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Jing-Mei's Rebellion In 'Two Kinds'

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Copy and paste or type the final essay below: Aiden Sciacca Ms. Ambrose English II; 1st Period 29 March 2023 Rebellion Why do children choose to rebel against their parents? Obviously, whenever a child is pushed to do something that they don’t want to do they will choose to rebel against their parents. In the short story, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, Jing-mei, the protagonist of the story, tries to become the prodigy that her mother wants her to be, however, she resents the pressure and rebels against her mother, which results in conflict. In the poem, “Rice and Rose Bowls Blues” by Diane Mark, the protagonist of the poem, is called in to wash rice in the middle of a football game, moreover, she was rushing to wash the rice and didn't …show more content…

Using Imagery, Tan helps the readers visualize what is going on and what is being described. The narrator states, “...of the cow jumping over the moon”(Tan 223). This quote gives a visual of what Jig-mei was imagining. Using Hyperboles, Tan explains how Jing-mei overreacts to something that is happening or happened. Jing-mei exaggerates, “I performed listless(Tan 223). This quote emphasizes how much she is over exaggerating her performance. Imagery and Hyperbole gives the reader a good understanding of how Jing-mei felt about her …show more content…

Mark uses syntax to show how her mother was giving her instructions on washing the rice. The speaker explains, “Pour some water into the pot, she said pleasantly,”(Mark lines 13-15). This quote gives the reader an understanding of what she had to do when washing the rice, with a short sentence. Using diction, Mark gives the reader a visual of how bad she wanted to go out and play football while washing the rice. The speaker states, “... glancing…”(Mark line 9). Using a certain word to show the way that she looked out the window, will give readers a very good understanding of the action. These rhetorical devices give the reader a good understanding of how bad a child will want to do something else besides what they are supposed to

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The word choices Tan uses was an effective method to emphasize the idea of contrast by doing so Tan was able to draw the reader's attention, but also at the same time to make her argument more credible. As a result, she was able to portray to

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In opposition to Waverly, the character Jing-Mei has experienced repeated rejection and failure in her attempt to become a prodigy and finally comes to the decision that“I could only be me,” and any attempt at developing new skills or talents was futile (Tan, 24). So, it is because of her past experiences of continuous defeat that she bases her perception of her self worth and capabilities. While in some cases, one may respond in the complete opposition of Jing-Mei, continuing to persevere in spite of their failures, they still draw on the previous experiences they’ve had, utilizing them as an inspiration or a learning

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One allusion in “Two kinds” and modern day society is Shirley Temple. She gives the mom the idea of making Jing-Mei a prodigy. She was known for singing and dancing. Jing-Mei says,” At first my mother thought I could be a Chinese Shirley Temple” (Tan 70). Her mother thinks she can be just like Shirley Temple except a chines version.

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When Jing-Mei started her journey to China she remembers a time where she had rejected her culture. Afterword, when she arrived she was linguistically challenged. Later when she understood a bit about her culture she asked her father to tell her mother’s story in their native language. “Your mother running away’- begins my father ‘No tell me in Chinese’ I interrupt ‘Really I can understand” (157) After hearing her mother story Jing-Mei understands what she meant when she was fifteen, “Someday you 'll see…It is in your blood, waiting to be let go.”

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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

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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).

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Regardless, her mother still is persistent on Jing Mei becoming a prodigy, despite her passionless performance and her family’s negative reaction. In return, Jing Mei becomes angry at her mother, and will do anything to change her mind. Screaming, “I wish I were dead! Like them.”, her mother freezes, disappointed in her daughter, and quits Jing Mei’s piano classes. On Page 28-29, Jing Mei’s perspective on the world becomes more apparent: “For unlike my mother, I didn’t believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me.”

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She becomes driven by her heartache and memories of her years in China and the apparent success her friend, Auntie Lindo and her daughter Waverly Jong are experiencing after the migration to America so she uses this to push the American Idealism upon her daughter Jing-mei. With this she sets out to make her daughter a prodigy by exploring ideas from “amazing children she had read in Ripley’s

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

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She then uses these “new thoughts” and ideas to state that she “won’t let her [mother] change” her into the person she seeks her daughter to be. When Jing-Mei experiences a realization that she is her own person and not simply another part of her mother, she can embrace the comfort of knowing that she will not change for anyone, and is simply extraordinary for having her own thoughts and feelings. This reflects how Amy Tan can understand her thoughts and feelings about the hardships in her relationship with her mother as a way to connect more closely to her characters and make them more realistic in her writing (“How Amy Tan’s family stories made her a

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Her syntax generates this tone through the usage of choppy sentences, which often children will use for lack of ability to communicate better. Wos displays these telegraphic sentences when she states, “Now I had the bread. I had gotten it. I had bought it….I had earned it. It was mine to throw away” (lines 23-25).

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However, this determination sometimes appears to be obsessive to the point of running her daughter’s life for her. Regardless, she is only trying to help, as she encourages Jing Mei by asserting “‘You can be best anything.’” (1). Because of this, it suggests that although she is very harsh on her daughter at times, it is only to make sure that Jing Mei can use her full potential and not end up losing everything like her

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It is my family. It is in our blood. After all these years I can finally be let go” (Tan 159). For the first time in her life of being stuck between two cultures and believing that she does not belong to either, Jing-Mei feels like she belongs. As it was previously stated about the meanings of this family’s poetic names, these names that were given to them by their mother created a meaningful theme.

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(Tan 24). through this it can be said that Jing-Mei’s mother has a very different culture compared to

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