Two Kinds by Amy Tan Essay: the Clash of Cultural Identity and Parental Expectations

Unpacking the High Expectations

First, children who get an education in their household are always known to feel inferior to their parents’ high expectations. For example, Jing-Mei refuses to follow her mother’s expectations by not going to piano practice and disobeying her. Families go through many struggles with high expectations due to their past based on what was unacceptable now and then. Two Kinds by Amy Tan’s essential elements are primarily based on high expectations, selfishness, and the truth between mother and daughter.

A Tale of Migration and Dreams

In Two Kinds, the narrator tells the story in strict chronological and also flashes back memories throughout the story. The author’s purpose of this short story was to inform the reader how a family coming from nothing strives for their child to have a successful future. Through all the dramatic things that happen in China, Jing Mei’s mother wants her to succeed in life.

Her mother always believed that America was where hopes of opportunities lay. Her mother came from nothing. It shows throughout the story how Jing Mei’s mother pushes her toward finding her talent. In the story, Jing-Mei’s mother was from China and came to San Francisco in 1949 to live a better life. Due to losing everything in China, she thought America would be a better life for her and her family. The story takes place in San Francisco while they live in Chinatown.

Emotional Perspectives: Jing-Mei’s Battle

The story point of view was based on Jing-Mei expressing her feelings and experiences about her mother’s perspective of what she should do with her life. Due to the fact Jing Mei’s mother lost her home and family, she pushes her daughter to do her best and try her hardest. The author’s message was to show how her mother is very passionate about her daughter’s bright future in reaching towards finding her talent in America. Several metaphors and similes were used throughout the story, grabbing the reader’s attention towards Jing Mei’s emotions based on how she felt about her mother’s decisions.

The author’s message is that things that happened in the past will never be forgotten, but bettering your future is valuable. In that case, it shows how she knows her high expectations in America will pay off, that her daughter would be such a prodigy. There were several different tones within the story. Jing-Mei held an upset and remorseful tone throughout the story. She shows anger because her mom is forcing her to play the piano. Her mother’s high expectations of something that she is not interested in doing shows angry emotions. She is very apologetic about letting her mom down. Jing-Mei wanted to make her mother happy but wanted to allow this talent to come naturally.

Unveiling the American Dream

The theme of this short story was based on living conditions in America. Her mother painted this fairy tale life of living an American Dream life since they moved. She believe that living in America, you could do and be anything you want. She pushes her daughter to become this prodigy. She pushes her daughter to find her talent. Jing-Mei is very uncertain of what her talent is. However, her mom’s anxiety about having a daughter with a unique talent gets in the way of their relationship and emotions toward one another.

Literary Elements and Character Dynamics

Theme shows throughout the story, showing her pride in standing up for her beliefs and who she really is. The author uses several figurative language, such as similes and metaphors. Figurative language expresses Jing Mei’s feelings. The ironic tension is when her mother allows her to take piano lessons from a teacher who is dead. Tenison aroused based on the piano teacher allowing Jing Mei’s mistakes to be accepted due to only watching her fingers. Jing-Mei is revealed as a dynamic character who tries to please her mom and is apologetic. The mother plays as a static character by having high expectations of her daughter.

Firstly, the effectiveness of the differences in expectations between the mother and daughter. “Two Kinds” is a critical reason that the novel is compelling. Throughout the novel, Jing Mei’s mother has several unrealistic expectations for her. Her mother was in competition with her peers about their daughter’s talent. Jing Mei’s mother wanted the best for her child. Critics Kristen Hoyte, from Literature Resource Center, stated an unrealistic expectation in her article “Contradiction and Culture: Revising Amy Tan’s ‘Two Kinds.'” Hoyte connects to the reader by stating her emotions toward disappointing her parents. Hoyte’s parents also had high expectations for her, such as good grades and attending Stanford. She states in the article about her poor grades and how she dropped out of college. She tells the reader how disappointed her parents were about this decision.

