Reading response - Assignment Example

Story Response Do the cultural differences between the immigrant mother and the Americanized daughter intensify theirstruggle?Mixed up in two relatively strong cultures, Chinese and American cultures, the mother and the daughter are in constant struggle. The mother had left China after losing her husband and two of her children and headed to America in search of a better life. The mother wanted an improved life for her Americanized daughter whom she forced to jump from one prodigy to the next in search of a befitting one.

Additionally, the mother wants the daughter to uphold the Chinese culture by becoming a Chinese Shirley Temple. As such, the daughter is forced to watch significantly many Shirley movies and at one point is taken to beauty training school (Walker). However, due to the cultural difference the plan of making the daughter a Shirley Temple seems to be failing. The mother is also focused on making the daughter do different tests every night. The tests are seemingly unrelated since they are from different magazines and the continued daughter’s failures to get the correct answers brings great disappointment to both of them.

These failures can be attributed to cultural differences that cause different likes. However, after a rebellion from the daughter who wants to do music, the mother allows her and hires a piano teacher. Nonetheless, the performance is still relatively poor prompting the girl to stop attending the piano classes. The daughter is in between two string cultures and due to the cultural conflict does not seem to fit perfectly at one place. Although unaware, efforts to fit in the two cultures are the main reason for her continued failures in the different activities.2. Most readers are sympathetic to Maggie and not Dee.

Why is that? Write a sympathetic response to Dee.Maggie is portrayed as humble and innocent girl with great enthusiasm for her heritage and tradition. Unlike Dee, Maggie is shy and has seemingly no courage to face difficult life situations thereby provoking sympathy. Conversely, Dee is seemingly absorbed in a different culture and has always had great interest in reading and achieving a different lifestyle. Although she is not very bright, she struggles and brings forth great effort. This is a show of determination just as she was determined to court Jimmy T by reading to him although he took off to marry a “cheap city girl”.

Additionally, Dee is bold and has great courage to face any situation even the seemingly difficult ones. However, Dee seems to know little about her heritage as compared to Maggie. In fact, the seemingly few cultural things she knows and likes are wrongly placed. For example, she wants the butter churn curved by her uncle only for decoration purposes rather than considering it to have some cultural meaning. Moreover, she changed her family name from Dee to Wangero despite the fact that Dee held a sense of heritage since it ran in the family for generations.

However, Dee has great interest in keeping protecting some of the things that would remind her of her heritage. For example, she would love to have the quilts made by her grandma, Dee, and hang them so that they would not be torn. ‘Mama’ however had promised to give them to Maggie and despite Maggie’s willingness to give them to Dee, ‘Mama’ insists that they are Maggie’s (Tan). It is Dee’s wish that Maggie and the mother would strive to improve their way of living, perhaps, embrace some modernity.

Works CitedTan, Amy. Two Kinds.Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. 1973.