ALL SUMMARY PACK FOR YOU
CLICK HERE 👇 TO READ SUMMARIES
SUMMARIES OF SHORT STORIES, POEMS, AND PLAYS
![]() |
Neb English Support Class 12 |
Two Kinds | Amy Tan | Summary and Questions and Answers | Neb English Support Class 12
Two Kinds by Amy Tan
ABOUT THE STORY
Two Kinds by Amy Tan
This short story "Two Kinds" was written by Amy Tan, an American author of Chinese Heritage. This story is from her book "The Joy Luck Club". It was first published in 1989. This story describes a tense relationship between Jing-Mei (June) Woo and her mother, Suyuan. Here, the mother thinks her child is ungrateful and lazy, and she thinks Jing-mei needs to try harder and she will succeed in becoming a prodigy. This story focuses on two major themes: the American Dream and the tension between mothers and daughters.
MAIN SUMMARY
Two Kinds by Amy Tan
Jing-mei's mother lost her loved ones, fleeing China and moving to the United States for the American Dream. She has high hopes for her daughter. She expects that Jing-mei can become a genius if she tries. At first, a mother dreams of Jing-mei's success, envisioning her fame like child actress Shirley Temple. Attempting to mimic Temple's curls, her mother takes her to get her hair styled. They style Jing-mei's hair, but it goes wrong, and she ends up with a Peter Pan haircut.Jing-mei's mother gets frustrated. She takes out all her frustrations on her daughter, making Jing-mei believe her tangled hair is her fault. Jing-mei starts feeling the burden of her mother's impossible expectations. Influenced by stories of amazing kids in magazines, she is made to take nightly tests that her mom brings from the houses she cleans.
Jing-mei is forced most of the time. She has to do various things, like magic tricks, predict weather, memorise letters, and stand on her head. Each time she fails, she sees her mom disappointed. Whenever Jing-mei looks in the mirror, she doesn't see herself. Instead, she sees an ordinary, sad, and ugly girl.
Later, Jing-mei is determined to go against her mother's expectations and keep her own identity. She stops showing interest in her mother's tests to make her lose hope, and it works for a while. However, her mother regains hope after seeing a Chinese girl play the piano on TV. Jing-mei sees this girl as a Chinese Shirley Temple, reflecting the prodigy she once wanted to be. When her mother criticises the girl, Jing-mei defends her, saying at least she's trying.
Jing-mei's mother believes that she can be good at anything but notices that she doesn't make an effort. Against Jing-mei's wishes, her mother arranges piano lessons with Mr. Chong, their neighbour, in exchange for cleaning. Jing-mei protests, saying she's not talented and accusing her mom of forcing her into something she's not. In response, her mother slaps her, expressing that she doesn't want Jing-mei to be a genius, just to do her best.
Jing-mei soon realises that Mr. Chong, known as "Old Chong," is deaf and has poor eyesight. He can't hear her music or see her fingers well. Jing-mei takes advantage of this by tricking him into thinking she's playing correctly, allowing her to make mistakes while being lazy. Despite her natural piano talent, she's determined to rebel against her mother and keep pretending. A year later, she hears Auntie Lindo boasting about her chess champion daughter, Waverly. To compete, Jing-mei's mother proudly talks about Jing-mei's piano talent, even though she hasn't heard her play. This angers Jing-mei, and she decides to end her mother's prideful exaggeration.
Despite their limited finances, Jing-mei's parents save up to buy a used piano for their living room. Jing-mei's mother and Old Chong enrol her in a church talent show to showcase her skills. The piece she's supposed to play, "Pleading Child," isn't very hard, but instead of practicing, Jing-mei daydreams and works on her curtsy. Excited for her inner prodigy to shine, she's confident until the talent show, when she's shocked by the wrong notes. After finishing, she feels shame, and the audience is silent except for Old Chong's cheers. Jing-mei's parents, visibly affected, stay through the rest of the show without speaking. A child comments on her terrible performance, and though someone says at least she tried, Jing-mei knows it's not true.
Later, when Jing-mei's mother reacts calmly instead of scolding her, Jing-mei is upset. She wanted a chance to yell and blame her mother for her unhappiness. Surprisingly, two days later, her mother insists she practice again. Jing-mei protests, shouting that she'll never be the child her mother wants. Her mother insists there are only two types of daughters: obedient ones and those who do as they please. Jing-mei's mother makes it clear that she expects obedience as long as Jing-mei lives with her. In frustration, Jing-mei wishes her mother were dead like the twins she lost in China. This deeply hurts her mother, who silently walks away and never forces Jing-mei to play the piano again.
As Jing-mei grows up, she reflects on how she disappointed her mother and failed in various ways. The piano, a source of tension, remains untouched in their living room, and they avoid discussing the incident. On Jing-mei's thirtieth birthday, her mother offers her the piano, bringing a sense of forgiveness and redemption. However, Jing-mei doesn't accept it. After her mother's death, Jing-mei reconditions the piano and discovers old music books. While playing a recital song, she finds another titled "Perfectly Contented," realising they are two halves of the same song.
ALL SUMMARY PACK FOR YOU
CLICK HERE 👇 TO READ SUMMARIES
SUMMARIES OF SHORT STORIES, POEMS, AND PLAYS
CLICK HERE 👇 READ
ALL PLAYS BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Post a Comment