Brief summary of Two Kinds by Amy Tan

Two Kinds is a selection from Amy Tan’s (1952– ) critically acclaimed The Joy Luck Club (1989), which critics saw as an intricately woven “novel.” But that Tan intended the book to be read not as a novel but as a collection of short stories is evident. “Two Kinds” stands on its own as a story that explores the struggles between a Chinese immigrant mother, Suyuan Woo, and her firstgeneration American daughter, Jing-mei (the narrator of the story). Suyuan Woo dreams of her daughter’s becoming a child prodigy, but Jing-mei resists these ambitions and attempts to express her own free will. The story expresses the themes that run throughout The Joy Luck Club: “the struggle for control between mothers and daughters; the daughters’ bids for independent lives; the mothers’ attempts to understand the dynamics of life in the New World and somehow to blend the best of their Old World culture with a new way of life that they do not comprehend” (Huntley 43). These themes appear in the first two paragraphs, where Jing-mei begins with her mother’s, not her own, perspective: “My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America” (585). At the core of the struggle between mother and daughter is the conflict between Suyuan Woo’s belief in America as the land of unlimited potential and Jing-mei’s more realistic expectations. However, Tan does more than merely present an unrealistic optimist in Suyuan Woo; with an allusion to Suyuan Woo’s past, Tan suggests why immigrants perceive America differently than their Americanized progeny: “She had come here in 1949 after losing everything in China: her mother and father, her family home, her first husband, and two daughters, twin baby girls. But she never looked back with regret. There were so many ways for things to get better” (585). The date of her arrival in America coincides with the end of the Sino-Japanese War and hints at the tragedies that befell her in her war-ravaged home country. Instead of dwelling on these tragedies, she invests all hope in the future, specifically in her daughter.

Amy Tan (HarperCollins / Julian Johnson)

In the third paragraph, the story shifts focus from Suyuan Woo’s perspective to young Jing-mei’s impressions of her mother. For instance, Jing-mei notes that her mother’s search for the type of prodigy she might become was implemented through reading magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Reader’s Digest, and she explains, “My mother got these magazines from people whose houses she cleaned. And since she cleaned many houses each week, we had a great assortment” (586). Jing-mei offers no comment on, seems to have no empathy for, the hard work her mother does in order to achieve a better life for her family. Furthermore, she does not seem to appreciate the sacrifice involved in the deal Suyuan Woo makes with a neighbor, “Old Chong,” in order to get her piano lessons: “My mother had traded housecleaning services for weekly lessons and a piano for me to practice on every day, two hours a day, from four until six.” When learning about the deal for piano lessons, she focuses on her own obligations and concludes, “I felt as though I had been sent to hell” (588). Jing-meidoes not seem to recognize the IRONY of this comment. Despite her mother’s losses and sufferings in China and her sacrifices in America, Jing-mei sees only her own loss of free time in this piano deal. In this way, the story emphasizes differences between immigrant parents and their Americanized children. The children are largely unaware of the hardships the parents endure to get a piece of the American Dream in which they have so much faith.

However, there is more to Jing-mei’s resistance to and resentment of her mother’s ambitions than a mere desire to spend her free time watching television; it is not that she is just “lazy,” as her mother sometimes accuses her. Her resistance is a sign that instead of seeing America as the land of opportunity, Jing-mei sees it as the land of freedom, freedom of choice and of will. At first Jing-mei goes along with her mother’s crazy schemes to get rich quick, but she eventually perceives the unreality of these dreams and, instead, sees her ability to assert her free will. After yet another failure with her mother, Jing-mei looks at herself in the mirror and sees “only my face,” an “ordinary face.” With this she begins to cry, seeing herself as a “sad” and “ugly” girl. It is at this moment that she realizes a different kind of potential than the potential her mother sees: “Then I saw what seemed to be the prodigy side of me—because I had never seen that face before. . . .The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. This girl and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts, or rather thoughts filled with lots of won’ts. I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t be what I’m not” (587). Her prodigy self is the self who is able to resist authority, to choose her own course of life, a distinctly American ambition.

While mother and daughter each cling to American values, the values they cling to are opposing. When Jing-mei tries to assert her free will by refusing to play the piano, Suyuan Woo tells her that there are only “two kinds of daughters. . . . Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!” Her mother further tells her that “only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter” (592). While the mother urgently desires an Americanized daughter, one who achieves great things, one with the potential to become rich and famous, she cannot come to terms with other American characteristics, those of self-determination and independence. Despite its emphasis on the immigrant experience, as E. D. Huntley points out, Tan’s fiction has a more universal theme: “Tan also writes about love and loss and redemption, about individuals coming to terms with the facts of their lives and about the workings of fate in human existence” (34).

