Summary Of Help Me Grow Not Force Me To Grow By Amy Tan

Help Me Grow not Force Me to Grow Did you know that plants who are given affirmations and compliments tend to grow more than plants who are cursed at or insulted? Kids and plants are truly quite similar as kids who are given compliments gain self-esteem and confidence while their counterparts gain lower self-esteem and a distorted perception of their self-worth. Amy Tan uses Two Kinds to talk about how a little girl who just wanted to be herself has to become a star to please her mother. June Woo wants to be special but still stay true to herself while her mother wants her to excel at something to the point of fame which causes June to believe that she will never meet her mother’s expectations and so she quits trying and stops putting effort

June Woo is forced to learn piano from a deaf man named Mr. Chong and isn’t too thrilled until she realizes that she can cheat her way through the piece and “be lazy and get away with mistakes” (Tan 3). Due to her mother’s unrealistic expectations, June learns how to find ways to escape her mother’s expectations by cheating through the piano pieces and not giving it her full effort despite being able to “pick up fast” (Tan 6). The author uses syntax to portray June’s innocence and helplessness as June doesn’t want to disappoint her mother but also doesn’t want to play the piano which is why she resorts to cheating. The usage of syntax demonstrates how June’s mind is slowly learning how to rebel and find ways to go against her mother and have little victories against her mother’s forcefulness. Even though June is praised for having natural talent, she can’t put in the needed effort because she isn’t playing the piano willingly as she is being forced. June’s actions demonstrate how parents’ high expectations can lead to children becoming rebellious and making bad decisions in order to be able to express themselves and their wants. Even

June is considered a natural talent but in the end, she views herself as nothing but a failure because of her inability to meet her mother’s impossible expectations. Conditioned by her mother’s expectations, June believes that to be good at something is to be a genius so she quits the piano once she realizes that “[she] [is] not a genius…[she] [can’t] play the piano” (Tan 2). June is truly wonderful at playing the piano if she can pick up so many things despite putting in minimal effort but unfortunately, her mother has made her believe that to be good at something isn’t to enjoy it but to master it. Due to the burden of these expectations, June caves in and quits because she realizes that no matter how hard she tries, she will never be enough for her mother. The usage of syntax displays June’s pain and her low self-esteem as June starts to believe that she can’t play the piano which she can do if she put in just a little more effort, demonstrating how unrealistic expectations can lead to a distorted perception of one’s self as June viewed herself in a much harsher way than necessary. Moreover, June is constantly compared to other children such as Waverly who is a chess prodigy which leads June to view herself as inferior to the people around her as kids like Waverly were able