Topic > "Two Kinds": Literary Analysis of Amy Tan's Novel

Amy Tan's short story "Two Kinds" provides a thought-provoking literary analysis of the conflicts that arise between parents and children when their goals and aspirations differ. In this Con a first-person narrative, Tan describes the struggle that Jing-Mei Woo and her mother face in reconciling their differing views on success through the use of symbols such as Shirley Temple and allegories such as "Child Begs" and "Perfectly Satisfied", Tan . highlights the lasting effects of misunderstandings caused by lack of communication in personal relationships. Through the literary analysis of "Two Kinds", this essay highlights the importance of communication and understanding in maintaining healthy family relationships “Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay As the story begins, it's clear that there's a lot of pressure on Jing-Mei Woo to become a "prodigy" and fit into the idealized image of American Success. . For his mother, he only saw this performed by Hollywood. She wished her daughter was a "Chinese Shirley Temple". Using this perception of prosperity and fulfillment, her mother thought she would be able to mold Jing-Mei into it. As first-generation Chinese immigrants, their family has seen success in Western culture in the form of celebrities and television personalities. This greatly influenced what Mrs. Woo wanted her daughter to strive to become. At one point Jing-Mei shared the same dream when she said, “I was filled with the feeling that I would soon become perfect: my mother and father would adore me. I would be blameless. I would never feel the need to sulk or complain about anything." But often with family ideals comes the pressure to become something you may not want to be. The conflicts became evident when Jing-Mei began to break away from the “prodigy” label and wanted to be her true self, regardless of her mother's expectations. The ideal of the “Shirley Temple” was impractical. This basic idea was where she and her mother germinated their altercations and unhealthy energy towards each other. Her mother's anger and forceful tactics made it difficult for them to correspond with each other and understand each other's intentions and true desires. The mother had inner thoughts with feelings, she wanted to start a new life like her story in China. “Mom was so determined that you could be anything you wanted in America, you could open a restaurant, work for the government and have a good pension, you can buy a house with almost no money down.” His mother was so determined that America was the place where you could accomplish anything you put your psyche to, regardless of your identity. Every year many people move to the United States from various parts of the world to face these types of possibilities. This is what is known as "the American dream". The author showed us her point of view about her new life and her new life identity and a good backstory to understand the problem that will come between her and her daughter. Through the metaphorical In the song titles, Tan expresses how the experiences we have as children, positive and negative, stay with us, but it may not be until later in life that we see how these experiences shape us. The missing communication component lasted throughout the relationship between mother and daughter until it became strained and broken when the latter verbally lashed out to cause pain due to deep anguish over the loss of her mother's twin daughters. The song, "Pleading Child," was one her mother had her learn as a child on the keys, and.