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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. What does Jing-Mei respond to her mother on the phone when her mother offers her the piano for her birthday and says, “You could been genius if you wanted to”?

2. What composition does the piano prodigy play by Edvard Grieg on The Ed Sullivan Show as Jing-Mei and her mother watch?

3. What similarity does Amy Tan share with Jing-Mei from “Two Kinds”?

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

5. What word from the story means to play music with a vibratory or quavering effect?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How do Suyuan Woo’s ambitions in the beginning of the story set up the central conflict in “Two Kinds”?

4. How does Jing-Mei describe the piece she is to play at the talent show? How does she describe her practice for the performance?

5. What does Jing-Mei find when she takes her bow after her performance at the talent show?

6. What happens when Suyuan Woo quizzes her daughter on country capitals? What other activities does she test out on Jing-Mei when she is young?

7. What cultural similarities can be seen between the author’s childhood and that of Jing-Mei in “Two Kinds”?

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

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

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

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 theme of the American Dream in “Two Kinds.” How does the theme manifest in the story? How does this theme relate to the character of Suyuan Woo? What symbolism is used in the narrative to reinforce this theme?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss the character of Mr. Chong in “Two Kinds.” What was Mr. Chong’s profession prior to his retirement? How old does Jing-Mei perceive Mr. Chong to be? Where does Mr. Chong live? How does Mr. Chong relate to Jing-Mei?

(see the answer keys)

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