useless because she wasn’t a prodigy and did not live up to her mother’s unrealistic expectations of her, with which I can sympathize. Additionally, I can relate my experiences of playing the piano