Two Kinds Mother

One thing that the author was trying to get across is that people have to fight for what they want. Nothing is simply handed to anyone. In “Many Rivers to Cross”, she goes through a lot of adversity. The divorce with her husband was one, but the main one was her mother’s suicide. Usually after someone dies in a person’s life, a whole new window is opened. The young woman realized a lot after her mother’s death. The effect of her mother’s death was that she knew from then on that she had to live her life the best way she can. She was so tired of letting everyone down. This was her revelation, “And it was to honor my mother that I did fight with my father, that man who could not tell the living from the dead,” she said, “And really it is to honor Mrs. Hazel Griffin and my cousin Valerie all the woman that I love” (Jordan, 68-71). The struggles that the character in “Two Kinds” goes through is continuously disappointing her mother. What was most difficult for her was that she lives in a foreign family, a Chinese family, which most people know that they can be really strict people. Every time her mother set her up to do something that she did not want to do, she failed at it and that made her mother upset. The author is showing the reader the effects of that through the emotion of the child. But she did come to a revelation with herself. She knew that her mother could only do so much

Furthermore, Amy Tan writes a wonderful short story about the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters, yet one can be enriching. The theme of “Two

What makes a child determine at such a young age to defy her mom on every hand for the rest of their life? The sad realization that Ni’Kan would rather see her mother angry at her than disappointed in her became her revelation.

The main reason for the huge crack in the mother-daughter relationship is due to the joint culture that they share and their conflicting opinions on their joint cultures (Parini 294). Communication problems with their mothers, in Tan’s writings, are due to the daughters of Chinese mothers wanting to be more American than Chinese (Tan The Opposite of Fate…. 22). Mothers who have immigrated to America face language barriers and feel the pressure of their new culture (Wiener 22). To a Chinese American daughter, not only does the Chinese mother humiliate the daughter, but traditions that tie back to their past are also humiliating to them (Parini 292). After the death of her father, Tan’s relationship with her mother decreased and caused her to become more rebellious to her mother’s good intentions (Angel 26-27).

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.

The article, the book, and I, talk about how daughters feel their mothers don’t know them and that they don’t know their mothers. They talk about how a daughter listens to her mother, but there is a certain point in a young woman 's mind where they decide they want to see and explore new ideas. In conclusion, they all talk about the point in a daughter 's life where she and her mother don’t get along very well and the daughter tries to take charge of her life.

The mother, truly wants what is best for her daughter, but refuses to acknowledge that her daughter does not want to be a prodigy or play the piano. Her daughter only wants to live her own life and does not understand the success her mother is trying to push on her. Every mother and daughter relationship is different, but the most classic type is the “mother knows best trope.” Of course, if the story was presented in China, rather than America, the daughter may have fallen into her mother’s life path, “"Only two kinds of daughters," she shouted in Chinese. "Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!" (Tan pg #). However, since her daughter was born in America, she was given an opportunity to be who she wanted to be, because of America’s new dream of independence and

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

"Two Kinds" by Amy Tan is about the intricacies and complexities in the relationship between a mother and daughter. Throughout the story, the mother imposes upon her daughter, Jing Mei, her hopes and dreams for her. Jing Mei chooses not what her mother wants of her but only what she wants for herself. She states, "For, unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be. I could be only me" (Tan 1). Thus this "battle of wills" between mother and daughter sets the conflict of the story.

“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.

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.

The mother begins to rebel against tradition by taking an active role in educating and freeing herself. Through her radio, telephone and trips out with her sons she develops her own opinions about the world, the war, and the domination and seclusion of woman. She loses her innocence as a result to her new knowledge and experience.

As an adult, Jing-mei’s mother offers her the piano once more, and Jing-mei accepts the gift. Appreciating the encouragement and faith her mother bestows upon her Jing-mei decides to care for the piano. The piano piece

All Parents have dreams for their children. A lot of parents want their children to succeed in life and push them to do so. Some parents want their children to be just like them, but most of the time parents push their children to do things that they were never

Amy Tan’s short story “Two Kinds” describes a Chinese immigrant family who hope of finding success and an overall betterment of life in America. After losing everything in China, Jing-mei’s mother, Mrs. Woo, tries as a minority house maid in the 1960s to provide all the opportunities she can for her last daughter. This short story revolves around the interactions between the Jing-mei, who desires a ordinary life, and Mrs. Woo, who seeks only the best from her daughter. The values of these two characters are in constant conflict of which creates a lasting segregation between parent and child. Through Mrs. Woo’s death, Jing-mei questions her childhood upbringing and her mother’s true intentions that were masked by pure immigrant ambition.