sense of futility. Jing-mei believes that she is simply not “fated” to be a prodigy‚ that ultimately there resides within her an unchangeable element of mediocrity. When she tells her reflection in the mirror one night that she will not allow her mother to change her‚ that she will not try to be what she is not‚ she asserts her will in a strong but negative manner. At that moment‚ she recalls‚ she saw the “prodigy side” of herself in the anger and determination that were in her face. This comment
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Composition & Literature | Amy Tan | Professor Blum | JAEL VARGAS 12/17/2012 | This story’s main events take place in Chinatown throughout the 1950s and perhaps early 1960s. The main character of the story‚ who is also the protagonist‚ is the author herself: Amy Tan. The antagonist happens to be her own mother‚ who is always pushing Amy to discover some hidden talent and be someone she is not. There are a few other minor characters in the story. There is Lindo Jong (who she calls
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Two Kinds by Amy Tan A: Synopsis This short story‚ ‘Two Kinds’ is more focused on the relationships between mother and daughter. The narrator of this story‚ Jing Mei recalls of the days when her mother wanted her to be a prodigy in America. Her mother moved to San Francisco when she lost everything in China. At first‚ she thought that her daughter would be like Shirley Temple as they watched how talented Shirley Temple was in acting. And one day when the narrator’s mother saw a young Chinese girl
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author‚ Amy Tan is a second generation Chinese immigrant. Her parents are both Chinese immigrants. Her father and one of her brothers passed away during her early teens. At that period‚ she found out that her mother had been married before in China. She left her divorced ex-husband and three daughters in China. In 1987‚ after her mother recovered from a serious illness‚ they took a trip to China where Tan reunited with her half-sisters. The trip offered Tan a new perspective on her mother and inspired
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Not My Dream In the story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan‚ we are shown the struggles of a young girl Jing-Mei. Her struggle is that of a young girl growing up and trying to find her own sense of identity. Her troubles are compounded by her mother‚ who convinces her that she can become someone important. Because of her mother’s constant overbearing behavior‚ Jing-Mei does everything she can to annoy and displease her mother even to the point of being a failure. This fight to find
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Not My Dream In the story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan‚ we are shown the struggles of a young girl Jing-Mei. Her struggle is that of a young girl growing up and trying to find her own sense of identity. Her troubles are compounded by her mother‚ who convinces her that she can become someone important. Because of her mother’s constant overbearing behavior‚ Jing-Mei does everything she can to annoy and displease her mother even to the point of being a failure. This fight to find her own identity against
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In Two Kinds‚ Amy Tan tells the story of Jing-mei‚ who as a child was given the song “Pleading Child” to practice. This song describes who she was as a child‚ desperate to stay the way she is‚ and pleading with her mother to love her the way she is‚ not the way she wants her to be. “Perfectly Contented‚” paints a different picture one that is viewed looking back by someone who has more experience. This song is longer because it takes more time to learn how to be perfectly content with one’s life
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"Two Kinds" The story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan represents the theme that parents cannot control their children‚ but can only guide them. A Chinese mother and daughter Ni Kan are at odds with each other in story. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy of some sort‚ her daughter does try to follow her mother ’s orders but has she gets older she realizes she wants to find her own self and not to be what her mother wants her to be. They both have conflicting values‚ which is the theme of the
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In the short story‚ “Two Kinds”‚ written by Amy Tan‚ she reflects on her experiences during her childhood. Like most adolescents‚ the pressure to be equal (or perhaps greater) than your peers is something that most have undergone‚ whether that be in sports or academics. Similarly‚ Amy Tan‚ or Jing-Mei‚ reluctantly followed her mother’s prying through the course of her elementary years; and‚ as a result‚ the unrealistic expectations of Jing-Mei’s mother ultimately change her perspective of who she
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on life. "Two kinds" by Amy Tan‚ shows when two different worlds collide it can be a big mess. It can change the way you view things maybe things you never thought about before. The story refers to a girl and a mother conflicting about culture and the way one another was raised. In the story the little girl’s mom could conflicts with her daughter mainly because of how she was raised and how things were for her growing up. "I didn’t have to do what my mother said anymore. I wasn’t her
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