Two Kinds By Amy Tan Essays - Two Kinds, Chinatown

Two Kinds By Amy Tan Amy Tans' heartbreaking story, ?Two Kinds?, is a powerful example of conflicting personalities and needs that cause a struggle between parent and child. In every family, parents have, at one point, imposed their failures and expectations on their children, and in worse cases have even tried to live through their children. At times, it can be in the best interest of the child to have a parent motivate them in a specific direction, but as in this story it can sometimes backfire, and the child can be left with feelings of disapproval and questions of ?self-worth.? Instead of enforcing these standards parents should let their children be individuals, and have them learn through their own conscious decisions, and only interfere when the child is headed in the wrong direction. Of course, family values and morals should be taught to a child at a young age to prevent any disastrous situations, and help the child determine between right and wrong. Jing-Mei stands for this individualism in the story, and the mother represents that obtrusive unwanted force. Amy Tans' message in this passage is clear. Frequently imposing standards on a person throughout their life can greatly affect their actions, feelings, and attitudes. The major conflict in this story is between Jing-Mei and her mother. Ever since Jing-Mei was a little girl her mother has believed she could be a prodigy. Her mother would watch television or read articles in magazines to get ideas from other amazing children. Then she would test Jing-Mei tirelessly to try and find something she would be best at. At first Jing-Mei seemed to enjoy her mothers intentions, ? In fact in the beginning I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so? (386), but as time went on the tests started to get harder and Jing-Mei kept failing repeatedly. After constantly having to see her mothers disappointed face, Jing-Mei's attitude and feelings began to change, ?I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations.? (387) She began to see a new side of herself; a strong powerful girl with willful thoughts and lots of won'ts, ? I won't let her change me, I promised myself I won't be what I'm not.? (387) So throughout the rest of her life she asserted her right to fall short of her mothers expectations, believing that she could never be anything she wanted to be, she can only be herself. Jing-Mei is the protagonist in this story; we read the story through her eyes and her point of view. She makes herself seem more like a victim of her mother's expectations rather than what she really is, a hurt little girl who does not understand why her mother does not accept her for who she is. Jing-Mei has to deal with both external and internal conflicts. The internal being her feelings of accepting who she is and how she would like to live her life, and the external being her mothers constant pushing of her pseudo images of what she believes Jing-Mei should be. Jing-Mei's upbringing in a society that highly values individualism and autonomy has had a great effect on her feelings and actions. This influence has enabled her to make the decision that she cannot abide by her mother's expectations anymore, and it has helped her stand firmly behind it. The mother is the antagonist in the story; she does not realize what she is doing to her daughter. In her mind she is just helping Jing-Mei to strive for the best, by Jing-Mei opposing her it makes her feel that her daughter is ungrateful and disobedient. This wanting and pushing for the best stems from their current situation, of having little money, and from the mother's past experiences. ?America was where all my mother's hopes lay.? (386) This is the country were she wants her daughter to have a better life than she had. She was born in China where she lost everything: her mother and father, her family home, her first husband, and her twin baby girls. She was not regretful of her past, and she always felt ?things could get better in so many ways.? (386) The loss of her daughters and her belief that you could be anything you want to be in America is a strong example of why she is so persistent in making Jing-Mei become the best she can be. It's like she is taking all her hopes and dreams for three daughters and throwing it all on top of

Camaro vs Mustang essays

Camaro vs Mustang essays Ask any avid Camaro or Mustang fan about the original ponycar era, and you're bound to feel their pain. They'll describe cars that lit the tires on fire, floor it and hang onto the wheel excitement. When people utter the words, "American Muscle Car," two distinctive cars come to mind. The Camaro SS and the Mustang GT. Both of these cars have been around for generations on end and loved by all types of people. It has been only recently that both cars have battled head to head so fiercely. You are either a hard core Chevy fan or a hardcore Ford fan, most everybody picks either Chevy or Ford. There are many similarities and differences in both of these cars. The Camaro SS has leaps and bounds of muscle car DNA. It's there in numerous ways: overhead valves, V-8, and a stick shift transmission to get you where you want to go, just like the Z28's and SS's of thirty years ago. No gizmo-actuated variable-valve timing, no overhead cams, and no independent rear suspension, just a 320 horsepower monster V-8. The SS turns 0-60 times in the low five second range with 0-100 approaching in the low thirteens. There has been little change in the SS's from last year to this. The addition of audio controls on the steering wheel, an optional 12-disc CD changer, new interior fabrics, and new alloy wheels (available on all Camaro's). The Mustang GT is also a great "American Muscle Car." The GT produces a low but above average 260 horsepower, this will you from 0-60 in 5.5 seconds and 0-100 in 14.1 seconds. The base price of the Mustang is a respectable $22,870 but can be built up to a $25,000 kick-ass sports car easily. A $2,270 in essential options is a must if you are really after the all American Sports car: 17-inch alloy wheels with high performance rubber, black leather sport bucket seats, stereo upgrade, all speed traction control (defeatable), and convenience package. The grand-total including destination is a reasonable $25,140...

Succinyl CoA Synthase and Regulation of the Enzyme Essay - 8

Succinyl CoA Synthase and Regulation of the Enzyme - Essay Example The amino acid responsible for activity is the phosphorylated histidine intermediate (HIS 246 alpha) which is the residue responsible for dephosphorylation of ATP and another site is suspected to be present in the beta subunit that ensures continued metabolism. It is also suspected that there is a nucleotide binding site at the N-terminal of beta subunit (Harel, 2014). This suggests that there are two active sites which are situated approximately 35A apart and that the HIS 246 alpha loop usually moves between them while catalysis is occurring. There is also GLU 208 alpha on the alpha subunit which interacts with the active HIS 246 residue in both the phosphorylated and dephosphorylated enzyme (Harel, 2014) As indicated above the histidine residue is the one involved in dephosphorylation or phosphorylation of ATP or ADP respectively. It has been proposed that the process involves a cooperative binding catalysis. Thus binding of ATP at one site enhances catalysis at another catalytic site (Schà ¼rmann et al, 2011). Binding of ATP occurs only in the presence of magnesium ion (Mg++) forming a complex which contains two ATP residue plus 2 phosphoric acid residues. If incubation is done this complex is converted to another one with 4 phosphoric acid residues per given protein. The complex with 4 phosphoric acid residues is the only one with the capability to react with succinate and CoA to give Succinyl CoA complex (Harel, 2014). This complex then releases phosphoric residues as many as bound succinate. The transfer of this phosphoric residue from the first active site correlates with the transfer to the second active site supporting the cooperative binding mechanism. These, therefore, mea ns that both ADP and ATP can both be activating or inhibiting depending on which stage of catalysis they bind to the enzyme(Harel, 2014). These, therefore, support the reversibility of the catalysis. After the phosphorylation of the Succinyl-CoA and  subsequent dephosphorylation, it is released and continues along the Krebs cycle as succinate.