1. Please discuss your opinions of Jing-mei's mother in Amy Tan's short story "Two Kinds" (1222). Do you think she's simply being a good mother who wishes the best for her child?
2. What do you think of the daughter, Jing-mei? Why does she turn against her mother? Does she give herself a chance to try and be her best? Please address any aspect of the story you wish to.
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After reading Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” I realized how similar it is to Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”. Much like the girl in “Girl”, Jing-mei the protagonist of this story faces a sense of controlling force with her mother. Throughout the text, Jing-mei is constantly shamed upon by her mother for not having the talent, or for not being the”star” child her mother wishes her to become. Instead of appreciating Jin-mei’s true values, her mother constantly tests her to try to shape her daughter into to someone she is not living her own dream. Her mother’s enslavement forces Jing-mei to doubt herself and become a depressed individual. Jing-mei states, “In all my imaginings, I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect. My mother and father would adore me. I would be beyond reproach. I would never feel the need to sulk for anything” (1222). Jing-mei’s mother frequently tested Jing trying to find her hidden talent, the talent that would make her daughter known throughout the world. One time when Jing-mei got the answer to one of her mother’s tests wrong she says, “…after seeing my mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside me began to die” (1223). Soon or later, Jing-mei was forced by her mother to take on the piano. This later led to a recital in which Jing made a complete disaster. Her parents showed no sense of consolement after their daughter’s catastrophe, but instead only thought about how bad she’d done instead of the positive. During her daughter’s performance, Jing’s mother held a sour face of disappointment. This exemplifies how Jing is really living her mother’s dream instead of her own. Instead of representing her own individuality, she is her mother’s prize, and trophy child. The piano, I think in this text has some sense of symbolism. Ever since Jing-mei had the piano it only planted a negative vibe in the relationship. Jing never “wanted” to play it. I was simply her mother’s idea. However, at the end of the story Jing-mei’s mother offers her the piano, which serves as a sense of freedom from her mother’s dream. She gives Jing-mei the opportunity to try again without feeling as though she is doing so for someone else’s benefit. The piano in this case is a symbol of “peace.” It is almost as if her mother is asking for forgiveness for her enslavement over the years not allowing her daughter to be her own being, and her own individual self. Tan states, “A few years ago she offered to give me the piano, for my thirtieth birthday. I had not played it in all those years. I saw the offer as a sign of forgiveness, a tremendous burden removed” (1229). The music however in this case (“Pleading Child” vs. “Perfectly Contended)”, serves as a sort of psychological journey for Jing-mei. It is only after her mother’s death that she realizes her mother’s true intention of forcing her to do these things. It because of her mother’s faith and belief in her daughter that she pushed her daughter so hard, not because she wanted to be mean and selfish. Jing-mei as a young girl was a “pleading child,” as to her at age thirty, an adult who has undergone a psychological “contentment” or in other words, “peace” with the understanding of her mother’s doings and intentions in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI found “Two Kinds” to be a very reflective piece to my own life. I tend to find myself in conflict with my mother all the time just like the main character Jing-me in this story. Concerning our arguments however, it now makes me think as to “why” my mother does and says the things she does to me, like Jing-mei’s mother had done to her. Overall, this piece was a great piece of literature which I would recommend to any one who has a conflicting mother daughter/son relationship.
-Tahliah M. Davidson
JIng Ming was pushed so hard to be someone who her mother wanted her to be, that in the end it caused her to resent her mother to a point where everything her mother did or said she argued. If you push someone too hard to become something, they tend to revolt. Thats what Jing Ming did, in the end it shows that she was actually good and piano, and maybe if she even put a little effort into it she could have shown true talent, but when pushed to do so, the desire to play vanished.
ReplyDeleteJing Mei's mother had lost everything she ever cared for back in China, and saw America as a land with endless possibilities. I think she thought she was doing what was best for her daughter, so Jing wouldn't have to go through any of the hardships she faced. She might have come on too strong, and gone about it in the lest convincing way, but I believe her intentions were completely sincere. As for the daughter, I think that constantly disappointing her mother broke her. She became angry with her mother for setting impossible standards. Jing could have been decent at many things, but her mother expected a child prodigy. She wanted her daughter to be special, but the thing with prodigy children is that they are not made they're found that's what makes them so profound. At first Jing was excited to be a prodigy, she wanted to be perfect to earn her mother's adoration. But after countless failed attempts she realized her mother wasn't trying to get her to reach full potential, but change her into something she could never be. I think when she realized that Jing gave up trying, and almost felt the need to fulfill her self prophecy of failing; not only to remain who she thought she was, but also to avoid proving her mother's point. Either her mother was right and she just didn't try hard enough or her mother was wrong about her and she wasn't anything special.
ReplyDelete1.I think Jing-Mei’s mother in her own way is a good mother because she just wanted her daughter to succeed at anything. Yes she did push her very hard, but she just wanted the best for her daughter which her daughter didn’t realize at the time. Jing-Mei worked very hard for her daughter to succeed in return for piano lessons she was cleaning Mr. Chong’s house, because they couldn’t afford the lessons. Also in the beginning of the short story it said “my mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America” (1222). Although she was pushing her daughter very hard by thinking of her as a prodigy or genius, she just wanted her daughter to succeed in life and be happy. After she faced such devastating losses in China, I think that she thought that anything is possible and just wanted the best for her daughter no matter what she went through to get it. Yes I think that Jing-Mei wanted the best for her daughter even though the daughter didn’t really appreciate it.
