Literary Term: I found many exclamatory sentences in this chapter. " 'Bravo! Bravo! Well done (140)!' "
" 'Key! Treble! Bass! No sharps or flats! So this is C major! Listen now and play after me (137)!' "
" 'I'm not a genius! I can't play the piano. And even if I could, I wouldn't go on TV if you paid me a million dollars (136)!' "
" 'Play note right, but doesn't sound good (136)!' "
" 'What for! Who ask you (136)!' "
" 'Like Beethoven (137)!' "
" 'We're both listening only in our head (137)!' "
"Old Chong smiled and applauded and then said, 'Very good! But now you must learn to keep time (137)!' "
Amy Tan's purpose for the many exclamatory sentences is to show strong emotion and excitement.
Quote from novel: "I had new thoughts, wilful thoughts, or rather thoughts filled with lots of wont's. I won't let her change me, I promised myself. I won't be what I'm not (134)."
In chapter 8: Two Kinds, Jing-mei's mother is always after her about finding her nitch, special talent, or calling. Jing-mei is never impressed with her mother's ideas. She gets slightly annoyed at her mother for quizzing her constantly to find what she's good at. To Jing-mei, all of this pressure from her mother to be perfect at something is stressful. Jing-mei doesn't aspire to be on television or be a genius, but those are the kinds of things her mother has in mind. It is no surprise when her mother signs her up for piano lessons with the retired piano teacher from upstairs. Jing-mei has no choice but to give piano a try, even though she's never had an interest for it before. Jing-mei begins to realize that she can't just live under her mother's dreams for her. "I had new thoughts, wilful thoughts, or rather thoughts filled with lots of wont's. I won't let her change me, I promised myself. I won't be what I'm not." This quote stood out to me because I beleive Jing-Mei is describing the feeling of being someone she's not. Oftentimes, people clothe themselves in what others want to see. This way, people can avoid letting down, for instance, their parents, if they want their child to be an athlete and the child doesn't want to participate in sports. I feel like most times people are afraid to be themselves. Jing-mei is finding out that she can't let her mother control her. This goes along with one of my favorite quotes. The quote is: "Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else."-Judy Garland
No comments:
Post a Comment