In the short story “Two Kinds”, by the author, Amy Tan intends to make the readers understand the real purpose behind the story by illustrating what is the real problem between her and her mother, she doesn’t speak out as an authority she is using her own point of view as a narrator to explained what she has experienced by living in The United States when her mother culture is from a different country. The daughter tried to explain her feelings and events of her childhood and how frustrated she is feeling for failing her mother expectations giving the story a bittersweet relationship between mother and daughter but a good sign of forgiveness end.
The young Chinese American “June” in the story is going through a lot of pressure by living under her mom different lifestyle, Suyuan is the name of the mother she was born and raised in Asia but then she moved to the united states wanting the best for her family because she always said The United States was the country of opportunities but deep inside she was living with sadness and depression after having to left her twin baby girls in China in 1949. Suyuan the mother wanted her daughter June to be an American prodigy she was still applying the Asian culture on her and wanted June to just obey her orders by doing what she wanted not what she was really good at. After
…show more content…
After June explained to the readers all of her countless attempts to make her mother happy she completely quits taking orders from her, she assumed that her talent show was a fiasco, that probably meant never had to play the piano again but two days after school while June was watching TV her mother came out of the kitchen in an angry way wanted to make June go to the piano lesson but June refuses to live under her rules and wanted to stop being her “ slave” they got into a really bad situation and argument. “ You wanted me to be someone that I’m not” (Tan 478) her mother replied to
“You must raise children yourself to understand your parents’ love.” This passage is a common proverb to express the challenge of understanding parents’ love and intentions. Similar to the proverb, Amy Tan illustrates the process of recognizing mother’s intention in her short story “Two Kinds.” The mother and daughter confront because of the mother’s anxiousness in finding her daughter’s prodigy. As time goes by, through one important scene in the story, the daughter becomes aware of her mother’s love and comes to terms with herself. The significant scene is when Jing-Mei’s mother offers her the piano for her thirtieth birthday. With all the conflicts she had with her mother and within herself, from the important scene, Jing-Mei realizes that she is transformed from a “pleading child” into a “perfect contented” adult.
The story shows the reader that June May had a misconstrued meaning of being a Chinese descendant because her mentality of a perfect American society and normal social structure which is full of prejudice and stereotypical environment has beclouded her thinking that Chinese culture is good. After learning of her mother’s past that made her realize the sufferings caused by war between japan and China and what led to her mother abandoning her half-sisters, she gears more to meeting with them and other family members in order to clear the many questions echoing in her head. Being a Chinese to her after seeing all her past judgment made her realize that China is her country that possess her family and her clan, it is obvious that being an American, a Chinese or Spanish does not change one’s personality or orientation but understanding the culture and identifying with it will instill a
The mother in “Two Kinds”, is culturally accustomed to raising a child to be obedient and expects her daughter to bare her extreme parenting measures. With the daughter’s mother coming from China she
The biographical connection that the author “Amy Tan” draws in her short story “Two Kinds” with her main character Jing-mei, crosses in more than one side. First of all, they both are Chinese American whose struggle in their identities with their Chinese immigrant mothers. “Due to a cultural conflict and lack of proper understanding of each other’s perceptions” (Priya 1), and as a big gap developed between the two daughters and their two mothers, in which resulted a complex relationship between them.
Four Chinese mothers have migrated to America. Each hope for their daughter’s success and pray that they will not experience the hardships faced in China. One mother, Suyuan, imparts her knowledge on her daughter through stories. The American culture influences her daughter, Jing Mei, to such a degree that it is hard for Jing Mei to understand her mother's culture and life lessons. Yet it is not until Jing Mei realizes that the key to understanding who her
Pulling a child off the path of their dream can cause them to rebel. Rebellious children can be almost impossible to deal with. Jing Mei’s mother decides Jing Mei will take piano lessons and makes arrangements with a retired piano teacher named Mr. Chong exchanging housecleaning services for weekly lessons. Jing Mei shows a lot of anger when her mother tells her of the lessons. “Why don’t you like me the way I am? I’m Not a genius! I can’t play the piano. And even if I could, I wouldn’t go on TV is you paid me a million dollars!” (32) Jing Mei takes the lessons and after a year of daydreaming during practice
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother’s expectations. Being a first-generation Asian American,
“Two kinds” is a story, a Chinese girl whose life is influenced by her mother. Her mother came to America after losing everything in China. Jing-Mei’s mother was immigrated early to America from China who has “American dream”. Her mother had high expectations on her daughter and did not care how it could affect her. It made Jing-Mei become a stubborn and rebellious person. “In the years that followed, I failed her so many times, each time asserting my own will, … for unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me. (104) She expressed her anger by going against her mother's expectations in ‘who I am’, it inferred that such tendency come from her childhood experiences. Jing-Mei was frustrated because she could not satisfy her mother.
The story is around an American-conceived Chinese lady, Jing-mei, who goes to China to meet her twin stepsisters that her mom was compelled to relinquish numerous prior years. Since her mom had passed away just a couple of months prior, the meeting is full of vulnerability and bitterness. Jing-mei battles with self-character issues and what it truly intends to be Chinese. En route, she takes in reality about the reasons her mom deserted her sisters and the significance behind their names. At last, she at last associates with her sisters and makes the passionate association with her Chinese legacy.
But all too soon that changes, "One day [her] mother was watching The Ed Sullivan Show on TV .She seemed entranced by the music [The music] was being pounded out by a little Chinese girl, about nine years old, with a Peter Pan haircut." But "In spite of these warning signs, [Jing-Mei] wasn't worried. [Her] family had no piano and [they] couldn't afford to buy one" (Tan 351). Days after watching the show, Jing-Meis' mother told her that she was to take piano lessons. "When [her] mother told [her] this, [Jing-Mei] felt as though [she] had been sent to hell," but all the whining and kicking would not cause her mother to deter her mother.
In her short story "Two Kinds," Amy Tan utilizes the daughter's point of view to share a mother's attempts to control her daughter's hopes and dreams, providing a further understanding of how their relationship sours. The daughter has grown into a young woman and is telling the story of her coming of age in a family that had emigrated from China. In particular, she tells that her mother's attempted parental guidance was dominated by foolish hopes and dreams. This double perspective allows both the naivety of a young girl trying to identify herself and the hindsight and judgment of a mature woman.