LITERACY ELEMENTS SHORT STORY TWO KINDS BY AMY TAN

THEME :
Daughter and mother relationship. American dream of poor mother towards her daughter. Mothers loves , firmness and expectation of mother to her daughter. Often immigrants parents are willing to sacrifice everything including careers, family and property, to pursue new lives in America. Realizing that they may not achieve the American dream of material success and social acceptance, they tend to transfer those ambitious to their children.

PLOT :
The story happened in Chinatown, America. The story about a very ambitious Chinese mother who wants Jing Mei, her daughter to become someone in USA. Even though, she is only a house cleaner. Though, she lost her family in China, but she has no regrets. She hoped that something good behind the bad and things could be better in so many ways. She wants her only daughter to be grown like her wishes. For that, she tried many ways to make her daughter great. But her daughter doesnt want to follow her mothers choice. She felt that her freedom was shackled. She wants to be herself. At once, she decided that Jing Mei must learn how to play piano and insist her to attend piano class. But, Jing Mei continued give failure for her hope. These incidents invite a lot of struggle, problems, disagreements, disappointment and upset between mother and daughter. The idea for piano lessons comes from television and popular magazines. But Jing Mei Shirley temple movies and imagine her as a child star. At last, mother relented and let her daughter to follow her own wishes and accept her daughter as she was. Few years ago, Jing Mei realized that she can play piano very well after her mothers death.

SETTINGS :
The story took place in Chinatown at Sacramento Street in America. It happened in a house in apartment building where the parents and daughter stayed. It happened in year between 1950s and perhaps early 1960s.

CHARACTERISTICS :
Jing Mei, child who born to American and Chinese couples and caught between two different cultured. She has her own ambition and dreams. But, poor thing she only have failure. But at last, she learned to play a piano very well. Mother of Jing Mei, from China and very ambitious mother. She works as a house cleaner. She wants her daughter to become someone in America. She want to mold her daughter into a musical prodigy. Mr. Chong known as Old Chong who Jing Meis deaf and partially blind piano teacher. He not yet married and lived with old mother in first floor near Jing Mei apartment building. Father of Jing Mei, he not involved in daughter and mother struggle over piano lessons. Auntie Lindo Jong, a friend of Jing Meis mother. She has daughter, who is well played chess. She also won of fame Chinatowns Little Chess Champion. Jing Meis mother always compare her with auntie Lindos daughter.