How do Jing-mei's character traits and motivations change or stay the same in "Two Kinds"?

In “Two Kinds,” the narrator Jing-mei’s character is dynamic, evolving as she goes through life. It is particularly interesting to view the evolution of Jing-mei’s characteristics in the context of her identity as an American woman of Chinese origin. As the story begins, Jing-mei is an affable, agreeable child who wants to make her ambitious mother proud by adopting different persona, from a “Chinese Shirley Temple” to a precocious magician who can find the Queen in any deck of cards, to a piano-playing prodigy. Jing-mei’s mother wants her to be perfect so she can succeed in American society. However, as time goes on, Jing-mei begins to realize that what she wants for herself is very different from her mother’s expectations.

I looked at my reflection, blinking so that I could see more clearly. The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. She and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts—or rather, thoughts filled with lots of won'ts. I won't let her change me, I promised myself. I won't be what I'm not.

Thus, the conflict between her mother's expectations and her own sense of self begins to form Jing-mei's character traits. From agreeableness, Jing-mei moves to willfulness, a change which is partially informed by her need to distinguish her American identity from her Chinese self. As represented by her mother’s expectations, tradition begins to symbolize a blind obedience, and a stifling of the self for the community, which Jing-mei is now loath to do. Jing-mei begins to resist her mother's expectations to form her unique, individual self, even if it means disappointing her mother by abandoning the piano and not “getting straight A’s.”

However, as she turns thirty and older, Jing-mei’s relationship with her mother improves somewhat, suggesting that Jing-mei needs to find a cathartic way to reconnect with her mother, and by extension holistically reconcile her selves as an American woman and a Chinese daughter.

Visiting her home after her mother’s death, Jing-mei comes across the old piano she was once forced to practice. The piano, symbolic so far of the weight of her mother’s expectations and Jing-mei’s own failures, now gains another meaning. Jing-mei no longer fears the piano, choosing instead to sit in front of it, open its lid and touch the keys.

It sounded even richer that I remembered. Really, it was a very good piano…. I played a few bars, surprised at how easily the notes came back to me.

Thus, Jing-mei finally grows into “two kinds” of identities, accepting that her American and Chinese selves are a part of each other, much as her mother will always be a part of her, like “two halves of the same song.” Thus, Jing-mei comes full circle, growing into forgiveness and grace.

Concerning Jing-Mei in Amy Tan's "Two Kinds," the enotes Study Guide on the story says the following about her:

Jing-Mei is a rebellious child caught between two cultures: the Chinese culture that prevails in her mother's home; and the American one that prevails everywhere else. She resists her mother's attempts at discipline and resents the pressures of high achievement that immigrant parents typically place on their children.

She also understands that her mother is using her to win a competition with her friend Lindo Jong; both women brag about whose daughter is more talented. She is resolved to be true to herself and not take part in such a competition. Refusing to practice the piano, she tells her mother that she wishes she were dead, like the babies she knows her mother was forced to abandon when she fled China. She regrets saying such hurtful things later.

It is important to remember that Jing-Mei is the child in the relationship between her and her mother.  She does not dictate the terms of the relationship.  The absolutism and unrealistic expectations the mother places upon her determine the nature of the hostility between them. 

Jing-Mei, in fact, is a normal, American adolescent.  And she's smart enough to recognize the faults in her mother's plans for her.  Her mother tries to live vicariously through her, and Jing-Mei will have none of it. 

The story's title refers to a statement Jing-mei's mother makes about the two kinds of daughters that exist in the world: those who are obedient and those who "follow their own mind." Jing-mei makes the choice to be the second kind of daughter, and she defies her mother's commands to practice piano. Previously she had failed to become the prodigy her mother wanted her to be. She had deceived her mother into thinking she was working at piano lessons, but at the talent show, she displayed her sloppy playing, causing embarrassment for herself and her mother. After that failure, Jing-mei feels her will getting stronger. She concludes, "I didn't have to do what my mother said anymore. I wasn't her slave."

