Have you ever had two cultures of yours conflict with one another? Jing-Mei and her mother did not get along very well. Her mother's culture is very different than the one that she grew up knowing. Jing-Mei is more towards American culture than Chinese while her mother is the opposite. In, Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds,” an excerpt from the book Joy Luck Club, Jing-Mei, a Chinese-American girl, experiences her and her mother with completely different beliefs conflicting, along with her conflict with, herself, her cousin Waverly, and her Aunt Linda. Due to the huge differences in their cultures and beliefs they have a great conflict between each other. Jing-Mei’s mother believes that an obedient daughter is what Jing-Mei should be, while Jing-Mei
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Jing-Mei stated,“You want me to be something that I’m not!” I sobbed. “I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be!”(66) Meanwhile, Jing-Mei’s mother replies, “Only two kinds of daughters,” she shouted in Chinese. “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!(67) It shows the conflict erupting between both mother and daughter because Jing-Mei is used american culture which screams freedom, while her mother expects an obedient daughter that will do everything she says to like chinese culture. Jing-Mei’s mother has incredibly high expectations and hopes for her daughter. Every night after dinner her and her mother would sit at the kitchen table and she would present new tests, taking her examples from stories of amazing children that she read in magazines. The tests were extremely hard, impossible even. The first test was naming out all of the …show more content…
Jing-Mei’s mother was talking to Aunt Linda when Linda would not stop bragging about how amazing her daughter Waverly is at chess. This made Jing-Mei's mother jealous so she embellished and was bragging about her daughter’s amazing piano skills. She later told Jing-Mei that she had entered her in a talent show to show off her piano skills. Jing-Mei had not been practicing correctly though due to the fact that her teacher was deaf. When the day came to perform she did absolutely terrible. “Lots of talented kids,” Auntie Lindo said vaguely, smiling broadly. Waverly looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. “You aren’t a genius like me,” she said matter-of-factly.”(54, 55) This did not make her feel any better as she looked at her mother who had no emotion but disappointment. Her mother had invited all of her friends and family to watch Jing-Mei’s performance that she worked up to be incredible and then happened to be the opposite. Her mother was so disappointed that she never mentioned it ever again until her daughter was a grown adult. All of these points have shown how Jing-Mei’s cultures conflicted with one
Jing-Mei stated,“You want me to be something that I’m not!” I sobbed. “I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be!”(66) Meanwhile, Jing-Mei’s mother replies, “Only two kinds of daughters,” she shouted in Chinese. “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!(67) It shows the conflict erupting between both mother and daughter because Jing-Mei is used american culture which screams freedom, while her mother expects an obedient daughter that will do everything she says to like chinese culture. Jing-Mei’s mother has incredibly high expectations and hopes for her daughter. Every night after dinner her and her mother would sit at the kitchen table and she would present new tests, taking her examples from stories of amazing children that she read in magazines. The tests were extremely hard, impossible even. The first test was naming out all of the …show more content…
Jing-Mei’s mother was talking to Aunt Linda when Linda would not stop bragging about how amazing her daughter Waverly is at chess. This made Jing-Mei's mother jealous so she embellished and was bragging about her daughter’s amazing piano skills. She later told Jing-Mei that she had entered her in a talent show to show off her piano skills. Jing-Mei had not been practicing correctly though due to the fact that her teacher was deaf. When the day came to perform she did absolutely terrible. “Lots of talented kids,” Auntie Lindo said vaguely, smiling broadly. Waverly looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. “You aren’t a genius like me,” she said matter-of-factly.”(54, 55) This did not make her feel any better as she looked at her mother who had no emotion but disappointment. Her mother had invited all of her friends and family to watch Jing-Mei’s performance that she worked up to be incredible and then happened to be the opposite. Her mother was so disappointed that she never mentioned it ever again until her daughter was a grown adult. All of these points have shown how Jing-Mei’s cultures conflicted with one