A Mothers Dream

A Mother's Dream

For a lot children growing up, our mothers have been an complete part of what made us who we are. Mostly all good mothers want the

best for their child and they are determine to do whatever it takes for them to get it. The central struggle in Amy Tan's story ''Two Kinds'' is a

battle of wills between the narrator, a young Chinese-American girl, and her mother, a Chinese immigrant. "Two Kinds'' is a coming-of-age story,

in which the narrator, Jing-mei, struggles to forge her own sense of identity in the face of her strong-willed mother's dream that she become a

"prodigy.''

Suyuan, Jing-mei's mother, believes in the American Dream. With hard work, she feels that Jing-Mei can be anything she wants to

be in this great country. After all, Suyuan does not want her daughter to ever suffer the kind of deprivation and tragedies that she had to endure in

China. But Jing-Mei has no desire to prove herself or excel in any field. She wants to take life as it comes. In her words, "I did not believe I could

be anything I wanted to be. I could only be me" Tan (679). Since Suyuan believes that anything can be accomplished and she uses her daughter

as her outlet to prove it. She continuously gives Jing-mei numerous test and eventually forces her to take piano lessons, which becomes

Suyuan's prime focus of her 'perfect daughter' determination. As Jing-mei takes her lesson she discovers that since her teacher was deaf she

could fool him and act like she was really learning but her practing habits soon came to light. Jing-mei was in a talent show and was suppose to

play a piece called, "Pleading Child" and when it came to the recital, Jing-mei was horrible.

Neither Jing-mei nor Suyuan is completely to blame for the piano recital disaster. It is Suyuan's non-stop nagging and insinuations

regarding her daughter's flaws that partially drive Jing-mei to refuse to practice seriously. The pain Jing-mei feels after the recital stems not just

from her own failure but also from her shame in having disappointed her mother. Suyuan's inflated expectations and excessive pressure

backfire, contributing to Jing-mei's failure to achieve what she might have achieved if left alone. Yet, at the