Two Kinds By Amy Tan Essay

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The short story, ‘Two kinds’ is the last story in Amy Tan’s book, The Joy Luck Club. The book was supposed to be a short story collection, but critics think that the book is more of a novel. In the short story “Two Kinds”, Amy Tan introduced a very complex relationship of a mother and a daughter who grew up in completely different eras. Suyuan was born in China before the revolution and Jing-Mei was born in the 20th century in America. Jing-Mei and her mother are different because of their considerably different life experiences. In this short story, the mother-daughter relationship is defined by many different factors including generational, cultural, and individual factors. In 1949, Suyuan moved to America from China after losing everything: “her mother and father, her home, her first husband, and two daughters, twin baby girls” (Tan). Suyuan came from China where life was not easy, there was a daily struggle, and there were not as many opportunities there. She knew that moving to America and raising her daughter would present endless opportunities and a life that she would never live in China.…show more content…
She wanted her daughter to be successful and the best at what she was going to do. She constantly pushed her to take piano lessons. The obvious stupidity of Suyuan’s goals for her daughter can learn from her belief that America is the Land of Opportunity. She places excessive expectations on the shoulders of her young, sensitive daughter. While she may not exactly know where her daughter’s talents lie, she has yet to think that her daughter will never reach her potential. First, Suyuan tries to talk her daughter into being a Shirley Temple, but that failed quickly. Then Suyuan puts her daughter through general knowledge test at the dinner table. Young Jing-Mei doesn’t show talent in this area, either. Finally, her mother thinks she will be a great piano
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