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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 end of the story of her mother that she had “never found a way to ask her why she had hoped for something so large that” what “was inevitable”?

2. When was Edvard Grieg born?

3. What word does Jing-Mei use to describe Auntie Lindo’s daughter in the narrative?

4. Jing-Mei is to play a song from what Schumann opus at the talent show?

5. Of her first lessons with Mr. Chong, Jing-Mei says, “I would play after him, the simple scale, the simple chord and then I just played some nonsense that sounded like” what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Amy Tan employ the techniques of oral tradition in “Two Kinds”?

2. How do Suyuan Woo’s actions in the story encourage the wrong responses from her daughter? What effects does this have on Jing-Mei?

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

4. How does Jing-Mei say her perceptions differed from her mother’s in regard to ambition as she looks back at the end of the story?

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

6. How does Jing-Mei describe her performance at the talent show?

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

9. How are the pressures of immigrant families depicted through the character of Suyuan Woo in “Two Kinds”?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the song “Pleading Child” from Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood and examine the symbolism of this song in the story. How does this song correlate to Jing-Mei’s relationship with her mother? What does she later discover about the song?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss the character of Lindo Jong in “Two Kinds.” How well do Jing-Mei and her mother know Lindo? What kind of relationship does Suyuan Woo have with this friend? How do the Woos feel about the Jong family?

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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