ipl-logo

Chance Of Opportunity In Two Kinds By Amy Tan

726 Words3 Pages

Chance of Opportunity The short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan is involving a mother wanting the American Dream for her daughter. Having her try different talents, after many different attempts her mother has now become obsessed with her playing the piano. Mr. Chong who is giving her lessons also happens to live in the same apartment building on the first floor. “ Mr. Chong was a retired piano teacher and my mother had traded housecleaning services for weekly lessons and a piano for me to practice on every day, two hours a day, from four until six”(Tan 337). For the majority of “Two Kinds” it takes place with the piano. Mr. Chong plays an important role as Jing-mei’s motivator, supporter and provides opportunity. In many short stories the minor characters play a significant role. Amy Tan shows this in her story with Mr. Chong, the old, odd and deaf music teacher plays a very small role, yet is so significant in this story. Suyuan, Jing-Mei's mother, sees America as a land of success wanting her daughter to take every advantage of the opportunities this land has to offer; she gave her …show more content…

Weeks later, Mr. Chong scheduled to have Jing-Mei play in a talent show that would be held at the church hall, not knowing that it would only humiliate her and bring her mother shame in the end. As Jing-Mei finished her performance, Mr. Chong is the only one to cheer and applaud for her as she finish. He saw her-content, lovely, well together and organized. Jing Mei had taken complete advantage of the situation, and though she pays the price for her poor decision, still, it is her decision, and she has no one else to blame. Though Mr. Chong unknowingly provides her with the chance to make her own mistakes it allows Jing Mei to see the truth about herself becomes more visible, now that her idea is not troubled by frustration and

Show More
Related
870 Words | 4 Pages

Jing-Mei has this mother who lost her husband and twins back in China and is now trying very hard to get a fresh and better start on her new life with her child. Now this could mean many different things to different people, but

Read More
849 Words | 4 Pages

When the story was told from Jing-mei’s perspective, Suyuan seemed like a selfish mother but when Suyuan’s story was told from Jing-mei’s father’s perspective, we saw the reality of Suyuan’s sacrifice. Another example of is when she takes on an extra job so that Jing-mei could take piano classes. After Suyuan had passed away, Jing-mei reminisced about her past and told her story of when she was 9. Her mother had wanted her to be a prodigy. When Suyuan saw a piano prodigy on TV, she called Jing-mei over and

Read More
317 Words | 2 Pages

This is the classic story between parent and child in Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds.” The theme of this story revolves around a mother who wants nothing but the best for her daughter. Mrs. Woo, the mother of Jing-mei, is a struggling immigrant who had lost everything in China and believes in the American dream by stating, "My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America” (639). She puts Jing-mei into various activities to figure out what she could be good at.

Read More
1131 Words | 5 Pages

Jing-Mei then decides to reunite with her sisters in China, anxiously stating, “I lay awake thinking about my mother’s story, realizing how much I have never known about her, grieving that my sisters and I had both lost her“ (271). At this point in the story, it becomes evident Jing-Mei no longer despises her mother for her distasteful tendencies. Instead, she aspires to see her mother one last time. Remorseful of her incapacity to connect with her mother on a deeper level, Jing-Mei feels inept to fill in for her mother at the mahjong table.

Read More
1066 Words | 5 Pages

This disagreement quickly became a source of resentment and anger for both of them, but Jing-Mei and her mother were unable to resolve this conflict because of their different backgrounds and experiences. The story showcases how relationships between mothers and daughters can be strained because of differences in culture and a lack of communication. One of the difficulties between Jing-Mei and her mother is their different cultural backgrounds, which is supported by two points from the story. Firstly, Jing-Mei and her mother both disagreed on the opportunities that existed in America. According to Singer, Amy Tan uses “two entirely

Read More
579 Words | 3 Pages

When her mother buys her a piano and insists that she become a prodigy, Jing-mei feels trapped and overwhelmed. Jing-mei states, “When my mother told me this, I felt as though I had been sent to hell” (Tan 225). This simile emphasizes the piano lessons as a negative force that invaded her everyday life. Similarly, when Jing-mei rebels against her mother's expectations and performs poorly at a talent show, she states, “And now I realized how many people were in the audience, the whole world it seemed. I was aware of eyes burning into my back” (Tan 229).

