Jing-mei's independence plays a major role in making up her personality. Jing-mei's mother wants her to be successful by being a child prodigy and Jing-mei does not feel that she needs her mother's help. Jing-mei feels that she can be successful through her own efforts, hard work, and determination. This is the reason why Jing-mei does not put her all into whatever activities that her mother selects for her to participate in. Jing-mei states, "So now on nights when my mother presented her tests, I performed listlessly.'' This statement is an example of how Jing-mei reacts to her mother's
