Two Kinds: Shaping Indentities With Parents And Children

Shaping Indentities with Parents and Children

Parents and children shape each other’s identity by challenging each other’s views, fulfilling expectations, and communicating thoughts. Parents and children’s identities are shaped through their differing views. With differing views, parents and their children come into conflict where they may disagree with each other's resolution to a problem.

Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” provides an example of when parents and children come into a disagreement over a problem. In the short story, the main character or narrator and her mother are not seeing eye-to-eye with who should make the decisions over the main character’s life. The narrarator’s mother believes “you could be anything in America” whilst the narrator

For children, the constant pressure to fulfill expectations becomes a catalyst for their pent-up anger until they release their emotions or have an emotional outburst. The outburst or plea for their parents to relent from bombarding them with tasks and high standards that seem impossible to achieve becomes the point where children are developing their own identity. They begin to forge their own path to determine who they will become in the future. According to Amy Tan in her short story, “Two Kinds,” she depicts the deteriorating relationship between the narrator and her mother. The mother wanted a daughter who was obedient and in the heat of the moment, she told her daughter that only an obedient daughter can remain in her home (8). The development of personal identities for both parents and children are affected by the parents and children’s ability to effectively

Children learn by observing and imitating their parents, which means that parents' behaviors, attitudes, and habits can have a strong influence on their children's identity. For example, if a parent is kind and compassionate, their child is more likely to develop those traits as well. On the other hand, if a parent is critical or judgmental, their child may internalize those messages and develop negative self-esteem. However, this is not always the case, just like Jing-mei’s resentfulness to her mother. The quality of the attachment relationship between parents and children can also shape their identity. When children feel securely attached to their parents, they are more likely to develop a positive sense of self and feel confident in their relationships with others. On the other hand, when children experience insecure attachment, such as when a parent is neglectful or inconsistent in their care, they may develop feelings of anxiety, mistrust, or low