Two Kinds By Amy Tan Essay

Jayden Heil

Kottcamp

English Composition

16 August 2023

“Two Kinds” and “An American Childhood” Comparison Sacrifice, love, pain: all words to describe the job of a mother. Every mother, simply put, is just a human. Many people have different ideas about what a mother should be and how they should raise their children. In “Two Kinds,” Amy Tan is a young Chinese-American who grew up with an immigrant mother who believed that in America anyone could do anything. Tan was pushed to find something she was good at. Her mother and Tan began feuding because she wasn’t good at playing piano, which her mother believed was going to be her way to fame. They started to resent each other as the author grew up, but when her mother passed away she realized

After Amy Tan’s mother discovered that she wasn’t trying her best during her piano lessons, her mother had some harsh words to show how much she cared: “‘Who ask you to be genius?’ she shouted. ‘Only ask you to be your best. For you sake. You think I want you to be genius?’” (3) Tan’s writing style and recollection of her childhood exemplify how her mother communicated with her and the way she remembered her mother growing up. Her mother had high expectations for her because she knew what it took to be successful, but Tan didn’t want to be pushed into playing the piano. It wasn’t something she enjoyed, and because of her mother’s harsh words, she believed she wasn’t good at it. Everytime Tan would bring her mother up, she would have a negative connotation because that is how she remembered her mother treating her during her childhood. Conversely, Dillard recalls her mothers beliefs with a sense of awe: “She was an unstoppable force; she never let go” (391). The tone that Dillard uses to describe her mother shows how she feels about her mother. Unlike Tan, Dillard has a much more positive memory of her mother during her childhood. Dillard idolized her mother because of her strength, positivity, and creativeness. Her mother was an outside of the box thinker and parent

The authors used very similar styles in order to thoroughly explain how they grew up. They also wanted the readers to understand that even when people grow up in unique ways, they still learn important principles that they use in their adult lives. Finally, both authors use their relationships with their mothers to help readers understand the overall theme of the stories. Stories that give readers an inside to someone’s childhood can teach people about different ways of growing up and learning how to navigate through life. These two stories can help readers gain perspective on how different cultures raise their children, and how mothers can show their love in different