Literary Analysis of Symbolism in Amy Tan's Two Kinds Essay Sample

In the short story, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, the author uses many examples of symbolism as a literary element to present the theme. The theme that she presents in the story is that one may not understand an elder's perspective until they mature. For example, Tan uses the piano that Jing-mei's mother bought for her to symbolize the tension between a mother-daughter relationship. When Jing-mei's mother tells Jing-mei that she will be going to take piano lessons with Mr. Chong, Jing-mei feels like she “had been sent to hell”. She tells her mother, “’Why don't you like me the way I am?’” and “‘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!’” (Tan 6). The piano is a symbol in this example since it is the main item that is causing the argument between the mother and daughter. Jing-mei's mother had seen a young Chinese girl play the piano on the Ed Sullivan Show and wanted Jing-mei to be just like her, a prodigy. Tan shows how there is tension between Jing-mei and her mother by emphasizing how Jing-mei wants her mother to stop thinking she is a prodigy. This connects to the theme by showing how Jing-mei did not understand why her mother’s perspective on how she wanted Jing-mei to be a prodigy Another symbol in the story that connects to the theme is when Jing-mei found another piece that was part of “Pleading Child”, the song she played at the talent show. Jing-mei “noticed the piece” next to “Pleading Child” called “’Perfectly Contented’”. After playing the song, Jing-mei “realized they were two halves of the same song” (16). The two songs symbolize Jing-mei's perspective over time and her final understanding of why her mother wanted her to become a prodigy. The “Pleading Child” piece symbolizes her as a child and how she was pleading to stop playing the piano while the “Perfectly Contented” piece symbolized her happiness when she got the piano from her mother. This connects to the theme by showing how Jing-mei did not understand her mother’s perspective on being a prodigy until she became older and received the piano for her thirtieth birthday. Ultimately, Jing-mei wants to herself and does not want to be pushed around. She is so involved in making her mother see that becoming a prodigy is not for her, that she does not realize why her mother is doing what she is doing. Jing-mei only realizes why her mother wanted her to become a prodigy when she matures.