Everyday Use and Two Kinds
Moments of realization are important themes in the short stories"Everyday Use" and "Two Kinds." Both stories describe characters thatundergo a change when they gain a broader understanding of life. Bycreating situations that allow their characters to discover somethingimportant about themselves, Alice Walker and Amy Tan help us understand how Both stories focus on mother and daughter relationships. In "EverydayUse," Walker demonstrates how a mother discovers the truth about her twodaughters and herself as well. For instance, in the beginning of the
(1428) The mother realizes that looks are noteverything and despite how Maggie looks and acts, she is a better personthan the pretty Dee. sidle up to someone who is ignorantenough to be kind to them" (1423). Both stories teach important life lessons worthremembering. She reconciles thepleading child she was with the contented adult she has become by realizingher mother was only trying to help her. She also realizes how she is content with her lifejust as it is, regardless if Maggie approves of it or not. Similarly, Jing-Mei struggles with her mother's attempts to turn herinto something that she is not. However, she changes her mind aboutMaggie, after she offers Dee the quilts. This action causes the narratorto feel something like the "spirit of God" (1428) that makes her happy andmakes her want to shout. Jing-Mei resists her mother's desire so much, that she sabotagesherself. It is only after hermother's death that Jing-Mei appreciates her efforts. Tan reveals the importance of parental guidance and how it canoften be misunderstood. She admits that she might have been a good pianist at an earlyage, but she was "so determined not to try" (148).
Common topics in this essay:
Similarly Jing-Mei,
Everyday Walker,
Everyday Kinds,
Amy Tan,
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understand life,
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