Acceptance In American History And Two Kinds

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All humans share a need for things like love and friendship, for the respect of oneself and others, for a secure and beautiful environment, or for a sense of personal accomplishment. Although one can argue that one need may be more important than another, there is one need that we all share and we must have, acceptance. Acceptance can be defined as the tolerance To live without this need would result in everybody having to be exact replicas of one another in order for anyone to live a happy life. The short stories “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan both illustrate the common need for acceptance for the main characters. Acceptance is a common need shared by all humans which allows the mix of different cultures,…show more content…
The story “American History” by Judith Ortiz, clearly reveals this need for the main character, Skinny Bones. Skinny Bones is portrayed as an outcast and a “loner” because of traits that do not appeal to the society she lives in. A physical shape distinct from others labels Skinny Bones lessens her chance of being accepted into most groups in school and society. As an effect of her “unacceptable” traits, Skinny Bones’ reveals her low self-esteem when she explains the hate she feels towards “[her] skinny, flat-chested body,” and how she “envied the black girls” who had preferable traits and abilities (Ortiz 15). By giving Skinny Bones traits such like this, it is easier to convey the idea of the need for acceptance by displaying Skinny Bones’ struggle to fit into other groups of students because they do not accept her traits. Had she been similar to the other girls, she would have probably not been marked as an outcast, and she would have had accepting peers. Adding on to her traits, Skinny Bones also has a Puerto Rican background which further supports the idea of the need for acceptance. A Puerto Rican history makes it even tougher for Skinny Bones to be accepted by the rest of society, who remain culturally unexposed. As a result, Skinny Bones is ultimately set back to…show more content…
After escaping a past full of hardships, Jing-mei’s family immigrates to America to start a new life and aim for a better future. Due to Jing-mei’s mother’s being brainwashed with the thinking that “[Jing-mei] can also be a prodigy…,” Jing-mei’s mother attempts to spark an interest in becoming a prodigy (Tan 45). The need for acceptance is revealed when it becomes clear that Jing-mei has no interest in becoming a prodigy, but her mother still tries to make her “famous” despite the lack of interest and despite her inability to excel at anything her mother wants her to. Near the beginning, Jing-mei tells us that “after seeing,...[her] mother’s disappointed face, something inside…[her] began to die,” which she is referring to her hope of being famous, and her self-esteem. Although Jing-mei’s mother has good intentions, she, who does not accept Jing-mei for who she is, ultimately leads to Jing-mei losing all hope and interest for standing out. Later in the story, this results in the embarrassment of Jing-mei and her family after she fails to flawlessly play the piano in front of an audience, who include her mother’s braggart
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