Culture In Two Kinds, By Amy Tan

Consequently, she did not know the range of opportunities that were present in America and took them for granted, unlike her mother, who recognized and pushed her daughter toward them. More than anything, Jing-mei wanted to be her own self, not what her mother wanted her to be despite having Jing-mei’s best interests at heart, both the result of their generational and cultural divide. Her careless perspective on life resulting from her American identity are strongly juxtaposed with her mother’s hard-working and optimistic views. Furthermore, Tan describes when the pair’s brewing tension due to their cultural differences culminate when Jing-mei refuses to practice after a failed performance and her mother yells, “Only two kinds of daughters… those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!”(67). This defining moment clearly lays out the obvious divide between the cultures of Jing-mei and her mother. Jing-mei has been greatly influenced by the individualistic, independent ways of the United States, whereas her mother has retained her more traditionally Chinese values of respect and obedience. The “two kinds” of daughters represent the two cultures that Jing-mei and her mother embody, and how these differences influence their separate views on their place in the world. Jing-mei’s mother believed that if a person worked hard enough,

Under the influence of different cultures, different identities are formed. Jing-Mei Woo (June), similar to Waverly, also lives in between two worlds. June, since young, is accustomed to two sets of culture and beliefs. Jing-Mei’s mother has lost everything when she comes to the United States, and she has all her hopes on her daughter, therefore she wants to train her daughter to be a genius. As the mother presses all the homeworks on June, June loses heart and cries “I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t be what I’m not” . By crying and shouting out loud, June wants to declare her self identity, which ultimately reflects on the American individualism, which is one of the most integral parts of the U.S. value. Being raised in

Have you thought of someone’s culture as weird? Have you thought that you are completely different from them? If so, what prompts us to make that assumption. Culture is a very good reason for this. So, to what extent does one’s culture inform the way one views others and the world? Culture informs a person on the way others are and the world.

In the excerpt “Two Kinds,” written by Amy Tan, the author expresses her personal perception on cultural tradition along with the conflict of her mother’s opposing views. Upon travelling to America, the mother of Jing-mei continued to carry-out and force her culture onto her daughter in order to preserve their culture. Despite her seemingly increasing progress, rebellion and disobedience

Early in childhood Jing Mei dreamed of finding her prodigy and being a famous Chinese American, mostly because of the views and actions her mother placed on her. Her mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. (pg 405) Her mother was always pushing new tests and talents on Jing Mei. She even went as far as having her daughter Jing Mei models her physical appearance and actions after a child-star Shirley Temple. Her other was always testing her with many different things trying to discover Jing Mei’s talent. Later Jing Mei started to feel like her mother was just trying to make her into someone she was not and started to just fail and not try to do anything right hoping her mother would give up. When her mother died she had realized what her mother had been trying to do. Her mother had only wanted her to do her best. She had then to realize what her mother had

In the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, the author portrays opposing ideas about one's heritage. Through the eyes of two daughters, Dee and Maggie, who have chosen to live their lives in very different manners, the reader can choose which character to identify most with by judging what is really important in one's life. In Dee's case, she goes out to make all that can of herself while leaving her past behind, in comparison to Maggie, who stays back with her roots and makes the most out of the surroundings that she has been placed in. Through the use of symbolism, the tangible object of a family heirloom quilt brings out these issues relating to heritage to Mama, and she is able to reasonably decide which of her daughters has

At the beginning of the short story, Jing-mei shares about “becoming Chinese” (Tan 152). Living in San Francisco area, she had always felt disconnected from her Chinese culture. The most significant moment of Jing-mei’s acceptance of her Chinese culture was when her father told her about her mother’s journey from China to America during the time of the invasion. She truly learns to appreciate her mother because of all she had gone through. Jing-mei also understand the existence of her half-sisters and feels the need to visit and meet them, as they are part of her mother. Jing-mei’s original lookout on Chinese culture was developed their prejudices and stereotypes. After living with her Chinese family and learning more about her mother’s past,

In “Everyday Use”, a short story by Alice Walker, two sisters have very different opinions and lifestyles when it comes to their culture. Maggie embraces her heritage and partakes in its everyday style, while Dee would love to not be apart of it, rather display it.

Alice Walker, a famous author, stated in her short story, Everyday Use, “Dee (Wangero) looked at me with hatred. “You just will not understand. The point is these quilts, these quilts.” Each person’s identity is shaped from a culture that is built with the offering of everything in his or her surrounding environment. Culture is one of the most important factors, though there are many other contributing factors, that can influence someone’s perspective on the world because all of their opinions, decisions, and morals are all based off of their surrounding environment. In the poem and story, “My Mother Pieced Quilts” and Everyday Use, they both demonstrate how one’s cultural identity is influenced by his or her surroundings, changing the

In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, Walker juxtaposes two different daughters in their quest for a cultural identity. The narrator, their mother, talks about how each daughter is different; Dee went off to college and became well-educated, contrary to their impoverished and low status as black women in the south. Meanwhile, Maggie isn’t nearly as educated as Dee is, but is still literate. The entire story centers around Dee’s visit with her new Muslim significant other. The story’s climax is when Dee wants to take two special quilts back home, but those quilts are for Maggie. These precious quilts comprise their culture. Henceforth, Dee does not deserve to take the quilts with her because she has decided to take on a culture that varies significantly from her own and she is already used to getting what she wants.

“Culture is sometimes described as a lens through which we view the world, meaning that one’s culture influences their perceptions and interactions in everyday life” (Davis, 2006). Every culture has different beliefs and customs

“Two Kinds” by Amy Tan shows the connection and conflict through a mother who is from China and a daughter who was born in America. These two cultures end up colliding and make life at home hard for the main character, Jing-mei (Tan), because of the personal relationship between her and her mother. Jing-mei is seen as having her own personal identity especially when battling her mother’s desires because “[she] was so determined not to try, not to be anybody different…” Jing-mei’s mother’s desires for her were not fulfilled because she just didn’t have the motivation to try. Thus, showing that Tan had a negative outlook on the way her mother was pressuring her to be someone who she did not want to be, especially since the two cultures are making it harder for Tan to find her true self. Not only does Jing-mei have a counteractive frame of mind on her mother’s ways, she has a negative outlook on her mother’s own cultural background.

Jing-mei realized that she was an ordinary individual and that she would not let her mother’s expectations change that. She no longer believed that she “could be anything [she] wanted to be, [rather she] could only be [herself]” (Tan 44). In using a limited, first-person point of view, Tan is able to show Jing-mei’s emotional progress of following her mother’s dreams to finally realizing her own dream.

In the short story “everyday use” by Alice Walker, two sisters are influenced by their family. Maggie likes to do stuff her family does because it’s very usual. Her opinion on things are plain and regular. Some people might say it’s not Maggie, its Dee that isn’t influenced by her family.

In addition, Jing-Mei says, “then I saw what seemed to be the prodigy side of me”(2).