(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Two Kinds

            In America you can be very successful in life with the right education and role model. Other countries dream of coming to America because of the abundant opportunity. In America you have the chance to do almost anything whereas in other countries you are limited by freedom, finance, and religion. Amy's mother emigrated from China in 1949 after losing everything; her husband, a set of twins, her mother and father. "Two Kinds" was a story about an emigrant mother who had many struggles in her country and came to America to live her dream but learned that you cannot force your dreams upon someone else. Her mother reason for choosing to come to America was opportunity. America was the promise land and all you have to do is apply yourself. The story "Two Kinds" shows a relationship between a mother and daughter who have different opinions about success. The mother felt her daughter should be her prodigy and the daughter felt you should be the best that you can be and not necessarily a prodigy. .
             In short her mother was determined to make something of her new life in America. She decided to live her dreams of America through her daughter. She said she would make her daughter a prodigy or a genius. Through out the year she pushes her daughter through numerous competition and performances. First she wanted her daughter to be like Shirley Temple. She took her daughter to the beauty salon to get her hair done but it became a disaster. The student at the beauty school had messed her hair up so much that she had to cut her hair short and people teased her because she looked like Peter Pan. Next she wanted her daughter to be remembered as an amazing child from the book "Ripley's Believe It or Not". Than it was the piano lessons, her mother exchanged cleaning services so that her daughter could receive lessons. Her mother got the idea from the "Ed Sullivan" show when she saw this little Chinese girl playing the piano.


Essays Related to Two Kinds

1. Two Kinds

Parental pressure is often part of a child's life as it was part of Jing-Mei's in Amy Tan's Two Kinds in The Harbrace Anthology of Short Fiction. ... Throughout the story, we find out what kind of life Jing-Mei's mother has lead. ... After immigrating to America and having another child, a daughter again, it is natural for her to place all of her hopes in that child, probably in order to compensate what she has missed with her other two daughters. ... [1] Amy Tan's Two Kinds, p.319, par. 12... [2] Amy Tan's Two Kinds, p,320, par. 18 [3] Amy Tan's Two ...

  • Word Count: 845
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Two Kinds

Amy Tan's Two Kinds essay is about a Chinese mother who immigrated to America after losing everyone, and everything that she had knew back in China, to start a new life. ... Like her mother said, "There were only two kinds of daughters those who are obedient, and those who follow their own mind" (Madden 868). ... When I was a child my parents put me in all kind of little league sports and activities, even sometimes when I did not want to, but sometimes I never told them I did not want to participate, because I felt that my parents wanted the best for me. ...

  • Word Count: 579
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Two Kinds

Character Analysis "Two Kinds" is a fictional short story written by Amy Tan that tells of the trials and tribulations that a young girl and her mother experience when the girl feels that her mother is pushing her too hard to become a child prodigy. ... Hurtful words were exchanged between the two but Jing-mei delivered the most lethal blow on page 102, paragraph 9, "Then I wish I were dead! ... Although the conflict in the story "Two Kinds" revolves around Jing-mei's and her mother's disagreement on the success of Jing-mei's future, Jing-mei's attitude was not always w...

  • Word Count: 866
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Two Kinds

In Amy Tan's short story "Two Kinds," Jing-mei is a regular nine-year-old girl who wants nothing more than to be herself and just be a kid. ... "Two Kinds" clearly illustrates that parents cannot control their children's lives; they can only guide them in the right direction and let them make their own decisions. ... Jing-mei is forced to go through many lessons and tests given to her by her mother in order to try to find out what kind of prodigy she is going to be. ... "Them" refers to the two children her mother had lost while they were still in China. ...

  • Word Count: 629
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Two Kinds

In Amy Tan's short story "Two Kinds" the mother wanted her daughter to be a prodigy, but she wanted to be perfect, flawless, impeccable. "Two Kinds" examines how media influence can alter a persons conception of self, and also convince a person (the mother in this story) that you have to be great at something in order to succeeded in life. ...

  • Word Count: 669
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. two kinds

Two kinds This short story is about a little girl named Jing-mei and her mother. The mother always wanted Jing-mei to be someone she wasn't. She always compared her to people on TV and would tell her that she could be better then them. Her mother would give her test that she took from magazines...

  • Word Count: 264
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Two Kinds

Struggle In the story, "Two Kinds," by Amy Tan, a young Chinese American woman lives in San Francisco with her emigrant parents. Jing mei is a vengeful independent individual who is torn between two cultures. ... And her fingers felt like a dead person's" (719) Jing mei feels the cultural disparity when her mother says "Only two kinds of daughter, Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!" ... Jing mei's struggle between the two cultures will never go away. ...

  • Word Count: 789
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Cranes and Two Kinds

This concept is demonstrated in the two short stories "Cranes," by Hwang Sunwon, and "Two Kinds," by Amy Tan. The two plots share the theme of characters reflecting on their past and allowing their childhood experiences to shape their lives and create closure in their present. ... The two boys go to steal chestnuts from an old man's tree. ... A young woman name Jing Mei is given a similar opportunity in the story "Two Kinds," when she finally comes to an accord with the events of her childhood after being able to look back and analyze her actions and events. ... The main characters of t...

  • Word Count: 860
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question