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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 describes Mr. Chong’s mother as having a particular smell about her of what?

2. As Jing-Mei sits down to begin her piano solo at the talent show, she envisions whom rushing up to introduce her to everyone on TV?

3. What illness did Jing-Mei’s mother contract while trying to flee China?

4. When did the Japanese invasion of China take place, leading Jing-Mei’s mother to flee China?

5. What nickname does Jing-Mei say she secretly gave Mr. Chong when she began taking piano lessons with him?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How and when did the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act influence immigration in the U.S.?

3. How does Jing-Mei respond to her mother’s comment about her to Auntie Lindo? What foreshadowing follows this scene?

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

5. Why do you think the author chose to set the story (and the others in The Joy Luck Club) in San Francisco?

6. What theme connects “Two Kinds” to the other stories in The Joy Luck Club?

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

8. How does Jing-Mei describe Mr. Chong’s history in music? How does she describe her first lessons?

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

10. How did critics receive The Joy Luck Club and “Two Kinds” upon publication?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the character of Jing-Mei Woo in “Two Kinds.” How old is Jing-Mei when the narrative begins with her mother’s discussion of child prodigies? Does Jing-Mei comment on the action of the story or does she relate it objectively? How does this reveal her character? How does Jing-Mei change in the course of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Identify and discuss the elements of narrative style in “Two Kinds.” Is the story related in the past, present or future tense? Is the story told from a first, second, or third person narrator? Is the narrator involved in the action? Examine the different reasons the author may have chosen this style. What do you think it adds to the story?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss the character of Suyuan Woo in “Two Kinds.” How does Jing-Mei describe her mother’s tragic history and her immigration into the U.S.? What happened to Suyuan’s young twin daughters? What does Suyuan believe? How does she change in the story?

(see the answer keys)

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