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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 “Two Kinds,” “My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open” 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 word does Jing-Mei use in describing Mr. Chong’s silent instrumental compositions with a vague and dreamy character?
4. How does Jing-Mei describe Auntie Lindo’s smile when she looks out at the audience before beginning her piano solo at the talent show?
5. What “magic word” as in conjuring does Jing-Mei use to describe the effect of her having said hurtful things to her mother during their fight about piano practice?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does Jing-Mei describe the piece she is to play at the talent show? How does she describe her practice for the performance?
2. How does Jing-Mei feel about her mother’s ambitions for her at first when she is a child?
3. How does Jing-Mei feel as she prepares to perform at the talent show?
4. How does the central conflict of the story begin to manifest in Jing-Mei’s mind following her revelation in the mirror?
5. 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?
6. How does Jing-Mei describe her life as she passed from childhood to adulthood? In what ways does she say she disappointed her mother?
7. How does the conflict that marks the climax of the story begin? How much time has passed since Jing-Mei’s performance at the talent show?
8. Who attends the talent show when Jing-Mei performs? How does Jing-Mei take the stage?
9. How does Jing-Mei respond to her mother’s offer on her thirtieth birthday?
10. What does Jing-Mei overhear her mother saying about her to Auntie Lindo midway through the story?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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 2
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 3
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”?
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This section contains 902 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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