Two Kinds | Characters

"Two Kinds" is narrated by Jing-mei, a Chinese American girl who is locked in a struggle over her identity with her Chinese immigrant mother, who believes "that you could be anything you wanted to be in America." This particular struggle invokes the mother's attempt to mold Jing-mei into a musical prodigy so that she will be able to brag to her friend Lindo Jong, whose own daughter is a precocious chess champion. However, the mother also wants her daughter to have the best of both worlds: Chinese tradition and American opportunity. The mother's hopes for her daughter's future belie her own...

[The entire page is 573 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

Dictionary Tip:

Lookup any word on eNotes with our dictionary. Highlight the word and press SHIFT + D for a definition, or SHIFT + T for a synonym.