Two Kinds is a short story written by Amy Tan. It is centered around a family (the Mother and Daughter in particular) that moves from China to the United States of America in hopes that their daughter will one day grow up to be a star. The Mother not knowing where Jing-mei’s (the daughter) talents lie decides to test her in various subjects like geography and arithmetic however, Jing-mei does not accel in any of these areas so her mother, after seeing a Chinese girl about the same age as Jing-mei play the piano on the Ed Sullivan Show, decides to start giving her piano lessons in hope that that is where her talents may lie. Jing-mei gets increasingly frustrated that her mother can’t just except her for who she is and to rebel she decides to not put forth her best in her piano lessons and ends up doing awfully in a recital in hopes that her mother will let her stop taking the lessons. This of course angers her mother and the two have an argument but, rather than resolving the issue both decide to stay in their own separate
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Jing-mei changing her mind set and deciding to just stop trying is really a major form of rebellion. She even goes as far as completely botching her piano recital so that she will not have to keep taking lessons. Jing-mei’s rebellious attitude did not only ruin her relationship with her mother it also took a large toll on her life. Just look at this quote from Jing-mei, “In the years that followed, I failed her so many times, each time asserting my own will, my right to fall short of expectations. I didn’t get straight As. I didn’t become class president. I didn’t get into Stanford. I dropped out of college.” All of this happened because she simply could not allow her mother to have her way and thus that decision greatly affected the rest of her life. Amy Tan shows in this story that all out rebellion and not being able to forgive can drastically dishevel your
Jing-mei changing her mind set and deciding to just stop trying is really a major form of rebellion. She even goes as far as completely botching her piano recital so that she will not have to keep taking lessons. Jing-mei’s rebellious attitude did not only ruin her relationship with her mother it also took a large toll on her life. Just look at this quote from Jing-mei, “In the years that followed, I failed her so many times, each time asserting my own will, my right to fall short of expectations. I didn’t get straight As. I didn’t become class president. I didn’t get into Stanford. I dropped out of college.” All of this happened because she simply could not allow her mother to have her way and thus that decision greatly affected the rest of her life. Amy Tan shows in this story that all out rebellion and not being able to forgive can drastically dishevel your