The Dream Is Not Dead, By Amy Tan - 1393 Words

The American Dream has been the ultimate goal for those who are not gifted with money, power, or status. It is the dream for those same people who start with nothing, but work endlessly for the sake of a better future. The dream is not dead; it is forsaken. Those who read Amy Tan’s Two Kinds will usually warrant Jing-Mei as the story’s heroine. Without even a thought, the audience will view Jing-Mei as a courageous young girl who discovers her true self amid her tyrannous mother’s overwhelming expectations. However, what if the lens were flipped for a moment? One can also view Jing-Mei is a devious young girl, who discovers her darker side by giving up on her own American Dream in spite of all of her mother’s efforts and hopes. Readers may not notice at first, but all of Jing-Mei’s actions grant her the title of evil. To explain this further, this essay will examine the idea of the American Dream with respect to Jing-Mei’s mother and the symbol of Shirley Temple, there will then be a transition when we realize Jing-Mei is the opposite of the American Dream, and lastly we will examine her final step to becoming the true villain by which she annihilates her own mother’s dream. A recurring t heme is the American Dream. The notion that one can overcome the systematic and cultural odds by being a diligent worker. Jing-Mei’s mother is a strong believer in this spirit as it is her last and only hope. She had recently lost her whole family in 1949 when the communists took overShow MoreRelatedThe Two Kinds By Amy Tan1272 Words   |  6 Pagesrepresenting 11% of the national population. The children of such immigrants in the U.S., also known as second generation immigrants, experience a cultural conflict between that of their parents and that of mainstream U.S. society† (Wikipedia 1). Amy Tan the author of â€Å"Two Kinds†, and the young character in the story both are a second generation immigrants, who have struggled in their life with parents, about the culture they assimilating and their real culture. In the â€Å"Two Kinds† story the authorRead More`` Two Kinds `` By Amy Tan And The Rocking Horse Winner Essay1458 Words   |  6 Pages The Cusp of Success A common theme we see in the two stories, â€Å"Two Kinds† by Amy Tan, and â€Å"The Rocking Horse-Winner† by D.H Lawrence is the detrimental effects that a forcing a bar of success can have on developing adolescents. Recognizing that the product of success is generally good, clouds the notion that there is in fact a wide range of effects that chasing success can bring about. Some of these effects have positive repercussions, teaching adolescents discipline and work ethic. 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By using this narrator, Amy Tan allows the story to come alive through the eyes of a child. Jing-Mei, who is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant, paints the picture of her relationship between herself and her overbearing mother. Being the protagonist of the story, Jing-Mei is able to portray what she is going throughRead More Improving Mother/Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club1216 Words   |  5 PagesImproving Mother/Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club One day everything is going great, in fact things could not be better and then you say something and your friend turns to you and says â€Å"oh my god, you sounded just like your mother†.   That is when you freak out and think to yourself it is true I am turning into my mother.   This is every daughters worst nightmare come true.   When a young girl is growing up her mother always says and does things that the girl vows she will neverRead MorePlunging The Joy Luck Club by Amt Tan Essay1131 Words   |  5 PagesThe Joy Luck Club (1985) was written by Amy Tan (1952). The Joy Luck Club is the story of a Chinese mother who leaves everything behind, a mother who leaves her family in China in order to get her children (in this case our protagonist June) a better life. Or as Amy Tan says: â€Å"The Joy Luck Club, about a woman whose mother has just died and who regrets that she never knew who she truly was. The stories poured out. They were what I felt and had to say before i t was too late. I had found my reason to