View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When Jing-Mei’s mother still lived in China, her husband was serving as an officer where?

2. How does Jing-Mei describe the secondhand piano that her parents bought for her?

3. At the end of the story, Jing-Mei says, “After I had the piano tuned, I opened the lid and touched the keys.” How does she say it sounded?

4. What does Mr. Chong live in relation to Jing-Mei’s family when she’s growing up?

5. Which of the following is a major theme throughout “Two Kinds”?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Jing-Mei discover about playing the piano as she begins her studies with Mr. Chong?

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

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

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

7. How does Jing-Mei feel about her mother’s ambitions for her at first when she is a child?

8. What does Jing-Mei overhear her mother and Auntie Lindo talking about after she’s studied piano for a year?

9. What discovery does Jing-Mei make regarding the song she played at the talent show in the end of the story?

10. How does Jing-Mei describe her life as she passed from childhood to adulthood? In what ways does she say she disappointed her mother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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 Jing-Mei’s visit to the beauty salon and the actions that take place in this setting. Where is the Mission district? Why does Jing-Mei’s mother take her there to have her hair done? What are her expectations for the hairdo, and what are the results?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 992 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample