In Bambara’s story “The Lesson” and Tan’s “Two Kinds,” there is evidence of transformation, conflict, and character. In “The Lesson,” the characters are rough and resilient as opposed to in the story “Two Kinds,” the characters are more emotional or even sensitive. Both stories revolve around major conflicts throughout. In “Two Kinds,” Jing Mei is facing a person vs. self conflict, being conflicted with her mother, who wants the best for her, but pushes a little too hard for what Jing Mei can handle causing Jing Mei a lot of distress. However, in “The Lesson,” there is a person vs. society conflict, because there is a struggle with prejudice within social classes that needs to be addressed and recognized. The transformation in “Two Kinds,” is the maturing of Jing Mei into womanhood, where she and her mother recognize each other’s motives behind their words and actions. society conflict in “The Lesson,” The children are unaware of the prejudices they face, and Miss. Moore exposes them to a life of luxury that is the complete opposite of their rough, poverty ridden neighborhood. The encouragement from Miss. Moore gives the children confidence and hope to move up in the world, but to also be proud of who they are and where they came from. The resolution from this conflict comes from when the children understand that Miss. Moore is an ally to them, and they finally understand the lesson behind her actions. However, in “Two Kinds,” there is a person vs. self-conflict. Jing Mei feels like she is not good enough and cannot meet her mother’s standards. This shows that Jing Mei has a lot of hatred towards her mother, but her mother seems to only want what is best for Jing Mei. However, they cannot seem to agree on something that pleases the both of them. Jing Mei’s mother doesn’t realize how much pressure she is putting on her daughter by trying to live out her ambitions through her only remaining child, which is extremely upsetting to Jing
In this analysis includes a summary of the characters and the issues they are dealing with, as well as concepts that are seen that we have discussed in class. Such as stereotyping and the lack of discrimination and prejudice, then finally I suggest a few actions that can be taken to help solve the issues at hand, allowing the involved parties to explain their positions and give them a few immersion opportunities to experience their individual cultures.
The very beginning of the novel The Death Cure by James Dashner starts off with Thomas, the protagonist, trapped in a solid white room. He is trapped there for months. As he is in the room, he may have thought “ Oh, me, myself and I, solo ride until I die” (G-Eazy). This is a lyric from G-Eazy’s Me, Myself and I. The song is about being alone and not wanting to be with no one. Although Thomas does wish to see and to somebody, he goes perseveres through his problems just like the singer in the song.
Doaker- A forty seven year old, tall, patient man that has a lot of respect for others. Even though he caves into people he is still a respectable figure.
A tragic character is someone who experiences misfortune in courtesy of poor judgment, fate or a conflicted personality. In the tragedy, Antigone, there is a heavy debate over whether Antigone or Creon is the tragic character. Creon can be classified as the tragic character of the play because he has been affected the most due to his decision of sentencing Antigone to death. For instance, a fight emerges between the king and his son, Haimon, as a result of his harsh punishment. Also, he lets his pride get in the way which triggers the suicide of Haimon and his wife, Eurydice. By the end of the tragedy, Creon is forced to live through the painful death of his family, thus being the tragic character because he suffered the most.
real reason he got blind. He knows that seeing the eclipse without protection wasn't the
It was Emerson who said it best, “For nonconformity, the world whips you with its displeasure” (Porter 1155). With a detailed look of Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” and John Updike’s “A&P,” you will find that this quote is entirely applicable in the context of oppressiveness and in the likeness of “coming of age.” These two stories document the different perspectives of two characters’ growing up and how the role of the invisible hand of oppression guides developing adolescents into mature adults; without prejudice or even forethought. The characters in question are: Sammy, an A&P store clerk whose time spent at work reveals how oppressed by society he is, and Jing-Mei, whose life and every move is dictated by the iron fist of her high-expectations Asian mother. In comparing these stories, you will find how two characters, with very different lives, are essentially affected by the same forces of humanity.
When she arrives, she feels somehow proud to be Chinese. But her main reason why she went back home is to reflect her mother past life on her present life. Through the setting and her relatives, Jing Mei learns the nature of Chinese American culture. The main setting takes place in China, effects of the main character’s point of view through changing her sense of culture and identity. The time period plays a large role on the story, there is disconnect between the mother and daughter who came from different culture. In “A Pair of Tickets”, we learn it’s a first person narrator, we also learn detail of what the narrator is thinking about, detail of her past and how life compared to China and the US are very different. The theme is associated with the motherland and also has to deal with her mother’s death and half sisters. Her imagination of her sister transforming into adult, she also expected them to dresses and talk different. She also saw herself transforming, the DNA of Chinese running through her blood. In her own mind, from a distance she thinks Shanghai, the city of China looks like a major American city. Amy Tan used positive imagery of consumerism to drive home her themes of culture and identity, discovering her ancestral
Throughout life we face many ups and downs that help define us. They mold us into the person we are. Finding our own true identity can be very challenging for some people. This can be because we have other people in our lives controlling us to become the person they want us to be. This is very evident in Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds”. Jing-Me’s mother becomes obsessed with molding her into something she is not; an American prodigy. In “The Things They Carried” Lieutenant Jimmy Cross has trouble finding his own identity. He struggles to lead his men in war due to the fact he his hung up on a girl in New Jersey. In both short stories Jing-Me and Lieutenant Jimmy Cross struggle to find their true identities as someone else takes over their lives. It takes a coming of age event in both instances for them to find themselves.
