Two kinds

THEME

This story is a struggle between Chinese mothers and their Chinese American daughter. American dream is one of the main topics in this story, this phenomena for many years has been the most powerful factor to immigrants arrival in The United States. Parents quite often pressure their children to excel in The States to survive, being better and try to fulfill their own dreams but their children have to make them come true. For instance, the narrator’s mother in this short story says that “you could be anything you wanted to be in America” or "You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get good retirement” she tries to impose her thinking into her daughter’s mind. Because in the past she had a terrible life in China therefore, she had come to San Francisco in 1949. After that, the mother wants to make her daughter into a prodigy if she works really hard. As every immigrant in The States thinks if you work hard with effort, you can get everything you want to be. On the other hand, the daughter does not want to work hard and does not want to push herself to become a genius as her mother wants. Meanwhile, the mother is watching a TV show, she watches a little Chinese girl playing piano and then she is looking for piano classes so, she talks with a neighbor from the apartment building and the piano classes start. However, the daughter realizes that her teacher is deaf and she begins to make mistakes even though she is following the rhythm. Finally, they go to a talent contest and the daughter does an awful performance, when they arrive at home, she is worry and feels guilty and ashamed for her mother, she thinks that her mother is going to scold her or yell out. They have conflicts each other and the daughter tells her that she cannot be a genius or the mother desires her to be and that is the breaking point. Then, a relation between the title with the whole story is when the mother says that there are two kinds of daughters those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind and for her just one kind of daughter can stay in that house, obedient daughter. Besides, after the mother’s death, the daughter realizes that it was not the fact her mother was trying to force her to be someone who she is not; she just believed that she could become better than her. In addition, this short story reflects how is mandatory for immigrants families to change their lives in USA and delete their past lives. 

CHARACTERS

The daughter: She is a girl who is confusing between two cultures the Chinese and the American. She is oppressed by her mom, because she was raised in an American environment, she does not believe about honor and respect how much is important for her family. I think she is a teenager around fifteen years old or less. She is thin and as it is usual in Chinese people with straight hair but beautiful young girl.

The mother: She is a woman who had a sad past and she was raised by very marked Chinese culture which the most important thing is honor and respect. She looks like old because her difficult life and she was beautiful as her daughter. She is obsessed to become her daughter in a prodigy child. 

American dream and chinese culture reflecting on “Two kinds”

1       This quote reflects American dream by the mother’s perspective “My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no money down. You can become rich. You could become instantly famous” also chinese culture is reflects as an important aspect in America because for the family's girl just American can help them to have a sucessful future.

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      Now, we have the second quote which is“She had come to San Francisco in 1949 after losing everything in China: her mother and father, her home, her first husband, and two daughters, twin baby girls. But she never looked back with regret Things could get better in so many ways.” American is reflects because many people tend to give up or quit because when they do not have sucess they feel quite bad and they go back to their countries. Chinese culture is quite strict and they always fight to overcome obstacles and in the family's girl as very disciple and they really fight for those thing that they want.

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      Finally, the next quote also reflects American dream “In all of my imaginings I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect: My mother and father would adore me. I would be beyond reproach. I would never feel the need to sulk, or to clamor for anything.” American dream itself we expect a huge amount of opportunities therefore, in the previous quote she says that her parent are going to love her for fulfill all their own dreams. Chinese culture we can see it reflected when they pushing her to do things that she does not want to do it basically, chinese culture children have to do everything that parents say and the approach is to be sucessful anyways.