Alvarez essay explains how her parents and media taught Alvarez self-worth. Alvarez’s explains how she grew up and learned to love herself. “As a young teenager in our new country, my sisters and I searched for clues on how to look as if we belonged here (Alvarez 92). Young girl sometimes find themselves trying to be like people they see on T.V. so that they can fit into the world.
<br>Some children do what their parents want out of respect and obedience, just as Jing-mei in the short story “Two Kinds†<br> <br> The short story “ Two Kinds†by author Amy Tan depicts the life of a young Chinese immigrant girl and her family. The young girl’s name is Jing-mei. Jing-mei’s mother always wanted the best for her. She wanted her daughter to be a prodigy at age nine. Jing-mei’s mother chose the type of prodigy she would be.
When Jing-Mei’s mother passes, for the first time in quite a while Jing-Mei sat at the piano in her mother’s apartment, the same one she practiced at when she was attempting to become a prodigy child and played “Pleading Child” (Tan 523) the same piece she played at the recital. She is surprised at how easily she plays it. Upon completing it she looked on the opposite side of the music sheet “and for the first time, or so it seemed” (Tan 523) she notices a piece titled “Perfectly Contented” (Tan 523). She played this with ease also and after playing each several times she realizes “they were two halves of the same song” (Tan 523). Not too unlike her own identity which was split between what her mother wanted for her and what she thought she wanted
Now that’s growing up without a childhood. Jane Smiley seems like a great parent who cares about her children but to allow her daughters to put on makeup even entering their teenage years just isn’t right. Her girls where prematurely growing up, where behaving beyond their age, and with their only priority being beautiful at all times it seem to help them in the long run. As they burned off the “Barbie stage” and grew into more important things down their lives. Like for example Smiley talks about her older daughter, “Now she is planning to graduate school and law school and become an expert on woman’s health issues, perhaps adolescent health issues like anorexia and bulimia” (377).
The values of heritage seem to have been lost with the gain of knowledge when Dee has gone to college. Her actions she displays when she comes home for a visit are shocking to her family. It is almost as if Dee is using them for a show, rather than a visit that has been well overdue. It’s one thing to know what heritage is but another to understand what your heritage is. Mama was always one who could not say “no” to her daughter and she always tried to please her regardless if her daughter appreciated it or not.
Rochelle continuously denies her heritage and desires to be the ideal “American Bride.” Throughout the story Lily tries to get Rochelle to acknowledge her Hispanic heritage but Rochelle doesn’t accept it. “You’re carrying your gringa kick too far.” This shows how Lily feels towards her sister’s attitude. In the end Rochelle’s denial of reality reaches it’s peak when she’s finds herself pregnant, married, and in high school. “He was beautiful too- the Mexican version of the blond grooms.” Rochelle finally realized what her sister was trying to tell her all her life; you can’t escape your
This is a story about a girl that had a dream. It’s a story about hope, love, determination, and courage. Alongside her sister Pari, Rachlin was mesmerized by the American culture she could only see through a small television screen in Iran. She head dreams of escaping her world and moving to America. While Pari ended up marrying the cruel wealthy man her father wanted her to marry, Rachlin did everything within her powers to avoid such destiny.
While in her mother’s eyes, she only supported her daughter and craved the absolute best for her child. Schwind-Pawlak presents this argument poorly due to her change of heart towards the end of the essay. She does not stick to her beginning argument which causes the opposition to lack stability. The two authors support their arguments by providing evidence. The supporting evidence of the two essay’s help reveal the hardships teenagers face while dealing with their parents.
In "Two Kinds," by Amy Tan, the narrator’s mother is from China, which affects the way she looks at the world. To her, America is the land of opportunity: “My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America.” She has an unrealisic expectation that her daughter can be a musical prodigy. Because of this, she pushes and forces her daughter into piano lessons. The girl’s first act of rebellion is when she purposefully fails at piano. It is her way to reject her mother and her mother's strict Chinese rules.
Her mother brags to her Aunt Lindo about how good Jing-Mei is at playing the piano. She wants to show how smart and talented she believes that her daughter is. Jing-Mei purposefully defies that by not investing into the lessons and learning to play properly. After her disastrous performance at the piano recital, the narrator describes the look on Jing-Mei’s mother’s face. “I saw my mother’s face, her stricken face.” This shows the disappointment that her mother felt.