However, the willfulness that Jing-mei's mother perceives in her is not the only thing that is awakening in her daughter. Jing-mei is more and more craving authenticity, the right to be who she is. Her mother doesn't realize how hurtful her aspirations for her daughter are; Jing-mei takes them as a rejection of herself, at one point lashing out with the words, "Why don't you like me the way I am?" Later, when her mother tries to physically force her to play piano, she sobs, "You want me to be someone that I'm not!" 

Summarizing their relationship as Jing-mei grew older, Jing-mei states, "I failed her so many times, each time asserting my own will." She explains that even though her mother believed her daughter could be anything she wanted to be, "I could only be me." Thus the two characteristics of Jing-mei that put her at odds with her mother were her willfulness and her desire for authenticity--being true to herself. 

One of June's character traits in Tan's "Two Kinds" is that she is fundamentally trapped.  June is trapped between the world of her Chinese ancestry and the American world around her.  This character trait underscores her narrative in the story.  She feels the need to appease her mother's wishes, but at the same time actively resents it and rebels against it.  June feels trapped between both worlds because she is unable to find happiness in either one. She recognizes that she will never be the piano prodigy her mother wishes.  This trait of being trapped is evident in the exchange between mother and daughter about playing the piano:

"Why don't you like me the way I am?" I cried. "I'm not a genius! I can't play the piano. And even if I could, I wouldn't go on TV if you paid me a million dollars!"
My mother slapped me. "Who ask you to be genius?" she shouted. "Only ask you be your best. For you sake. You think I want you to be genius? Hnnh! What for! Who ask you!”?

June clearly understands that she will not find happiness in outwardly rejecting her mother's wishes.  She lives at the hyphen of being "Asian- American," and is trapped between both worlds, unable to find happiness in either.

Another character trait that June shows is a sobering self- awareness.  June clearly recognizes her own limitations.  Her mother does not see this as much as June does.  June understands that she is "not a genius."  She demonstrates this trait when she is playing the piano for her auditory limited teacher:  "I would play after him, the simple scale, the simple chord, and then just play some nonsense that sounded like a cat running up and down on top of garbage cans."  The "simple" extent to which June would play the piano clearly demonstrates that June understands her own condition and accepts the limitations of her own place in the world:  "Unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be, I could only be me."   This represents part of the fundamental collision between June and her mother.

Finally, the ending of the story displays June as one who seeks to bring unity to that which has been fragmented.  June's trait of wishing for harmony is not simply literal in how she wishes the piano to be tuned, honoring her mother's wishes.  Rather, she wishes to appease her mother, even after death.  In recognizing that the melodies she plays are "two halves of the same song," June has displayed a desire to reconcile that which was previously separate and no longer living at the hyphen of being in the world.

I think that the major difference between Jing-mei and her mother is the their view of status.  About halfway through the story, Jing-mei decides to be happy with who she is.  She will not be forced into becoming something that she is not.  She's happy how she is.  Jing-mei's mother, on the other hand, wants to force Jing-mei into being a child prodigy of some kind.  Part of her reason for pushing Jing-mei is so that Jing-mei can be can be famous.  That would make Suyuan famous by association.  

"If she had as much talent as she has temper, she'd be famous now."

Suyuan definitely believes that fame, fortune, and status is part of attaining the American Dream.  

My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. . . You could become rich. You could become instantly famous.

I believe that is a key difference between the two characters.  Suyuan feels this need to push herself and her family hard to achieve fame and fortune; however, Jing-mei doesn't see that as a worthwhile goal.  It's not that Jing-mei is lazy.  She simply doesn't feel an overwhelming need to mold herself into something else that might bring her fame and fortune.  Jing-mei believes that her own identity and happiness is ultimately more important than fame and fortune. 

What is Jing-Mei's occupation as an adult in "Two Kinds"?

