Conflict And Conflicts In Two Kinds, By Amy Tan

From the beginning of time, mothers and daughters have had their conflicts, tested each other’s patience, and eventually resolved their conflicts. In the story “Two Kinds,” written by Amy Tan, Jing-Mei and her mother are the typical mother-daughter duo that have their fair share of trials. Jing-Mei is an American Chinese Girl who struggles to please her mother by trying to be the “Prodigy” that her mother wishes for. Her mother has great ideas to make her daughter famous with hopes that she would become the best at everything she did. Throughout the story, the mother and daughter display distinct characteristics giving the reader insight of who they are, how they each handle conflict, and helps define how their relationship changes over time.

Jing-Mei tries to live up to her mother’s expectations but feels that her mother expects more from her than she can deliver. She doesn’t understand why her mother is always trying to change her and won’t accept her for who she is. She feels pressure from her family when she is compared to her cousin Waverly and all her accomplishments. Soon the conflict grows to resentment as her mother tests her daily on academics, eventually causing Jing-Mei to give up while her mother struggles to get her attention and cooperation. Her mother avoids arguing with her daughter early in the story, continuing to encourage her to strive for fame. Her mother’s next assignment for her daughter is piano lessons. This goes along pretty well until her mother forces her to participate in a talent show. The daughter’s failure on her performance at the talent show causes embarrassment to her mother. Conflict is evident when two days later, after the talent show, she reminds her daughter that it’s time for piano practice and the daughter refuses to obey her mother. The conflict that the daughter feels boils over in an outburst of anger and resentment towards her mother for trying to make her something that she is not. Harsh words are spoken causing the mother to retreat and not speak of this event ever

An example of this is when Jing-Mei is so exhausted from the nightly testing that when she looks in the mirror she sees herself as a “sad, ugly girl”. At this juncture in the story the daughter first expresses her feelings of defeat and gives up. The mother however, continues to search for the talent that will make her daughter famous and successful. The talent show is the turning point when the mother’s character changes. She is withdrawn and quiet for a couple of days while she inwardly sorts out the disappointment she feels in her daughter. The daughter’s resentment continues to fester and is manifested in a heated argument of which results in the daughter saying some hurtful things to her mother. This event changes the mother’s character drastically in that she basically gives up on her daughter. Years later, on the daughter’s thirtieth birthday, the mother’s character develops to the point that she is able to forgive her daughter and gives her the piano. The gift represents forgiveness and acceptance by her mother for just being who she is. The mother’s belief that her daughter had great potential was unwavering even after years of watching her daughter settle for