Similarities Between Two Kinds And Tapka

The children in the stories “Two Kinds” and “Tapka” have several similarities. The children share the fact that they are newly arrived immigrants to their respective countries and the alienation this caused. The children had to learn the new language and cultures within these new countries. The children had to learn how to function in such a diverse setting, due to the fact there were so many different types of people coming together at once. In a situation that forced the children to change in ways they had little control of, they shared the way they choose to act out their newly found freedoms. In their new surroundings, they were able to express a small amount of individuality by directly defying their mothers. In “Two Kinds”, Jing Mei
decided she would not put any effort into learning to play the piano out of spite because her mother was always forcing these types of challenges onto her. Mark and Jana in the story “Tapka” chose to befriend and take care of the dog, which was the exact opposite of what their mother would have wanted given her intense dislike of the dog and the importance placed on it by the owners. In a time when the children were forced to adapt to so much, they were able to express their own voice in the manner that they stood against their mothers' wishes.