For a lot of us growing up, our mothers have been an integral part of what made us who we are. They have been the one to forgive us when no one else could. They have been the one to comfort us when the world seemed to turn to evil. They have been the one to shelter us when the rain came pouring down. And most importantly, they have been the one to love us when we needed it the most. In “Two Kinds,” by Amy Tan, Jing-mei is a young daughter of a Chinese immigrant. Growing up she had to endure being raised by an overbearing mother as well as deal with psychological struggles within herself. She had to learn how to become a woman on her own terms.
Throughout the story, her mother repeatedly pressures Jing-mei to be something that she is not. She wants Jing-mei to somehow become a prodigy child. She has such high hopes for her daughter that she doesn’t realize the amount of distress she causes Jing-mei. Like all good mothers, she only wants the best for her child.
Since immigrating to America, she believes that anything can be accomplished and she uses her daughter as her outlet to prove it. She continuously gives Jing-mei numerous tests to memorize bible passages and world capitals, and eventually coerces her into taking piano lessons, which becomes the prime focus of her ‘perfect daughter’ determination.
Jing-mei reacts extremely negatively to this pressure. This is only exemplified when she states, “‘I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t be what I am not.” She is forced to take a stance against her mother primarily because she doesn’t want to be forced into becoming something that she is not. Jing-mei feels she must become her true self, a person whom she feels her mother is not to determine for her.
Jing-mei feels uncomfortable with her mother putting so much pressure on her. She is on a continuous struggle within herself to find who she really is. She is constantly distraught over torn feelings of wanting to become her true self and making her mother proud. Still, as time goes on it proves to be better to go against the tide, go against her mother’s wishes. “And after seeing my mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside of me began to die.
Free Essays – Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man
Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man
An enormous emphasis was placed on the ability to think and reason during the Enlightenment. People during this era thought and reasoned about a variety of topics. Some people concerned themselves with the issue of God, which consequently caused many to question the church. Others were concerned with the organization of the Universe, and man’s place within that Universe. The first epistle of Alexander Pope’s “Essay on Man” can be considered an articulation of the Enlightenment because it encompasses three major concerns of the people during the Enlightenment. Pope addresses man’s ability to reason and think for himself, he questions the church and the nature of Christianity, and he also speculates about man’s place in the world, as apart of the great chain of life.
The ability to reason was the central focus of the Enlightenment also denoted The Age of Reason. Pope begins epistle one by appealing to the reason of his audience. He writes, “Together let us beat this ample field, / Try to open, what the covert yield!” Pope encourages his audience to use the reason they have been given, to examine those things that have been advised against. To reason about those issues which have been kept in secrecy. He then goes on to write “say first, of God above, or man below, / What can we reason, but from what we know?” Pope again is addressing the ability of his audience to reason. He is trying to bring them into the 18th century, asking them to look for evidence in the knowledge they receive, rather then allowing the church to spoon-feed them all of their knowledge.
bodyOffer() During the Enlightenment, people began to question the church for the first time. Pope exemplifies this when he writes, “no Christians thirst for gold.” Pope subtly questions the nature of Christianity and Christians by exposing their own sinful desire for material goods. His words are simple, but they say a lot. By acknowledging that these Christians sin, and “thirst for gold,” he asks then why a man is looked down upon if they do not aspire to be Christian, since Christians have a sinful nature just like that of every other man. Pope was not alone in questioning Christianity and the church. David Hume writes, “the Truth of Christian Religion is less than the Evidence for the Truth of our Senses…” Many writers during the Enlightenment not only questioned Christianity, but also the church in general.