Two Kinds

"I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?"

Suyuan, as with most of the mother's in these parables, wants the best for their children. They believe that they can incorporate both the freedom of America and the values and traditions of Chinese culture. Most of the parents are disappointed about how their daughters have Americanized themselves and the relationships they hold with them because of which. Suyuan starts to develop this lust for her daughter to be the best. Almost all of Jing-mei's childhood was a string of unsuccessful efforts to find her hidden talent. the effect of this was like water and oil.

"...after seeing my mother's disappointed face once again, something inside of me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations...I won't let her change me, I promised myself, I won't be what I'm not." (p. 144)

This is a moment of identity for Jing-mei. Identity is a reoccurring theme within the Joy Luck Club. However when she plays the piano that her mother gives her for the first tie as an adult, she plays well. This is a symbol of her transformation. She is playing to halves to the same song, or the two main stages of her life, "Pleading Child" and "Perfectly Content."