Read More
871 Words | 4 Pages

She would present new test, taking her examples from stories of amazing children she had read in Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Good House Keeping, or Reader's Digest….”(Tan 133). Jing mei’s mother had high expectations for her to be like the kids that she read about in magazines or watched on TV. Unfortunately, for Jing Mei, the pressure was too much to handle, and

Read More
778 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel, Jing Mei explains her rocky relationship and lack of affection with her high demanding Chinese mother. She was ashamed and embarrassed of her heritage, and the "funny Chinese dresses with stiff stand-up collars and blooming branches of embroidered silk sewn over their breasts. " She believed that the Joy Luck Club was a "shameful Chinese custom, like the secret gathering of the Ku Klux Klan or the tom-tom dances of TV Indians preparing for war." In addition, she constantly compared herself to Waverly, without recognizing her own talent.

Read More
1476 Words | 6 Pages

Finally, at the conclusion of the story, she fully realizes who she truly is. As Jing-Mei undergoes serious character development, the main conflict, her process of self-discovery, develops alongside her. One major element of the story that showcases Jing-Mei’s development is her narration. At the beginning of “A Pair of Tickets,” she implies that she is ashamed of her Chinese heritage. She describes being Chinese as having “a syndrome;” she states that there are certain characteristics and habits, such as being frugal and having poor sense of fashion, that make them blatantly Chinese (Tan 187).

Read More
1558 Words | 7 Pages

She is entranced in the American Dream and the concept that anyone could be anything, especially a star. This ideal of the very obtainable American dream is sold to immigrant families and is sought after, often hopelessly. Jing-Mei’s mother watches a taping of Shirley Temple and decides that could be her daughter. The mother calls Jing-Mei’s attention as Shirley’s eyes flooded with tears on the screen and said “You already know how. Don’t need talent for crying!”

Read More
1369 Words | 6 Pages

At first Jing-Mei grew in her dreams and desirers to be perfect for her family; “In all of my imaginings

Read More
1738 Words | 7 Pages

Amy Tan incorporated this special mother-daughter bond in her story “Best Quality” and took Jing-Mei’s place as a daughter. The story tells about a mother Suyuan who just like Daisy wanted her daughter to be an outstanding person and a daughter Jing-Mei who like Amy wants to write and live her American life. At the story, Jing-Mei, her mother, and the Jongs family are having Chinese New Year dinner at which Suyuan serves crabs cooked by herself, and after finishing eating those crabs, guests start having conversations with each other. Later, Waverly Jong, who is the same age as Jing-Mei, and Jing-Mei argues about the work that Jing-Mei did for Waverly’s tax company. At the end of this argument, Suyuan takes Waverly’s

Read More
1034 Words | 5 Pages

Through analyzing the stories about their lives’ hardships and experiences, it is revealed that Suyuan’s American Dream is achieved by Jing-mei by going back to her own country, retrieving her two sisters, and makes the family whole again. The story of Suyuan and Jing-mei chasing their American Dream teaches us a lesson: Never gives up your dreams casually. One day, you will be thankful for your persistence, when the dream comes

Read More
937 Words | 4 Pages

Jing Mei, while portrayed as an obedient child, is only willing to listen to her mother to a certain extent. Throughout the story, it is consistently hinted that Jing Mei would eventually explode against her mother as an attempt to free herself from her mother’s chains. In addition, after the fiasco at the piano recital, she eventually derives further from her mother’s wishes as she “didn 't get straight A...didn 't become class president...didn 't get into Stanford...dropped out of college.” (54). On the flip side, Jing Mei’s mother is a stereotypical Chinese parent who is fully determined to ensure her daughter’s success in a new environment.

Read More
1309 Words | 6 Pages

This peculiarly specific list showed that as a first-generation American, she was constantly scrutinizing the small actions that her mother demonstrated, and she was embarrassed, although it is not likely anyone else ever noticed. However, as she got older, Jing-Mei realized the fact that she was “becoming Chinese.” She still did not truly understand her mother or the beauty of Chinese culture, but her acceptance was the first step of the long excursion of

Read More

More about Chance Of Opportunity In Two Kinds By Amy Tan

Open Document