Even Hoyte’s teacher disagreed with her interpretation. By connecting, she explains several things others would view his story. Others may view Jing Mei’s mother’s expectations as being pushy and controlling or violent and cruel. She later connected with how hard it was to pick a college based on her parent’s perspective. Hoyte stated, “She even implied that the mother was wrong-headed one while the daughter had been wronged by her mother’s unrealistic expectations.” (Hoyte).

Therefore, there is a clear connection between high expectations between hoyteHoyte and her parents. Hoyte reminds the reader of how peer pressure it is to try to please parents. She connects with the reader by stating that her mom’s thoughts were about being a colored black woman in her society and that education is the only way to succeed. This is a connection she stated to show the reader that due to parents’ struggles in their years, they tend to have high expectations of what they always wanted to achieve in their lives. That connection ties back to Jing Mei’s mother losing everything and pushing her daughter to be successful.

Secondly, the subsequent effectiveness in Two Kinds was Jing Mei’s mother’s unrealistic expectations. Her mother’s unreasonable expectations symbolize her mother’s past. Hoyte thinks the mother is wrong-headed because she competes with a friend and does not hear her daughter out. Kristen Hoyte, from the Literature Resource Center, stated an unrealistic expectation in her article “Contradiction and Culture: Revising Amy Tan’s ‘Two Kinds’.” Hoyte connects to the reader by stating that even though she does what her mom wants, she consistently fails to please her. Hoyte explains how she feels when she fails at things to her audience. Hoyte’s interpretation felt cold-hearted towards her mother’s harsh expectations.

Analyzing Critics’ Perspectives: The Tale of Expectations

Hoyte connects with the reader when her parents confront her about what college she will be attending. She brings to the reader’s attention how she views college. Her parents influenced her to do what her mind desired, but it is hard when they are anticipating something else. Hoyte states, “I was disturbed partially because I hate performing poorly (and I will come back to this point later), but even worse, my interpretation seemed old-hearted compared to other people’s reading of the text.” (Hoyte).

The importance of this element is to show how passionate people can be towards something while still letting others down. Hoyte thought the mother’s aggressive attitude was ironic within the story. She thought it was her mother’s fault due to her behavior. She reminds the reader how her mother wanted her to be something she was not. The expectation that her mom wants makes it hard for Jing Mei because she wants to please herself and her mother but cannot. Her mother shows selfishness by trying to turn her daughter into something she is unwilling to be.

Thirdly, the effectiveness of Jing Mei’s mood was finding out the truth within her music, giving her a different perspective. The tension arose due to her performance, which was terrible. She was embarrassed and ashamed of disappointing her mother. She looked toward playing the piano differently. Critics Kristen Hoyte, from Literature Resource Center, stated an unrealistic expectation in her article “Contradiction and Culture: Revising Amy Tan’s ‘Two Kinds.'” Hoyte reinforces that the mother self-sabotaged her daughter by being a pianist. Hoyte states, “I opened the Schuman book to the dark little piece I played at the recital. It was on the left-hand page, “Pleading Child.” It looked more difficult than I thought.” (Hoyte). Hoyte never resolves the condition in her life. She wonders how others handle it so quickly. Hoyte’s perspective of Jing Mei’s mom was discovered as sabotage.

Later in the story, she discovers that the two halves are the same song. The music piece is symbolic and shows the reader that life has ups and downs. Hoyte blamed the mother for how disobedient her daughter was due to her noticing the notes and how similar they were. She states how Jing Mei finally understands the way her mom is acting. The epiphany was when Jing-Mei forgave her mom about her expectations.

Therefore, in Two Kinds by Amy Tan, essential elements are primarily based on high expectations, selfishness, and the truth between mother and daughter. This short story is based on the conflict between mother and daughter perspectives of how your life should be while living in America. Jing Mei’s mom thought she could find her talent in America, so she anticipated her to play the piano. Throughout the story, it shows how parents are based on their struggles in their past. The story shows how the mother tries to live the life she wants for herself through her daughter. Jing Mei’s mom’s high expectations affected her daughter’s childhood by wanting to find a talent.

Reference

1. Tan, Amy. “Two Kinds.” The Joy Luck Club. Penguin Books, 1989. Print.

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