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What kind of teacher is Mr. Chong in "Two Kinds"?
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Mr. Chong is a piano teacher characterized by his advanced age, deafness, and poor vision. Despite these limitations, Jing-mei's mother arranges for her to take lessons from him, hoping to discover her daughter's hidden talent. Jing-mei, however, exploits Mr. Chong's disabilities, leading to a lack of serious practice and a disastrous piano performance that only Mr. Chong appreciates. This reflects her impatience with her mother's ambitions for her.
Mr. Chong is a piano teacher. He is not in great shape because of his advanced age. In fact, he is deaf and can barely see. Jing-mei's mother, Suyuan Woo, agrees to clean Mr. Chong's house in exchange for him giving her daughter piano lessons. Mother is completely convinced that Jing-mei is very good at something and can take advantage of the American dream. She just does not currently know what Jing-mei's talent is. As a result, Suyuan Woo is always taking Jing-mei to different activities.
It does not take long for Jing-mei to realize that Mr. Chong's sensory deficiencies may impair his ability to teach piano. The girl is somewhat impatient with her mother's ambitions for her, so she does not take the piano lessons seriously. She takes advantage of Mr. Chong's disabilities during practice. Consequently, Jing-mei has a disastrous piano debut in which only Mr. Chong is impressed.
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