All over the world today, hundreds of people are desperate to leave their home countries and come to the United States for various reasons such as, to escape to war, poverty and famine, believing they could find relief on American soil. In Amy Tan's Two Kinds, she uses the nonconformist Jing Mei and her indigenous mother's expectation of obedience to depict the culture clash and how it affected the relationship between the two. Jing Mei's mother moved to San Francisco, California in 1949 to seek a better life. In doing so, she left her hometown, China, to become part of her memories rather than a reality. Moving to America, as Mei grew up her mother had more expectations of her being a prodigy, she believed she could be good at anything she wanted which throughout this story , turns into a clash of cultures as their relationship between the two diminishes considerably. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Jing Mei can be considered an ideal Americanized child, who grew up in America since birth. Her mother, who grew up in China and lived such a difficult life, adapting to traditional Chinese ways, which are radically different from normal Americanized ways of doing things, she took her adapted Chinese lifestyles with her when she moved in America. . Chinese people are known to be very obedient, loyal, hardworking and very intelligent. Growing up in China is not easy, especially in the old days, parents sometimes beat their children if they didn't get more than an A in school, or were simply punished for not being obedient to their parents. Comparing this to an Americanized child, it's much easier for them, which makes us understand why Mei's mother acted the way she acted in this story. Jing Mei's mother expected her to be the best at everything, which meant that any questions she asked her she had to know the answer to, otherwise she would feel disappointed. This really affected Jing Mei in a way because she felt like she was being controlled by her mother, forcing her to do things and know things that she didn't want to. This plays a huge role in their relationship, if I had to put myself in his shoes I would have felt the same way. How can anyone tell me to be something I don't want to be? It lacks motivation, it makes the person very depressed because we feel obligated not to let our parents down, after everything they have done for us. Jing Mei had this instinct, she didn't want to let her parents down, but at the same time she didn't want to be forced to do something she didn't want to do, especially playing the piano, which can be very conflicting mentally and emotionally. Also, after Mei's mother watched the Ed Sullivan show which aired a young Chinese girl playing the piano, her mother complained about how she sounded horrible even though she played the right notes . Jing Mei retaliates by asking her mother why she was picking on her, and as she does so, Mei responds, “She’s pretty good.” She may not be the best, but she tries hard. Even though Mei feels like she regretted saying that, deep down she feels that way towards her mother. After watching the Ed Sullivan show, her mother schedules her to start taking piano lessons without consulting Mei about it, causing her to feel anger, hatred, and sadness towards her mother. "Why don't you love me the way I am?.