new test is like being “sent to hell.” When Jing-Mei protests that she is not a genius, Suyuan reprimands her for not even trying: “Only ask you be your best. For you sake.”

Suyuan is driven to pressure her daughter to succeed. From the outside looking in, one might think that mother is trying to live her own life vicariously through daughter. Jing-Mei interprets Suyuan’s behavior as a mother’s disappointment in her child. However, Suyuan merely tries to point out that her daughter must trust in herself and want the best for herself. Knowing that the way the child behaves now will impact the way she will behave in the future, Suyuan will not allow Jing-Mei to settle for mediocre in her life.

Jing-Mei's mother began as the eternal optimist where her daughter was concerned. She believed, despite evidence to the contrary, that her daughter could be a prodigy of some kind. Unfortunately, Jing-Mei's mother was so determined to figure out where Jing-Mei's genius lies that she becomes pushy and seems to be unaccepting of who her daughter actually is. Jing-Mei says that "after seeing, once again, my mother's disappointed face, something inside me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations." Her mother is persistent, however, and continues to push Jing-Mei, especially once she sees a little Chinese girl playing the piano on Ed Sullivan. She claims that she doesn't want her daughter to be a genius, but she wants Jing-Mei to "'be [her] best'" and work hard at something. She insists on her daughter being obedient and a hard worker, and when Jing-Mei is neither, she is disappointed. Even as an old woman, though, she never gave up on her daughter's talent. She said, "'You have natural talent. You could be a genius if you want to [....]. You just not trying,' [...]. And she was neither angry nor sad. She said it as if announcing a fact that could never be disproved." Thus, Jing-Mei's mother is loving, certainly, but her delivery of her love and belief in Jing-Mei inadvertently made her daughter feel like a terrible disappointment. This final interaction concerning the piano, though, seems to say it all. Jing-Mei's mother always believed in her, never stopped believing in her—again, she's persistent—but felt Jing-Mei never tried as hard as she could.

"Two Kinds" is a first-person narrative in which Jing-mei tells the story. It is important to remember that we are reading the child's description of her mother, rather than that of an omniscient narrator, who could be expected to have an more balanced perspective and to focus less on the relationship between mother and daughter.

Jing-mei, like many children, finds her mother exasperating. The generation gap is exacerbated by a difference in cultures, as well as by her mother's unrealistic expectations.

Jing-mei's mother lost everything in China. Partly because of this, she has a very positive view of America as the land of opportunity, especially for the young. Optimism (indeed, an unreasonable degree of optimism) and energy are central to her character. She is always hatching new schemes for her daughter to be famous and successful and is disappointed (and inclined to blame Jing-mei) when these plans fail to bear fruit. She is ambitious and competitive, with her main competitor being her friend Lindo. However, the two of them do not compete directly, but fight a proxy war through the accomplishments of their daughters. Since Lindo's daughter, Waverly, is unusually gifted, this competition is a constant source of stress for Jing-mei and causes friction between mother and daughter.

Jing-mei's mother lives vicariously through her daughter. This makes her a paradox, both selfless and selfish. She will make any sacrifice for Jing-mei to be able to achieve success, but the goals are always the ones she herself sets, without considering what her daughter wants.

Jing-mei’s mother, we learn in the opening paragraph of “Two Kinds,” believes in the American Dream. Her version of the American Dream—we learn over the course of the story—is the product of popular culture. As such, its burden is placed on her daughter.

Although the mother ultimately decides that Jing-mei should develop her genius as a master pianist, when the story begins the mother is still considering different routes for success. Jing-mei’s mother left behind her life and her first family in China to come to the United States, and she sees her new life in and through her daughter. For the mother, the question is not whether Jing-mei will be a prodigy; instead, it is a matter of what kind of prodigy she will be. The mother is heavily influenced by the cultural narratives around her, and she forces her daughter to study old Shirley Temple movies. Ultimately they settle on the piano because they see a young Chinese girl who looks like Jing-mei on television. This reveals that her mother is susceptible to various cultural representations.

Jing-mei’s mother is certainly demanding, and we get the sense that her demands are balanced by the sacrifices that she has made. She demands that Jing-mei practice the piano, but even more than this she demands obedience:

“Only two kinds of daughters," she shouted in Chinese. "Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!”

She views her daughter as an extension of herself, and as such, demands her obedience because she believes it is the most direct route to a happy life.

Jing Mei's mother is a woman straddling two cultures simultaneously.  On the one hand, she was born in China and still retains a lot of her traditional beliefs and Chinese heritage.  On the other hand, she has moved to America and is trying to assimilate to this newly-adopted culture.  Due to the atrocities she experienced in China, she wants to put that culture behind her.  However, she still behaves in many traditional ways, such as being conservative and insistent that her daughter focuses on education.

With Jing Mei, her mother is somewhat pushy.  Today, she might be called a "stage mom," because she pushes Jing Mei to be a performer. She wants Jing Mei to be the Chinese Shirley Temple, and she seems to give little credence to Jing Mei's goals or dreams.  She reminds Jing Mei that there are only two kinds of daughters, and it is clear that she expects Jing Mei to be the obedient kind, like she was as a girl. 

Though it may seem that Jing Mei's mother is overbearing or even mean, it is important to remember that her main goal is for her daughter to have more in life than she has had, and to suffer less than she had to suffer.  She feels that by making Jing Mei into a performer, she can give her a glamorous lifestyle and show the world what a special daughter she has.  It is easy to miss this part of the story because it is told from Jing Mei's reluctant perspective.