Analysis of Amy Tan’s Stories

BIBLIOGRAPHY Adams, Bella. Amy Tan: Contemporary World Writers. New York: Manchester University Press, 2005. Huntley, E. D. Amy Tan: A Critical Companion. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Amy Tan: A Literary Companion. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2004.

Tan, Amy. “Two Kinds.” In The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction. New York: Scribner, 1999.

In Two Kinds by Amy Tan we have the theme of hope, identity, rebellion, responsibility, blame, independence and acceptance. Narrated in the first person by a woman called Jing-mei Woo the story is a memory piece and after reading the story the reader realises that Tan may be exploring the theme of hope. Jing-mei’s mother has hopes for her daughter. She wants her to be famous or at least to be a prodigy. She devotes a lot of her energy in trying to make Jing-mei into something that Jing-mei isn’t. Something which would play on the theme of identity. It is also interesting that Jing-mei’s mother believes that once you live in America you can be anything. This may be important as Jing-mei’s mother appears to be chasing the American dream. However she is doing so through Jing-mei. If anything she is living her life vicariously. There is also no doubting that Jing-mei’s mother is a hard working woman however she doesn’t seem to realise that not every child is a prodigy and Jing-mei herself probably understands that she is not a prodigy. Though at times she aspires to be one. Which may be the case for many children. To have the aspirations that they too can be seen to be special or gifted or different from their peers. What child would not like the focus to be placed on them? Particularly if the spotlight placed on them is positive. Each and every child likes to be thought of as special. However the definition for special is different for each parent.

Jing-mei’s mother also appears to be boastful about Jing-mei’s talents. It is not so much that she is proud of Jing-mei’s achievements it is more a case that she wishes to be better than others. Which is understandable considering that she has had a hard life. Losing a husband and children while in China. However there does not seem to be any type of reality check when it comes to Jing-mei’s mother. It is okay to have a child of average ability, which Jing-mei is, however that is not good enough for Jing-mei’s mother. It is as though she wants to distance herself from the pain of her past and the only way she knows how to do that is by forcing Jing-mei into being something she is not. Which again plays on the theme of identity. Jing-mei’s relationship with her mother is strained due to her mother’s wishes that Jing-mei be something that she either is not or will never be.

It is inevitable that Jing-mei is going to rebel against her mother. It is as though she is forced to after her efforts at the talent contest. Jing-mei doesn’t want to accept responsibility for her own actions and the fact that she played badly. She wants her mother to give out to her. To start an argument with her in order that Jing-mei can blame her mother. When the reality is that Jing-mei set the bar too high for herself just like her mother has. It is also interesting that Old Chong is the only one that claps for Jing-mei at the talent contest. His actions show loyalty regardless of how badly Jing-mei played. If anything the talent contest acts as the catalyst for Jing-mei to gain independence from her mother. She knows that she may not be good enough to be a prodigy and the embarrassment that she felt at the talent contest has in some ways shattered her confidence. It is easier for Jing-mei to give up than pursue something that she may not necessarily hit the mark for (a prodigy).

It is also interesting that Jing-mei doesn’t play the piano again. Not till her mother dies. It is possible that her confidence took a sufficient knock that playing the piano became impossible to Jing-mei. It acts as a constant reminder of her own failings. The end of the story is also interesting as Tan appears to be exploring the theme of acceptance. By having Jing-mei play the piano in her parent’s house Tan may be suggesting that despite what had happened when she was a young girl Jing-mei no longer has any ill will towards her mother. The two pieces she plays at the end also act as symbolism. The first piece the ‘Pleading Child’ in many ways mirrors how Jing-mei felt as a child. Pressurised by her mother to be something she wasn’t. While the second piece ‘Perfectly Contented’ suggests exactly that. That Jing-mei is content in her life. She may have had a childhood she did not wish for but she also appears to have found acceptance. Jing-mei knows who she is. Jing-mei’s mother wanted the best for her daughter. Though unfortunately for her Jing-mei was on a different path. Jing-mei was always going to disappoint her mother no matter what she did as a child. In reality the hopes and aspirations that Jing-mei’s mother had for Jing-mei were really her own hopes and aspirations. She was living her life through Jing-mei.

Cite Post

McManus, Dermot. "Two Kinds by Amy Tan." The Sitting Bee. The Sitting Bee, 11 Oct. 2017. Web.