Two Kinds By Amy Tan: The Relationship Between Parents And Daughter

Among immigrants, there is a conviction that anybody can accomplish anything in the United States regardless of its identity in the pith of the American Dream. For years, America has opened its doors to anyone who seeks employment, freedom and other opportunities people can place their psyche into. This issue is why individuals from many parts of the world try to immigrate to the United States of America. People come in some risk, flying overseas or escaping their tyrannical governments in the hope of a better life full of opportunities. Just like the mother in “Two Kinds, ” she brings her daughter to the United States anticipating better opportunities for her. She hopes that one day her child will not live the same life she did in China.

In the story "Two Kinds, " Amy Tan writes about an intricate relationship between a mother and her daughter. The mother obligates her daughter into various activities hoping one day, and she will reveal a concealed talent and become a child prodigy. Even though the daughter initially complies to do some of her mother's endeavors, she instantly realizes she is incapable of doing them. One day her mother was watching television gazing a young Chinese girl playing the piano and encouraged her to take piano lessons. When the daughter learns how to play, the mother invites people from her social club to witness her daughter's piano debut. She was lionhearted when her turn came, and her performance was going spectacular until she hit a wrong note and all went downhill, red-facing herself. After the humiliation her mother made her go through, she decided to step up to her mother and refused to keep practicing the piano again. The mother did not like that, and she angrily shouted to her “There are only two kinds of daughters…those who are obedient, and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!". Subsequently, when the daughter heard that, she immediately lost her mind, wishing herself to be motherless and dead similar to the babies her mother lost in China. Later on, she stated, "Unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me". On the daughter’s thirtieth birthday, the mother visits her and renders the piano back as a birthday present. The daughter was unwilling to take it again, but later on, she accepts it because the piano represented two things: a sign of her mother's forgiveness and a trophy that she won way back for stepping up to her. After the mother passed away, she tries playing the piano once again and recognize she could have play passably at a young age. Nevertheless, She chose not to show it as a way to say no her mother's demands to become a child prodigy.

A great mother wants the best for their kids, and she will do anything in her power to make sure her child can have a better satisfying life. Shockingly about this anecdote, the mother wanted her daughter to be a child prodigy, but she did not prepare her kid to view failure as a good thing. If parents want their kids to be successful at an early age, they should teach their kids how to have a growth mindset. People who go in pursuit of a successful lifestyle struggle with failures and kids need to see that as a chance to learn, grow and proceed onward. Despite that, the mother was utterly wrong for pressuring her minor daughter to do things she did not want to do. Pressuring kids to participate in things they do not want to be part of can cause a kid to experience a rough childhood. This problem can affect them as adults later on, causing them to have mental conditions or problems in future relationships. It is better when parents create and enhance a bond with their child, asking them what they like or what they are keen on doing.

One of the most critical plots the story overlooks is the relationship between the father and her daughter. How was the connection between them? For what reason did he not confront the mother after the pressure she was placing her daughter through? Where was he when her daughter needed her the most? These points would have been helpful for the reader to fathom more about the relationship between both parents and her child.