Two Kinds - The Significance of the “Two Halves of the Same Song”
Many people are familiar with the yin-yang symbol. The symbol represents the idea that everything has both light and dark aspects, and that one cannot exist without the other. In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, a girl named Jing-Mei feels pressured by her mother to be a genius. Her mother tries to find something for her daughter to be a prodigy at – whether that is being a “Chinese Shirley Temple,” or memorizing state capitals, or even doing headstands without using her hands. Eventually, Jing-Mei’s mother makes her take piano lessons with the hope that she will become a piano genius, but Jing-Mei has different ideas. The significance of the piano pieces that are two halves of the same …show more content…
There are two parts to Jing Mei - one half of her is a girl who is excited by opportunity and wants to be something more, but the other half is a person who doesn’t recognize the sacrifices made for her and is immature. In the beginning of the short story, when the mother tries to turn Jing-Mei into some kind of prodigy, whatever it might be, she says that she was “just as excited as my mother, maybe even more” (Tan). She truly believed that she could make something of herself, and wanted to be perfect. Also, when she is at the talent show about to play her piano piece, Jing-Mei sees the prodigy side of herself. She imagines Ed Sullivan coming to her after her performance, and she fantasized everyone in the audience cheering and jumping to their feet (Tan). In these parts of the texts, Jing-Mei is the brightest, positive side of herself. Here, she is “perfectly …show more content…
She can be viewed as a mother who simply wants the best for her daughter, or a selfish mother who wants her child to be perfect because nothing else is good enough. In the text, when Jing-Mei tells her that she is not a piano genius, and she cannot play piano, her mother tells her that she “Only ask you to be your best. For you sake. You think I want you be genius?” (Tan). This shows that her mother wants her daughter to try, and do her best, not be perfect. Near the end of the story, Jing-Mei’s mother gives her the piano for her thirteenth birthday, even though they all still remember how badly she played at the talent show (Tan). Her mother knows that Jing-Mei is not amazing at piano, but she still wants her to try. This is the forgiving part of the mother who wants her daughter to do her best – the mother who is “perfectly contented” with a daughter who just does her best, and does not demand perfection. But, in some parts of the story, her mother seems like she wants her daughter to be perfect, and wants a child who is better than everyone else’s. Towards the beginning of the text, Jing-Mei’s mother reads articles about prodigy children, and compares her own daughter to them. She quizzes Jing-Mei to see if she’s as good as these kids, and asks her to do unreasonable things - like predicting daily temperatures - just so she can be an amazing child like the ones in the magazines (Tan). Here, her
Many people are familiar with the yin-yang symbol. The symbol represents the idea that everything has both light and dark aspects, and that one cannot exist without the other. In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, a girl named Jing-Mei feels pressured by her mother to be a genius. Her mother tries to find something for her daughter to be a prodigy at – whether that is being a “Chinese Shirley Temple,” or memorizing state capitals, or even doing headstands without using her hands. Eventually, Jing-Mei’s mother makes her take piano lessons with the hope that she will become a piano genius, but Jing-Mei has different ideas. The significance of the piano pieces that are two halves of the same …show more content…
There are two parts to Jing Mei - one half of her is a girl who is excited by opportunity and wants to be something more, but the other half is a person who doesn’t recognize the sacrifices made for her and is immature. In the beginning of the short story, when the mother tries to turn Jing-Mei into some kind of prodigy, whatever it might be, she says that she was “just as excited as my mother, maybe even more” (Tan). She truly believed that she could make something of herself, and wanted to be perfect. Also, when she is at the talent show about to play her piano piece, Jing-Mei sees the prodigy side of herself. She imagines Ed Sullivan coming to her after her performance, and she fantasized everyone in the audience cheering and jumping to their feet (Tan). In these parts of the texts, Jing-Mei is the brightest, positive side of herself. Here, she is “perfectly …show more content…
She can be viewed as a mother who simply wants the best for her daughter, or a selfish mother who wants her child to be perfect because nothing else is good enough. In the text, when Jing-Mei tells her that she is not a piano genius, and she cannot play piano, her mother tells her that she “Only ask you to be your best. For you sake. You think I want you be genius?” (Tan). This shows that her mother wants her daughter to try, and do her best, not be perfect. Near the end of the story, Jing-Mei’s mother gives her the piano for her thirteenth birthday, even though they all still remember how badly she played at the talent show (Tan). Her mother knows that Jing-Mei is not amazing at piano, but she still wants her to try. This is the forgiving part of the mother who wants her daughter to do her best – the mother who is “perfectly contented” with a daughter who just does her best, and does not demand perfection. But, in some parts of the story, her mother seems like she wants her daughter to be perfect, and wants a child who is better than everyone else’s. Towards the beginning of the text, Jing-Mei’s mother reads articles about prodigy children, and compares her own daughter to them. She quizzes Jing-Mei to see if she’s as good as these kids, and asks her to do unreasonable things - like predicting daily temperatures - just so she can be an amazing child like the ones in the magazines (Tan). Here, her