Literary Devices Found in Two Kinds
Brenton Trebilcock August 24, 2012
Setting
The story Two Kinds is set inside Chinatown, which is located in San Fransisco, California.
Chinatown San Fransansisco which the story takes place in.
Characters
The main character is a young chinese girl named Jing-Mei. Jing-Meis mother wants her to become a prodigy. This causes conflict between them, since Jing-Mei does not really want to be a prodigy.
Amy tan and her husband. Amy tan is the author of the story.
Plot
The story is about Jing-Mei and her mother who wants her to become a prodigy, but Jing-Mei does not want to. The exposition is the begining of the story where we learn about Jing-Mei and her mother and them watching Shirly Temple. This gives Jing-Meis mother the idea to have her become a "chinease Shirly Temple" so she goes to a beauty thing and Jing-Mei gets a peter pan hair cut. The rising action is when Jing-Mei is in the talent show and messes up her performance. The climax is the armument that Jing-Mei and her mother have which causes Jing-Mei not to have to do piano lessons, but she feels guily. The resultion is when Jing-Meis motherhas died and Jing-Mei gets the family piano tuned and plays the song she played in the talent show.
Jing-Mei did not want to play the piano.
Internal Conflict
The internal conflict occurs with Jing-Mei when she looks in the mirror and sees that shes not what her mother wants her to be. She gets mad because shes not a genius and is angry at herself.
Jing-Mei gets mad when she looks at herself in the mirror
External Conflict
The main external conflict is with Jing-Mei and her mother. They both get angry at eachother and fight verbaly. The most notable fight is during the climax when Jing-Mei refuses to play piano. They resolve conflict when the mother gives Jing-Mei the piano.
When the mother of Jing-Mei gives Jing-Mei the piano the conflict is resolved.
Theme
The theme of two kinds is a mother who wants her daughter to be a prodigy, but Jing-Mei does not want to do what her mother wants her to.
Jing-Mei mother wants her to become a prodigy in piano.
Symbolism
The two songs at the end of the story were symbols of the two kinds a person Jing-Mei was, the obiedient daughter and the one who did what she wanted.
Jing-Mei didnt want to play in the piano recital, she did an aweful job.
In the first part of the story there is a scene in which the daughter sees herself in the mirror. What does she see? What thematic significance could this scene have? How does it relate to the title?
She sees herself, not a prodigy. It makes her angry at herself wor seeing her mother's disapointed face. She was two kinds of people an obiedient daughter and the person who did what she wanted to do.
When Jing-Mei sees herself she realizes she is two kinds of people.
Two strong-willed characters are pitted against each other in this story. What went wrong in the relationship between mother and daughter?
They both saw different visions for Jing-Mei's life and argued too much instead of resolving the conflict and doing something they could agree on.
Jing-Mei's mother wanted Jing-Mei to become a prodigy like shirley temple.
10.Read carefully the parts dealing with the mother’s earlier life in China. How have her earlier experiences shaped her ambitions for her daughter?
In china Jing-Mei's mother had to have her other children killed. This results in Jing-Mei's mother wanting Jing-Mei to do something great like become a prodigy and get famous.
Jing-Mei's family used to live in China before they moved to Chinatown.