"A Raisin in the Sun" and "Two Kinds"

Paper Summary:

The paper examines Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" and Amy Tan's "Two Kinds" and discusses how, despite cultural differences among Chinese-American and African-American parents, American society affected the way both families in the stories were raised. The paper therefore shows how the mothers in these two works adapted their parenting according to surrounding societal pressures.

From the Paper:

" In the short stories of "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Two Kinds", societal pressures have a very significant effect on the plot. The mothers in both works use different approaches in order to take control of the lives of their children and adapt to the American culture. As a story within the Joy Luck Club, a group of stories dealing with mother-daughter relationships within Chinese families, "Two Kinds" is about a young girl named Jing-mei who is forced by her mother to try and become a prodigy in the music world. Although she has no personal desire, her mother forces it upon her. Conversely, Mama has a much different approach to care for the Younger children in "A Raisin in the Sun". Growing up in an all-white section of Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, Mama wants to overcome the segregated housing market. Although she too wants success for her children like Jing-mei's mother, she believes that religion and morals outweigh the importance of all other things in life."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brunner, Borgna. "Civil Rights Movement Heroes." Infoplease. 23 Nov. 2003. 7 May 2009 <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmheroes1.html>.
• Gorman, Jean C. "Parenting Attitudes and Practices of Immigrant Chinese Mothers of Adolescents." Jan. 1998. JSTOR. Harry A. Sprague, Montclair. 2 May 2009 <Family relations>.
• Hansberry, Lorraine. "A Raisin in the Sun." Making Arguments About Literature. Boston: Beford/St. Martin's, 2005. 374-441.
• Julian, Teresa W., McKenry, Patrick C., KcKelvey, Mary W. "Cultural Variations in Parenting: Perceptions of Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American Parents." Jan. 1994. JSTOR. Harry A. Sprague, Montclair. 27 April 2009 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/585139>.
• Qin, Desiree. "The Other Side of the Model Minority Story: The Familial and Peer Challenges Faced by Chinese American Adolescents." 2008. Sociological Abstracts. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks. 21 Apr. 2009. Keyword: Parenting AND Pressure.

More papers on "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Two Kinds":

• Analytical Essay # 1630 : "The Use of Structure in "Raisin in the Sun"
• Analytical Essay # 46509 : "A Raisin in the Sun" and Domestic Life"
• Book Review # 74728 : "A Raisin in the Sun" and Symbolism of Light"

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