In "Two Kinds," Jing-Mei Woo never says what she does for work. When she is listing off the ways in which she has disappointed her mother, though, she does mention that she was not accepted to Stanford like her mother wanted her to be; in fact, Jing-Mei ultimately decides to drop out of college without graduating. Jing-Mei goes on to work as a copywriter, and seems content with the fairly simple lifestyle she leads.

Throughout the course of The Joy Luck Club, of which "Two Kinds" is a chapter, Jing-Mei learns more about the sacrifices her mother made to come to the United States. Suyuan gave up her entire life, including her twin daughters, to try to have a better life in the United States for herself and any future children she had. This realization ultimately makes Jing-Mei more appreciative of her mother and helps her understand why some of her decisions were so disappointing to Suyuan.

What struggles does Jing-Mei face in the story "Two Kinds"?

Jing-Mei struggles with her attitudes formed from the American culture in which she has been born against her mother's more traditionally Chinese attitudes, as well as the generational gap. Thus, Jing-Mei is engaged in a struggle with her mother over her identity.

Caught between the two cultures, Jing-Mei does not understand why her mother wants her to become "a prodigy." Thus, there are several struggles in which she becomes involved:

• First, her mother wants Jing-Mei to become like Shirley Temple. "But sometimes the prodigy in me became impatient," warning her to learn quickly or it would give up.
• Then, her mother wants her to become a genius. Her mother makes her memorize all sorts of facts and passages from the Bible, and work math problems. When she cannot recall all this information, "something inside me began to die."
• At this point, she starts to rebel, "I won't be what I'm not." She performs "listlessly" pretending to be bored, and her mother begins to lose hope in her for a time.
• After she watches the Ed Sullivan Show, which features people with various talents, the mother buys a piano and signs Jing-Mei up for lessons. She rebels again, insisting that she cannot play the piano.

...I was so determined not to try, not to be anybody different, and I learned to play only...the most discordant hymns."

• When she performs badly at a recital, she embarrasses her mother terribly because of her "sour notes" throughout her piece.
• Jing-Mei assumes that she no longer will have to play the piano after her fiasco at the recital. She decides, too, that she "wasn't her slave," and defies her mother by screaming, "No" when asked to play the piano.
• When her mother starts to drag her to the piano, her mother shouts in Chinese that there are only two kinds of daughters, those who follow their own desires, and those who obey; in their home, only an obedient daughter can live, her mother insists. Jing-Mei screams, "Then I wish I weren't your daughter, I wish you weren't my mother." She cruelly adds that she wishes she were dead as were her mother's babies born in China. Stunned, the mother becomes quiet, backing out of the room, "lifeless."
• Later on, Jing-Mei fails her mother by not earning straight As, by not being elected class president, by not getting into Stanford, and by dropping out of college. 

It is not until after her mother's death that Jing-Mei understands. Theirs has been a two-part conflict: immigrant to America with first generation born in America.

What change is occurring in the character Jing-Mei in "Two Kinds"?

Jing-Mei's mother wants her daughter to retain the customs and traditional female roles particular to Chinese culture. She wants to mold Jing-Mei in this way, but also with just enough American influence to promote and encourage Jing-Mei to become a typical American success story. There is nothing wrong with trying to instill an awareness of her old and new cultural influences in a child, but Jing-Mei's mother is too controlling. This idea of molding Jing-Mei clashes with the American ideals of individuality and self-reliance.

Growing up in America, Jing-Mei has more of that cultural influence of individuality than her mother does. She doesn't resent her mother for encouraging her to succeed. She resents her mother for controlling her life and attempting to mold her (Jing-Mei's) personality. Jing-Mei is making the shift from obedient daughter to a more self-motivated young woman. This is the shift from one "kind" to another. When her mother gives her an ultimatum, Jing-Mei rebels:

"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!" 

"Then I wish I weren't your daughter, I wish you weren't my mother," I shouted.

It sounds quite cruel, but Jing-Mei, in that moment, feels like she has to rebel against this ultimatum.

How does Jing-mei evolve in the story "Two Kinds"?

