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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many sons does Auntie Lindo have in the story?

2. Of the composition that the piano prodigy plays on The Ed Sullivan Show, Jing-Mei says, “I remember the song, because later on” what?

3. What is the nickname that Auntie Lindo’s daughter is known by in the area where Jing-Mei grows up?

4. How long ago has Jing-Mei’s mother died when she sends the tuner to recondition the piano at the end of the story?

5. What does Jing-Mei say to defend the young piano player on The Ed Sullivan Show when her mother criticizes her performance?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the narrative style of the story. Who is the narrator and how is her perspective defined?

2. How does the concept of identity relate centrally to the conflicts in “Two Kinds”?

3. How does the narrative style in “Two Kinds” shift throughout the story? Why does it shift?

4. What “transformation” does Jing-Mei undergo while looking into the mirror as a child?

5. What comment does Waverly Jong make to Jing-Mei after her performance at the talent show? How does this make Jing-Mei feel?

6. How does Jing-Mei describe her mother’s immigration to America in the opening of the story? What did she leave behind?

7. What innovations in literary style is Amy Tan known for?

8. How does Jing-Mei respond to her mother’s news that she will be taking piano lessons?

9. How does Jing-Mei describe the process of playing scales for Mr. Chong?

10. In what ways can the reader see early in the story that Jing-Mei’s ambitions (and her mother’s) are misplaced?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the setting of “Two Kinds” and examine the population, culture, and history of San Francisco’s Chinatown. How large is this neighborhood in the city? How diverse is its population? How did Chinatown differ in the 1950s from today?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the history of Chinese immigration in the United States. In what ways have Chinese immigrants faced different hurdles in assimilating into American or other Western cultures as immigrants? How is this seen in Jing-Mei’s family in “Two Kinds”?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the actions, objectives, and obstacles of Jing-Mei Woo in “Two Kinds.” What is Jing-Mei’s ultimate goal (objective) in the story? How does she go about achieving this objective? What obstacles stand in her way? How does she overcome these obstacles?

(see the answer keys)

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