Two Kinds
Quynh Tran
Professor Victoria Murray
Expository Writing II
10/2/2014
Two Kinds
"Two Kinds" is truly an amazing work; it captivates readers by telling a story of a young girl trying to find herself. Amy Tan does a phenomenal job, not only by portraying a very real mother-daughter relationship, but at showing how much a young girl can change. Jing-Mei evolves throughout the story in a way that many people can relate to; crushed hopes, obeying your parents even if it means doing something you don 't want to do, and finally standing up for what you believe in. Since "You could be anything you wanted to be in America" (Tan 405) Jing-Mei’s mother thought it means anyone can become a prodigy, including her daughter, in America. While that makes "Everything sound too simple and too easily achieved; Jing-Mei does not paint a picture of her mother as ignorant or silly" (Brent). In fact, in the beginning, Jing-Mei and her mother are both trying to "Pick the right kind of prodigy" (Tan 405). "In the beginning, she was just as excited as her mother,"(Tan 406). She wanted to be perfect, so that her father and mother will love her; and it seems like the only way to accomplish this is to become a prodigy. As Jing Mei’s strived to achieve perfection, she and her mother would try many different things to find the "right kind of prodigy" (Tan 406). "Every night after dinner, Jing-Mei and her mother would sit at the Formica kitchen table. Her mother would present new tests, taking her examples from stories of amazing children she had read in Ripley 's Believe It or Not, or Good Housekeeping, Reader 's Digest, and a dozen other magazines.” (Tan 406) Jing Mei’s mother would look through them all, searching for stories about remarkable children. Over time "The tests got harder with multiplying numbers in her head, finding the queen of hearts in a deck of cards, trying to stand on her head without using her
Professor Victoria Murray
Expository Writing II
10/2/2014
Two Kinds
"Two Kinds" is truly an amazing work; it captivates readers by telling a story of a young girl trying to find herself. Amy Tan does a phenomenal job, not only by portraying a very real mother-daughter relationship, but at showing how much a young girl can change. Jing-Mei evolves throughout the story in a way that many people can relate to; crushed hopes, obeying your parents even if it means doing something you don 't want to do, and finally standing up for what you believe in. Since "You could be anything you wanted to be in America" (Tan 405) Jing-Mei’s mother thought it means anyone can become a prodigy, including her daughter, in America. While that makes "Everything sound too simple and too easily achieved; Jing-Mei does not paint a picture of her mother as ignorant or silly" (Brent). In fact, in the beginning, Jing-Mei and her mother are both trying to "Pick the right kind of prodigy" (Tan 405). "In the beginning, she was just as excited as her mother,"(Tan 406). She wanted to be perfect, so that her father and mother will love her; and it seems like the only way to accomplish this is to become a prodigy. As Jing Mei’s strived to achieve perfection, she and her mother would try many different things to find the "right kind of prodigy" (Tan 406). "Every night after dinner, Jing-Mei and her mother would sit at the Formica kitchen table. Her mother would present new tests, taking her examples from stories of amazing children she had read in Ripley 's Believe It or Not, or Good Housekeeping, Reader 's Digest, and a dozen other magazines.” (Tan 406) Jing Mei’s mother would look through them all, searching for stories about remarkable children. Over time "The tests got harder with multiplying numbers in her head, finding the queen of hearts in a deck of cards, trying to stand on her head without using her
Cited: Bernheimer, Kate. "Two Kinds." Short Stories for Students, volume 9:287-302 Brent, Liz. "Two Kinds." Short Stories for Students, volume 9: 287-302 Tan, Amy. "Two Kinds." Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner, et. Al. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin 's, 2004. 405-414