Different Views of the American Dream Upon entering the fictional world of the story‚ "Two Kinds"‚ thought up by the author Amy Tan‚ we can easily target one of the author’s main themes‚ which is the American Dream. Tan demonstrates this idea through the different interpretations the two main characters have of the American Dream. These two characters being the mother and the daughter‚ they have very different visions of the American Dream‚ which will be reflected through their personality and
Premium Amy Tan Mind
Plot "Two Kinds tells of a woman and daughter expecting a great life in America. The daughter‚ Jing-mei‚ wants desperately to become a "Chinese Shirley Temple" by making a career in singing and dancing. Her mother is consumed in the belief that Jing-mei is a genius‚ thus making her do pointless tests that she sees other prodigy children doing in magazines such as standing on her head and reciting world capitals. All of this proves to be useless and the idea begins to fade away until Jing-mei’s mother
Premium Piano Amy Tan
Two Kinds by Amy Tan: Literary Analysis - There are many key elements which together make up a story‚ namely a story’s setting‚ its main characters‚ the plot‚ and the symbolism it contains. A story’s setting is usually described in the beginning of the story‚ giving an explanation of where and when the story is taking place. Many stories have a protagonist and an antagonist as well as other key characters. The protagonist is the "hero or antihero; (the) character you tend to ’root for’." . The antagonist
Premium Protagonist Piano Antagonist
The story “Two Kinds‚” written by Amy Tan‚ has a plot that many people can relate to while growing up as a child. The theme of the story is that there are two kinds of people: the one the mother wants her to be and the one Jing-mei (the protagonist and narrator of the story) strives to be. Both mother and daughter in the story have a very complicated relationship. The mother believes that you could become anything you wanted in America. The author emphasizes that Jing-mei’s mother tries to dominate
Premium Piano
ID# 1723801 English 103-276 January 17‚ 2011-01-17 Two Kinds Amy Tan In the short story “Two Kinds”‚ Amy Tan uses the narrator’s point of view to share a mother’s attempt to control her daughter’s dreams and ambitions. Tan`s short story is an example of how differing personalities cause struggles between a parent and child. Children often fall victim to a parent trying too hard or expectations being too high‚ and in the case of "Two Kinds‚" we see Jing Mei’s mother trying to live her life through
Premium Short story Piano Amy Tan
English 10 GATE “Two Kinds” # 9 9) The title of the story‚ “Two Kinds‚” refers to two kinds of daughters that Jing-mei’s mother mentions: an obedient daughter (one that can live under her mom’s roof) and a daughter who follows her own mind. Jing-mei’s discovery about the two Schumann songs relate to the story because the two were “two halves of the same song” (Tan 107). The title means that Jing-mei’s mother wants one kind of daughter – an obedient one – but instead received another – one
Premium Family Mother Air conditioning
In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan‚ two kinds of perspectives bring a new meaning to the ordinary American dream. Jing-Mei‚ the daughter of Suyuan Woo‚ a Chinese immigrant mother strongly believes in living the American Dream. In Order to live the life they wish Suyuan had hopes in fame. Their American fairytale to journey lavishly included an astonishing talent. They would practice mocking the famous Shirley Temple. As a mother and daughter they became partners by trying to make Jing-Mei have a talent that
Premium Family Marriage Love
and this as well include parents too. The short story ’Two Kinds’ written by Amy Tan is from 1989‚ and it delineates a mother’s attempt to push her daughter into achieving a prodigious lifestyle. The mother is an immi-grant from China‚ but her daughter is born in America. The cultural difference of their upbringing and childhood results in different values and ideals of how the individual person should become‚ and this is one of the main themes that constitute the short story. The narrator of the
Premium Short story Culture Fiction
In the story “Two Kinds”‚ Tan portrays how excessive parental control alienates a child and makes them insecure causing them to rebel against their parent’s beliefs and standards. The mother lives her dreams through her daughter. She moved to America from China because she believed that anything is possible there. She wanted to give her daughter everything she did not have as a child which is a chance to be successful and have a good life. The mother expected her daughter to be a prodigy. She would
Premium Family Amy Tan The Joy Luck Club
Literature: Reading‚ Reacting‚ Writing‚ 5th Edition Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell Table of Contents Preface 1. Understanding Literature Imaginative Literature Conventional Themes The Literary Canon Luisa Valenzuela‚ “All about Suicide” Wole Soyinka‚ “Telephone Conversation” Thinking Critically Interpreting Literature Evaluating Literature The Function of Literary Criticism Checklist: Evaluating Literary Criticism 2. Reading and Writing About Literature
Premium Joyce Carol Oates William Butler Yeats Charlotte Perkins Gilman