Point of view in Amy Tan's short story, Two KindsIn her short story "Two Kinds", Amy Tan uses her daughter's point of view to share a mother's attempts to control. his daughter's hopes and dreams, providing insight into how their relationship deteriorates. The girl has grown into a young woman and tells the story of coming of age in a family that emigrated from China. In particular, she recounts how her mother's attempts at parental guidance were dominated by foolish hopes and dreams. This dual perspective allows for both the naivety of a young girl trying to identify herself and the hindsight and judgment of a mature woman. “Two Kinds” is a powerful example of different personalities causing struggles between parent and child. In any parent-child relationship, sometimes the parent places expectations on the child. Some children are victims of a parent who tries too hard or sets expectations too high, or, in the case of "Two Kinds," a parent who tries to live their life through their child's life. However, the mother is also a victim in that she succumbs to her own crazy dream that "you could be everything you wanted to be in America." Knowing her time is over, she wants her daughter to succeed by any means necessary, but she never stops to think about what her daughter might want. She strictly adheres to her plan and her authoritarian parenting leaves the girl with nothing but feelings of disapproval and questions of self-esteem. The mother does not realize the controversy she is creating and she cannot understand that her actions could be wrong. She also doesn't realize that she is hurting not only her daughter, but also the relationship that should bind them both... middle of paper... by the wrong person. It is only after her mother's death that she can let her guilt take over her pride. Only after her mother's death, when she can act on her own and not please her mother, does she really play the piano. Their conflict remains unresolved and the mother died believing she had failed as a parent. Throughout their daughter's childhood, both are trapped in their own selfish delusions. Their personalities clash and neither is willing to compromise. It is unfortunate that neither can realize the extent to which they have harmed each other individually and collectively. They are fundamentally the same, but, blinded by tenacity, neither realizes that "they are two halves of the same song." Works Cited Tan, Amy. “Two kinds”. Literature, reading, reaction, writing. 5th ed. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Heinle, 2004.