In the story "Two Kinds," Jing-mei changes from an awkward and discontented child, continually embarrassed by her mother's attempts to force her to perform, into a confident and contented woman.

At the beginning of "Two Kinds," Jing-mei tells the reader that her mother's view of America as a land of infinite possibility created difficulties for Jing-mei herself as a child. Her mother was convinced that she should be a child prodigy like Shirley Temple, and she made Jing-mei very uncomfortable by attempting to turn her into one. Jing-mei felt that she was an ordinary, rather shy girl who only wanted to be left alone to develop at her own pace.

As Jing-mei does develop, however, she comes to see that her mother's efforts, while irritating, are an expression of love. By the time of her mother's death, she is much closer to being the dutiful daughter that her mother wanted her to be as a child. She has also grown in confidence, in understanding, and in her ability to accept others as they are.

What does Jing-mei discover about herself in "Two Kinds"?

"Two Kinds" is a story about Jing-mei discovering her inner strength and desires. The story begins with Jing-mei telling readers that her mother, Suyuan, believed that a person could be anything in America. Unfortunately, Suyuan's American dream is incredibly predictable. In her mind, success is fame and fortune, and she believes that Jing-mei can be the ticket to just that. Suyuan believes that Jing-mei can will herself to become a child prodigy, and for a time, Jing-mei believes it, too, and works hard to mold herself into what Suyuan desires.

But Jing-mei is unable to take on the prodigy mantle, and Suyuan is repeatedly disappointed. Jing-mei arrives at a point where she can no longer stand her mother's look of disappointment, so her solution is to not even try anymore. This is the moment of self-discovery because Jing-mei realizes that she does have the abilities of a prodigy—just not the same abilities her mother wanted her to have. Instead, Jing-mei realizes that she has vast amounts of inner willpower and the ability to stand up for what she believes in.

And then I saw what seemed to be the prodigy side of me—a face I had never seen before. I looked at my reflection, blinking so that I could see more clearly. The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. She and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts—or rather, thoughts filled with lots of won'ts. I won't let her change me, I promised myself. I won't be what I'm not.

How is the character Jing Mei portrayed in "Two Kinds"?

Jing-mei is the first-person objective narrator of this story. This means that she is a participant in the events that take place and that she is narrating these events after they have occurred. She is now an adult looking back on a period of her childhood. She is, in many ways, a reliable narrator, and so she seems to characterize her childhood self fairly honestly.

For the most part, Jing-mei uses indirect characterization to paint a picture of herself at the age of nine. In other words, she doesn't name her various qualities but, rather, tells stories that illuminate those qualities for the reader. Her innocence, for example, when she gets excited about her mother's idea that she is a prodigy just waiting to have her genius discovered, is palpable. She imagines herself as a "dainty ballerina girl," the "Christ child," and "Cinderella." She says that she was "filled with a sense that [she] would soon become perfect."

Evidently, she has felt quite imperfect, and she longs to be "beyond reproach," never feeling the need to "sulk" or "clamor for anything" anymore. She also says that "something inside [her] began to die" when she saw her mother's disappointment over and over when Jing-mei failed to prove her genius in yet another way. She feels badly about herself and begins to grow resentful toward her mother for inadvertently making her feel this way. For this reason, she begins to become defiant and rebellious, leading to the fight that would put an end to her mother's attempts to discover her genius.

What burden does Jing-Mei carry in "Two Kinds"?

In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, Jing-Mei carries several burdens. As a child, she internalizes her mother’s sadness about losing her twin daughters and husband in her native China. She tries to please her mother by acquiescing to her belief Jing-Mei can be a child prodigy. When, after a disastrous piano recital, this dream does not become a reality, the daughter argues with her mother, creating a rift in their relationship.

 Jing-Mei lives with the aftermath of that argument, and becomes a rebellious, self-centered daughter.  During her school years, she is a mediocre student and forges her own identity despite her mother’s feelings.

She carries the feelings with her even after her mother’s death until she resolves her inner conflict while playing the piano that was integral to her perceived failure as a daughter.