Evelyn How
Mr. Catrette
Lit/Writ
7 September 2015 In Two Kinds, a short story by Amy Tan, it is about a mom who pushes her daughter and strives for her to be some type of prodigy. The mom came from a tough background, moving to San Francisco after losing her parents, her family home, her first husband, and two twin baby girls. She “believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America”, so she didn’t regret her decision. The mother was a housecleaner, and wanted June to be worth more than that. So she was obsessed with attempting to make June a prodigy. The mother was watching a show that had piano music, and wants June to start playing piano. She exchanges housecleaning services for piano lessons for June. June doesn’t want any of
…show more content…
Every time my mother got halfway up from the sofa to adjust the set, the sound would come back on and Sullivan would be talking. As soon as she sat down, Sullivan would go silent again... It was like a stiff, embraceless dance between her and the TV set. Finally, she stood by the set with her hand on the sound dial.” This quote is significant because it is just like the mother and June’s relationship. The mom does something, June does something to go against it.. Then June says something, and the mom says something against it. It’s like a dance between the two of them. For example when June’s mother told her that she had had lessons with Mr. Chong, June couldn’t stand it anymore. “Why don’t you like me the way I am? I’m not a genius! I can’t play piano. And even if I could, I wouldn’t go on TV if you paid me a million dollars.” The mother slapped her, shouting “Who ask you to be genius? Only ask you be your best. For your sake. You think I want you to be genius? Hnnh! What for! Who ask you!” Then she muttered “So ungrateful.” Once one of them snaps, they have this dance, shouting back and forth to each
Suffer: to undergo, be subjected to, or endure (pain, distress, injury, loss, or anything unpleasant). The Japanese Americans had to suffer, just because they looked like the enemy. The book showed the suffering and horrible conditions the Japanese Americans had to live through for about three and a half years. Julie Otsuka shows this very well in her book by using literary devices such as imagery and many more. One particular piece of evidence to show that the Japanese Americans had to live in horrible conditions at the time is when Julie Otsuka writes, “It was 1942.
Writer Mary Ann Shadd Cary makes use of rhetorical triangle to explain the need for the Provincial Freeman. In her editorial she uses the three rhetorical strategies ethos, pathos and logos to persuade her audience of the need for her newspaper mainly as a voice for colored Canadians. She makes an appeal to reason dependent on logic. In particular, in the second to last paragraph she brings up an example of how there was a paper that never informed people of Canadian particulars because the Editor knew nothing about Canada.
When reading a book such as Crossed, by Ally Condie, readers often notice elements that make the connection to the story deeper. Having knowledge in elements from the chapters “Every trip is a quest (except when it’s not)”, “Geography Matters”, and, “Is That a Symbol?” in Thomas Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor For Kids makes for a richer experience when reading Ally Condie’s Crossed. The first element from How To Read Literature Like A Professor For Kids found in Ally Condie’s Crossed is Chapter one, “Every Trip Is A Quest (Except For When It’s Not)”.
In the book An Invisible Thread, the author often provides examples of parents that have a poor quality of parenting. First there is Laura’s father Nunziato Carino, who’s a bartender. After he is done with his shift, he would often come home drunk and yell at his son, Frank who is Five. Frank will quickly hide under his bed sheet as his father dammed his name again and again. This happened frequently and every one would hide in their rooms as unfortunate Frank takes his father’s heavy word beating each night.
June Woo is forced to learn piano from a deaf man named Mr. Chong and isn’t too thrilled until she realizes that she can cheat her way through the piece and “be lazy and get away with mistakes” (Tan 3). Due to her mother’s unrealistic expectations, June learns how to find ways to escape her mother’s expectations by cheating through the piano pieces and not giving it her full effort despite being able to “pick up fast” (Tan 6). The author uses syntax to portray June’s innocence and helplessness as June doesn’t want to disappoint her mother but also doesn’t want to play the piano which is why she resorts to cheating. The usage of syntax demonstrates how June’s mind is slowly learning how to rebel and find ways to go against her mother and have little victories against her mother’s forcefulness. Even though June is praised for having natural talent, she can’t put in the needed effort because she isn’t playing the piano willingly as she is being forced.
‘No, sir. But I think I’m as smart as anyone else.’ ‘Are you trying to be smart now?’ ‘No, sir. I just tried to answer your question.’
“Two Kinds” a short story out of Amy Tan’s book “The Joy Luck Club” is a representation of the pressures immigrant children face from their parents. In the story, we follow a young girl named Jing-Mei as she embarks down the road to becoming a Prodigy. Her mother believed that “you could be anything you wanted to be in America” (Tan). For Jing-Mei that meant her mother believed she could become instantly famous. “Of course, you can be a prodigy, too”, her mother told her (Tan).
Do not let anyone classify yourself as “smart” or “dumb” because you can be who you want to be. Nobody is dumb, they are just not trying hard enough. As it says in "You Can Grow Your Brain","At first, no one can read or solve equations. But with practice, they can learn to do it. " Have you ever thought of it like that?
As Edelman writes she continually repeats her angry thought process. She begins by bringing up a situation and detailing the situation with a mild tone that portrays a feeling of indifference towards her split parenting with her husband. As she continues to describe the event the tone shifts to one of more cynicism. The first example of this occurs when Edelman’s husband, John, increased his hours at work and Edelman began by describing it as a “good excuse [for her] not to work like a maniac” (51). This illustrates her mild tone and acceptance of her having to work less than before.
The Rebellious Daughter: Analyzing the Theme of Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” The story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan explores the deep familial emotions between a mother and her daughter. Jing-Mei’s mother had left China to come to America after losing her family, and had been raising Jing-Mei in America with her second husband. Despite her mother’s grand hopes for Jing-Mei to become successful in America by becoming a child prodigy, Jing-Mei did not share the same opinions.
Englishes mean the different ways in which Amy Tan, the author, talks to certain groups of people. I beilve she uses the world Englishes instead of dialects because dialects is such a formal word and she her self is not a scholar of the English language. So, in using a colloquial term like ENglishes it is more relatable to the situation she is referring to.
Quen Head Comp 2 11:30 Literary Analysis “Trifles” Gender Roles Everyone around the world has a mindset that certain genders have certain rules in relationships and everyday life. The author, Susan Glaspell, showed many ways in the story “Trifles” how males can look at things in a different perspective than women sometimes do. For generations, women have fought for power and rights, one of the biggest events in history is The Women’s Rights’ Movement starting in 1848 and going on for years until 1920 when the 19th amendment that granted American women the right to vote. Throughout history the fight between women and men has been a long process from rights, to gender specific roles in career, pay, and equality.
Here we see a different way of doing the unthinkable because This girl's mother has to really just crush her daughter's dreams of becoming a writer. On page 193 “You remember when you laid your first notebook in front of her. Her disappointment when you told her that words would be your life's work, like the kitchen was always hers.” “Writers don't leave any mark in the world. Not the world that we are from.
My mother came smiling round the foot of the bed. She was wearing a dress with purple cartwheels on it and she looked awful … My mother perched on the edge of the bed and laid a hand on my leg. She looked loving and reproachful, and I wanted her to go away... ‘How are you?’ my brother said.
" The pretty and industrious daughter grabbed the bread-shovel and took out all the pieces of bread. She placed them in a row to cool. She then went on her way leaving nothing unfinished, and she asked for nothing for her efforts. After that, she went on till she came to a tree covered with apples, which called out to her, "Oh, shake me! Shake me!