Two Kinds compare/contrast
Most children rebel against their mother or grandmother at some point in time. The characters in Amy Tan's "Two kinds" and my story were similar in this aspect. Although the way felt about our mother/grandmother, the reasons we rebelled, and the way we went about it are very different. On the other hand, in the end of the stories, both I and Ni-Kan had similar feeling towards our mother/grandmother.
How Ni-Kan in "Two kinds" and my story felt about our mother/grandmother was completely different. Even though Ni-Kan rebelled, she still loved her mother. This was proven after the piano recital when she said "But my mother's expression is what devastated me." If she didn't love her mother the look wouldn't have bothered her. I on the other hand, didn't care for my grandmother. The proof of this comes when I viciously grabs her arm and then tells her to shut up. I even say that I resent her, because I felt completely detached.
The reasons Ni-Kan and me rebelled are also very different. Ni-Kan rebelled because after seeing her mother's disappointed face over and over she said she felt "something inside begin to die." She thought that by rebelling her mother wouldn't expect that much from her and wouldn't be disappointed as often. She also thought her mother was trying to change her into something she wasn't so she said, "I won't let her change me... I won't be what I'm not." When I rebelled because I resented my grandmother and all the sacrifices she made for me. I also resented the fact that she thinks I need to do everything she said including who I should be friends with. I always remember first time I bring a friend from Africa she told him to get out my house N-word.
The way we went about rebelling was totally different. Ni-Kan rebelled in a more subtle, loving manner. To rebel she pretended to be bored when her mother gave her tests. She also refused to learn to play the piano properly. She also told her mother "I wish I'd never been born!" and "I wished I were dead!" I rebelled in a crueler, heartless manner. To rebel I intentionally did things to aggravate and hurt my grandmother. Some of the things I did to prove this was grabbing her arm viscously, telling her to "shut up," and telling her that black people dont give a damn about your graciousness. To annoy her I also purposely sat by black people and tried to strike up a conversation with them, in front of her.
At the end of the stories, both Ni-Kan and I had similar feelings towards our mother or grandmother. Ni-Kan felt guilty because she never got to ask her mother the question that frightened her most, Why had she given up hope?" I felt guilt and sorrow because of the way I treated my grandmother. I felt sorrow because of the fact that the only person I had a relationship with was my grandmother. And guilt because I felt that it was my fault she died. We also felt guilty because we knew it was too late to tell our mother or grandmother that we were wrong or to make up for what we had done.
In the beginning, both Ni-Kan and I rebelled against our mother/grandmother, although the way we felt about our mother/grandmother the reasons and why we did it were different. Ni-Kan did it so she would no longer be a disappointment to her mother and she did not want her mother to change who she was. I did it out of spite and resentfulness. I also did it because I liked intentionally hurting and angering my grandmother. But in the end we both felt guilty about it when we realized we were wrong and it was too late to change it.
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