Analysis Of Jean Kwok's Girl In Translation

1023 Words3 Pages

To be independent is to be free from constraint. When one is free from constraint, one can make their own rules. In Jean Kwok’s Girl in Translation, the main character Kim belongs in the category of free will. In her early stages of childhood, she would often work back to back, nonstop. She sacrifices her her childhood in order to pay off the seemingly everlasting debt from Aunt Paula, who is not supportive of Kim’s thriving scores in school. In regards to school, Kim shoots for the stars and earns perfect grades. Soon after she earns excellent grades, she receives a scholarship to Harrison. From Harrison comes to Yale. Kim struggles to choose a college, she sees Annette carrying brochures and pamphlets of many colleges, while she has none. …show more content…

Rather than Kim following Annette’s path, she creates her own. “‘Where would you like to go for college?’ She asked. I responded without hesitation. ‘Yale.’ Annette and I had talked about colleges. Unlike me, she had ordered dozens of catalogs and read thick books of college guides. In the end, she’d chosen Wesleyan as her top choice. My selection was much more random. I knew Yale was a top school and I loved photos of Yale in her catalog.” (Kwok 245). Kim is looking for a college to go to, but she is unsure of where to go to. She names a college off the top of her head, knowing that it has a good reputation. Additionally, Kim sacrifices everything to make a better future for herself and her mother. “My answer was soft. ‘I had an obligation to my ma and to myself. I couldn’t have changed who I was. I wish I could have. Sometimes, I wish I had’ … ‘ But I wouldn’t have been happy on your journey, and I know you wouldn’t have been happy on mine.’” (Kwok 294). Kim tells Matt that she cannot go back, she becomes conscious of the fact that she and Matt are going down different paths. In the end, she has to let him go. Clearly, Kim is strong for her future, which makes her belong in the category of free …show more content…

Kim belongs in the category of free will because she chooses to be independent. She goes to Harrison and Yale with the help of her strength and integrity. She is very compassionate to loved ones. The two people in her life that she mainly cares for are Ma and Matt. Kim chooses free will because she plans her own future. She is willing to sacrifice anything and everything for her mother. She is also able to make essential last-minute decisions in her life. Kim lastly chooses free will over fate because she gives her all to her family, which consists of her mother. She sacrifices her childhood in order to help Ma out with debt. She additionally devotes her extra time to her mother. It takes a lot to be independent, though Kim can easily choose free will over

Show More
Related

  • Maria Garcia Marquez Chapter 1 Analysis

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    When it comes to analyzing the “banana massacre” scene in chapter 15, I found three narrative techniques the author used to describe this scene. Therefore, one can notice that this part of the book is the climax. As a result, one infers what the author is trying to say about Latin American history and politics.

    Read More

  • Girl Interrupted Susanna Kaysen Analysis

    1506 Words  | 4 Pages

    Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen, is a memoir that centers around feelings of fear, comfort, and control. These are evident in the scene where Kaysen is speaking with Jim Watson, who wants to take her away from the institution, the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, and after Susanna gets out, the societal distancing from those associated with disorders. While used differently throughout the memoir, they serve to drive home divisions between those who “slip into a parallel universe” (Susanna Kaysen, 5), and those who do not.

    Read More

  • Blanche And Marie Character Analysis Essay

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    Blanche and Marie are portrayed as emotionally fragile characters who are trying to escape traumatic pasts. Both Blanche and Marie have had a traumatizing past, which leads them to become fragile people. Blanche has come from her hometown, Laurel, to visit her sister in New Orleans after being fired from her job for having relations with a student and multiple other men at a hotel called Tarantula Arms. On the other hand, Marie set out to the city to escape the sexual abuse from her uncle that she endured back home. In A Streetcar Named Desire, it is evident that because of Blanche's rough past it is hard for her to open up and have relations with a man. When she first meets Mitch she asks him to place a paper lantern over a light bulb because

    Read More

  • Analyzing Angel Paulson's Short Story 'Girls'

    230 Words  | 1 Pages

    7th grade may be really hard for boys who want to catch the attention of a girl. These two boys found that out easily. One boy caught the attention of his girl successfully. The other boy failed miserably.

    Read More

  • Freedom In Jamaica Kincaid's Girl

    340 Words  | 1 Pages

    It is often said that freedom can mean many different things depending on an individual’s specific circumstances. In Jamaica Kincaid’s work “girl”, the motif of freedom is explored from the mother’s perspective as she gives her daughter advice on finding it for herself and being a generally good woman by following said advice. These ideas are expressed through advice on how the daughter should conduct herself in different social circumstances, advice on how to take care of household chores day to day, and a condescending attitude toward her daughter becoming promiscuous.

    Read More

  • Patty Bedore Analysis

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Patty Bedore had an interesting four years of college to say the least. She endured a lot of ups and downs along the way. She went to two different colleges in her 4 years. Those two colleges were the University of Illinois and Rush Nursing School. When asked why she attended these two schools, she stated, “I went to U of I because my dad went there and I wanted to follow in his footsteps, and I went to Rush because U of I didn’t have a nursing program, and if I chose to stay enrolled there I would have to take a 3 year nursing program at Illinois-Chicago,and I was going into my junior year, so I didn’t want to take an extra year of college, and Rush had a two year Nursing Degree program, and it wasn’t too far away from where I lived, so

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Esperanza in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    Esperanza, a strong- willed girl who dreams big despite her surroundings and restrictions, is the main character in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Esperanza represents the females of her poor and impoverished neighborhood who wish to change and better themselves. She desires both sexuality and autonomy of marriage, hoping to break the typical life cycle of woman in her family and neighborhood. Throughout the novel, she goes through many different changes in search of identity and maturity, seeking self-reliance and interdependence, through insecure ideas such as owning her own house, instead of seeking comfort and in one’s self. Esperanza matures as she begins to see the difference. She evolves from an insecure girl to a mature young lady through her difficult life experiences and the people she comes across. It is through personal encounters and experiences that Esperanza begins to become sexually aware and acceptance her place and self-definition in her community.

