Two Kinds By Amy Tan Character Analysis

Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, depicts the lives of the Younger family, an African American family living in the Southside of Chicago during the 1950s. The play takes place in their cramped apartment offering the reader insight into the arguments, discussions, and conversations that take place between the characters. In one scene, Hansberry specifically offers the reader a conversation between Asagai, an influential companion, and Beneatha to show us how disparate the Younger siblings, Beneatha and Walter, are. As Asagai looks at Beneatha, he sees “what the New World has finally wrought.” Similarly, Beneatha takes a look at Walter and says, “Yes, just look at what the New World hath finally wrought” with an enraged

Mom tries to point out to her daughter that she knows that she’s not making any effort to be her best. She tried to use reverse psychology on her child but it didn’t work. The only thing that it did was make Ni’Kan more determined not to succeed in becoming a child prodigy.

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 Lorraine's Hansberry A Raisin In The Sun. Walter wants to make money to support his family. He wants money because he thinks it makes him a “man”. How ever when his money is stolen, Walter’s perceptions of manhood shifts from valuing wealth and power to valuing family and pride.

Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” touches on many issues African Americans faced in the early to mid-twentieth century. One can analyze Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” from many angles, and come away with different meanings. While Michelle Gordon focuses more on segregation and housing discrimination that plagued African Americans on Chicago’s Southside in Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun”, William Murray emphasizes on Southern Pride and heritage. This paper will show contrasting views from Murray and Gordon in their critique of

In life people have ups and downs; the characters in A Raisin in the Sun experience many highs and many lows. Throughout the story there are many decisions that the characters toss around and debate. Mama, the mother of the family, receives $10,000 which is a very large sum of money for their family. It is up to Mama to decide where the money should go. The Characters in the story developed and their true desires are shown through the choices they make. The characters are faced with many obstacles and these hurdles reveal their character and help to shape the overall plot. In Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the struggle to overcome oppression in order to actualize one’s dream is revealed through the character developement of Walter, Beneatha, and Mama.

While Watchman and Raisin come from different backgrounds they are similar because they take place during the same time period that deals with gender roles and family. During this time in the 1950’s it was not usual for the women to stay home and the men be the head of the house. Although when times were rough family is always there for support.

Her mother is not given a name but is an important main character in this story. She supports the theme ¨Be grateful for what you have when you have it because nothing is forever ¨ by teaching Ni kan this lesson. Her mother is the lesson of this story. She tries so desperately hard to get Ni kan to become a prodigy child. A prodigy, child is not the real thing she seems to be working for. She wants Ni kan to have a successful good life really. Tan states in the beginning of the story “Ni kan’s mother believed she could be anything she wanted to be in America. She could open a restaurant. She could work for the government and get better retirement. She could buy a house with almost no money down. She could become rich. She could become instantly famous."Of course, She can be a prodigy, too," Mother told her when she was nine. "She can be best anything.” This is where Tan shows the very strictness of her character Ni kan’s mother. “America was where all Mother's hopes lie.” This image of America that Ni kans mother has is no less than perfect. This is not something you can just come up with overnight it is a dream. Something her mother had been wishing for and dreaming of. It seems as if her mother had a dream that she was not able to accomplish in her life, it is as if she does not want Ni kan to miss out on anything. If she does have this amazing talent she wants Ni kan to take advantage of it, not waste it. Her

“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.

In the short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, by Ursula Le Guin, the author is displaying the importance of understanding true happiness, one must experience other emotions first. While the rest of the citizens are parading towards the Green Fields, the narrator takes us deeper into the city and explains the nature of this so-called “perfect” city. The narrator explains that there is no type of government that exists or any military presence. With this, there’s no slaves or set of laws. Furthermore, there is lack of clergy and oligarchical aspects in Omelas. Then the narrator continues to describe the citizens, by stating, “One thing I know there is none of in Omelas is guilt.” (Le Guin). Obvisously, the narrator still hasn’t

In the play “A Raisin in the Sun” written by Lorraine Hansberry, she is able to take us to place to see what it was like for an African American family to survive in the mid-twentieth century. The play details how the main characters are going through an evolving social and economic position, as well as the evolving gender roles. Hansberry uses the characterization of Beneatha, Ruth, and Walter in order to show the expectations and assigned gender roles for the characters in the story. In short, Beneatha is depicted as a woman who is challenging gender norms and expectations upheld by her family, whereas Ruth is seen as an example of a submissive housewife fulfilling her expected duties. Using “A Raisin in the Sun,” as well as “Marxists

In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter Younger wants to be a “real man”. His dream is to become successful in business and make his family rich. However, when all his money is stolen, he becomes very pessimistic, abandoning the ideas of morality and dignity. At the end of the play, his son Travis inspires him to value his family’s pride over materialism. Over the course of the play, Walter’s view of manhood changes from someone wealthy and successful to a person who has pride and believes in human dignity.

For millions of immigrants, America has been seen as the land of opportunity where anyone could become anything he or she wanted to be. A family that believes strongly in the American dream can be found in Amy Tan’s short story, “Two Kinds.” The story centers around the daughter of a Chinese immigrant who desperately wants her daughter to become successful. In the story, the author shows the difficult lives immigrants face when moving to a new culture. In this short story, the theme shows the protagonist’s conflict with her mother on the type of daughter her mother wants her to be. The author establishes the theme of how difficult mother-daughter relationships can be through characterization, setting, and symbolism.

In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is trying to achieve the American Dream, which is “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American”(cite dictionary.com). The Youngers are a black family living in a poor part of Chicago. They inherit ten thousand dollars because Mama’s husband died. Mama is the matriarch of the Younger family. Each family member has their own idea about how to use this money to fulfill their dreams, and the play uses the decisions of the family members and other characters to show the reader that people’s actions are not always motivated by what they appear to be. Mama wants to use the money to buy a house in a white neighborhood, because she thinks it is a better environment for her family than their current living conditions and will benefit her family. Although there are a number of people in A Raisin in the Sun who appear too want to help the Younger family, Mama shows through her decision to buy the house that she is the only person that is looking out for the best interests of her family.