In the film Real Women Have Curves Latina teenager Ana Garcia struggles on trying to balance her family’s culture and her own beliefs that seem to differ very much from her family’s. This becomes a problem throughout the movie. Her family wants her to be doing something that she is not nearly interested in. The problems mainly break through with Ana’s mother whose name is Carmen. Throughout the whole film you are able to see how the culture differences between Ana and her mother Carmen affect their mother and daughter relationship even till the last moments of the film.
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.
Two Kinds Every day somewhere in the world, a mother’s expectations for their daughter to succeed in life may come from what she has lost prior to her daughter being born. Amy Tan, the author of the short story “Two Kinds”, teaches a valuable lesson in a mother- daughter relationship. The mother a Chinese immigrant was determined her daughter; Jeing-Mei a first generation Chinese American was to become a prodigy. The theme of “Two Kinds” expresses how a mother’s dream for her daughter to be successful in America can turn a daughter away from her own identity. Jeing-Mei believes that America will give her the identity she wants without having to work for it.
This, ultimately strains the relationship between them. In the text "Girl" which is based on the relationship between the writer and her mother, it is clear that the mother has great expectations for her child. Usually, every mother dreams of her child growing up to become a great man or woman. These dreams are often commonly displayed in the actions. However, in "Girl", the mother's actions did the exact opposite.
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.
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.
Who ask you!”? "So ungrateful," I heard her mutter in Chinese, "If she had as much talent as she has temper, she'd be famous now." (Tan 1117) The foundation of Mrs. Woo’s aspirations for her daughter can be learnt from her obsessive belief that America is the Land of Opportunity. She places unreasonable expectations on the shoulders of her daughter. While she may not exactly know where her daughter’s prodigal talents lie, she is nevertheless convinced that her daughter is destined for greatness, by virtue of having been born in America.
Dylan LeVine Professor Amber Day LCS 121A February 9, 2012 Yin and Yang Identity is an aspect of one’s life that must be formed on one’s own and not solely on the words or actions of others. The people around us can help build our identity, but is us who have to truly find ourselves. Two Kinds is narrated by Jing Mei Woo, a young girl whose mother pushes her to become a “prodigy child”. At first she liked the idea because she would be able to make her mother happy, but later gets locked in a struggle over her identity. People rely heavily on the way others perceive them; however your true identity is formed primarily on how you perceive yourself.
Jing-Mei's mother believes that in America, “You can be the best anything”(194). In “Two Kinds” the mother's ambitions for her daughter are outrageous, the daughter's efforts to thwart her mother's goals for her were uncanny, and the negative traits in the both of them are therefore revealed. Jing-Mei's mother believes that her daughter can be a child prodigy because America is the golden land of opportunity and her plan is to teach her daughter to imitate children on different television shows. Her mother first approaches her when she is only nine years old telling her, “Of course you can be prodigy, too”(194). That is when Jing-Mei's mother begins trying to change her daughter into something she is not.
Knowledge is not always power because the more you know does not necessarily mean you understand what you have learned. In the short story “Everyday Use”, education seemed to make a rift in the relationship not only between the mother and the daughter, but also between the sisters. Dee was one to always try and outsmart her family members always seeking answers knowing no one knew. It was mama who eventually got the community together to help send Dee to school so her daughter would be happy and satisfied. The values of heritage seem to have been lost with the gain of knowledge when Dee has gone to college.