Many parents raise their children to be self sufficient, independent, and free to explore their talents. Whether parents push their children to find their talent, or let their children find a talent on their own is what encounters in the story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan. Children should be encouraged to be independent and find whatever they are great at naturally, unlike Jing-mei, a Chinese-American child, who is forced to be a “prodigy” at things she later begins to loathe. Through trails of continuously trying to find her talent and being disappointed time after time Jing-mei portrays a child who is optimistic, doubtful, and rebellious.
In Amy Tan’s short story “Two Kinds” the protagonist Jing-mei is a hopeful child searching for a talent hoping to become a “prodigy”. Although Jing-mei is capable of finding a talent on her own, her mother, the antagonist, is pushing Jing-mei to be great at everything she tries, which leads to Jing-mei’s mother
…show more content…
She constantly fails at everything she attempts, which leads to Jing-mei showing a strong emotion of doubt. “For unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be” (327). Jing-mei is no longer hopeful she can be a “prodigy” unlike her mother. She failed at becoming a ballerina, and her mother’s knowledge tests, which causes Jing-mei to no longer have high aspirations for herself, as any child who fails at many things continuously. Jing-mei notices she is not as smart as her mom wants her to be, nor any different from children her age. Jing-mei converts to a different personality no one thought she would display: “Why don’t you like me the way I am? I’m not a genius! . . .” (323). Jing-mei does not want to try anything new, because she no longer want to be a disappointment to her mother or herself. Jing-mei no longer has aspirations for herself, or anything she does, as any child who feel like they lack