Composition & Literature | Amy Tan | Professor Blum | JAEL VARGAS 12/17/2012 | This story’s main events take place in Chinatown throughout the 1950s and perhaps early 1960s. The main character of the story‚ who is also the protagonist‚ is the author herself: Amy Tan. The antagonist happens to be her own mother‚ who is always pushing Amy to discover some hidden talent and be someone she is not. There are a few other minor characters in the story. There is Lindo Jong (who she calls
Premium Protagonist Antagonist Amy Tan
Two Kinds by Amy Tan A: Synopsis This short story‚ ‘Two Kinds’ is more focused on the relationships between mother and daughter. The narrator of this story‚ Jing Mei recalls of the days when her mother wanted her to be a prodigy in America. Her mother moved to San Francisco when she lost everything in China. At first‚ she thought that her daughter would be like Shirley Temple as they watched how talented Shirley Temple was in acting. And one day when the narrator’s mother saw a young Chinese girl
Premium Ed Sullivan The Ed Sullivan Show Piano
author‚ Amy Tan is a second generation Chinese immigrant. Her parents are both Chinese immigrants. Her father and one of her brothers passed away during her early teens. At that period‚ she found out that her mother had been married before in China. She left her divorced ex-husband and three daughters in China. In 1987‚ after her mother recovered from a serious illness‚ they took a trip to China where Tan reunited with her half-sisters. The trip offered Tan a new perspective on her mother and inspired
Free China Chinese language Amy Tan
Not My Dream In the story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan‚ we are shown the struggles of a young girl Jing-Mei. Her struggle is that of a young girl growing up and trying to find her own sense of identity. Her troubles are compounded by her mother‚ who convinces her that she can become someone important. Because of her mother’s constant overbearing behavior‚ Jing-Mei does everything she can to annoy and displease her mother even to the point of being a failure. This fight to find
Premium
"Two Kinds" The story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan represents the theme that parents cannot control their children‚ but can only guide them. A Chinese mother and daughter Ni Kan are at odds with each other in story. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy of some sort‚ her daughter does try to follow her mother ’s orders but has she gets older she realizes she wants to find her own self and not to be what her mother wants her to be. They both have conflicting values‚ which is the theme of the
Premium
Not My Dream In the story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan‚ we are shown the struggles of a young girl Jing-Mei. Her struggle is that of a young girl growing up and trying to find her own sense of identity. Her troubles are compounded by her mother‚ who convinces her that she can become someone important. Because of her mother’s constant overbearing behavior‚ Jing-Mei does everything she can to annoy and displease her mother even to the point of being a failure. This fight to find her own identity against
Premium Amy Tan
Not able to understand her child’s frustration‚ the narrator sees this outburst to be an act of ungratefulness. The narrator’s mother states‚ "If she had as much talent as she has temper‚ she would be famous now" (385). Blinded by the desire of her daughter becoming a star the narrator’s mother is unaware of what she is actually doing to her child. The narrator’s mother is forcing her to become someone she isn’t for the sake of
Premium Sociology Education United States
Mother Knows Best Have you ever wondered why parents often force their children to do things that their children feel are either unnecessary for their age level? One narrator feels the same way when she complains to her mother‚ “You want me to be someone that i’m not”(Tan 231). In the story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan‚ a daughter explains the obstacles she has conquered in her childhood. In this story‚ Jing-mei‚ the protagonist has a rough and complicated relationship with her mother. Her mother has
Premium Mother Family Parent
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
Premium Amy Tan Family Mother
4/8/13 Paper 3 “Two Kinds” Amy Tan In Amy Tan’s short story “Two Kinds” Jing-Mei‚ the story’s main character‚ takes a stand against her mother. The story opens as she describes her childhood‚ which was full of pain and resentment caused by never becoming the “prodigy” that her mother desperately wanted her to be. Despite her best intentions‚ Jing-Mei always fell short of her mother’s expectations and one night‚ she made a pact to herself that she would never allow her mother to try to change
Premium Amy Tan Childhood Piano