Section 2: Twenty-Six Malignant Gates, Chapter 4: Two Kinds

Chapter 2
Two Kinds
Jing-Mei (June) Woo

This chapter is about June revisiting her childhood. It is about the pain and dissatisfaction of never becoming the prodigy that her mother tried to turn her into. After having to hear Lindo's constant bragging of her daughter Waverly, Suyuan tried to express her daughter's "inner prodigy". At first, June was open to the idea and tried a wide variety of talents. But after falling short of her mother's expectations countless times, June stood in front of the mirror and promised she wouldn't allow her mother to twist her into something she was not. Eventaully, Suyuan made June start playing the piano. She was instructed by their neighbor, Mr. Chong. June soon discovered that Mr. Chong was deaf, so she began to get away with playing the wrong notes but keeping the right rhythym. Soon, Suyuan entered June into a talent contest. Even though June was totally unprepared, she believed that her "inner talent" would make itself shown. The preformance proved to be a disaster, entire the entire Joy Luck Club and, of course, Lindo. A couple days after, Suyuan insisted that June practice piano. Being fed up, June refused and said she wished she was dead like her two sisters. Suyuan never asked June to play again. Years later, June recieved the family piano from her parent's as her thirtieth birthday gift. She had it tuned and played the song from her preformance, "Pleading Child". She then played the piece on the page next to it, "Perfectly Contented", and found each piece was complementary to eachother.
This chapter is about a clash between mother and daughter. A mother's faith in perseverence, and a daughters sense of uselessness. After looking at herself through her mirror, June promises that she will not allow her mother to change her. From this, she never devoted any of her will to trying to be good at something. The pain that June felt after falling short of her mother's expectations stems not only from dissapointment in herself, but the dissapointment from her mother. The shame and pain follows her through life. Her shame could possibly stem from the guilt she feels for willing to fail.
I also looked at Suyuan's side of the story. I highly doubt that this push to find June's "inner prodigy" was just for bragging rights. I feel that after losing her two daughters, she wanted to push June to find her strengths. What June thought to be manipulation and control, I found to be something quite different. I think Suyuan truly believed in her daughter and wanted to express her abilities. June discovers this when her mother gives her the piano. Suyuan then understands what June thought the piano lessons were all about, and by giving her the piano she offers her a chance to pick up where she left off but for herself and no one else. Sadly, after Suyuan's death, June discovers that what her mother did was not just a product of cruel expectations, but of love and faith. By playing the two songs, "Pleading Child" and "Perfectly Contented", she realizes the journey she has made from being pained and longing for her mother's approval to understanding why her mother pushed her so hard.