Amy Tan’s work in “Two Kinds” is driven by the idea of deep culture drives, because the tension of the story is based on a mother and daughter’s battle against deep culture itself. Culture is an idea that can subliminally influence a person’s ideas, thoughts, and social interactions, and once affected so deeply by culture it is difficult to adapt or go against that culture’s traditions as it can become ingrained so deeply.
Jing- Mei’s mother is a great example of deeply engrained culture. Mrs Woo, being a Chinese woman, has an inherent desire for family honor, success, and outstanding achievement. Jing- Mei’s lack of hard work and advancement is seen as disrespect, not just to herself but to her entire family as well. “I failed her many times, …show more content…
Woo’s push for control and her unreasonable expectations are anchored in her cultural heritage. She wants the best for her family, though she chooses to push her daughter against her own wishes, her intentions are positive and in the best interest of her family’s future. She is adamant, as most mothers can be, that her child is destined for greatness, and is determined to expose her daughter to the world to unearth her prodigal talent, “’Of course, you can be a prodigy, too,’ my mother told me when I was nine. "’You can be best anything.’” Jing- Mei on the other hand is motivated by a newer culture, as she is far removed from her mother’s Chinese enriched culture. This newer American culture does in fact include a focus on success, but more predominantly it focuses on self fulfillment and contentment, which is perfectly narrated by Jing- Mei, “Unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me.” This is alluring in comparison to the environment and resentment created by her mother, “And after seeing, once again, my mother 's disappointed face, something inside me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed …show more content…
Her mother’s will is broken by the attack, and she no longer aggressively tries to mold her daughter into an “ideal” image. Her rebellion is optimized in her comments regarding her mother, "I didn 't have to do what my mother said anymore. I wasn 't her slave. This wasn 't China. I had listened to her before and look what happened. She was the stupid one." Jing- Mei’s resentment may be directed towards her mother, but in reality she is actually fighting her mother’s cultural influences.
Through the hurt feelings, and with time, the two different cultures were able to at least come to neutral ground, though the two cultures continue to misunderstand each other. “So I never found a way to ask her why she had hoped for something so large that failure was inevitable. And even worse, I never asked her about what frightened me the most: Why had she given up hope?” Ultimately, the piano, which was once a symbol of contention, became a symbol of a mother’s determined love in hopes for the best life for her daughter, unfortunately this true understanding is realized too
Jing- Mei’s mother is a great example of deeply engrained culture. Mrs Woo, being a Chinese woman, has an inherent desire for family honor, success, and outstanding achievement. Jing- Mei’s lack of hard work and advancement is seen as disrespect, not just to herself but to her entire family as well. “I failed her many times, …show more content…
Woo’s push for control and her unreasonable expectations are anchored in her cultural heritage. She wants the best for her family, though she chooses to push her daughter against her own wishes, her intentions are positive and in the best interest of her family’s future. She is adamant, as most mothers can be, that her child is destined for greatness, and is determined to expose her daughter to the world to unearth her prodigal talent, “’Of course, you can be a prodigy, too,’ my mother told me when I was nine. "’You can be best anything.’” Jing- Mei on the other hand is motivated by a newer culture, as she is far removed from her mother’s Chinese enriched culture. This newer American culture does in fact include a focus on success, but more predominantly it focuses on self fulfillment and contentment, which is perfectly narrated by Jing- Mei, “Unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me.” This is alluring in comparison to the environment and resentment created by her mother, “And after seeing, once again, my mother 's disappointed face, something inside me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed …show more content…
Her mother’s will is broken by the attack, and she no longer aggressively tries to mold her daughter into an “ideal” image. Her rebellion is optimized in her comments regarding her mother, "I didn 't have to do what my mother said anymore. I wasn 't her slave. This wasn 't China. I had listened to her before and look what happened. She was the stupid one." Jing- Mei’s resentment may be directed towards her mother, but in reality she is actually fighting her mother’s cultural influences.
Through the hurt feelings, and with time, the two different cultures were able to at least come to neutral ground, though the two cultures continue to misunderstand each other. “So I never found a way to ask her why she had hoped for something so large that failure was inevitable. And even worse, I never asked her about what frightened me the most: Why had she given up hope?” Ultimately, the piano, which was once a symbol of contention, became a symbol of a mother’s determined love in hopes for the best life for her daughter, unfortunately this true understanding is realized too