Question

write a five paragraph essay on how setting, specifically culture, influences the actions of the characters in the story Two kinds by Amy Tan

Answer 1

Two Kinds by Amy Tan is a story about the main character Jing-Mei Woo's childhood and how she is affected by her mother's high expectations from her.

In this story, Jing-Mei's mother expects Jing-Mei to excel in something and to be famous. Jing-Mei for a short time believes in that and even gets enrolled in a piano class. Her piano teacher is unable to teach her or correct her mistakes due to his hearing problem and poor eyesight and that way Jing-Mei ends learning piano herself and her performance ends up being disastrous. After the performance, she has a talk with her mother and her mother confronts her about her piano classes. Jing-Mei opens up about not being able to cope up with the demands of her mother. Her mother talks about two kinds of daughters (thus the name of the story) one being obedient and one who does what she wants. Jing-Mei refuses to continue her classes and struggles with her mother and only plays the piano when her mother dies and she realises that she has caused her mother a lot of heartaches.

The characters are greatly influenced by situations and circumstances in which they have to live or are forced to live. The culture specifically the American culture has a lot of influence on the actions and thought process of the 2 characters most specifically the mother.

Jing Mei's mother had left China and migrated to America in hopes of a better life and future. She was a hard working woman and wanted her daughter to excel in something. She was greatly influenced by America's culture. While working in the American household, she was greatly influenced by articles from Reader's Digest, Ripley's believe it or not etc. She was in awe of people living and working in America. Jing-Mei's mother tried to imitate their actions in making her daughter learn alphabets, reciting world capitals, and even trying to make her stand on her head. This way she wanted her daughter to be great in something that she can boost to her friends, neighbours, and others.

Jing-Mei too believed for some time that she can great in something and started believing herself to be Peter Pan, Cinderella, and even as Christ's child at some point. These are again something one encounters in America and not in China or any other part of the world. She was greatly attracted to these characters whom she learnt at school from her lessons and fellow students. She was entranced by the books and stories and wanted to live in that fantasy world.

Jing Mei's mother in going along with what any American mother would do to make her daughter stand out did things to Jing-Mei so as to bring out her talent. She tried to cut her hair and enrol her in piano classes. Without consulting her daughter or even the piano teacher she made her daughter participate in a competition. She did this because her friend Linda had done for her daughter. Here again, Jing-Mei's mother was influenced by the culture and norms of the city she was living in. She would learn from things around and people around and tried to imbibe those habits in herself and her daughter. She wanted to part of something big in America and be called the mother of a prodigy and the person who shaped her daughter into becoming a prodigy. She wanted to be proud and be looked upon in America and wanted to be called an American.

Jing-Mei's mother was attracted to this place because it is said that "you could be anything you want to be in America." She was determined to make her daughter do well and become a prodigy in some activity even though her daughter was against it. Her mother tried very hard to instil these beliefs in her daughter which even succeeded for some time. Jing-Mei's mother struggled her whole life to keep trying to make her see this.

Jing-Mei too was greatly attuned to the ways of living in Americ. She participated in all events and tried to learn and be something she was not so as to satisfy her mother. But eventually realization struck her and she was fast to learn and adapt to her new lifestyle without trying to be someone she was not. She learnt from her friends what was best for her and rebelled against her mother and tried to pursue her future and career in a field she was comfortable with. She was in a struggle with her mother until the day her mother passed away.

Jing-Mei played the song "Pleading Child" during the competition. This was one kind of herself, the American kind, the kind which was pleading with her mother to not push her to be someone she did not want to be. She was filled with negativity for her mother and wanted to rebel which she did eventually. After her mother passed away and she is handed the piano, she plays "Perfectly Contented." This song depicts her other kind, the Chinese kind, in which she rebelled and lived her life as she wanted and was satisfied and happy and had understood her mother and her mother's intentions. She was in peace and happy that the two kinds, the Chinese and American kinds, had finally come together and had helped her mould her life.