Question

How does "Two Kinds" make connections between the text and the world?

Accepted Answer

There are a number of references within the story "Two Kinds" that readers will be able to associate with the real world. When Jing-mei's mother wants her to become a prodigy, she first considers making her into a "Chinese Shirley Temple," referring to the childhood movie star with whom many readers will be familiar. Jing-mei dreams of being Cinderella, which will remind many readers of the Disney movie. Jing-mei's mother quizzes her from several magazines that readers may be acquainted with, including Reader's Digest. Tan references the Ed Sullivan Show, a TV variety show which young readers may not know of, yet they can relate it to shows such as American Idol. The girl Waverly, who is a chess champion, may remind readers of times they have heard of chess champions or tournaments in the news. References to China, where Jing-mei's mother came from, and to Chinatown, Finland, and Stanford University all make connections to the real world as do the references to the music composers Beethoven and Schumann.

Two Kinds

How does "Two Kinds" make connections between the text and the world?

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