Raymond\'s Run by Toni Cade

¶ … Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara, and "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan. Specifically, it will discuss how Squeaky and Jing-mei would get along, what their similarities are. The two main characters in these stories would get along very well, because they are both strong and powerful, and they both rebel against adults and authority. They are different, but they could be sisters in another story.

These two girls are very different, but they are very much alike, too. One is Asian and one is Black. However, they are both strong and powerful. Jing-mei thinks when she looks at herself in the mirror, "The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. This girl and I were the same" (Tan). When Squeaky wins the race, she is strong and powerful too and more so because she can see the goodness in the people around her. Bambara writes, "And I smile. We stand there with this big smile of respect between us" (Bambara). Both girls learn about themselves during these stories, and they find out that they like themselves. One of the reasons they like themselves is because they find they are strong and powerful, and good people. They are smart too, and smart enough to recognize the good things about themselves, and some of the bad things, too. Jing-mei discovers how to outwit her piano teacher, and Squeaky knows how to take care of Raymond when most other people, even the adults, do not. They are smart, and they know this makes them powerful and strong.

Both these girls rebel against adults, too, because they are growing up, and learning more about themselves and what they want. Squeaky wants to be a runner, and she is already a really good runner, but she does not always respect the adults that suggest she do things like lose races when she does not want to. She thinks to herself, "And I'm thinking he's got no right to call me Squeaky, if I can't call him Beanstalk" (Bambara). Jing-mei resents the things her mother is forcing her to do, and finally rebels when she refuses to play the piano. She remembers thinking, "Then I wish I wasn't your daughter. I wish you weren't my mother,' I shouted. As I said these things I got scared. It felt like worms and toads and slimy things crawling out of my chest, but it also felt good, as if this awful side of me had surfaced, at last" (Tan). These girls are not bad, they are just growing up and testing their limits, like all young people do. They rebel because they want to see how far they can push adults, and where the limits are. They also rebel because they are strong and strong willed, and they believe in themselves.