Pre-Reading Discussion
Perspective: What is perspective?
What are the two perspectives in Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby”?
How do they differ? IS this a difference in facts or a difference in perspectives? Explain.
What is conflict?
What are the types of conflict?
1)
2)
In the Reading Discussion
As you read Amy Tan’s short story “Two Kinds,” look for evidence of conflict between two
generations and two distinct perspectives about culture. Mark the text for answers to these
questions:
What is the conflict?
How is it resolved?
How does the conflict connect to the meaning of the text as a whole?
What is the relationship between Jing-mei and her mother in the first nine paragraphs of the
narrative? What textual evidence supports your response?
How does Jing-mei’s perspective change in this section? What explains this change?
How does Jing-mei’s perspective change in this section? What explains this change?
What conflicts are apparent in the conversation: “Play note right…”? What are the reasons for
the conflicts?
How does the relationship between Jing-mei’s mother and Auntie Lindo contribute to the
conflict between Jing-mei and her mother in the story?
How does the narrator’s tone shift in her telling of her first performance?
Skilled writers take poetic license and break rules of proper syntax. Why do you think Tan uses
fragments to describe the acts in the show?
Colons and the word but often signal a shift in literature. What shift is happening here? How is it
related to the central conflict in the story?
To what is “Two Kinds” referring here: Only two kinds of daughters…”? What conflicting
perspectives on cultural identity are evident in this scene?
How does the sentence beginning “Unlike my mother, I did not …” connect to the first
paragraph of the story? Does this suggest that the conflict in the story is primarily internal or
external?
What is significant about Jing-mei’s discovery in the final paragraphs? What does it reveal about
her perspective now? Does this bring resolution to the conflict(s) in the story or not?
Review your notes about the conflicts in “Two Kinds.” Complete the following graphic
organizer analyzing Jim-mei’s internal conflict and her external conflict with her mother.
Mom’s perspective on cultural identity
Jing-mei’s perspective on cultural
identity
The contrast with Waverly and Auntie
Lindo
How do the conflicts connect with the
meaning of the work as a whole?
How can the conflict between characters develop the theme of a work? With your group
members, generate a list of possible themes, and then craft a thematic statement for the theme
you think is most central to the story.