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Becoming An Allegory In Two Kinds By Amy Tan

486 Words2 Pages

Growing up with Parents who have high expectations for you can be difficult. Anything other than excellence could be seen as a disappointment to them. Situations like these could make people feel victimized. In the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, the main character, Jing-Mei, acts like this all throughout the story. Her Mother is constantly pressuring her to become a prodigy of some sort, this drives her to work hard to not become a prodigy. Throughout the story, many of the things that are mentioned are used as symbols to build an allegory. Amy Tan’s intention is to teach the audience that there are multiple sides to a story, and the perspective you take could be influenced by the level of maturity you possess. Tan’s use of symbolism helps create this message. …show more content…

The piano represents the struggle between mother and daughter, who cannot come to an agreement on anything. The Mother is determined to make her daughter become a prodigy, whilst Jing-Mei couldn’t care less about it. “[She’s] not a genius! [She] can't play the piano. And even if [she] could, [she] wouldn't go on TV if you paid [her] a million dollars!" (3). Jing-Mei feels that the only reason her Mother wants her to become a prodigy is so that she can benefit from this. What she doesn’t pay attention to is that all her Mother wants is for her to be the best at something. She wants Jing-Mei to become someone in life. However, Jing-Mei refuses to understand

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