A mother’s love for her children is supposed to be something that never dies. The problem is, this “love” can be expressed in many ways. Sometimes, thelove is shown in such a way that there is no doubt that this woman would doanything for her offspring. Sometime, this love can be viewed, as a way thatthat the mother is trying to mold her daughter into what she believes is the”right” way to behave. Other times, the mother is trying her best to makesure that her child is doing HER best.
These three types of “love” areexpressed in the three short stories “Girl,” “Gravity,” and “TwoKinds. ” The mother in “Girl” is portrayed as an overbearing monster. Forsome unknown reason, she has given her daughter many guidelines by which she hasto live by. The reason may be that the mother was a rebel in her childhood. Itcould be that the mother has a vision of what her daughter is to be like. Thereason is unknown.
But what is known is that this mother won’t take anythingless than what she thinks a lady should be like. To the knowledge of the reader,the child has done nothing wrong to have to receive this reprimanding. The mostdemeaning section of the tirade is when the mother says “. . . ` so to preventyou from becoming the slut you are so bent on becoming.
‘” (Kincaid 13) Thismother, for whatever reason it may be, has the idea that her daughter, who sheis SUPPOSED to love with all her heart, has her young mind set on becoming aslut. Every time the daughter tried to throw in a comment, it goes all fornaught. The mother does not even respond to the comment that her child says. Theproblem is this story might have been resolved; it might have not been resolved. No one will know.
But, the odds are that if the mother will act like this now,there are no signs of her changing anytime in the near future. The daughter inthis story has to live with the reality that her mother has a mindset of what awoman is. Unfortunately, it appears to be virtually impossible to fill the moldthat her mother has for her. In “Gravity,” the mother has been put into anawful situation.
Her son, who seems to be about 30 years old, has the AIDSvirus. He has grown weak and feeble. He basically relies on his mother for allhis needs. This mother is portrayed as a mother that will (and unfortunately hasto) do anything for her son.
Even when he was a little child who could not see,his mother lent him her glasses so he could see “Fiddler on the Roof. ” Shedid this with full knowledge that she would be forced to squint for the entireshowing. The mother herself has her own sicknesses, which she has to deal with. But, even still, she puts her son’s well – being before hers.
. . just like shehas when he was a little child who couldn’t see. The mother not only doesthings to help her son physically, she does things to help him emotionally. Whenshe and her son are in a shop purchasing a gift bowl, she tossed the $500 glassbowl to her feeble son. To the surprise of her son and everyone else in thestore, he held on.
Theo, the son, was overwhelmed with joy that he didn’t seea pile of glass in front of his feet. As good as a mother as she is, she doeshave some flaws. First, she somewhat gives the impression that she has beenannoyed with the situation. She also feels that people are always looking downon them. Eventually, it is assumed that the son will pass away.
To this day, nocure for AIDS has been found. No matter what, Theo, has always known, and alwayswill know, that his mother would have moved the world to see him with a smile onhis face. After all, she had been doing whatever it took to make him happy sincehe was a little child. “Two Kinds” is a story in which a mother believesthat her daughter could be the absolute best at something. . .
as long as she puther mind to it. Unfortunately for the mother, she and her daughter did not seeeye to eye in this. The mother in this story is a Chinese immigrant who leftbasically everything to start her life over in the USA. She has always had thebelief that anyone can become anything they wanted in the US as long as they puttheir mind to it. She would sit in front of the TV or read a magazine and seeall these child prodigies.
Whether it be Shirley Temple on the “Ed Sullivanshow” or a three-year-old boy who could name all the capitals in the UnitedStates and even the capitals of some European countries, the mother had her mindset that that could be her daughter. Her daughter, has the opposite belief. Shebelieves that there is no conceivable way that she could become one of theseprodigies. Her mother tests her intelligence as well as her musical ability, butit all is to no avail.
After seeing a piano recital on the “Ed SullivanShow,” her mother made up her mind that her daughter was going to be aworld-renowned pianist. Her mother signed her up for lessons with an old man intheir apartment building. Since her daughter believed that it was impossible forher to become to prodigy in piano, she didn’t try anything close to hermaximum ability. Then, during a musical showcase, her daughter tried to performa song. It was a disgrace. There were mistakes left and right.
It broke hermother’s heart to see that her daughter wasn’t great at something. Soonafter the disaster at the recital, Nikan had a fight with her mother about thewhole piano situation. The fight got to the point that Nikan said to her mother”Then I wish I weren’t your daughter. I wish you weren’t my mother.
“(Tan 34) Her mother was in complete shock over what she had just heard. Theevents that took place that afternoon were never mentioned again. The two hadmoved on almost like it never happened. Her mother no longer pushed her tobecome something her daughter believed she never could be. She either acceptedher daughter for what she was, or she finally realized that her daughter had nodesire, in anyway shape or form, to become a star. She didn’t want to live the”American Dream.
” Mothers do what they feel best for their children. Maybethe children do not believe that they are meaning well. But, if you look deepinto the heart of the situation, you will see that “love” is beingexpressed.
