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Misinterpret Culture In Amy Tan's Two Kinds

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Diverse cultural influences expand one’s ability to interpret others and the world. Many people misinterpret culture to mean people in other parts of the world. In reality, culture is influenced by a wide variety of aspects such as: religion, community, family, friends, traditions, environments, and music. For example of misinterpret culture is when people with incompatible religions have different lifestyles, from what they eat in the morning to what jobs they have. Each of their perspectives on the world is created with these everyday items and ideas. Even without visiting most parts of the world there is already a broad view about it from movies or television. Though most people will never understand the real sight of those places because …show more content…

After losing everything dear to her, China represented defeat while America was hope. She settled in San Francisco and never looked back. With little understanding of the American culture she pressured Jing-mei to engage in every opportunity to perfection. Jing-mei never knew tragedy and despair like her mother experienced, but was diversely influenced by the American culture. To Jing-mei America meant freedom to be yourself. The conflict between Jing-mei and her mother was the result of their individual cultural …show more content…

This happened to Robert Lake’s son, Wind-Wolf, when they moved away from their tribe to a standard Western society. In the essay “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake, he lists multiple supporting facts that states Wind-Wolf is not a “slow-learner” (77), but is just trying “to adjust to the new cultural system” (77). Not only is Wind-Wolf trying to adjust to his new home, but he is also seeing other people and the world in an altered way. Unlike Wind-Wolf, his teacher had a narrow way of looking at Wind-Wolf and the world. His teacher never tried to understand Wind-Wolf’s culture or learning style. Thus, leading to the teacher receiving a letter Robert Lake sent to explain how his child wasn’t “culturally disadvantaged, but culturally different” (77). The letter influenced the teacher, and as result the teacher now saw Wind-Wolf and others like him in a different

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142 Words | 1 Pages

In An Indian Father’s Plea, culture strongly influences Wind-Wolf, the speaker’s son, in all aspects of his life. Wind-Wolf has been raised with certain values that have changed the way he interacts with others. Although others may not be accepting of him, he manages to make a friend who later abandons him because his mother states, “We don’t allow those kind of people in our house!” (Lake 78). Wind-Wolf’s experience with his white classmate’s culture urged him to assimilate into their customs and change his appearance because “Instead of being proud of his race, heritage, and culture, he feels ashamed.”

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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

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438 Words | 2 Pages

Jing-Mei comes from China and Chinese background has to adapt comfortably with being in American culture. “Only two kinds of daughters, those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind; only one kind of daughter can live in this house, obedient daughter.” What I interpret from this text is that the obedient daughter in Jing-Mei's mother’s case is the Chinese daughter, while the daughter who follows their own mind is the American daughter. The mother wants Jing-Mei to be the obedient daughter. Culture can detrimentally change a

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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

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1584 Words | 7 Pages

After analyzing, Jing-mei in this part of the story is a child: eager to appease her mother and doing what she is told. However her mother’s strict expectations on her daughter causes her to be disappointed and frustrated at herself, causing her at one point to last out in the mirror in a mix of disorderly emotions such as anger, rage, sadness, frustration, and

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1115 Words | 5 Pages

Wind-Wolf, a young and innocent Indian boy is struggling to fit in as he’s being torn apart between white culture and his own Indian culture. Having recently transferred to a new school, Wind-Wolf is trying to adapt to the new culture while holding on to his own. As his father describes to his teacher, “My Indian child is a slow learner... It takes time to adjust to a new cultural system and learn new things”(2). Wind-Wolf’s father is telling the teacher that she should try to be be patient with Wind-Wolf because he needs time getting used to this new and strange educational environment.

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628 Words | 3 Pages

Every day we use our culture. Whether it be to argue claims, express opinions, or make decisions, culture plays a part in each area. Culture is who we are, one’s identity, its extent is enormous over our views and actions. A person grows up surrounded with culture at a young age. This can affect how they learn and what they learn.

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835 Words | 4 Pages

"If you don't hurry up and get me out of here, I'm disappearing for good," it warned. ‘"And then you'll always be nothing"(Tan, par. 10). This influences the way the audience sees how the conflict affected Jing-Mei and her dream because she starts losing her self-confidence. Another conflict that she faced in trying to pursue her dream included her mother being dissatisfied with Jing-Mei being her own person. She says, “after seeing, once again, my mother's disappointed face, something inside me began to die”(Tan, par.15).

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968 Words | 4 Pages

She wants her parents to be happy and proud of her, as most children do. Although Jing-Mei wanted to be the kid that would never disappoint, her normal rebellious ways were hard to avoid. This was a point in proving her childishness, while her mother was trying to make her this perfect person, she was doing the opposite. Jing-Mei had a change in perspective occurred after her mom tested her memory many times by making her memorize bible passages and capitals. Every time Jing-Mei answered incorrectly or stumbled with remembering, her mother would look disappointed in

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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

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1026 Words | 5 Pages

In The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan, we are introduced to Suyuan and her daughter Jing-Mei “June” Woo. As with any relationship, there is conflict between Suyuan Woo and her daughter, as it seems that Jing-Mei doesn’t understand her mother’s Chinese culture and ambitions. In the Chinese culture, women are seen as inferior and often lack basic rights such as the right to marriage or financial holdings, thus deprived of their potential. This is why the rights in the U.S. are seen as privileges to Chinese women, among other minorities, and why Suyuan endeavored for her daughter to become a prodigy and excel in anything and everything. Yet as Jing-Mei was forced into this ideal, and the more her mother tried to enforce this idea, the further she begun to despise her mother for attempting to turn her into a “fraud”.

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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.

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1309 Words | 6 Pages

At her first glance at them, she knew exactly who they were because of their resemblance to their mother. However, as she approached them, she realized that there were no evident similarities in features between them and her mother, but that the similarities she noticed at first ran deep in their blood: they were family. And at this brief moment of realization, the most perceptible change in Jing-Mei took place. She said, “Now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious.

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932 Words | 4 Pages

Hofstede's six dimensions of culture Culture is an important aspect of human’s existence. Apparently, this is because the way we behave and interact with others is greatly shaped by the values and virtues we believe in. According to Lawton and Iliana (2014), understanding this correlation is very important especially in the current era where coexistence is key to our development.

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477 Words | 2 Pages

“For unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me.” (Tan 24). With this statement you can see that she does not agree with her mother. Jing-Mei’s Mother was raised in Chinese culture, therefore she is very strict and demanding to Jing-Mei to do what she wants. From doing a chore, to hobbies or even Jing-Mei’s passion.

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