Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” is a perfect example of a parent wanting more for their children then what the parent growing up. The setting of this story takes place in America, and is told through first person by a young Chinese girl. Tran begins the story with a small introduction into the mother’s pervious life in China and her view on how to make life better in America. Tran’s use of character and conflict between characters grabs the attention of the reader because it is easy to relate to, when parents try to live vicariously through their children. Very early in the story the young girl known to the reader as, Ni Kan is “just as excited” as her mother, “maybe even more so” about the idea of becoming a child prodigy (383). Ni Kan pictured herself of many things, from a “dainty ballerina girl standing by the curtains” to showcase her “floating on her tiptoes,” to “Cinderella stepping from her pumpkin carriage with sparkly cartoon music” (383). …show more content…
Her cousin, Waverly was “Chinatown’s Littlest Chinese Chess Champion” and sparked much competition between the two mothers on which child was the best (386). During a talent show, the mother invites all her friends and Ni Kan does not perform well because she has not been practicing. The mother feels embarrassed but is very silent with “a quiet, blank look that said she had lost everything” (388). “And in a way, I felt disappointed. I had been waiting for her to state shouting, so I could shout back and cry and blame her for all my misery” the author is showing how upset Ni Kan had become and shows the turning point in their mother daughter relationship (389). The conflict reaches its peak when Ni Kan says “I wish I’d never been born! I wish I were dead! Like them” referring to the children her mother had lost (389). The author does not mention another conversation about Ni Kan becoming a prodigy