Topic > The Clash of Cultures in Two Kinds by Amy Tan

There are hundreds of people in the world today who desperately want to leave their homeland and come to the United States for a variety of reasons, such as escaping war, poverty and famine, believing they could find relief on American soil. In Two Kinds by Amy Tan, she uses non-conforming Jing Mei and her native mother's expectation of obedience to describe the clash of cultures and how it affected the relationship between the two. Jing Mei's mother moved to San Francisco, California in 1949 to seek a better life, and in doing so, left her hometown of China to be part of her memories instead of another reality. Having moved to America, as Mei grew up, her mother expected her to be a prodigious talent, she believed she could be good at everything she wanted to be good at, which, in this whole story, turns into the clash of cultures like them relations between the two decline drastically. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayJing Mei can be considered an ideal Americanized child, raised living in America since her birth. His mother, who grew up in China and lived such a difficult life, adapting to traditional Chinese ways, which are drastically different than the normal Americanized ways of doing things, brought her adapted Chinese ways of life with her as she moved in America. . Chinese people are known to be very obedient, loyal, hardworking and very intelligent. Growing up in China is not easy, especially in the old days, parents sometimes beat their children if they didn't get a grade higher than A in school, or they were simply punished for not being obedient to their parents. Comparing this to an Americanized child, it's a lot easier for them, which makes us understand why Mei's mother acted the way she did in this story. Jing Mei's mother expected her to be the best at everything, which meant that whatever question she asked she had to know the answer, otherwise she would feel disappointed. This really affected Jing Mei in a way, because she felt like she was being controlled by her mother, forcing her to do things and know things she didn't want. This plays a big role in influencing their relationship, if I had put myself in his shoes, I would have felt the same way. How can anyone tell me to be something I don't want to be? This lacks motivation, it makes the person feel very depressed because we feel obliged not to disappoint our parents, after all they have done for us. Jing Mei had this instinct, she didn't want to disappoint her parents, but at the same time she didn't want to be forced to do something she didn't want to do, especially playing the piano, which can be very conflicting mentally and emotionally. Additionally, after Mei's mother saw the Ed Sullivan show that featured a young Chinese girl playing the piano, her mother complained about how horrible she sounded even though she played the right notes. Jing Mei reacts by asking her mother why she picked on her, and in doing so Mei says, “She's pretty good. Maybe it won't be the best, but she's giving it her all." Even though Mei feels like she regrets saying it, deep down she feels that way about her mother. After watching the Ed Sullivan show, her mother schedules her to start taking piano lessons without consulting Mei about it, which causes her to feel anger, hatred, and sadness towards her mother. “Why don't you like me the way I am? I'm not a genius! I can't play the piano, and even if I could I wouldn't go on TV even if you paid me a million dollars!” When Mei says.