Analysis Of Jean Kwok's Girl In Translation

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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

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