Point of View in Amy Tan’s Short Story, Two Kinds
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.
"Two Kinds" is a powerful example of differing personalities causing struggles
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The daughter is bored with her mother's dreams and lets her pride take over. She often questions her self-worth, and she decides that she respects herself as nothing more than the normal girl that she is and always will be. Her mother is trying to mold her into something that she can never be, she believes, and only by her futile attempts to rebel can she hold on to the respect that she has for herself. The daughter is motivated only to fail so that she may continue on her quest to be normal. Her only motivation for success derives from her own vanity; although she cannot admit it to herself or her mother, she wants the audience to see her as that something that she is not, that same something that her mother hopes she could be.
After her failure to satisfy her mother and herself at the talent show, the relationship between them soured at an accelerated pace, culminating in one final argument. "Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!" the mother shouted. "Then I wish I weren't your daughter," came the reply. A few words later, the daughter delivered the blow that all but destroyed the mother's dreams: "Then I wish I'd never been born! I wish I were dead! Like them," she screamed, alluding to her mother's miscarriages.
"In the years that followed, I failed her many times, each time asserting my
A parent and child’s relationship evolves as they both develop a greater mindset. In the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, the author’s use of language reveals the conflict the narrator falls into with her mother because of the high expectations that were set for her since she was a child. The narrator comes to a realization that her mother is trying to make her someone she’s not; as a result, change occurs in the narrator, her mother, and their relationship.
Amy Tran’s story of the “Two Kinds” is a story about mother and her daughter who has complicated relationship and the relationship will deteriorate as the mother pushes her daughter to become a best for everything. At the beginning of the story ,Amy give us the impression that mother wants her daughter to become more productive and flourish in the society and to some degree to exceed everything for the best because she did not had the chance that her daughter have today. The mother was born and raised in china where she had lost her mother, her father, her first husband, her twin’s babies. It can be said the loss and tragedy has been vanished from her and she is only focused from now on her present life and the future headed of her daughter.
The reiteration increases the emotional intensity of the mother, and it is effectual in implying the various responsibilities that follow independence. The daughter’s independence may be bittersweet for the mother but she states, “If I defer the grief I will diminish the gift” (49). This line contains two alliterations, and the words signify the diction and the parallelism between the phrases. The natural inclination of a mother is to protect her offspring. However, it is evident in the mother’s assertion that she fully realizes the negative consequences of over protecting her daughter from pain and suffering. In spite of her innate desires, the mother is willing to put herself down and grant the gift of independence as well as the opportunity for her daughter to learn from real
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.
The two stories both have conflicts between a child and a parent. The children are both rebellious and they do not listen to their parents. They both eventually make peace with their parents. The two kids both have difficulty understanding why their parents are holding them to such high standards. The parents in both stories believe they are doing what is best for their child. There are differences in styles of parenting and the children, but the conflict in the two remain the
… Her father had been talking with the scroungy village men, and of course they had been talking about how one's better than the other. And how great their kids are and all that kind of stuff. Than they started to talk about their families and how their daughters are the best children. Than the topic came up that their daughters do a lot of back breaking work and how they play an important hole in their households. Thinking about what the men were saying one father named Benjamin wanted all the attention on him for once. He is usually one of those people who do not usually get a lot of attention. Then all of a sudden he had a great idea, “Finally, I will get all the attention on me.” He whispered to himself.
The Choice All Parents have dreams for their children. Some parents want their children to be just like them, but most of the time they push their children to do things that they were never capable of doing. There are some who obey and do as their parents say, but there are those who choose to be their own person and follow their individual paths. We learn about these choices throughout the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan. Tan describes the mental struggles of the protagonist Ni Kan as she is growing up through the vision of her mother.
