Scribd
Upload
23 views

Comprehension Questions, acting, essays

The document contains comprehension questions and literary analysis prompts related to the short story 'Two Kinds' by Amy Tan, focusing on the relationship between a mother and her daughter, their cultural background, and the themes of ambition and identity. It also includes activities for acting out scenes and writing essays on related topics. The questions explore character motivations, conflicts, and the significance of the mother's experiences in shaping her expectations for her daughter.

Uploaded by

Tim Yackley
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
23 views

Comprehension Questions, acting, essays

The document contains comprehension questions and literary analysis prompts related to the short story 'Two Kinds' by Amy Tan, focusing on the relationship between a mother and her daughter, their cultural background, and the themes of ambition and identity. It also includes activities for acting out scenes and writing essays on related topics. The questions explore character motivations, conflicts, and the significance of the mother's experiences in shaping her expectations for her daughter.

Uploaded by

Tim Yackley
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Comprehension Questions:

Part 1
1. Describe how the mother sees America.

2. What hopes does the mother have for her daughter?

3. How does the mother try to turn her daughter into a prodigy?

4. How does the daughter react to the mother’s efforts?

5. Why does the mother decide to pay for her daughter’s piano lessons?

6. Describe the daughter’s piano teacher.

7. Why does the daughter not improve her piano skills?

8. Why has Waverly Jon gained fame?

9. How does the protagonist’s mother react to Waverly’s fame?

Part 2
1. What preparations did the parents make before the talent show?

2. How did the daughter feel when she started playing at the talent show?

3. What happened during her performance?

4. How did the audience react to the daughter’s performance?

5. What was the mother’s reaction to her daughter’s failure?

6. What did the daughter believe that her fiasco would lead to?

7. Why is there a clash between mother and daughter?

8. What is the outcome of the clash?

9. What role did the piano come to play for the daughter later in life?

Literary Analysis:
1. The short story is called “Two Kinds". How do you understand the title?

2. Which themes do you find in the short story?


3. a. Comment on the mother's language, giving some examples of her faulty English.
What does this add to the text?
b. Can you make a sentence or two in her speaking style? Be creative and try
saying it out loud!

4. In the first part of the story there is a scene in which the daughter sees herself in
the mirror. What does she see? What thematic significance could this scene have?

5. Two strong-willed characters are pitted against each other in this story. What went
wrong in the relationship between mother and daughter? Can you understand
them?

6. In the conflict between mother and daughter the father is absent. Why do you think
the father is not part of the conflict?

7. Read carefully the parts dealing with the mother’s earlier life in China. How have
her earlier experiences shaped her ambitions for her daughter?

8. The daughter plays two pieces on the piano, “Pleading Child” and “Perfectly
Contented”. How could these two titles be related to her own life?

9. How could “Two Kinds” be considered a short story dealing with typical
multicultural challenges?

Point of View:

Looking back as an adult, the author Amy Tan tells her story in the

first person (“I” point of view). The conflict and tension between an

overly ambitious mother and her rebellious daughter is very strong.

We feel Jing-Mei's frustration, rage, spitefulness and final failure for

not living up to her mother’s dreams and expectations in America.

Select a part of the story that illustrates this conflict and rewrite it

from the mother's point of view.

Act it Out:
1. Act out a typical dialogue between the mother and the daughter.
2. With a partner, imagine you both are in the audience at Jing-Mei's disastrous
performance, and gossip about it afterwards over a lemonade.

3. Be confident that you know what is implied in the expression Tiger Mother. Make a
dialogue between a Tiger Mother and her son/daughter. Take turns.

Essay Writing:

Write an essay on one of the following assignments.

1. Do you think parents should have a say in their children’s future plans? How much
should children be allowed to decide for themselves?

2. Discuss this statement: “It is more difficult for immigrant children to find their
identity than other children.”

3. Is it desirable to grow up without conflicts or are conflicts a necessary part of


growing up? Finally, when do conflicts become destructive?

You might also like