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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. Jing-Mei says in the beginning of the story that at first her mother thought she could be a Chinese Shirley Temple. “We’d watch Shirley’s old movies on TV as though they were” what?

2. What color does Jing-Mei say her mother knitted sweaters in, which were also “all the colors I hated”?

3. How does Jing-Mei describe her mother’s first children in the beginning of the story?

4. After Jing-Mei’s mother tells her that she has enrolled her in piano lessons, Jing-Mei says, “When my mother told me this, I felt as though I had been” what?

5. What is Jing-Mei’s last name in the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What offer does Jing-Mei’s mother make her approaching Jing-Mei’s thirtieth birthday?

2. What performer fascinates Suyuan Woo while watching the Ed Sullivan Show early in the story? How does Jing-Mei respond?

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

4. What does Jing-Mei discover about Mr. Chong’s disabilities as she studies with him? How does this discovery influence her actions?

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

6. How does Jing-Mei’s mother look after her performance at the talent show? What does Jing-Mei think as she watches the following performances?

7. What does Jing-Mei say to her mother to hurt her during their conflict in the climax of the story? How does Suyuan respond?

8. What arrangement is made between Suyuan Woo and Mr. Chong in regards to Jing-Mei’s piano study and practice?

9. What does Jing-Mei describe doing every night with her mother at the kitchen table as a child in the beginning of the story?

10. What do the Schumann songs at the end of the story represent symbolically?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of sacrifice as illustrated through the character of Suyuan Woo in “Two Kinds.” In what ways is “sacrifice” a central theme in the process of Suyuan’s immigration to the U.S.? What has she sacrificed in order for her daughter to have a better life?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss Suyuan Woo’s idolization of Shirley Temple in “Two Kinds.” What did Shirley Temple symbolize to the American people (and others) during the Great Depression? Why does she hope for her daughter to share these qualities? How does she go about molding Jing-Mei after Shirley Temple?

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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