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.