I wanted to do a little argument on the short
story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan because I found this story relatable when I first
read it, and I can see how others would feel differently when reading this. Amy
Tan is one of my favorite authors, she writes beautifully and if you haven’t
read her yet, I suggest you do!
As
children, we are raised to believe that our mothers know what is best. As we
grow a little bit older, some of us begin to believe the notion that our
mothers just want to control us. In the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, a
mother and daughter both emigrate from China to America. Both seek promise in
The Land of the Free. The mother is seen as controlling by her daughter, but is
it a misunderstanding her seeing potential in her child?
In the beginning, the mother mentions
to her daughter that she could be a prodigy just like her cousin. The mother
seems a bit brash with her daughter as they watch Shirley Temple movies
together, poking her arm and say, “Ni kan”,
which means “You watch” in Chinese. By the mother poking her daughter’s arm and
ordering her to watch the movie, this is perceived as controlling. The mother pushes
a bit more on her daughter after reading magazines filled with articles of
astounding, talented children. The mother challenges the daughter with tests, a
new one every night. The daughter mentions her mother questioning her, “What’s
the capital of Finland?” after she had read an article of a little boy who knew
all of the capitals in the United States and some foreign countries. This
appears as the mother expecting too much of her daughter, pressing her daughter
to be a genius. Later the mother watches The
Ed Sullivan Show, entranced by the music of a young Chinese girl playing
piano. Although she had criticized the little girl on the television, the
mother told her daughter that she would have piano lessons a few days later. By
pushing her daughter to play the piano without her having a desire to play, it
shows that the mother is forcing her daughter into something.
However, the mother pushes her daughter;
it does not diminish her true intentions of wanting the best for her daughter. The
mother is certain of her daughter when she says, “Of course you can be prodigy,
too.” She continues and says, “You can be best anything. What does Auntie Lindo
know? Her daughter, she is only best tricky”. The mother speaks of the
potential she sees in her daughter. Later, as the mother is watching The Ed Sullivan Show, she criticizes the
little Chinese girl playing the piano. The daughter defends the little girl,
claiming she was trying her best. The mother remarks back, “Just like you. Not
the best. Because you not trying”. The daughter then proves that she was not
trying like her mother repeated over and over. The daughter mentions that her
piano instructor is too slow to catch on that she was playing the wrong notes
during her lessons. She admits that she was not trying when she says, “If I hit
the wrong notes because I hadn’t practiced enough, I never corrected myself”. When
the daughter grows up, the mother surprises the daughter by giving her the
piano she use to play when she was young. The daughter is taken aback by this
act and asks her mother if she is sure about giving the piano to her. The
mother tells the daughter that it is her piano and that she is the only one who
can play. After the daughter replies that she probably would not be able to
play anymore, the mother responds, “You pick up fast. You have natural talent.
You could been genius if you want to.” Even after the mother repeats of her
daughter’s potential, the daughter still denies, “No I couldn’t.” The mother
still replies, “You just not trying.”.
Amy Tan shows both sides of the mother
in “Two Kinds”: the one side where the daughter views her as controlling and
the other side where the mother expresses her support and belief in her
daughter. The mother must indeed be two kinds.
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