Brief Summary Of The Short Story 'Two Kind'

In the story Two Kinds, the title gives a great incite of the meaning of the story. Throughout the whole short story, there are many references to “two kinds” of something. The idea is, that no one will ever be good enough in another person’s eyes until they think they are good enough for themselves. I think that’s why Jing has such a hard time trying to please her mom. Jing doesn’t love herself enough to think she could actually please her mom. Throughout the story, Jing is put down until she finally has enough and after that she becomes content with herself. In the beginning of the story, there is a comparison between America and China. China was where the mother lost everything and in America it was a land of opportunity. As Jing-mei Woo
Jing wanted to be the prodigy her mom wanted saying, “In all my imaginings, I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect. My mother and father would adore me. I would be beyond reproach. I would never feel the need to sulk for anything” (784). Jing wants to be the daughter her mother always dreamed of, but she seems to become the other kind. The one that does not succeed. Another “two kinds” comparison is when a little Chinese girl is playing the piano on The Ed Sullivan Show on TV. Her mother now wants her to be a piano prodigy. The mom compares Jing to the little girl by saying Jing is not the best, just like how the little girl was playing. This begins a year of playing notes incorrectly and not fixing it. I mean, why should she? She knew she would never be able to please her mother. The next “two kinds” comparison is when the cousin of Jing is called the “Chinatown’s Littlest Chinese Chess Champion”. The last comparison, which is the biggest, is the meaning of the two songs. There are “two kinds” of songs that Jing plays, “Pleading Child” and “Perfectly Contented”. Jing had to play “Pleading Child” for the talent show. That’s what she was when she played it at a young age, a pleading child. She was