American
American
Two kinds represents the two kinds of daughters. A daughter who is obedient, who follows her mother's suggestions and a daughter who follows what's on her own mind. This story will help you find your own identity in this complicated world.…
While trying to understand the reasons for her mother wanting Jing-Mei to be great, Jing-Mei discovers the real meaning of two kinds. "Two Kinds" is written by Amy Tan. Jing-Mei, a young Chinese girl, grew up in America with her mother, a member of the Joy Luck Club. Through this, Jing-Mei's mother pushes into being a prodigy. With this, her mother has the idea of Jing-Mei playing the piano.…
In the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, with the use of epiphany and turning points the reader is able to see the protagonist’s growth and change in personality throughout the story. The protagonist, Jing-Mei and her mother emigrated from China to the US, thus the family struggled in adapting to the new culture and lifestyle. Heavily influenced by the opportunities and hopes with a new life in US, Jing-Mei’s mother wanted Jing-Mei to become a prodigy like the other girls on television. Jing-Mei was determined and eager to prove to her mother she was a prodigy, and thereby had full confidence in herself. She believed “[her] mother and father would adore [her and she’d be] beyond reproach.” (pg4). As Jing-Mei’s mother quizzed Jing-Mei with countless questions and tests, Jing-Mei started getting frustrated by her mother’s disappointments and “something inside [her] began to die” (pg 5).…
The book is called the things they carried by Tim O'brien which is both the author and main character therefore it is autobiographical. Obrien represents a theme before and after war by using symbolism when discussing the setting. After war, continued seeing things similar to what he had experienced in vietnam. "Normam drove the 9 mile tar road around the lake then started again. "this statement demonstrates how the lake was symbolic of vietnam, and it had no meaning hence he continued to repeat. "the truth is war has no moral its like the cloth that makes the thread."As the thread makes cloth and not vice versa, I believe he is saying war has meaning. O'brien uses personification in order to describe the setting. "She became something…
In Amy tans short stories Rules of the Game, Fish Cheeks, and Two Kinds use themes concerning the boundaries and relationships between mothers and daughters. Asian culture, particularly Chinese culture plays an important role in all three short stories, giving the traditional conflicts an interesting plot. Amy tans short stories mainly describe the troubles and tension between Chinese immigrant mothers and their Americanized daughters through their shared adventures in an entertaining way. The daughters ignore the Chinese aspect of their identity and embrace the American side. They reflect on their childhood up with strong discipline and expectations that most of them have not met leading to future guilt. Now as grown women with their own families, the…
There are instances when imaginary stories are more powerful than those that actually happened. The fictional reality present in O'Brien's The Things They Carried adds more realism to his writing than any amount of actual details every could. Even though the stories recounted in the book didn't physically happen, they still hold as true as any actual war story. Furthermore, many of the characters and experiences found in these stories have been created from composites of real people and places. Essentially, the stories are first-hand accounts of things that never happened. Tim O'Brien uses this fictional world to negate death, to emphasize meaningful events and character traits, and to enrich the stories with feelings as oppose to factual details.…
As its complex structure suggests, the book tries to organize the the stories of mother and daughter with the intention of reaching the same destination: the daughter's recovery of her cultural and ethnic identity as Chinese by overcoming the generational gap and the cultural differences between herself and her mother. The mother intend to hand over their "good intentions" and "usable past" in China to their daughter in America. Amy Tan, depicts the relationship between Jing-mei, a young Chinese-American girl, and her mother, a Chinese immigrant, her mother. She does not have something special things. However, her normal life has changed a little because of her mother.…
Elizabeth Bishop is an American poet, who has suffered many losses throughout her life. She has lost her father, mother, lover and much more. This poem, “One Art”, is a way for her to express how she copes with her losses. She uses real life examples that she has personally experienced to give the reader an image of what she is trying to express. She also occasionally uses metaphors and sound devices, to convey what she means. Throughout the poem, she is trying to convince herself that since loss often happens, you can master overcoming the feelings that come with it. She tries to prepare herself for a great loss throughout the poem, by attempting to perfect the art of losing, telling herself that loss is no disaster. Mastering…
Ever went to bed and woke up in a totally different world? Or maybe a new dimension? Sometimes the world has a way of making us feel that way. I think that when a person goes to a new world everything is new, the way they are, the way they look at their culture even their perspective on life.…
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. The author shows Walter’s crave for money with the ambition of him wanting to start up a liquor store, but his sole focus is cash. As the story advances Walter grasps the importance of his relatives by not accepting the offer from Mr. Linder, but by remaining in the house because it's fitting for the Younger’s. Throughout the story Walter starts from a man who ties the American dream to achieving wealth who then realizes the value of family.…
In "Two Kinds," Amy Tan writes a coming of age story about a young girl in…
The author of My First Free Summer Julia Alvarez, wrote about the part of the summer she had in which she escaped the Dominican Republic for the U.S.…
Maya Angelou “Phenomenal Woman” is a very strong poem. It is a poem speaking about how a conceited a women is about herself. Maya Angelou is a great poet, but this poem is far most the best one I have ever read. Maya Angelou Phenomenal Woman has a lot of self-confident. She goes on and on about how she loves herself and how anyone can’t tell her different. For example, the line where she stated, “I’m a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman. That's me.”(321-322). That line itself makes me see what kind of woman she is. Phenomenal means very remarkable, that is powerful. Another thing about this poem she accepted herself. Even though she is considered a full figured woman, she still loved every curve on her body. She knows she is not a super model, not even the most attractive. By her constantly telling herself she’s beautiful, makes her and others think as well. “I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size. But when I start to tell them, they think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms. The span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips.” (321). I love the way Maya kept repeating how phenomenal she is. It makes the reader thinks she really is, even if she is not. By her saying it after every line kind of makes us readers feel like she keep reminding herself that she is. This poem makes me feel like nobody can tell Maya Angelou anything about her that’s negative. This poem is very positive and self-moving. One of the reason I chose this poem not only because I love this poem, but also I love Maya Angelou personally. As a person she has been through so much. Her lifestyle is/ was surprising and eye-opening. Maya Angelou was born April 8, 1928, in St. Louis MO.…
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger 's are a poverty stricken, African American, extended family of five living in a small apartment in Chicago during the 1950 's. The mother, Lena receives a life insurance check for her deceased husband for ten thousand dollars and wants to use a portion of it to create a better life for her family and buy a home. The play covers the different ideas that each family member has in regards to how the money should be spent and the hardships that develop from those ideas. The three Younger women, Lena a strong willed older woman with traditional values, Ruth a middle aged hard working woman, and Beneatha a young, egotistical college student, all have unique characteristics which have been formed by the different time periods which they have lived in.…
“He laugh. Who you think you is? He say. You can’t curse nobody. Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all.”(Walker 206). With these words, Celie in Alice Walker’s, The Color Purple is told by her husband how worthless she is to him. Alice Walker analyzes The Color Purple as a tool to educate today’s young women about gender inequality in the 1900’s. She portrays this message through the main character, Celie, who overcomes her struggles and eventually becomes stronger.…