Two Kinds Short Story
Corrine Babin
Essay on “Two Kinds”
The Misfortune of Change
“My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America” (Tan 220). Amy Tan, author of the short story “Two Kinds,” began her story with this line, presenting the expectations the mother had for her child to be great. As the story progresses, protagonist Jing-mei, and her mother start off on a great note, but their relationship continues to deteriorate and transfigure at the same time as it faces many challenges and fights; each breaking and battering it more than the last. Throughout the story, Jing-mei experiences numerous changes, including changes dealing with the way she feels towards her mother, causing her to act in a harsh way. At her lowest, most despondent point in her adolescent life, the protagonist was very brash, yelling hurtful words at her mother to spite her. Jing-mei states, “‘Then I wish I’d never been born!’ I shouted ‘I wish I were dead! Like them’” (Tan 231). This quote explains a momentous part of the story, giving background information about Jing-mei’s mother while also showing the horrific fight that the story was leading up to. After the fight, many years of silence and resentment followed, stemming from both Jing-mei and her mother, until one day her mother offered Jing-mei the piano, resembling forgiveness and acknowledging that they have put their history in the past. The narrator explains, “Last week I sent a tuner over to my parents’ apartment and had the piano
Differences And A Brief Moment In The Life Of Angus Bethne
657 Words | 3 PagesWith the mother pushing her this much it makes her very strict. She doesn’t really give Jing a choice. This also made Jing feel like her mother didn’t like her the way she was. “’Why don’t you like me the way I am?’ I cried.
Amy Tan Two Kinds Essay
952 Words | 4 PagesIn Amy Tans story “Two Kinds” The author argues that not everybody is the same, and some want to obey and some want to pursue something they more interested in instead of something somebody else want them to do. The story says “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own minds” (tan pg. 412). This paper will analyze Tan story from the viewpoints of the daughter who wanted to follow her own dream, become something better, and grow out her mother grip. The narrator of "Two Kinds" is a Chinese American Girl who is in a constant struggle with her mother over her identity.
Two Kinds By Amy Tan Thesis Statement
2019 Words | 9 PagesShe then uses these “new thoughts” and ideas to state that she “won’t let her [mother] change” her into the person she seeks her daughter to be. When Jing-Mei experiences a realization that she is her own person and not simply another part of her mother, she can embrace the comfort of knowing that she will not change for anyone, and is simply extraordinary for having her own thoughts and feelings. This reflects how Amy Tan can understand her thoughts and feelings about the hardships in her relationship with her mother as a way to connect more closely to her characters and make them more realistic in her writing (“How Amy Tan’s family stories made her a
Analysis Of Two Kinds By Amy Tan
1369 Words | 6 PagesAt first Jing-Mei grew in her dreams and desirers to be perfect for her family; “In all of my imaginings
Quotes From The Joy Luck Club By Amy Tan
1335 Words | 6 PagesThe language barrier causes Jing-Mei to not understand her mother's true meanings and intentions, while her mother understands everything she says but cannot communicate with her in a way that she would understand. Translations are never accurate, and so the mother and the daughter know how to word their intentions properly so it can be interpreted. Another example of the emotional distress going on between the daughters and the mothers is when Suyuan’s daughter Jing-Mei goes to see her half sisters in China. This represents the biggest battle of culturally different countries. June (Jing-Mei) sees this constant battle that her mother has gone through, and is upset that Suyuan died before ever seeing her twins.
Cultural Conflict In Amy Tan's Short Story 'Two Kinds'
477 Words | 2 Pages“For unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me.” (Tan 24). With this statement you can see that she does not agree with her mother. Jing-Mei’s Mother was raised in Chinese culture, therefore she is very strict and demanding to Jing-Mei to do what she wants. From doing a chore, to hobbies or even Jing-Mei’s passion.
Amy Tan Two Kinds Literary Analysis
1066 Words | 5 PagesThis disagreement quickly became a source of resentment and anger for both of them, but Jing-Mei and her mother were unable to resolve this conflict because of their different backgrounds and experiences. The story showcases how relationships between mothers and daughters can be strained because of differences in culture and a lack of communication. One of the difficulties between Jing-Mei and her mother is their different cultural backgrounds, which is supported by two points from the story. Firstly, Jing-Mei and her mother both disagreed on the opportunities that existed in America. According to Singer, Amy Tan uses “two entirely
Compare And Contrast Catch The Moon And Jing-Mei
650 Words | 3 PagesHer mother eventually forgives her for what she said in their argument and offers to send her the piano as a birthday gift. After her mother's death, Jing-mei accepts the piano. While looking through her mother's things, Jing-mei finds sheet music of the song she practiced for a talent show when she was a child. She sits down at the piano and plays the song, realizing that it wasn't as difficult as she perceived it to be when she was young. She then realizes that the two sheets of music, titled "Pleading Child" and "Perfectly Contented," are two halves of the same song.
Poem Analysis: Legal Alien By Pat Mora
429 Words | 2 Pages“After losing everything in China…She never looked back with regret. ”(Chunk 1 ¶3). Jing-Mei’s mother is a Chinese immigrant with the typical ‘everything is better in America’ mindset. Jing-Mei, being raised in America, had more of an American mindset. “You want me to be someone i’m not…I’ll never be the daughter you want me to be!”
Amy Tan A Pair Of Tickets Analysis
1309 Words | 6 PagesAt her first glance at them, she knew exactly who they were because of their resemblance to their mother. However, as she approached them, she realized that there were no evident similarities in features between them and her mother, but that the similarities she noticed at first ran deep in their blood: they were family. And at this brief moment of realization, the most perceptible change in Jing-Mei took place. She said, “Now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious.
Jing-Mei's Allusion In Two Kinds And Modern Day Society
346 Words | 2 PagesBoth her and her mom want her to be a prodigy of Beyonce. Both of their parents want them to become a prodigy of somebody. Jing-Mei’s mom wants her to be a prodigy of Shirley Temple. One other allusion in “Two Kinds” and modern day society is Peter Pan. Peter Pan never wants to grow up and neither does Jing-Mei.
Joy Luck Club Mother Daughter Relationship
1177 Words | 5 PagesOne dynamic that false expectation strains is the relationship between Suyuan and her daughter Jing-Mei. In a vignette told from the perspective of the latter, Suyuan has the notion that Jing-Mei should be able to perform something at the level of a prodigy. She begins
A Family In Silko's Yellow Woman
580 Words | 3 PagesBecause of this, most readers will not have a comfortable feeling upon her coming back home. In “Two Kinds”, Amy Tan is telling a story about the girl facing high expectations from her mother. Most readers may feel pitiful for her because her mother forces her to do things that she doesn’t like. Tan shows the readers that the girl has the same normal thinking ways as
Analysis Of Two Kinds By Amy Tan
1460 Words | 6 PagesOn the other hand, being born into this country, Jing-mei is against wanting to live up to the expectations her mother sets on her. Two kinds reveal two different sides of the cultural spectrum, and their opposing view towards their values. Jing-mei 's mother felt like an outcast existing in a dominate population. 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.
Two Kinds Character Analysis
937 Words | 4 PagesJing Mei, while portrayed as an obedient child, is only willing to listen to her mother to a certain extent. Throughout the story, it is consistently hinted that Jing Mei would eventually explode against her mother as an attempt to free herself from her mother’s chains. In addition, after the fiasco at the piano recital, she eventually derives further from her mother’s wishes as she “didn 't get straight A...didn 't become class president...didn 't get into Stanford...dropped out of college.” (54). On the flip side, Jing Mei’s mother is a stereotypical Chinese parent who is fully determined to ensure her daughter’s success in a new environment.
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