Two Kinds Amy Tan Analysis

In “Two Kinds,” Amy Tan explores a theme of independence. Jing-me is an impressionable nine year old girl living in an apartment with her parents. She struggles with the high expectations of her mother, to become a prodigy. The conflict results in a rebellious independence. Tan develops Jing-me’s character as willful, defiant, and insecure.

The definition of an underachiever as stated by Webster is “one (such as a student) that fails to attain a predicted level of achievement or does not do as well as expected.” In the short story “Two Kinds” written by Amy Tan, Ni’Kan is the queen of underachievers. She determines at a young age to become defiant to her mom. After experiencing disappointment from letting her mom down, Ni’Kan determined that she would not become a child prodigy and intentionally failed throughout her life.

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,

The title of this short story “Two Kinds” is describes the theme of this story. The mother had stated that there are only two types of daughters. “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind.” (pg 412) Jing Mei did not understand the truth or meaning behind that declaration until after her mothers death. Jing Mei realized that her mother only meant that she could be an obedient child by listening to her mother while at the same time follow her own heart and want her own prodigy in life. The last paragraph in this story also indicates the theme of two halves being equal to one. The two songs “perfectly contented” and “pleading child” was actually two halves of one song. Despite Jing Mei and her mother’s differences

In the story “ Two Kinds” Amy Tan presents the theme ¨Be grateful for what you have when you have it because nothing is forever¨ through the main characters Ni kan and her mother and also through foreshadowing. Tan takes the reader through a story of a girl and her mother as they both individually learn a good life lesson.

A famous actor, Michael J. Fox once said, “Family is not an important thing it is everything”. In the same way, family will be with one through hard times and love one no matter what. The two stories that best prove family is the cultural element that informs the way individuals view others and the world are Two Ways to Belong in America and By Any Other Name. The impact family has on cultural perspective can be clearly seen when one views the teachings, names, books, and tradition. However, family might not always be the best cultural element, because family may disappoint one or not help them. Despite this, family will still be there for their children at difficult times to help them get through their struggles. Family is the cultural

“It was not the only disappointment my mother felt in me” (Tan 327). Growing up with a mother like mine, disappointment came very easily. In Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” the mother and daughter were always on edge because the mother expected too much and the daughter could never meet up to the standards that she had set. After thirty years went by after their big falling out the mother gives the daughter a piano as a sign of forgiveness, but the daughter has a remaining feeling of guilt for a long time. In my story, my mother expected a lot from me, and and my big mistake that changed our lives forever was forgiven, but I will carry that shame forever.

Our native instinct as children is that we want to be our own unique independent person, no matter who gets in our way, not even our parents. Parents and children fight over what the children want to do in life all the time. “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan is a short story where a young girl’s feelings change over time with her mother. The daughter, Jing-mei, is being forced by her mother to become a prodigy. Jing-mei does not think she can become a prodigy, creating a conflict in the relationship with her and her mother. After a thorough analysis of the story, the reader understands how Jing-mei’s feelings towards her mother changed, why her feelings changed, and how those changed feelings affected the

In the story Two Kinds by Amy Tan it tells the tale of conflict between a mother Suyuan and her daughter Jing-mei over piano lessons. Two Kinds deals with a clash between a mother’s belief of hard work and persistance and a daughter's belief that being a prodigy is unachievable. Amy Tan shows generational differences among immigrant families negotiating the mythology of the American Dream.

In the short story Two Kinds by Amy Tan, she writes about a child named Jing-mei and her experiences with her mother pushing her to become a prodigy, all while her mother deals with being a Chinese immigrant that just moved to the United States. The two countries obviously share very different cultures and this plays a part in the story as she pushes Jing-mei to live ‘The American Dream’. Her mother strongly believes that in America you can be whatever you want to be. This, to some, may not be true, however this idea is strongly pushed in the Chinese culture. This is shown when Jing-mei fails to do any prodigious task that her mother puts in front of her which leads to her mother being ultimately disappointed in Jing-mei. Her failures ends up causing a huge argument between Jing-mei and her mother. The argument could be called the climax of the story. This confrontation wouldn’t have happened if Jing-mei’s mother didn’t have the huge idea that The American Dream is a legitimate thing, and Jing-mei’s mother wouldn’t have that perception of America if the Chinese culture didn’t present the United States as such a place. Based on Chinese culture and perspectives, there are numerous fallacies concerning the American Dream, and these are displayed in Amy Tan’s short story “Two Kinds”.

It’s your choice to choose- to listen, or to find your own way. To begin, in Two Kinds by Amy Tan, her mother expects her to be a prodigy. So, throughout the story, she is forced to do many things. Starring in a play, being tested on states and capitals, and being forced to play the piano. Amy submits to what her mother wants; but as she started to grow up.

Much like a lathe a piano has immense complexity. The outward complexity of both comes in the form of their usability; for a machinist, one must learn how to work the cranks and levers of the machine, and for a pianist, one must learn how to use the keys. Within the poem The Machinist, Teaching His Daughter to Play the Piano, Fairchild uses imagery, metaphor, and simile to create a resemblance between the machines at the father job to the piano that the daughter is attempting to play.

expectations, not showing promise in any field her mother finally decides that she will become a

This essay titled mother Tougue is written by Amy tan who is the author of novels, children’s books, essay and memoir. And it was first delivered as a talk at a symposium on language in san Francisco in 1989.

Amy Tan used classification and division to organize her essay when she specified she used different Englishes. When she would speak to a large group of people, her english would be carefully wrought grammatical phases. For instance, Amy Tan stated: "There intersection of memory upon imagination (Tan par 3)." Whereas, when she would speak to her mother, her english would be the opposite. For example, Amy Tan stated: "Not waste money that way (Tan par 4)." The two main categories she divides the languages she employs is standard English and intimacy