Jing-mei’s story also deals with a clash between a mother’s faith and belief in persistence versus a daughter’s inner sense of futility. Jing-mei believes that she is simply not “fated” to be a prodigy‚ that ultimately there resides within her an unchangeable element of mediocrity. When she tells her reflection in the mirror one night that she will not allow her mother to change her‚ that she will not try to be what she is not‚ she asserts her will in a strong but negative manner. At that moment
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The coming of age is a theme that we all can identify with. This broad term can encompass many other themes such as responsibility‚ the pressure to succeed‚ and the loss of innocence. A theme that is especially prevalent in Amy Tan’s short story‚ “Two Kinds‚” is identity. There is a discernable conflict between who the narrator wants to be and who her outside influences want her to be. Arguably‚ no greater pressure can come from that of one’s parents. In “Two Kinds‚” the mother is the primary source
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granted‚ something we learn when we are so little that we can’t even remember how‚ something that for all of us was always part of our lives. Helen Keller with her need of language to give sense to life‚ Frederick Douglass with his ways of learning and Amy Tan with the importance of the “Mother Tongue” language‚ convey to us a totally different view of how language changes‚ develops and gives meaning to our lives. For Helen Keller‚ when she was around seven years old‚ language was a mystery. In a selection
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new ones is a very stressful undertaking. Amy Tan is a daughter of a Chinese immigrant mother‚ who believes in the American dream. Her mother went through some difficult
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“Rules of The Game” “I was six when my mom taught me the art of invisible strengths.” As Waverly says in the first sentence of the short story “Rules of The Game” by Amy Tan. Waverly‚ her mom‚ and her two brothers go through a hard‚ but important life lesson. The lesson taught them something important that no matter what‚ love will always be there.Waverly particularly meets her mother’s expectations by herself to be more mature‚ more respectful‚ and a child or young adult with discipline. As
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dominated; the male was expected to do most of the work‚ and the woman was expected to stay at home. Chinese women feel like no one cares and it is much harder for them to live with an optimistic view on life. Although sexism is not a major theme of Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club‚ it is clear that it does affect the lives of the mothers and daughters. Although sexism is not a major theme in this novel‚ it runs throughout the whole novel since the story is focused on Chinese women that grew up in China and
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THE MOST HATEFUL WORDS By Amy Tan The most hateful words I have ever said to another human being were to my mother. I was sixteen at the time. They rose from the storm in my chest and I let them fall in a fury of hailstones: "I hate you. I wish I were dead...." I waited for her to collapse‚ stricken by what I had just said. She was still standing upright‚ her chin tilted‚ her lips stretched in a crazy smile. "Okay‚ maybe I die too‚ " she said between huffs. "Then I no longer be your mother
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Englishes I grew up with.” (Tan‚ 1) is the fact that language is the “tool of her trade”‚ meaning she uses it on a daily basis to preform her daily work and accomplish tasks. The different types of English‚ being proper or broken English‚ are useful to a writer because she can use them to work to create meaning with certain audience members‚ whether it be her mother‚ who uses more limited English‚ or an academic paper‚ which uses proper‚ academic English. The fact that as a writer‚ Tan still uses both forms
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Cited: Tan‚ Amy. “A Pair of Tickets.” An Introduction to Fiction . Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Eleventh Edition. Boston: Longman‚ 2010. 30-35. Print.
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Victor had to go through during his school years‚ “Hair’’ from the Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcom X and Alex Haley focuses on how it can be hard to accept oneself when society tries to say different‚ and “Two Kinds’’ from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan tells about a distraught relationship between a mother and daughter over piano lessons. Culture Clash is
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