A minor character in a short story often plays an important role. Amy Tan proves this in the short story “Two Kinds”. Mr. Chong, the old, strange and deaf music teacher plays a very small role, yet is so vital in this story.
Suyuan, Jing-Mei’s mother, has always seen America as a land of hope and fulfillment wanting her daughter to have every advantage in this land of opportunity, she gave her various lessons, such as piano and acting, and encouraged her to apply herself in school so she could have intellectual excellence. Jing-Mei resented her mother’s interference and insistence on excellence. For Jing-Mei’s thirteenth birthday she gave her daughter the piano, and with that lessons were to
Amy Tan has appropriately titled this chapter as “Two Kinds.” Suyuan and Jing-Mei are opposites in their natures and attitudes. The title also refers to two pieces of music on the piano. As a child, Jing-Mei had considered the two parts
“Perfectly Contented” woman who can understand the two cultures that have shaped her.
As you can see, Mr. Chong played a very small role, yet had a very big impact on Jing-Mei’s life. He helped her realize that her talent and beauty comes from within-something that not everyone is able to hear/see at first glance. If it was not for Mr. Chong, who knows where Jing-Mei would be today, she might not have gotten in touch with herself and realized everything she did about her mother. In a weird an
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