What is the message of Two Kinds by Amy Tan?

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.

What is the summary of Two Kinds?

“Two Kinds” is a coming-of-age story, in which the narrator, Jing-mei, struggles to forge her own sense of identity in the face of her strong-willed mother’s dream that she become a “prodigy.” Jing-mei is caught between her Chinese mother’s traditional ideas about how to raise a daughter, and her own development as a …

What is a lesson you learned from the story the Two Kinds?

Except, of course, Jing-mei doesn’t want them, because they’re not her ambitions. One message of Tan’s ‘Two Kinds’ is that you cannot force someone to be free: they have to embrace it and define it in their own way, otherwise it is not worthy of being called freedom.

What happened at the end of Two Kinds?

The ending makes us reflect on the whole story and lets us interpret it in a different way. After her mother’s death, Jing-mei begins to realize what her mother had wanted for her. She looks back over the music and discovers something that she hadn’t noticed before.

What does Jing Mei realize at the end?

However, after her mother’s death, Jing-mei discovers that the song “Pleading Child,” which she struggled to learn as a child, is meant to be played alongside another half of the song, called “Perfectly Contented” (p. 144).

How does Jing Mei change throughout the story?

As Jing-mei continues to look at herself, the “ordinary … sad, ugly girl” transforms into the “prodigy side” of herself, a girl who is “angry” and “powerful” (p. 134). This visual transformation is connected to Jing-mei’s changing attitude towards her mother’s expectations.

What does Jing-Mei realize at the end?

Who got the crab with the missing leg?

Jing-mei takes the worst crab (the one missing a leg), but her mother stops her and gives her the better of the two crabs.

What did suyuan leave with her babies?

When Suyuan realized she had to abandon her twin daughters because she was too ill to carry them anymore, she left them with the means to be taken care of and eventually returned to her.

Why is Shirley Temple not the right kind of prodigy?

Shirley Temple is not the “right kind of prodigy” for Jing-mei to emulate because Jing-mei is not white and thus Jing-mei cannot achieve the same kind of fame that Shirley Temple has achieved, based on her appearance. Although Jing-mei attempts to copy Shirley Temple’s hair, her mother is disappointed with the results.

What kind of person did Jing Mei become?

As an adult, Jing-mei has become more of the “obedient daughter” (p. 142) that her mother wanted her to be as a child….Learning Sequence.

How to Use the Learning Sequence
Symbol Type of Text & Interpretation of the Symbol
no symbol Plain text indicates teacher action.

Why does Rose stay in bed for three days?

3. Why did Rose stay in bed for three days? She stayed in bed for three days because her husband had left her and she was unable to make the simplest decisions.