    Read More

  • Fate or Free Will in Othello by William Shakespeare

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    Are the characters governed by fate or free will? Fate means a power that some people believe causes and controls all events, so that you cannot change or control way things will happen. Free will means the ability to decide what to make independently of any outside influence. The different between the two they justify the causes that are in somebody else’s hands or in your own hands. The reason why I picked the background information that supports my hook because life can be influenced by the outcome of what you do regardless of what is in favor. The characters and events in the play were influenced by fate because the path and actions they chose recently reflect what happen later on in the play.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Fate Vs Free Will

    484 Words  | 1 Pages

    All of the events that happen in this world are either controlled by fate or that person's free will. You can plan something according to how you want it to be, or you can go somewhere and unexpectedly have fate control the chain of events after you perform that action. But in some case scenarios, the chain of events that can lead to someone's downfall or success are controlled by both the free will of that person and fate. You can choose to do something willingly, and your fate can s (finish this…) Specifically speaking, many of the events in ‘The Tragedy of Julius Caesar’ by William Shakespeare, are controlled by both fate and free will according to the actions of the characters beforehand.

    Read More

  • Shae's Role In High School

    407 Words  | 1 Pages

    In high school, Shae was just like every student. She played sports, participated in FFA, Student Council and other school activities. She loved high school. Shae had many friends and thought of herself as “popular.” As high school started to come to an end, she was worried about graduating. She was scared that everything would change in her life. When graduation day arrived, she was so excited but again, she was scared. As she walked across the stage to receive her diploma, her anxiety started to disappear. She was no longer only worried about everything changing in her life, she was worried about college too. Shae’s family has always dreamed of her going to college because her parents never went. They wanted her to go so bad that she felt

    Read More

  • Free Will In The Film 'I Robot'

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    In conclusion, life brings lessons into our lives that we chose to be victor or victim to. Detective Spooner has the free will to solve the murder of Doctor Lanning and bare arms against Sonny, the robot. V.I.K.I has the free will to program the robots to save the human race, making her fall victim to free will because she is using it incorrectly. Lastly, Doctor Calvin uses her free will to her extenet by saving Sonny from death. Overall, free will can cause people to do good things, but also destructive

    Read More

  • A Language Barrier

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ents, and my English problem. I didn’t even have control of my own identity at that point. In the bilingual classroom my education depended upon the teachers and the system. I couldn’t express my viewpoints to faculty members like I do now in college. For instance, in college when I need help in a certain class, I can just go and talk to the professor or even to my counselor. Unfortunately, in grammar school, I didn’t know how to talk about the situation. As a result, in college I have been determined to change my study habits and take back control of my identity because I see how a student cannot survive with inefficient study habits. I realize now that, as a child, I was disadvantaged in many ways. Today, I have to be prepared to do extra to make up for a poor educational background by spending more time studying, focusing on school, and controlling my life.

    Read More

  • The Second Sex By Simone De Beauvoir Analysis

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    Historically, power has been manifested hierarchically within the social training of genders. Simone De Beauvoir’s concept of ‘otherness’ has theorized how individuals’ personal manifestations of self are influenced deeply by their social position and the available power to them within these circumstances (2000:145). She remains one of the first to develop a feminist philosophy of women. In her book The Second Sex (1950), Beauvoir provides “a philosophical account of the development of patriarchal society and the condition of women within it” (Oliver, 1997:160). Beauvoir’s fundamental initial analysis begins by asking, “what is woman” and concludes woman is “other” and always defined in relation to man (Beauvoir, 2000:145). “He is the Subject,

    Read More

  • Skipping School Research Paper

    383 Words  | 1 Pages

    “I never thought I would attend college after skipping so many classes in high school; an event happened that made me determined to go to college.” Nancy Cai, my cousin, stared up at the high building when it hit her that she had finally met her goal in life. Struggling to get through high school, she did not even consider college as her next step in life. Nancy was hopeless, tired, and wanting to drop-out of high school. She was always skipping classes and missing school. Day by day, it became a normal routine. Until one day, when she was going to skip class to go to Central Park, her teacher caught her skipping school.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Open Door And Memoirs Of A Woman

    1994 Words  | 4 Pages

    The narration above simply provides a vivid explication on how fun school is for Layla. School turns to be a moment where she finds most of her happiness. It does not necessarily mean that she is not happy at home, however, after getting her period, home connotes horror rather than place where one can find peace except for her private room. School offers Layla the freedom of just being herself where she does not feel the confinement at home. It also suggests that she values and treasures education and that she is waiting for achieving higher education, the university life. As personal, Layla strongly opposes the perception that the future of a girl is marriage (82). She is completely aware and believes that education can aids people to understand things and decide what is best for them (77).

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Jean Kwok's Girl In Translation

Open Document