INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN GURU MALAYSIA

KAMPUS PULAU PINANG

MATA PELAJARAN: BAHASA INGGERIS AKADEMIK

NAMA GURU PELATIH: AFRAH IZZATI BINTI ABDULLAH

NAMA PENSYARAH: MRS CHOONG CHING CHING

UNIT: BAHASA INGGERIS

TARIKH HANTAR: 28 SEPTEMBER 2009

In the short story “TWO KINDS” by AMY TAN, the readers were exposed to the

inception of the tags relationship between mother and daughter. The writer also split the

introduction of the character at the beginning especially the mother’s character. The

reader also being introduced with American dream.

During 1950’s to 1960’s, many immigrants came to America. They started hoping to

have a dream to become rich and famous including the mother’s of the main character.

Jing Mei who is the main character in this story was the victim of this situation. She wants

her daughter to be perfect since she cannot do it before. At the beginning, her mother

wanted Jing Mei to be like a version of Chinese Shirley Temple just like they watched in

the television.

Her mother wanted the best for her daughter. In order to make her daughter to

become prodigy, Jing Mei’s mother sent her to the beauty training centre to change her

outlook. She also presents tuff questions such as from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, asking

about the name of country, predicting daily temperatures in Los Angeles, New York, and

London

At first, Jing Mei thinks positive about being prodigy. She imagined herself with

different images of prodigy. But when she mirrored herself, she saw another face with

angry. She starts heating the test and heating become prodigy.

Being prodigy, she though she cannot be herself. She does not want to become

hypocrite. She negligible the test brought by her mother until two or three months later. But

her mother’s hope doesn’t stopped. After watched The Ed Sullivan Show on television, she

became interested with music as she seeing a little Chinese girl acted on that show.

According to that show, she sent Jing Mei to the piano lesson. The piano lesson was

conducted by Mr. Chong who lived at the first floor of their apartment. During this moment,

we can see Jing Mei still not getting serious with the piano lesson, although Mr. Chong

taught her all things. When she makes mistakes, she doesn’t correct it herself.

Her mother wants Jing Mei to perform in a talent show that will be held in church

ball. Her parents bought her a second hand piano a black Wurlitzer to play in the church

ball. Her parents were very excited .This can be seen when they invite all the couples from

the Joy Luck Club to watch Jing Mei performances.

At the day of the performances, she played a piece called “Pleading Child”. At first

she steep her feet on the stage with the mount of confidence as she dreamed curtsy.

Everything was beautiful until she starts played the piano. Suddenly, the piano does not

sound perfectly. Actually, she played the piano with the wrong notes.

When she finished her performance, only the Old Chong was shouting, and he said

“Bravo! Bravo! Well done”. Then she looked at her mother that shows a shame face

towards her performances. Her mother was very disappointed of her

After that incident, her mothers still want her to go to talent-show torture again and

they start argued about that. Jing Mei does not want to follow her mother again after the

incident in the church ball.

She really releases her anger to her mother. This is because, she just follows what

her mother said without argument yet and the result was bad. Her mothers ask her to be

someone, not be herself. She was very anger until she said to her mother “then I wish I’d

never been born! “ . Her mother got blurred and don’t say anything.

For many years they don’t talked about the incident that happened and about the

piano. A few years later, her mother gave her a piano for her thirtieth birthday. She thought

her mother forgave her. A few months later, her mother died when she came back home.

She also looks at the old things that she left in the house and she wants to bring

them back home. She also opens the piano and played two pieces which is “Pleading

Child” and “Perfectly Contented”. The “Pleading Child” described about her mother that

always pleading her daughter to be better, genius and famous daughter. While “The

Perfectly Contented” is about Jing Mei who was from the beginning until the end of the

story just want to be herself. [761 words]