"Two Kinds"

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces, discusses and analyzes the short story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan. Specifically, it analyzes the story's character and theme. The paper describes Tan's technique of story-telling and how it captivates the reader. It also describes how the roundness of the main character helps the readers to identify with her and her relationship with her daughter.

From the Paper:

"This character is like many other willful children. She does not understand what she has until she loses it. Her mother dies before she takes the piano back, and that is when she finally understands the music she was playing so many years ago. Just like she and her mother, the music blends two pieces of music together, but differently. It took her all these years to realize it, and all these years to realize she was a piece of her mother, even though she did not want to admit it. She finally begins to appreciate some of her culture, and some of her mother's desire for her to do great things. This character is round, but sad, because in gaining her independence, she has lost a lot. She has lost the chance to be close with her mother, and she has lost many other experiences, too. Because she was so determined to be ordinary, she will never know what she could have accomplished if she had pushed herself to be great, and that is probably the biggest loss of all in her life."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Tan, Amy. "Two Kinds." Mothers and Daughters. 346-354.

More papers on "Two Kinds":

• Analytical Essay # 64847 : "Narrator's Role in "Two Kinds"
• Analytical Essay # 134313 : "Free to be Me: Amy Tan's "Two Kinds"
• Analytical Essay # 1807 : "Amy Tan's "Two Kinds"
• Comparison Essay # 113914 : "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Two Kinds"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: