“It was not the only disappointment my mother felt in me. In the years that followed, I failed her many times, each time asserting my will, my right to fall short of expectations. I didn’t get straight A’s. I didn’t become class president. I didn’t get into Stanford. I dropped out of College (Tan)”. The story Two Kinds by Amy Tan and the story A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune by Chris Crutcher share many similarities and differences. One element where the two stories, share similarities and differences is in the protagonist. Together, these two stories, share many similarities. One similarity that they share is that both Angus and Jing – Mei have very supportive families. Although Angus’s parents are split up and remarried, they…show more content… In the story, Angus Bethune, Angus is very self-conscious about himself. He sees himself as not very important and not normal (Crutcher). One main contribution to this is that his name means a cow (Crutcher). Angus also has gay parents (Crutcher). This is another thing that contributes to his self-esteem. Angus doesn’t let this affect him though. He doesn’t think that since his family is different that he should be treated that way too. Having gay parents can defiantly have an affect on your life, but it can’t get to your head and disrupt your…show more content… Jing – Mei doesn’t like to try very hard if she doesn’t like what she’s doing. Her mom pushes her to do many things to try and become a prodigy, but Jing – Mei doesn’t like that (Tan). She finally realizes that she can do what she wants and she doesn’t have to listen to her mom (Tan). When Jing - Mei’s mom dies, it really hits her hard. Before she died, she tried to give her the piano but Jing – Mei didn’t want it (Tan). After she dies Jing – Mei plays the two songs sitting on the piano and instantly realizes that they are part of the same song (Tan). The two songs (Pleading Child and Perfectly Contented) represent her feelings towards her mother (Tan). Jing - Mei then wishes that she would of tired a little harder when she was little to make her mom