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Function of a Short Story

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In Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds,” she writes about a girl and her relationship with her mother. Amy Tan seems to write this story to show the reader the main character’s aha moment and how she reached that moment. When Ford discusses short stories in his article, he seems to think that there is a moment in every story that changes the life of the main character. He believes that they “make us believe that entire lives can change…on account of one little manufactured moment of clear-sightedness.2” Whatever his opinions on short stories, one thing he said really stood out: moment of clear-sightedness. He believes that one moment in the story stands out more than the rest because of the effect it has on the story. He explains that something magical happens in every story that causes the main characters life to makes sense and come together. Is this even possible? To understand Jing-Mei the reader needs to know a bit more about her background: In “Two Kinds,” Jing-Mei laments over how horrible her life was while her mother attempted to make her a perfect child. Her mother lost everything in China, and moved to America in order to have a better life. Putting all of her efforts into making Jing-Mei a prodigy put serious strain on their relationship, causing tension between them. Jing-Mei is finally able to be happy when her mother gives up and allows her to just be a kid and not to have to worry about pleasing anybody or trying to become something she’s not.
But how did she reach her breaking point? Or as Ford would call it, her moment? Jing-Mei’s mother tells her to go and practice piano after the talent show fiasco. Especially in Asian families, a lot of pressure is put on the children to be successful. In places in Asia where there aren’t a lot of learning opportunities for kids, to be able to live and study in America is a big privilege. Understandably, Jing-Mei was

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