Background Knowledge: "Two Kinds"

Background Knowledge: "Two Kinds"

a short story by Amy Tan

Introduction

The story is mostly about two characters: Jing-mei (a schoolgirl), and her mom. Jing-mei is an only child and her mom pressures her to be successful.

​

Part of the pressure is because the mom is an immigrant from China. She's had a hard life and wants better for Jing-mei.

​

​

​

​

​

Introduction

Mom sees America as a land of opportunity and thinks that here, kids can grow up to be anything they want. They can even become child prodigies.

A prodigy is someone who has amazing talents or abilities, such as...

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple was a very famous child actress in the 1930's. Many people thought she was a prodigy. She was known for singing, dancing, and a curly hairdo. Little girls everywhere wanted to be just like her.

​

Jing-mei's mom wants her to be just like Shirley, too.

Multiple Choice

What was Shirley Temple famous for?

• being an actress

• having curly hair

• being a singer and a dancer

• all of the above

In fact...

Mom is so obsessed with Jing-mei becoming a prodigy like Shirley, she takes her to get the Shirley Temple hairdo. The curls were called "ringlets" because they were shaped like a ring.

...but the results are very different!

Jing-mei's hair doesn't look so cute!

Only one solution:

The only way to fix it is to get a "Peter Pan" haircut.

Multiple Choice

Based on the picture, we can guess it's called a "Peter Pan" hairstyle because:

• It is short and looks like "boy" hair (like Peter Pan)

• It gives you special powers

• It probably takes a lot of work to style it

Meanwhile...

Jing-mei's mom hasn't given up on the idea that her daughter can become famous. She feels even more confident when she sees a little girl playing the piano on a TV show called The Ed Sullivan Show.

The Ed Sullivan Show

This was a famous tv show that featured musicians, comedians, actors, performers, and other famous people. It was kind of like what SNL or late night shows are now and it was on tv from 1948-1971. It was a BIG deal to be on this show!

An idea...

After watching this show, Mom decides what Jing-mei will become, and that's when the problem begins...

Open Ended

What do you think Jing-mei's mom wants her to do to become a famous prodigy?

Multiple Choice

Vocab Time! The word "prodigy" means:

• someone, usually a child, with amazing talent

• someone who has gone to college

• someone famous

Multiple Choice

Another word for "curls"

• locks

• braids

• ringlets

Multiple Choice

Which word best matches the description of a "prodigy"?

• quiet

• loud

• genius

• kid