Rise and Fall of an Inner Prodigy1
An "angry and powerful" girl glares back at Jing-Mei in the bathroom mirror (Tan 1066). The girl is her newly discovered prodigy: a force that comes from within that could potentially empower her to unlimited heights of personal growth and success. Unfortunately, Jing-Mei, the daughter in Amy Tan's "Two Kinds", only allows her will to manifest into a weapon of "won'ts" to lash out at her mother with (Tan 1066). She does not think to create goals of her own because her only drive is to prove her mother wrong, act out in hurtful ways, and sell herself short in the process.Jing-Mei is determined to prove to her mother, self, and family that her mother has no right to have pride and faith in her. After bragging to her sister about how her daughter plays the piano day and night, Jing-Mei's mother and piano teacher, Mr. Chong, arrange to have her perform at a talent show. Paving the way for her mother's shame and her own embarrassment, Jing-Mei does not apply herself to practicing and memorizing the piece she is to perform. The night of her performance, she is so taken with how pretty she looks that she forgets she can't possibly do well. She is even "surprised when . . . [she] hit the first
Jing-Mei does not realize that a window of opportunity to not succeed in her mother's dreams is only a hindrance of her own goals by creating a negative habit and mindset. Chong's eyes are not much better than his ears. Thirty-something Jing-Mei finally sees and regrets the mindset she stubbornly clings to. Even though Jing-Mei is embarrassed and ashamed, her lasting impression is her mother's devastated expression and damaged pride. Jing-Mei knows this hostile reference will hurt her mother more than anything else will. Jing-Mei quickly discovers many ways to not invest much effort into what she perceives as her mother's dreams. Jing-Mei summons up her "inner-prodigy" to loudly and adamantly refuse. Her mother painfully gives up and Jing-Mei never has to play the piano again. The choice has always been hers to decide who she will become and what goals she will dream and pursue. Bibliography Works CitedMarlowe, Christopher. Jing-Mei is clever and sees a window of opportunity in the discovery that Mr.
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Acceptance Essays
