Daniel Isaacs Mr. Bitto English 9 6 June 2023 Expectations roam our life, making us push ourselves to become someone we aren’t. We change ourselves to suit others, making them believe we are who they want us to be. “Prodigy” by Maxine Hong Kingston is about Wang-li, a young girl, who is forced by her mother to learn talents in order to make her special, a somebody. However, her mother’s absurd expectation deprives Wang-li of her self-confidence. In “Prodigy” by Maxine Hong Kingston, the daughter revealed how her parent’s expectations stressed her, making her feel like she couldn’t be herself. To make her parents proud, Wang-li felt as if she must be good and known for something. After picturing herself as a prodigy, she exclaims, “In all my …show more content…
I would be beyond reproach” (3). Wang-li’s peer-influenced goal made her feel like she had to gain her parent’s affection. As a young girl, she had been set up to become someone else. Her mother had set up a false image for her daughter’s future because she doesn’t want Wang-li to have the same experience growing up as she did. Wang-li’s confidence was undermined by her mother’s expectations for her to be someone else, leading her to tell herself, ““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”” (4). With her desire to meet her parent’s requests, she felt she must be quick and prove to her parents she is a prodigy. However, with the stress of changing, she can’t be who she wants to be. Wang-li had to live a life that had already been decided by her parents. For her parents, she felt like she must become who they want her to be so they don’t disown her. Wang-li had been changed by her mother, which resulted in a negative self-image when she wasn’t able to meet the harsh expectations. After going through exhausting tests and seeing the disappointment of her mother, Wang-li thought,