The story's theme for "Two Kinds"by Amy Tan focuses on a mother/daughter relationship. Jing Mei's mother lived a difficult live in China. She pressures Jing Mei to excel in America where it's easier for a girl to be successful in today's day and age. The problem is that Jing Mei's mother thinks that being successful means being exceptional at something. This being said, Jing Mei must take all sorts of piano lessons in order to become a "child protegee".