Juggling four children, cooking, cleaning and adjusting to a new society puts pressure on Alice’s mother. Since both mother and grandmother are such strong personalities, arguments between the two of them are not uncommon. They both attempt to entice information about one another out of young, unsuspecting Alice, so that they have something to use against each other during future conflicts. Alice describes their ways of deceit as, “Constantly sighing and lying and dying – that is what being a Chinese woman means, and I want nothing to do with it.” (-Part 1, page
Conflict in Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” Amy Tan’s, “Two Kinds”, is a short story of a Chinese immigrant mother’s conflict with her daughter Jing-Mei. In this story, Jing-Mei tells of how she resisted her mother’s overbearing efforts to inspire her to reach her fullest potential twenty years ago. Jing Mei’s mother only wanted her daughter to be a prodigy in some way. So she dominated and controlled her daughter’s life. When these traits did not surface, Jing-Mei began to realize she did not have these traits and started to feel internally inferior.
Her use of rhetorical questions aimed at her mother Helga stresses the confusion and lack of closure that many of the Kindertransport children had to cope with for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, the fact that Eva was a part of the Kindertransport leads to her feeling abandoned and isolated from her past life, emotions which cause her to make the decision to change her name to Evelyn. Through this change of name and therefore identity Samuels intends to show the audience that Eva’s coping mechanism is to detach herself entirely from her past life, this becomes clear when she rejects her birth Mother Helga in this scene. This total rejection of Evelyn’s past was created by Diane Samuel’s to mimic the reactions of real Kindertransport children. A crucial part of Samuel’s research for her play was hearing the real
Her rumination of the past reminds her of her youth in China and how her life had changed from then to now living in Wilding, Canada. Gum-May is left feeling empty and alone while remembering only to cast these emotions aside with bitterness and anger feeling that “they’re useless”. The announcement of marriage “demolished” her when she was sixteen, Gum-May couldn’t see herself “surrendering” her body to her husband. But, the pride of filial accomplishment only made her remember the shame she brought from being a daughter in a son-less family. She describes her wedding to Gordon.
Much of the Chinese values moved with them to America. In the movie Mulan, all the parents want for their daughter, Mulan, is to bring honor to the family. But Mulan is not your typical Chinese girl; she has her own opinions, and can’t hide who she really is. (Mulan) In the story “Two Kinds”, Jing-mei’s mother and father want her to be a prodigy in order to make a life for herself. At first Jing-mei liked the idea, but after all of her attempts and fails she wanted to live a normal American life.
Elizabeth Perle McKenna left a high-powered position in publishing to search for the neglected parts of her life. In writing When Work Doesn’t Work Anymore, she found lots of baby boomers like herself who had bought into what they call the New Oppression – hard earned success. The symptoms include burnout, boredom and lack of balance. Suzanne Fields, “Mission No Longer Impossible—Or Is It?” -Excerpt from The Aims of
Since parents went through it they know how most things will turn out if you make a certain mistake or decisions. For the most part growing up is something that can't really be taught. There are so many different times in your life where you are forced to grow up even if you don't want to. For instance, when some kids get out of high school, some don't want to leave from that protective shell but others do. In high school your parents are still taking care of you and if you mess up they will be there to help you out and for some kids it's hard to leave that shell.
My fight had gone. My mood would depend on how severe my pain was for that day. My ability to be a good mother was controlled by how aggressive my symptoms were in that moment. I was overwhelmed with guilt that I could not spend my days having fun with my children. I hated myself every time I had to tell them mummy was too tired to play in the garden or to tackle the walk to the nearest park.
The daughters in the stories thought their mothers were very pushy about some things and they did not like it. However, what they did not realize is the intention their mother had for them to be in a better, more independent situation then they were. Jing-Mei Woo was one of the daughters in chapter eight titled Two Kinds and it stated, “I hated the tests, something inside of me began to die”. (Page 141) When Jing-Mei’s mother saw other people excelling, she thought it was necessary for her daughter to do the same thing. She had been put on a pedestal in her mind as a type of prodigy.
Amy Tan's short story "Two Kinds" focuses on multiple themes in the relationship between a Chinese mother and her Americanized daughter who in turn assumes she must reject her mother in order to find her sense of self, coupled with trying to assimilate into American society. The main character and narrator is Jing-Mei who is also the protagonist of the story. As well as her mother Mrs. Woo who is portrayed as the antagonist, and is always urging Jing-Mei to try new things and discover new talents. Jing-Mei's mother believes that with a little hard work her daughter can be anything she wants to be in America and is determined to make Jing-Mei a child prodigy but we have to question Mrs. Woo’s ways and ask ourselves; do the ends truly justify the terrible means?