Chapter Eight: Jing-Mei Woo - Two Kinds; hubris

Jing-Mei, June, had a childhood filled with pain and suffering. She felt she was not good enough for her mother, and that she never lived up to her mother's expectations. Her mother wants June to be a prodigy, so she enrolls her in piano lessons. Not long into the lessons, June realizes Mr. Chong, her teacher, is deaf. This is an advantage to June because she does not have to try very hard. She can get away with not practicing, messing up, and playing the wrong note. The recital comes and June feels she is ready for her performance, but it is awful. Her mother is very disappointed and angry with June, but June is happy. She feels there is a hubris with her mother because in June's mind, she won.  After her piano career is over June says, "The lessons stopped. The lid to the piano was closed, shutting out the dust, my misery, and her dreams" (143). June wants to be her own person, and her mother wants her to be someone entirely different. That causes a rift in their relationship.