Analysis Of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

The short story I chose to do my two-page application on is Two Kinds from Amy Tan’s bestselling novel The Joy Luck Club. This short story within the book seemed particularly relevant not only because it is a sophisticated piece but it seems that Tan has gone through the process and achieves, in my opinion all of the goals of fiction as outlined by Minot in chapters 7-12 of The Genres. To begin with, the idea of reshaping fresh material, Tan does really well in this aspect as of Two Kinds, she was able to take a topic that was near to her, being an American born child of immigrants, as well as many specific aspects of her life growing up to life in a ficticious short story using the authenticity of personal experience. If one was to look …show more content…
The story arc and plot line between the two feels very natural because it is similar to what she went through in real life, and not just her but it’s a story that for all of the specific components and circumstances of Jing-Mei’s story, everyone has or knowns someone who has gone through being pressured by a parent to do better, to achieve more and either they were or know at least one person who rebelled against that in some way shape or form. The specifics of Two Kinds are what make it to me a more sophisticated piece and not just the tale of a melodramatic young girl with mother issues. There are also huge cultural implications that many cannot directly relate to but many feel instantly understanding of. The term verisimilitude or realism according to chapter 7 is authenticity, it is whether a story “seems true.” Even without knowing that Tan’s real life would have greatly influenced the story, it is a story that seems real to the reader she certainly achieved verisimilitude with Two …show more content…
If the first time I had read Two Kinds and wrote a paper on it I had all of the information and perspective that I do now it would have been a lot harder to narrow down a thesis. Tan’s Two Kinds really is a piece that I would love to be able to write someday, the authenticity of the work, the dynamic relationship between the setting and the characters that Tan would have actually known but fictionalized, maybe I’m just a fangirl but I really feel like Minot could have written these chapters with this piece as an example of most of his points. From the obvious advantages of drawing from reality to the ways using viewpoint and focus can change a story and the importance of figuring out what works for your particular story, I’m glad this assignment allowed me to reconsider Two Kinds in a new