death of a salesman

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Throughout the play of Death of a Salesman and short story “Two Kinds,” the parents display their desire for their children's’ success. Both pieces of writing show characters that have set specific standards towards wealth. Between “Two Kinds” and Death of a Salesman, expectations and definitions of success lead to disappointment and broken relationships.
Having similar anticipations and intentions from their children have led to disappointment in “Two Kinds” and Death of a Salesman. Jing-mei’s mother had high hopes to turn her life around after losing everything in China; especially to make her daughter famous and successful. To discover her hidden talents, the mother pursues to make Jing-mei the next Shirley Temple. When that idea failed, Jing-mei’s mother resorted to piano lessons. Her mother’s competition with Auntie Lindo only pushed Jing-mei to practice harder at piano. Jing-mei never found a chance to discover what her passion was, but she often had the burden of perfecting her mother’s expectations. The protagonist Jing-mei, follows her mother’s aspirations in a hope of success to become a prodigy. When given the chance to play in a talent show held in church, Jing-mei’s parents took the opportunity to invite all the couples from their social club. Although Jing-mei had not fully memorized the piece, her confidence made her believe with no doubt, that she really was a prodigy. However, during the performance, wrong notes began to surprise her and anxiety struck her down. By the end of the performance, Jing-mei realized she was not a musical prodigy, as even the audience gave a weak response. “My mother’s expression was what devastated me: a quiet, blank look that said she had lost everything” (Tan 6). The mother’s high am...

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...nsidering he was popular and favored in high school. Due to the lack of communication between the son and father, Biff mostly sides with his mother Linda, “Stop making excuses for him! He always, always wiped the floor with you. Never had an ounce of respect for you” (Miller 39). It is difficult for Biff as well, because of the colliding dreams that he obtains, from Willy’s dreams. Rather than cherishing a family relationship, relationships are being broken apart due to different expectations and pressures of success.
The parents in Death of a Salesman and “Two Kinds” exhibit their ambition to present their children a brighter future. However, their different definitions of success bring a downfall to the children’s lives, as more burden and pressure is involved. As a result, disappointment and broken relationships were concluded from the unrealistic expectations.

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