Amy Tan Two Kinds Essay

In the novel excerpt “Two kinds,” Amy Tan uses the central conflict to develop the theme through the clash of cultural identities. Tan shows the reader how culture is dynamic in each individual person. Culture can be mixed and change over time.

Jing-mei wants to be able to choose who she wants to be as she gets older. However, her mother is pushing her to be the best she can be. Her mother is from China, so being in America makes her believe you can be anything you want to be, basically living the American Dream. Therefore, she wants her daughter to be talented. Her mother wants her to become a prodigy at piano and even made her take lessons. In the beginning, Jing-mei believed she could be a prodigy like her mother said. She realizes it’s rather difficult which leads her to stress out and get frustrated. Jing-mei She thinks she’s not capable of playing anymore. Jing-mei gets into an argument with her mother, since their

culture differs greatly, telling her she doesn’t want to play piano anymore. Her mother informs her there are only two kinds of daughters, “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!” After Jing-mei’s parents die, she finally plays the piano realizing the two pieces she’s previously played are actually two halves of the same song. “‘Pleading Child’ was shorter but slower; ‘Perfectly Contented’ was longer but faster.” Pleading Child and Perfectly Contented are metaphors for the two kinds of daughters. In the end, Jing-mei realizes she is both kinds of daughters and her cultural identity is a mix between her mother’s and how she grew up. She realizes her mother was only trying to make her the best she can possibly be.
The meaning of the text is events in the past can lead someone to have a better understanding of others and accept people for who they are.

Jing-mei realizes her mother was trying to help her out, but since their personalities clash, Jing-mei first believed her mother was forcing her to play piano. She thought her mother was setting up unrealistic expectations for her, when only she just wanted to see her daughter live the American Dream. She didn’t understand the Chinese way of thinking so she thought her mother was just being strict. Her mother wants her to be a strong, independent American woman. She just wanted her daughter to have all the opportunities she wasn’t able to have in China.

Jing-mei finds her cultural identity when she becomes and adult. One half of her wants to be that perfect, obedient child that her mother wants. The other half wants to have attention from her mother. She is that “Pleading Child” and “Perfectly Contented” daughter. Although Jing-mei and her mother’s culture clashed, she was able to find who she really

is.