The main conflict of this story is Jing-mei's struggle between accepting her identity based on her heritage and not on a personal image. There is no real order in which this conflict is clarified, because the climax and resolution come about at the same time. The conflict is internal due to the fact that she cannot accept her true identity. The climax comes when she finally meets her twin sisters and says, "I get beyond the gate, we run toward each other, all three of us embracing, all hesitations and expectations forgotten" (870). It is then that the resolution comes into play and "After all these years, it can finally be let go" (870). It is at that point, when she can finally a...
Sometimes growing up we experience situations that can change our perspective on life. Especially, when these situations happen unexpectedly; we are in disbelief. In Toni Cade Bambara short story “The Lesson” written in first person; it delves into the struggle of a girl, Sylvia, who realizes the economic and social injustice surrounding her. However, with the help of Miss Moore Sylvia comes to grip with this issue, and opts to overcome it. In “The Lesson” Miss Moore wanted to impart on Sylvia and the other children is the value of a dollar, the importance of education, and to fathom the social and economic injustice that bounded them.
Children are shaped by the norms of society, which are passed down from parents or peers. Characters in Conflict is an anthology of stories about characters feeling different types of conflict. In the first story a boy experiences pressure to beat a girl in racquetball because he’s a boy. In the second story a girl feels pressure to be a normal girl and get a boy to like her. The last story is about a boy who has a disabled younger broth and is ashamed of his disabilities. All of these characters have something in common, they are experiencing societal pressure which leads to internal conflict.
The story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan is about a mother and daughter who have strong conflicting ideas about what it means to have a sense of self. This may be partly due to the mother growing up in China, which is a very different culture than the American culture where endless opportunities are available to anyone who wants to pursue them. Jing-mei's mother wants her daughter to be the best, a prodigy of sorts, and to have the kind of life, full of hopes and dreams that she did not have. In the beginning of the story Jing-mei liked the idea of becoming a prodigy however, the prodigy in her became impatient. "If you don't hurry up and get me out of here, I'm disappearing for good." It warned. "And then you'll always be nothing" (500). After disappointing her mother several times Jing-mei started to detest the idea of becoming a prodigy. The idea Jing-mei's mother had for her to become a prodigy was too much pressure for a small child and was something that Jing-mei was clearly not ready to be. As a result the pressure that her mother laid upon her only made Jing-mei rebel against her mother and she resisted in giving her best. Jing-mei did this because she only wanted her mother's love and acceptance for who she was not only what she could become. Furthermore, Jing-mei's point of view of being the kind of person that one can be proud of was very different from her mother's point of view.
The struggle with the conflict between parents and children is something that almost occurs to several teens, especially those who drift into a culture outside of their parents’. In “Two kinds,” by Amy Tan excerpt from The Joy Luck Club, is an example of the constant conflict between a strict and overbearing parent, and their child. The main character is a young Chinese- American daughter, who childhood was affected by her overbearing Chinese mother. Throughout the whole story, Jing Mei and her mother had a numerous amount of conflict, which escorted to the central conflict. Jing Mei and her mother are like an apple and oranges, her mother is an imperious and an overbearing Chinese mother. While Jing Mei was an apathetic American upbringing.
From the beginning of time, mothers and daughters have had their conflicts, tested each other’s patience, and eventually resolved their conflicts. In the story “Two Kinds,” written by Amy Tan, Jing-Mei and her mother are the typical mother-daughter duo that have their fair share of trials. Jing-Mei is an American Chinese Girl who struggles to please her mother by trying to be the “Prodigy” that her mother wishes for. Her mother has great ideas to make her daughter famous with hopes that she would become the best at everything she did. Throughout the story, the mother and daughter display distinct characteristics giving the reader insight of who they are, how they each handle conflict, and helps define how their relationship changes over time.
In Amy Tan 's Two Kinds, Jing-mei and her mother show how through generations a relationship of understanding can be lost when traditions, dreams, and pride do not take into account individuality. By applying the concepts of Virginia Woolf, Elaine Showalter, and the three stages of feminism, one can analyze the discourse Tan uses in the story and its connection to basic feminist principles.