FREE ESSAY ON AMY TANS' "TWO KINDS"

AMY TANS' "TWO KINDS"

Amy Tans' heartbreaking story, "Two Kinds", is a powerful example of conflicting
personalities and needs that cause a struggle between parent and child. In every family,
parents have, at one point, imposed their failures and expectations on their children,
and in worse cases have even tried to live through their children. At times, it can be in
the best interest of the child to have a parent motivate them in a specific direction,
but as in this story it can sometimes backfire, and the child can be left with feelings
of disapproval and questions of "self-worth." Instead of enforcing these standards
parents should let their children be individuals, and have them learn through their own
conscious decisions, and only interfere when the child is headed in the wrong direction.
Of course, family values and morals should be taught to a child at a young age to prevent
any disastrous situations, and help the child determine between right and wrong. Jing-Mei
stands for this individualism in the story, and the mother represents that obtrusive
unwanted force. Amy Tans' message in this passage is clear. Frequently imposing standards
on a person throughout their life can greatly affect their actions, feelings, and
attitudes. 
The major conflict in this story is between Jing-Mei and her mother. Ever since Jing-Mei
was a little girl her mother has believed she could be a prodigy. Her mother would watch
television or read articles in magazines to get ideas from other amazing children. Then
she would test Jing-Mei tirelessly to try and find something she would be best at. At
first Jing-Mei seemed to enjoy her mothers intentions, " In fact in the beginning I was
just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so" (386), but as time went on the tests
started to get harder and Jing-Mei kept failing repeatedly. After constantly having to
see her mothers disappointed face, Jing-Mei's attitude and feelings began to change, "I
hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations." (387) She began to see a new
side of herself; a strong powerful girl with willful thoughts and lots of won'ts, " I
won't let her change me, I promised myself I won't be what I'm not." (387) So throughout
the rest of her life she asserted her right to fall short of her mothers expectations,
believing that she could never be anything she wanted to be, she can only be herself.
Jing-Mei is the protagonist in this story; we read the story through her eyes and her
point of view. She makes herself seem more like a victim of her mother's expectations
rather than what she really is, a hurt little girl who does not understand why her mother
does not accept her for who she is. Jing-Mei has to deal with both external and internal
conflicts. The internal being her feelings of accepting who she is and how she would like
to live her life, and the external being her mothers constant pushing of her pseudo
images of what she believes Jing-Mei should be. Jing-Mei's upbringing in a society that
highly values individualism and autonomy has had a great effect on her feelings and
actions. This influence has enabled her to make the decision that she cannot abide by her
mother's expectations anymore, and it has helped her stand firmly behind it.
The mother is the antagonist in the story; she does not realize what she is doing to her
daughter. In her mind she is just helping Jing-Mei to strive for the best, by Jing-Mei
opposing her it makes her feel that her daughter is ungrateful and disobedient. This
wanting and pushing for the best stems from their current situation, of having little
money, and from the mother's past experiences. "America was where all my mother's hopes
lay." (386) This is the country were she wants her daughter to have a better life than
she had. She was born in China where she lost everything: her mother and father, her
family home, her first husband, and her twin baby girls. She was not regretful of her
past, and she always felt "things could get better in so many ways." (386) The loss of
her daughters and her belief that you could be anything you want to be in America is a
strong example of why she is so persistent in making Jing-Mei become the best she can be.
It's like she is taking all her hopes and dreams for three daughters and throwing it all
on top of one, as if Jing-Mei had to fulfill the lives of her "dead" sisters. Although
the mother did not present her motivations in the correct manner, I believe she truly
meant no harm, and was only trying to be a good parent.
The atmosphere of the story continues with an array of conflicts. Jing-Mei is forced to
take piano lessons after her mother saw a Chinese girl, whom resembled Jing-Mei, playing
piano on the Ed Sullivan show. Being that Jing-Mei had no interest in playing piano she
lazily went about her lessons, and got away with it, because she had a deaf teacher.
Jing-Mei did this despite the fact that her mother had traded housecleaning services for
her lessons. Not knowing of her daughter's disobedience, Jing-Mei's mother bragged about
her one day after church " If we ask Jing-Mei wash dish, she hear nothing but music. Its
like you can't stop this natural talent." (390) This made Jing-Mei even more determined
to put a stop to her mother's foolish pride. By not practicing and being determined to
disappoint her mother, Jing-Mei is humiliated one evening after she tried to play the
piano at a talent show. Even though Jing-Mei continuously wanted to disappoint her mother
that night her mother's face devastated her. This situation lead to their final conflict.
Not giving up on her, Jing-Mei's mother tried to get her to return to her lessons one
afternoon. After throwing a tantrum Jing-Mei said the words that would end their quarrels
for good, " Then I wish I'd never been born! I wish I were dead! Like them." (393) After
saying this to her mother everything stopped, her hopes, her dreams everything she wanted
for her daughter ended in that single moment. 
Jing-Mei and her mother are both at fault in this story. Instead of trying to please one
another, their heads were clouded with their own selfishness. They destroyed that
mother-daughter bond they should have shared. It is unfortunate that Jing-Mei realizes
what she has lost after it is too late, and her mother has already passed on. They were
the same, Jing-Mei and her mother, but blinded by their own needs they never realized "
they were two halves of the same song " (3