The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan contains many short narratives told by eight Chinese females living in America. In one of the narratives, Two Kinds, one can envision the enormity of the pressure and frustration exchanged between an expectant parent and a depressed child. Most children are told “you can be a prodigy, too” by their parents, which paves a long road of struggle and stress (132). In Two Kinds, the standards of an adult for a child can bring stress, frustration, and sorrow for both members, leaving the child feeling restrained and constantly seeking freedom. The expectant adult will always believe their child is the best until high standards drown the child in weariness, leaving the child and the adult frustrated. In Two Kinds, “[the
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June drops her shackles once by putting in no effort. The shackles are placed upon her once more when her mom forces her to learn piano, but June “never really [gives herself] a fair chance” at learning the piano (137). She tries to “be lazy and get away with mistakes” when playing piano because her teacher is deaf (137). She “[is] so determined not to try”; she only plays the worst possible music she could for a year. June is determined to never fail again, so she will never see disappointment on her mother’s face. She decides the simplest way to accomplish that is to never try hard in the first place. If she didn’t improve, maybe her mother would drop the shackles again. Therefore, June practices without effort, preventing herself from getting better so she wouldn’t feel defeat if she messes up. When she is told to play in a recital, she feels happy that she can prove she is a prodigy, but “[plays] this strange jumble through two repeats, the sour notes staying with [her] all the way to the end” (139). Because of her failure, both her mother and June feel as if they “had lost everything” (140). After a year of playing, June had failed to prove that she was a prodigy again, opening a new cut of failure inside both the parent and child. The shackles are finally removed when June hurts her mother mentally and
June drops her shackles once by putting in no effort. The shackles are placed upon her once more when her mom forces her to learn piano, but June “never really [gives herself] a fair chance” at learning the piano (137). She tries to “be lazy and get away with mistakes” when playing piano because her teacher is deaf (137). She “[is] so determined not to try”; she only plays the worst possible music she could for a year. June is determined to never fail again, so she will never see disappointment on her mother’s face. She decides the simplest way to accomplish that is to never try hard in the first place. If she didn’t improve, maybe her mother would drop the shackles again. Therefore, June practices without effort, preventing herself from getting better so she wouldn’t feel defeat if she messes up. When she is told to play in a recital, she feels happy that she can prove she is a prodigy, but “[plays] this strange jumble through two repeats, the sour notes staying with [her] all the way to the end” (139). Because of her failure, both her mother and June feel as if they “had lost everything” (140). After a year of playing, June had failed to prove that she was a prodigy again, opening a new cut of failure inside both the parent and child. The shackles are finally removed when June hurts her mother mentally and