Friday, February 27, 2015

In "Two Kinds," does the mother adjust to America?

I suppose the answer to this question relates to what you
precisely mean by the word "adjust." If you mean does she become American and leave her
Chinese part behind, then definitely the answer is no. However, if your question refers
to the way in which immigrants out of necessity have to form some kind of compromise
between their cultural heritage and the culture of their new country, then we can say
that Jing-Mei's mother does adjust to America in this
sense.


We need to remember that for any immigrant, life is
very difficult as you have to adapt to a radically different set of cultural norms and
values. You cannot carry on living your life as you did in your former country, and yet
you are not able to completely leave your life behind either, as you are indelibly
marked by your culture. Jing-Mei's mother does her best to live in America but also
tries to bring up her daughter with Chinese values and culture. Consider how she
responds to Jing-Mei's act of defiance in the story:


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"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!"



Clearly, the fact
that she is speaking in Chinese to her daughter and the way in which she demands
obedience from Jing-Mei indicates that, whilst she is able to live in America, she is
still very definitely Chinese and still looks at life from her Chinese
perspective.

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