Have you ever read a story and wanted to know if the character is right or wrong? The story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan is about a girl that wants that believes that she can not be anything she wants to be, but her mother thinks she can if the kid tries hard enough. in the story the author stats “for unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be. I could only be me.” Tan (2007)
The most charming and testing relationship on the planet is the relationship between the mother and the daughter. There are such a variety of elements required in this relationship. There is a unique and unmistakable connection amongst mothers and daughters. The short story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan outlines the principle character Jing-mei's childhood and the impacts of her mother’s high expectation for her life. The mother pressures Jing-mei to exceed in America where everything is possible. However, they come into a conflict when her mother becomes determined to make Jing-mei into a child prodigy. The mother forces her daughter to take piano lessons; however, when it comes time for the talent show, she fails unhappily. Her contention with her mother goes unsettled for quite a long time. Thus, Amy Tan illustrates the difficult connection between an immigrant Chinese mother and her American-born girl, Jing-Mei. Therefore, the author represents the protagonist’s evolving relationship with her mother, through symbolism and characterization.
Mother’s and daughter’s don’t always get along. In life, sometimes we get conflicted on whether to pursue a personal desire, or choose to do what is socially acceptable. The story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan is about the Conflict this young girl has with her mother. Her mother wants her to be a prodigy, while she on the other hand, promised herself she would not become something that she is not. In this essay, I will discuss the conflict of choosing a personal desire and choosing to conform.
Heber Obando“‘Too late to change this,’ said my mother shrilly” (Tan 231). “Two Kinds,” a short story written by Amy Tan, is about a mother who moves from China to America to get a better opportunity for herself and daughter. The mother wants the best for her daughter, so she is willing to push her to do her best. She is determined not to stop till the daughter gives up on herself. Her mother wants Jing-Mei to be a prodigy so she is willing to try different activities. Jing-mei wants to be a prodigy but is not willing to do the work to be a prodigy. The mother only wants the best for her daughter because she did not have that opportunity in China. Throughout the story, the reader understands how Jing-mei’s mother’s determination to push her to do her best and she gives up on herself and with the actions taken it affects each other feelings.
The story Two Kinds is about a young Chinese American woman recalling her past with her mother, when she was still alive. Jing-Mei’s mother has migrated from China in 1949 after losing everything, including her two twin daughters. Her mother believed that better opportunities and dreams come true in the Land of America. Because of her belief, she attempted to raise Jing-Mei to become a prodigy, using every way she could find. At first, she coaches Jing-Mei into becoming a Chinese Shirley Temple, assuming that Jing-Mei has the skills and the talent to become a child actress. Jing-Mei begins to believe in her mother at first, filling herself with a sense that she would become perfect and famous, like her mother always told her. Along with becoming an actress, Jing-Mei’s mother obtained some of the magazines from the houses she cleaned and began to test her daughter to increase her intelligence, hence comparing her to the stories of the “remarkable children” (130). After being tested repeatedly, and failing, Jing-Mei grows resentful and realized that she disappoints her mother every time she fails to reach her potential.
The mother-daughter relationship is often scrutinized, publicized, and capitalized on. Whether from tell-all biographies, to humorous sit-coms, or private therapy sessions, this particular relationship dynamic gives some of the most emotion-activating memories. When female authors reflect and write about their relationships with their mothers, they have a tendency to taint their reflections with the opinions they have as an adult, reviewing the actions of their mother when they were young. These opinions set the tone of the story independently and in conjunction with the relationship itself and manifest in creative literary styles that weave an even more intricate story. Case in point, when reviewing the two literary works “I Stand Here
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Underline examples where the author’s life relates to the first 50 pages of the book so far.
In the short story,”Two Kinds,” a mother once raised in China, flees to America to start a new life. The nation America, to the mother, is a place of opportunity in which one can be and do anything. Continually, the mother with a new life, had a daughter, which happens to be the narrator of this story. The mother soon channels her aspirations and knowledge of America’s opportunity into the narrator, with constant tests for signs of a special attribute. Eventually, the narrator has enough and rebels