Character Analysis: Two Kinds By Amy Tan

Many failed attempts and a highly disappointed mother later, Jing Mei realizes that the only thing that she wanted was to be her own person. She soon finds out that to do this she must rebel against her mother. Jing Mei gets so caught up in rebelling that she loses sight of what was originally the most important thing to her. This leads her on a deconstructive path of not giving full effort. Jing Mei thought that her mother was the only thing keeping her from reaching her full potential, while it was really her the entire

Jing-Mei's mother moved to the United States from China, but she still identifies herself as Chinese, and tries to stick to Chinese traditions and lifestyles in the new country. For her mother question of self-identity is simple, she is Chinese, she lives in the Chinese community, so she does not have to adjust to the American lifestyle. The majority of the information she gets about the American culture comes from the TV shows and magazines she brings from work. Since this is the only source of information for her, she is not able to critically evaluate the information she receives from media. Things are not that simple for her daughter Jing-Mei. She was born in the United States, she goes to the American school, but at the same time she

Early in childhood Jing Mei dreamed of finding her prodigy and being a famous Chinese American, mostly because of the views and actions her mother placed on her. Her mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. (pg 405) Her mother was always pushing new tests and talents on Jing Mei. She even went as far as having her daughter Jing Mei models her physical appearance and actions after a child-star Shirley Temple. Her other was always testing her with many different things trying to discover Jing Mei’s talent. Later Jing Mei started to feel like her mother was just trying to make her into someone she was not and started to just fail and not try to do anything right hoping her mother would give up. When her mother died she had realized what her mother had been trying to do. Her mother had only wanted her to do her best. She had then to realize what her mother had

Jing-Mei feels differently though, “Unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to. I could only be me,” (359/80) and she was correct for she had no natural musical talent. Jing-Mei has a desire to please her mother, but an even stronger one to choose her own life. She pacifies her mother by going to piano lessons but puts in no effort. Jing-Mei is “…determined to put a stop to her blind foolishness,” (356/48) but her mother’s desire to create a prodigy to compete with Aunt Lindo’s daughter, keeps her focused on the impossible. That is, until Jing-Mei escalates this conflict to its breaking point in rebellion. Stunning her mother, she shouts “Then I wish I’d never been born! I wish I were dead! Like them,” (359/77) referring to the twin daughters her mother lost in China. Sadly, the mother’s desire to have Jing-Mei conform to her expectations creates a constant battle between mother and daughter, and, in rejecting those expectations, seeing disappointment in her mother’s face all too often causes Jing-Mei to feel, “something inside me began to die” (353/18).

The strong determination that both Jing-Mei and her mother possess lead to two strongly different views on the life Jing-Mei desires to live. Jing-Mei’s mother wants her daughter to be a perfect child and have a successful life. She pushes her to be someone that Jing-Mei has no desire to be. Jing-Mei longs to be an ordinary child and live a normal life. She does not wish to have her mother pushing her to do tasks that are impossible for her. Jing-Mei hates to let her mother down, but she later becomes frustrated and says that she will not allow her mother to transform her. She says that she will be the ordinary child that she dreamed of becoming.

Since "You could be anything you wanted to be in America" (Tan 348) Jing-Meis' mother thought that meant that you had to be a prodigy. While that makes "Everything [sound] too simple and too easily achieved; [Jing-Mei] does not paint a picture of her

Because this is a retelling of a mother-daughter relationship, Jing-mei is the protagonist and main character of this short story while her mother is the antagonist. Jing-mei is a dynamic character. At the beginning all she wanted to do was please her mother and accomplish her mother's version of the American Dream, but then her epiphany happened: she realized that this is not her dream, thus she rebelled and began to follow her own dream. On the other hand, Jing-mei’s mother is a static character. All her emotions, thoughts, and feelings surround one motive: for Jing-mei to become a prodigy. Although at the end she stops asking Jing-mei to do multiple hobbies, she still believed that Jing-mei had “natural talent [and that Jing-mei] could [still] be a genius if [she] wanted to” (Tan 48). In the end, Jing-mei’s mother realized that she no longer could control her daughter, yet that still did not stop her from hinting that her daughter still had the ability to become a

Jing-Mei is angered at her mother when she whispers, “For unlike my mother, I did not believe I could do anything I wanted to be. I could only be me.” (Tan) Her and her mother fought a lot because of their different expectations in life. Jing-Mei’s mother believed one could do anything they wanted to do in America, but Jing-Mei just wanted to let life lead her where she is supposed to go. It is understandable how her mother is upset at Jing-Mei’s negligence because a mother wants what is best for her child.

