Two Kinds
by Amy Tan
Amy Tan Biography
• Amy Tan was born in
Oakland, California in
1952.
• In 1989, The Joy
Luck Club was
published .
• Tan lives in San
Francisco and New
York with her husband,
Lou DeMattei, and
their two canine
companions, Bubba
and Lilli.
Two Kinds
Background
The mother in “Two Kinds” is a Chinese immigrant who
sees promise in all that America has to offer. She pushes
her daughter Jing-mei to become a prodigy. What will
happen when Jing-mei pushes back?
The aspiring immigrant . . . is not content
to progress alone. Solitary success is
imperfect success in his eyes. He must
take his family with him as he rises.
Mary Antin, 1912
What events helped shape the character of Jing-mei’s mother?
The mother in “Two Kinds” came to the United States in 1949
in order to escape a war in her native country. In the 1940s
the Communist, led by Mao Tse-Tung, and the Nationalist,
led by Chiang Kai-Shek, were engaged in a civil war in
China. The Japanese invasions of China during WWII
weakened the Nationalist, and they endured most of the front
line fighting. The Communist, however, were able to
establish popular reforms in the less troubled areas that they
controlled. By the end of the war in 1945, the Communist
controlled the North, which had a population of 100 million.
Although far superior in numbers and supported by the
United States, the city-centered Nationalist government was
plagued by corruption and a weak economy. By the middle
of 1948, the Communist equaled the Nationalist in number,
and in 1949 they crossed the Yangtze River to defeat the
Nationalist army, establishing Communist China.
Click here to find out.
Background Continued
In 1949, the Communist Party seized control of China. A
number of Chinese, who feared Communist, fled to the
United States. They placed their hopes in the children
born in the new land. Pay attention to how the daughters
in “Two Kinds” deals with her mothers expectations.
My Grandma Yung 1934
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCBdoFMHpTU
My Father, Uncle and Auntie
CA Content Standards
Reading 1.2 Use Knowledge of Greek, Latin and
Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes. (Skills Book pg. 6,9
&10 and Selection Assessment)
Language Conventions 1.7 Spell derivatives
correctly by applying the spelling of bases and
affixes. (Skills Book pg. 7-8)
Listening and Speaking 1.3 Respond to persuasive
messages with questions, challenges, or
affirmations.
Plot
•Amy’s mom was a person with high
expectations. She believed that anybody
could do whatever they wanted to. Her
mom thought that she was a prodigy.
•Amy always tried her hardest. Her mom
kept pushing her harder and harder.
•Eventually, Amy got tired of her
mother’s tests. She got to a breaking point.
Amy wanted to quit piano and her mom
didn’t want her too. An argument broke
out and she said cruel things.
Plot
• Amy’s mother eventually gave
up on her. She stopped making
her go to piano lessons, and
gave up on her dreams of
having a prodigy daughter.
• When Amy was an adult, her
mother offered her the piano for
her birthday. Amy refused.
However, when Amy’s mom
passed away, she decided to
take back up piano and figured
out how to do it.
Amy’s mother pushed her too
hard, and after she did terrible
at the talent show, she wanted
to give up on piano. Her and
her mother got in a fight.
Amy’s mother pushes her
harder and harder and
tests her
Amy’s mother stopped
trying to get her to live up
to her dream of having a
prodigy daughter
Amy’s mother sends
her to piano lessons
Amy’s mother is a
optimistic person
Amy’s mother
believes that Amy is
a prodigy
Amy’s mother offers
her the piano many
years later, but she
refuses
Amy’s mother passes
away, and while Amy is
restoring the piano she
figures out that the song
she had tried to play had
two parts you had to play
at the same time.
Copy this chart into Composition book
Two Kinds
Literary Focus: Conflict and Motivation
Conflict and motivation are closely tied. If characters
weren’t motivated to fulfill certain wishes or desires, there
would be no conflict.
Character is
motivated to get
something he or
she wants.
Something or
someone gets in
the way.
Conflict
Two Kinds
Literary Focus: Conflict and Motivation
The mother and daughter in “Two Kinds” are strongly
motivated to influence each other.
Mother wants . . .
her daughter to excel so the
mother can feel proud and
brag to her friends.
Daughter wants . . .
to be allowed to be ordinary
and still have
her mother’s approval.
Conflict
clash of wills
Two Kinds
Reading Skills: Making Inferences About Motivation
To understand a character’s motivation, you must
make inferences, or intelligent guesses.
Base your inferences on clues from the text as well as on
your own life experience.
Clues from Text
• the character’s words and actions
• how others react to the character
Prior Experience
• experiences with people
• knowledge of how stories work
Inferences
About
Motivation
Main Characters
Amy is a little Asian girl with short cropped hair. She
believes that she can be anybody she wants to be.
She is determined to be herself and nothing other.
She is very determined not let her mother change
her.
Amy’s mother is an older Asian women, she is very
determined that she is right all of the time and she is
constantly pushing her daughter to be her own little
“prodigy”.
What Type of Conflict is in this story?
Man vs. Man
Amy vs. Her mom
•Amy is constantly fighting her mother of the
tests she is being given and how her mother
expects so much out of her.
Man vs. Self
Amy vs. Amy
•Amy is battling with herself about what she is
going to do about her mothers expectations
Theme
The major theme in this story is
individualism. For example, when Amy
said, “I won’t let her change me, I promised
myself. I won’t be what I’m not.” She is
showing how she is herself and will not be
changed unless she wants to change herself.
Summary
• In this story, the narrator, Jing-mei,
resists her overbearing mother's desire to
make her into a musical prodigy in order
to compete with one of her friend's
daughters. The narrator recalls these
events after a period of more than twenty
years and still struggles to understand
her mother's motivations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iSSFYX85VE