Literary Analysis of Two Kinds by Amy Tan (Essay Sample)

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Literary Analysis of Two Kinds by Amy Tan
Two Kinds is a short story by Amy Tan in the book The Joy Luck Club. Tan writes about the intricacy of a daughter and mother relationship who migrated from China to America. The short story is about a Chinese-American girl named Jing-mei. Jing-mei lived in American and her mother believed that, as long as one lives in America, he/she can be anything she could ever wish to be and therefore, she was working hard to find her daughter’s talent. Jing-mei’s mother constantly tests her daughter for any talent, but any time she tries, no talent is found. The lack of talent stressed both Jing-mei and her mother and she decided never to try to have any talent because she felt disappointed in herself. Jing-mei mother wanted her daughter to become a musical prodigy, but her aspirations were thwarted by her daughter.
Two Kinds is a story that explains Amy Tan’s childhood as a Chinese immigrant being molded into an American girl. She talks of how she was forced to take piano lessons in order to meet the American dream of becoming successful in "the promise land." It was after her mother saw Chinese girls playing piano on the television and she decided to have the new dream of the piano to her daughter (Nelson 45). Jing-mei never liked her mother’s idea of wanting her to be someone she could not be. She says, "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 if you paid me a million dollars" (Charters 89). Amy Tan just wanted to be herself no matter how her mother pushed her. Amy recounts her life experiences in this short story as she narrates in her own words. After her mother’s death, Amy Tan writes how she could watch the piano and recount the agony she went through but she played it perfectly this time round even though she had failed during the talent show. Her mother’s character depicts the theme of the story which is finding identity. Despite the fact that Jing-Mei’s mother did not know her identity, she forced her daughter into acquiring a new identity of becoming an American, yet she was Chinese.
Amy tan’s story is told in first person point of view whereby the protagonist tells her story as she looks back at her life. Jing-mei tells her childhood story and how she was disappointed in herself, nonetheless, the story is educative because, she clearly shows the audience that, ambitions cannot be forced. When one reads the story, he/ she is able to identify with the protagonist in both her happy and sad moments. The protagonist tells of how she had to face disappointments after being forced by her mother to be what she could not be and she looks back at her life. Tan explains how Jing-mei was seeking approval from her parents for what she could not do and she felt that her father did not notice her. Jing-mei tried all she could in order to get her parents approval; she says "My mother and father would adore me.  I would be beyond reproach.  I would never feel the need to sulk for anything" (Tan 1222). She felt that if she met her parents’ expectations, they will love her and appreciate her. The protagonist was so anxious to reach her parents expectations but she never met them making the reader to sympathize with her in her disappointments.
There are a number of important characters in the short story; the protagonist is Jing-mei, Amy Tan herself. She is also the narrator in the story who tells the story about her life. Jing-mei is depicted as a rebellious Chinese girl who has found herself between two cultures, Chinese and American. She resists her mother plea of learning the piano and becoming a music genius. Her mother is the antagonist and she plays an important role in the story because, the whole story is built on her determination to give her daughter a new identity. Suyuan Woo migrated from China to America with her daughter and her ambitions of achieving anything one wanted led to the failure of her daughter. The antagonist wanted her daughter to achieve everything she wanted even without caring about how her daughter feels. She is used to depict mothers who push their children into becoming what they cannot and thus end up ruining their lives. Nonetheless, Jing-mei was able to Apart from her mother, there is Jing-mei’s father who played a minor role in the play but it was evident that he was disappointed in her daughter. However, he is not totally involved in the mother daughter conflict in the story. There is a Mr. Chong nicknamed Old Chong by Jing-mei; he was her piano teacher who was slow and deaf. Other notable characters in the story are Lindo Jong who Jing-mei referred to as Auntie Lindo, her mother’s close friend and her daughter Waverly Jong who was Amy’ age met. Waverly Jong is used in the story to depict a young girl who brags about her achievements thus making the other part feel like a failure. Waverly was a chess champion and she bragged about it to Jing-mei and humiliated her, which made her feel bad about her not becoming a piano genius.
The author uses the protagonist’s experience and failure to depict her disappointment. Tan writes how Jing-mei broke down from disappointment after disappointment after she failed to acquire any talent. Jing-mei says "And after seeing my mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside of me began to die," she was feeling like a dead person who could not do what her mother expected of her (Tan 1223). The author creates a mood of despair in the story when she explains how Jing-mei cried and screamed while looking herself in the mirror. Nonetheless, while she was feeling useless, the moment of despair comes to triumph when her image changes and she sees herself as a different person. As Jing-mei was crying as she looked herself in the mirror, she was able to see her other side in the mirror and she made up her mind that, she will not let her mother manipulate her and make her become what she cannot be. She makes a demarcation line and declares, "I won’t let her change me, and I promised myself.  I won’t be what I’m not" (Tan 1223). At this moment, the protagonists life took a turn around and she appreciated who she was and from then, she never felt disappointments and useless as her parents saw her. Jing-mei was determined to be who she was and not someone her mother wanted her to be and she made up her mind to face her mother (Bloom 102). During that time, her mother arranged for her to go for piano lessons, but she made it clear to her that she can never force herself to be someone she is not. From this time on, her personality changes and Jing-mei started to appreciate who she was and her despair ended because she was now confident for who she was and this made live overwhelming for her. As one reads the book, it is easier to feel the protagonist’s pain and regrets as an adult as she looks back at her childhood life.
The author uses the title Two Kinds to build or rather describe the theme of the whole story. As we read the story, Jing-mei’s mother clearly states that, there are two daughters, "Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind" (Charters 412). Jing-mei’s mother wanted her to be obedient to her and follow her heart so that she can become a better person in life. Charters notes that, Jing-mei’s mother manipulated her into what she wanted her to become but it was not possible. Jing-mei’s mother was very sure that, one can be whatever she/he wants in America and that is why she was forcing her daughter into things she could not become (783). The antagonist urged the protagonist to try out new things for her to be able to discover her talents.
The protagonist depicts her mother’s characterization through her philosophy that people "could be anything you wanted to be in ...