Two Kinds - 2009 Words

The central struggle in Amy Tan s story Two Kinds is a battle of wills between the narrator, a young Chinese American girl, and her mother, a Chinese immigrant. Two Kinds is a coming-of-age story, in which the narrator, Jing-mei, struggles to forge her own sense of identity in the face of her strong-willed mother s dream that she become a prodigy. Jing-mei is caught between her Chinese mother s traditional ideas about how to raise a daughter, and her own development as a Chinese American girl straddling two cultures. Like many immigrants to the United States, Jing-mei s mother has created idealized visions of her adopted country as a land of opportunity where all dreams may be realized. The first line of the story introduces†¦show more content†¦Such a sad, ugly girl! The face Jing-mei first sees in the mirror is the face of who she is in her mother s eyes. Trying to scratch out the face in the mirror symbolizes her attempt to erase or obliterate her mother s image of her as a failure. Through this acknowledgment to herself that she is not the person her mother wants her to be, she begins to glimpse an image of her own definition of herself emerging from the mirror. And then I saw what seemed to be the prodigy side of me--because I had never seen that face before. I looked at my reflection, blinking so I could see more clearly. The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. This girl and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts, or rather thoughts filled with lots of won ts. Through this insight, Jing-mei for the first time articulates her determination to live by her own self-definition, rather than those ill-fitting selves her mother continues to impose upon her: I won t let her change me, I promised myself. I won t be what I m not. As the story progresses, Jing-mei becomes more and more openly defiant against her mother s wishes. One night, she bursts out at herShow MoreRelatedTwo Kinds822 Words   |  4 PagesID# 1723801 English 103-276 January 17, 2011-01-17 Two Kinds Amy Tan In the short story â€Å"Two Kinds†, Amy Tan uses the narrator’s point of view to share a mothers attempt to control her daughters dreams and ambitions. Tan`s short story is an example of how differing personalities cause struggles between a parent and child. Children often fall victim to a parent trying too hard or expectations being too high, and in the case of Two Kinds, we see Jing Mei’s mother trying to live her life throughRead MoreTwo Kinds1095 Words   |  5 Pages Two Kinds is a wonderful little short story about a immigrant Chinese woman in the mid 1950’s to early 1960’s that moved to Chinatown in California to give herself a better opportunity to make it in America. In the story we see the Amy’s mother as a woman who already has dealt with her fair share of pain and disappointment. Jeng-mei mothers entire family seemed to have been wiped out before she came to America from China Jeng-mei explains â€Å" she had come to S an Francisco in 1949 after losingRead MoreTwo Kinds1409 Words   |  6 PagesThe story starts off with the daughter narrating the story talking of her mothers tragedy in China; The mother who lost her mother, father, husband , and her two twin babies was trying to start over and give her child the American dream. The daughter the one telling the story was very as the story began about becoming famous. The mother on the other hand goes to all lengths to try to find her daughters talents. The characters in the story are the mother who played a huge role, although her nameRead MoreEssay on Two Kinds1194 Words   |  5 PagesThe story â€Å"Two Kinds,† written by Amy Tan, has a plot that many people can relate to while growing up as a child. The theme of the story is that there are two kinds of people: the one the mother wants her to be and the one Jing-mei (the protagonist and narrator of the story) strives to be. Both mother and daughter in the story have a very complicated relationship. The mother believes that you could become anything you wanted in America. The author emphasizes that Jing-mei’s mother tries to dominateRead MoreTwo Kinds of Interpretations in Amy Tan’s Short Story Two Kinds1285 Words   |  5 PagesOften times mothers can be pushy, annoying, and a bit overbearing but in the long run they always just want what is best for their child. Everyone wants their child to be the best, most popular and overall number one. In Amy Tanâ €™s short story â€Å"Two Kinds† we see this type of fame hungry mother. The short story is about a Chinese family who lost everything. The mother had lost her entire family full of children except for the one in the story. With the belief â€Å"you could be anything you want in America†Read More`` Two Kinds By Amy Tan1460 Words   |  6 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Two Kinds† by Amy Tan is a story that shows a battle that starts with the narrator and her mother, for control over the narrator’s life. Her mother wanted her to become a prodigy, but she wanted to be anything other than that. So, throughout the short story â€Å"Two Kinds† she’s determined to not quit the fight. â€Å"Two Kinds† is filled with different forms of conflict which allows for the narrator to realize that her mother’s crazy antics were to help her find what she was good at. Which leadsRead MoreThe Two Kinds By Amy Tan1272 Words   |  6 Pagesimmigrants, experience a cultural conflict between that of their parents and that of mainstream U.S. society† (Wikipedia 1). Amy Tan the author of â€Å"Two Kinds†, and the young character in the story both are a second generation immigrants, who have struggled in their life with parents, about the culture they assimilating and their real culture. In the â€Å"Two Kinds† story the author illustrates the struggle between her American cultural identity, and her mother’s Chinese culture, as like the characters inRead MoreTwo Kinds by Amy Tan968 Words   |  4 PagesTwo Kinds The story Two Kinds by Amy Tan represents the theme that parents cannot control their children, but can only guide them. A Chinese mother and daughter Ni Kan are at odds with each other in story. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy of some sort, her daughter does try to follow her mother s orders but has she gets older she realizes she wants to find her own self and not to be what her mother wants her to be. They both have conflicting values, which is the theme of theRead MoreTwo Kinds Point of View637 Words   |  3 PagesThe short story, â€Å"Two Kinds†, written by Amy Tan, is written from the point of view of the character named Jing-Mei. There are three experiences which demonstrate her viewpoint. In the first experience, Jing-Mei is being told by her mom about the â€Å"American dream†. At first, she strives to pursue this prodigy. Her mom would test her every night after dinner. Through Jing-Mei’s eyes, she starts to realize that it was not the life she wanted to live. Lines in the story illustrate this when he says â€Å"IRead MoreTwo Kinds By Amy Tan859 Words   |  4 PagesEssay on â€Å"Two Kinds† Type your essay on â€Å"Two Kinds† below: Title The short story â€Å"Two Kinds,† written by Amy Tan, focuses on the struggles of a young protagonist named Jing-mei trying to find herself without the influences and pressure of others. Aldous Huxley once said, â€Å"One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them.† This relates to the story in significant ways because when Jing-mei’s mother moved to America in hopes of a better future, Jing-mei is pushed to be the