This
was not my first time reading “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan. I read this story two or three times while I was
in high school and each time I was able take away something different from the
story. I personally cannot relate to the
type of mother daughter relationship that Jing-mei and her mother had. My parents have always been very supportive
of me and every decision I have made in my life so far. They never pushed me to do anything I didn’t want
to, and I was never really compared to my sister in any bad way. Some of my close friends have parents more
like Jing-mei, and I can tell that the pressure to be perfect really takes a
toll on them after a while. So especially after reading this story I became
much more grateful for the parents I have and how they raised me.
On the
other hand I can relate to Jing-mei in
the sense that I can be very stubborn, and sometimes I do not give something my
all just to prove a point. Jing-mei says, “So maybe I never
really gave myself a fair chance. I did
pick up the basics pretty quickly, and I might have become a good pianist at
that young age. But I was so determined
not to try, not to be anybody different that I learned to play only the most ear-splitting
preludes, the most discordant hymns” (309).
When I read this I realized it sounded just like me, and I could see
from an outside view how destructive being stubborn can be. I now try to always give something my all and
not give up do only put half my effort into a task.
All in
all I think that anyone can come away from reading this story with a changed
mind, whether you were raised with strict parents or not, there is something to
learn.
Jing-mei's mom is supportive of her daughter, but in a different way. Her mom makes a huge sacrifice of doing additional cleaning in order to get a piano and lessons for Jing-mei. I do not think my mother would make this sacrifice. Also, her mom never wanted to be perfect in every single aspect of Jing-mei's life. Some parents want their children to be the valedictorian, varsity athlete, social butterfly, all with perfect manners. Jing-mei's mother only wanted her to master one instrument; it is not right to force a child to do this, but it is not the worst thing a parent has done to a child.
ReplyDeleteI mostly sympathize with Jing-mei's mother because she wants Jing-mei to develop a talent that could make her famous and better off than she was. Jing-mei's mother is stubborn and may not be the best mother, but she does have her daughter in her heart.