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.

 

 

A pair of silk stockings

THEME

This story is about a lady who finds fifteen dollars and for her it was a huge amount of money. She feels really good because that money makes her feel as an important person and it is something that she had not felt for a long time because they are a very poor family. Mrs. Sommers is thinking about what she can do with the money, she always looking for a good sale and suddenly she finds a pair of silk stocking that she desires for her. She is faking that is checking the silk stockings texture and finally she buys a pair. The story shows how Mrs. Sommers is losing her responsibility, she has children, she does not want to leave her family but she does not leave her desires and dreams either. She is surprised because when she went to a restaurant people were not surprised about her clothes; people treated her as the story says as princess of royal blood. It shows how society cares more about appearance and fancy clothes.  And she is fighting against her own feelings. It shows that when a woman has family and tries to fulfill a role of wife and mother, they forget about their own dreams. This short story says a lot about that Mrs. Sommers is living a unreal life because she prefers spend that money in things which are unnecessary for her, even though those things give her happiness and satisfaction however, she has family and she left them alone without a mother, meanwhile she is doing her activities and with each activity she dreads going home. Finally, this nice short story reflects the role of the woman in society.

CHARACTERS

Mrs Sommer: She is a woman who wants to fulfill her dreams, she is ambitious, dreamer and she is tired about her situation (Poverty). She is in the thirties, I think that she is not old but not so young. She is thin and beautiful, with straight hair and with classy. Even though, she is poor and mother.

In the story only talks about Mrs Sommer as main character but it talks about a gaudy lady as well. The gaudy woman is in the theater. She is fatty and tacky. She uses fancy clothes but her clothes is quite ridiculous. She is funny, crazy and outgoing. But she is not that much beautiful, that’s why she has to catch attention to other people in the theater. 

Mrs Sommer

She is very happy with her new silk stockings and She is wearing fancy clothes but just looks like it is not expensive at all. She is just trying to wear as a woman of high society.

The story of an hour

 THEME

The story is a about a woman who feels free after her husband’s death in an accident, she feels great because now she has independence  even though it is a private feeling that she cannot express to others, because society does not accept or does not understand why she is happy for her husband’s missing. She always sees through a window imagining freedom and new opportunities after her husband has died. This story reflects how women have to be like their husbands want to them to be. Society sometimes allows that and maybe it was an arranged marriage that’s why she feels as a slave in her house with a husband who she does not love enough. Also, she feels that she is going to have a new life as well, she cries because she imagines her crying in her husband’s funeral. She is happy because she can picture herself enjoying her life as an independence woman and she is going to live for herself and not for someone else anymore. In the story she does not mention why her husband oppressed her and also the story of an hour shows how marriages take people their independence away, when they are not ready to get married or that person is not the correct one. On the other hand, she has died for her own feelings for her happiness of freedom and those aspects are irony. Finally in the story says that she had died of heart disease because it was a joy or happiness that killed her. 

CHARACTERS

Louise Mallard: She is a beautiful woman, she is old already, smart and independence and maybe in her youth she was funny and happy all the time even more beautiful. After her marriage she lost her freedom because she feels like her marriage oppressed her and she is ill, she has a heart trouble.

 Brently Mallard:He is serious man, a quiet person who never expresses feelings, he is not lovely at all and a chilly person, even though before he was kind and lovely. I imagine him like a person who always dresses up with suits and ties. And physically I think he is a good looking with good attributes therefore, she married him. 

Alternative Ending:

Some one was opening her door's room, It was her sister who was trying to tell her that finally her husband's body was founded because for the accident nobody could not founded his body. She stood shocked a deep silence shows up inside of her. She could not think well, she just was there and her sister talking and talking and tried to hug her but she said " we have to get ready everything" but her sister was confusing and ask " but why are u reacting like that" and Louise said I am ready and accept God's will. After her husband's funeral she changes her view of life she felt more happiness inside of her but she was confused she did not whether it was good to feel something like that from someone who lived too many time by her side but she did not care. She never said her feelings aloud for fear from society rejection. And her illnes was getting worse after her husband's death she felt relieved however, she felt like something missed her in her heart. One year later. She realized that her husband was not her oppressed factor, she was alone in her house as she really wanted to live for her and just her and she was living just for her and fighting with her illness alone without somebody who could be by her side giving her hopes. She had nobody and her oppresed factor was her now, she was getting old alone without a husband and she decided to lock herself in the room and when her sister Josephine came to visit her. She saw Louise lying on her bed with her favorite dress and she thought that she could be sleeping and touched her, her body was cold, Josephine wept over her dead body.