The American Dream In Amy Tan's Two Kinds

A mother’s dream is to have their children become the best possible version of themselves that they can be and Amy Tan’s mother is no exception to this. Being a Chinese immigrant, Mrs. Tan is a strong believer in the idea of the American Dream, where anyone can become anything they want to be in the land full of opportunities. Accepting the truth that her chance at the American Dream for herself is unlikely for her, she enforces the idea in the mind of her daughter Amy from a young age. Even though Mrs. Tan wants Amy to embody these ideas for Amy’s own good, Mrs. Tan expects too much from Amy at such a young age that their relationship falters forever. Parents have set expectations for their children , and or Amy, her mother expects her to become a prodigy. Amy mentions in her excerpt, “’Of course you can be prodigy, too,’ my mother told me when I was nine” (Two Kinds). Being told at the age of nine to be a prodigy is hard for a child who mostly wants to have their parent’s approval, for their parents to be proud of them. That must cause so much stress and sadness to Amy whenever she is out shined by another child who would make her feel …show more content…
They should motivate their children to be better versions of themselves. However, they should be there for their children and not force them to do things that they in their hearts do not want to do, not force them to the point that they do not even know who they are as a person. No parent should inflict such ideals in their children’s mind that it affects the child to the point that they feel like they should not have been born, or attempt to kill themselves. It is understandable that Mrs. Tan wants to make up for the loss of her two girls, but everything has its limits. She should notice that the limits were reached and stop being so forceful towards Amy. As a result of all of this their relationship is