The plot is the sequence of events that happen over the course of the story. It is common for plot discussions to talk about the five stages of a plot. Those stages are the exposition, the rising actions, the climax, the falling actions, and the resolution. These standard plot stages present readers with a conflict and developments through that conflict, and conflict involves a struggle between two opposing forces. A conflict can be internal or external. It can be person vs. nature, person vs. person, person vs. self, etc.

In "Two Kinds," readers discover that the conflict is a person vs person conflict. Jing-mei wants one thing, and her mother wants another thing. The conflict is a battle for control of Jing-mei's future and current work ethic, and it is Jing-mei's personality that propels the story through the various plot points. Had Jing-mei's personality been a personality that desired nothing more than to please people around her, then likely no conflict would have developed in the story. She would have worked hard to do exactly what her mother wanted. To be fair, this is how Jing-mei started the story; however, after seeing disappointment register on her mother's face over and over again, Jing-mei decided that she would control her own destiny. Jing-mei became willful and independent, and she worked to intentionally sabotage her mother's plans. Her defiant personality is what eventually led the story into the climactic sequence where Jing-mei screams that she wishes she was dead.