ReplyDelete2.I did not really like the daughter, her mother just wanted the best for her and she just wouldn’t try at anything that the mother wanted. Yes, Jing-Mei did go overboard with the whole child prodigy thing, but every mother just wants their daughter to be successful in life and find something they like. However I don’t think that it lied in a deck of cards! I think that she turns against her mother because she felt that her mother had her on a pedestal and couldn’t become what her mother wanted so she resented her for holding her to such high standards. No I do not think that she gives herself the chance to try her best because when she was learning piano, it said how she knew she was making mistakes but did not care. “If I hit the wrong notes because I hadn’t practiced enough, I never corrected myself” (1225). This shows that she knew she was making mistakes but didn’t care therefore she never tried to be her best.
~Nicole Treschitta~
1- After reading amy tan's short story "Two Kinds" it seems as if the Jing-Mei's mother is trying to live her life, and the lives of those that were lost in her. I do not think she is being a good mother because she's trying to change her daughter's entire appearance to make her appear like Shirley Temple with the curls.
ReplyDelete2- I think that Jing-Mei is kind of being selfish. Her mother wants her to do things she doesn't care for, but what parent doesn't do that to their child? She turns against her because she just couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't take the piano lessons, she couldn't take being made up like Shirley Temple she couldn't take any of it any longer. She does not give herself a chance and try to be her best at what her mother is throwing at her because she couldn't care less about any of it.
Great job people! Very good critical analysis happening here.
ReplyDeleteAllison, your insight is terrific, but I'm interested in why you came to that conclusion at the end of the post - "Either her mother was right and she just didn't try hard enough or her mother was wrong about her and she wasn't anything special". Until Wednesday :)
Nicole, super duper response as well! You got Jing-mei mixed up with her mother in your first response though. I like your take on the mother's good intentions. You raise some important questions- No matter how good her intentions were, do you think a child can comprehend the bigger picture behind the constant pressure that her parent puts on her? Jing-mei always seems to fall short of her mother's expectations. Why? Is the mother motivating her daughter to achieve her potential or is she simply pressurizing her? Why does the daughter even try to do everything her mother wishes in the initial part of the story?
Impressive!
I believe that there is a line between helping your child to strive in whatever they do as well as introducing them to different sports and hobbies and living your life through your child's.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced this at a young age. I started playing hockey when I was three years old and I immediately started to play for a very upper-class team. It got to the point where we would travel as far as Canada just to play. To me and many other players on the team we were like little professionals. This team brought extreme amounts of stress for me.
One instance, I was playing golf with my dad when I was about twelve years old and he started to explain to me that I had to start get ready for hockey season and get new equipment. As he said that to me, I started to tear up from the stress of it all. It got to the point where it was not fun at all. Sports are supposed to be fun and if they are not fun for you then you most likely won't play well. I quit that year and I didn't start playing hockey for fun until a couple years later.
What, more comments?:) Just great! Something about the semester ending that's motivating you folks or what?
ReplyDeleteTaylor, good comments. What you are essentially saying is that the mother may have good intentions but she's enslaving her daughter to adhere to her skewed concept of success and that too in an emotionally oppressive manner which fundamentally undermines Jing-mei's sense of self as well as demotivates her.
Excellent response, Alex! You're right on about her mother trying to live her life through her daughter. The mother sets off a sort of defense mechanism in her daugther, hence the daughter's failure to try and be her best. Your own experience is also relevant to our discussion and thank you for sharing it with us.
I think the mother had her motives for doing what she did, but I dont believe that excuses her actions. By pushing her daughter so much, provided damage to her self-esttem, warping her to think her mother would accept who she really was. The constent pressure on jing-mei causeed her to resent her mother so much then she refused to even give any action that her mother might condone a chance.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Jing-mei’s mother only wants the best for daughter she want her daughter to have what she and her other children never had. More importantly, she wants her daughter to have the best of both worlds, Chinese tradition and American culture. The mother believes in the American dream that you can do anything you want to do in America and be successful. That’s why she pushes her daughter to be a piano prodigy; she only wants her to be successful.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jing-mei has no attentions of being a piano prodigy. She is however good at piano but she doesn’t want to make it her career this is why she resists her mother efforts to make her into something she is not. On the other hand, I feel that Jing-mei is a bit arrogant she knows that she has potential and can become a very decent piano player ,but she doesn’t practice and embarrasses herself at the recital to prve a point to her mother that she did not want to be a piano prodigy.
Thank you Sam and Damarley, very valuable responses!
ReplyDeleteI think the mother does just want to best for her child. She works very hard to give her daughter all that she has. She works extra to pay for piano lessons. She wants her to be the best she can be but she doesn't realize that that's by letting her be herself and becoming an individual. She extremely harsh and particular and by doing so she's pushing her daughter away. Her daughter is losing her individualism and can't be herself and she doesn't like that. The constant pressure from her mother wanting her to be the best turned her away. The daughter's going t do what makes her happiest and unfortunately what that was and what her mother had in mind where tow completely different things. It's a shame that the high expectations her mother had for her tore their relationship apart. The mother also has lost a lot in her life. Her daughter is all that she has left so she wants her to be successful and be able to brag about her. The constant bragging the other mothers do about their children causes the mother to want even more from her daughter. Soon the pressure is too great for the daughter and she wants to break away. It's not like it was unpredictable the mother should have seen it coming. If you feel too pressured and oppressed in a society and begin to lose your individualism you have to power to get away and most should. Unfortunately in stories like The Lottery they didn't break away and free themselves from the oppressed society they were in.
ReplyDelete