The main character, Jing-Mei is pushed by her mother to become a child prodigy. She is convinced that this is the easiest way to live the “American Dream”. “America was where all my mother’s hopes lay. She had come here in 1949 after losing everything in China: her mother and father, her family home, her first husband, and two daughters, twin baby girls. But she never looked back with regret. There were so many ways for things to get better,”(Tan 3). This shows that Jing-Mei’s mother sacrificed a lot for them to be living in America. Jing-Mei and her mother have a good relationship and love each other very much. After her mother tried and tried again to find something her daughter was good at, it began to drive them apart. ”And the next day I played a game with myself, seeing if my mother would give up on me before eight bellows. After a while I usually counted only one bellow, maybe two at most. At last, she was beginning to give up hope,”(Tan 17). Her mother had pushed her daughter in hopes of making her a prodigy. This was hurtful to their relationship. Jing- Mei felt that her mother did not like her the way she was and wanted to change her into something

Jing-Mei didn’t want to do it anymore but her mother had high expectations for her to succeed. It escalated even more when Jing-Mei mother said “Only two kinds of daughters, those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!” (270) Jing-Mei response was that she wished she wasn’t her daughter and that she was never born.

Throughout the story, Jing-mei embarks on a lifelong journey of self satisfaction made through painful yet rewarding connections of femininity and ethnicity. After a careful analysis of the story, the reader understands how Jing-mei’s feelings toward her mother changed, why her feelings changed, and how alienation between Jing-mei and her mother affect their relationship as well as the entire story. Throughout the story, the narrator’s feelings toward her mother

Jing-Mei’s mother is an immigrant who moved to America in 1949 after losing everything she had in China. Her mother works as a cleaning lady. Jing Mei is an American –Chinese; she lives with both her parents. Jing Mei’s mom fervently believes in the American dream. Jing Mei says “America was where all my mother’s hopes lay…”

Jing-Mei’s mother believed that in America, you could accomplish anything (Tan 382) reflecting her unrealistic optimism about life in a new country. She extends this belief into her view of her daughter, believing that she has the potential to be a prodigy, despite not knowing exactly where Jing Mei’s talents lie. She is confident that her daughter will achieve great success. Jing-Mei’s mother is an immigrant, hoping to escape the harsh conditions in China that resulted in the loss of her mother, father, husband and two twin daughters. She hopes for a better life for Jing-Mei.

Despite all the time trying to be what her mother wanted her to be she starts to realise what she wants in life. Jing Mei develops her character. She is becoming rebellious, “I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t be what I’m not.” Because she doesn’t want to listen to her mother, conflict begins. Jing Mei is very courageous she is not afraid of her mother she fights for what she wants. The pressure her mother puts on her has a positive effect because she does find who she is and what she wants, even if this wasn’t her mother’s idea. The most important thing is to know how you are and what you want so in a way her mother achieved that. Sadly conflict started getting worst and worst. The author made both characters very strong. This is why the conflict is so intense. Jing Mei won’t let her mother decide for her and her mother won’t let Jing Mei do what she wants. This is why they don’t get along no more. The mother’s attitudes pushes Jing Mei to be extremely mean to her mother she starts to say awful things, “Then I wish I weren’t your daughter, I wish you weren’t my mother.” Thereafter their relationship got ruined. Jing did find who she is but by doing this she broke her relationship with her mother.

Although Jing Mei’s view on American Dream has a big impact on her cultural identity, her age also contributes to it. On Jing Mei's age, it's normal to act that way but at the same time you should know your limit on how you act towards your parents. The way Jing Mei acts on my point of view is that it's very rude but at the same time she's trying to stand up for herself that she needs to make a decision for herself. Jing-Mei at the right time she will eventually have to depend to herself. Which she needs to select what she really desire for her future's sake since Jing-Mei doesn't comprehend what her mother is trying to tell her what she needs to do to become successful.