Comparison/Contrast Essay

Oblique lines can be drawn to connect the similarities and differences from the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan to “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Although each short story has a different setting, ethnicity, theme, meaning, purpose, past and/present characters, we are still able to determine which characters resembles one another as well as the actions that are portrayed from one character in one story that mirrors another character from the other story. These two stories may have the same point-of-view, but can differ in their way of detailing and explanation. Therefore these were the similarities and differences between the two short stories that caught my attention.
First thing that caught my attention was the difference in the ethnicity. The ethnicities can influence the way things are done because all cultures are simply not the same and handles situations differently. The story Two Kinds has a Chinese background, which most of us could relate to. Everyday use has an African American background, which most of us could also relate to as well. The stories are told in different perspectives, but they are both in first person. In Two Kinds, the daughter is telling the story of how her mother believed that you could be anything you want, but there was a trick to that. On the first page in the fourth paragraph, it talks about how the mother chooses what the daughter’s prodigy is going to be. That goes to show us that the Mother in this story has the “Upper Hand” or the “ Do-As-I-Say” voice that most of us African Americans rebel against towards our parents. We’re told to do it whether we liked it or not as well. In Everyday use, the mother is telling the story on the difference between her two daughters and how they carry themselves as individuals, there attitudes, and also a glance on their past life before they are all grown up.

The next thing that caught my attention was the similarities in attitudes between the daughters Dee and The Chinese mother. Dee tells her mom she wants something for keepsake, but her intrepid mother tells her no. So Dee gets really angry and leaves simply because she didn’t get what she wants. The Chinese mother gets upset with her daughter because her daughter is not taking her training seriously. She stops for a while, but then she’s right back at it with a new prodigy that doesn’t last that long. In my opinion, the Two Kinds short story reminds me of the movie Mommy Dearest , which could also be compared to it. These were a few of the obvious similarities and differences between the two short stories that I could point out. Although there are plenty more, I do not dare to bore you with my opinionated selections and poor choice of wording. These two stories have very alike cultures but different ethnicities which could lead things to be handled in different ways .