We listened to Kim Nalley sing the standard, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free," from She Put a Spell on Me: Kim Nalley Sings Nina Simone (writers Richard Lamb and William Taylor).
Reflect on freedom through the eyes of Kim Chang, the protagonist in Girl in Translation.
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20 comments:
Stephanie Chan
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Girl in Translation Free-Write
Song: “I wish I knew how it would feel to be free” (Richard Lamb, William Taylor)
Sung by-Kim Nalley, She Put a Spell on Me: Kim Nalley sings Nina Simone
In the novel, Girl in Translation, Kim and her mother are limited to personal freedoms. They are forced to make choices everyday of their lives. Unfortunately, because of their financial standing, they are limited to free will. They are trapped in debts throughout the story, and for this they must sacrifice their social and leisurely privileges. This represents the importance of family honor. I feel really connected with this theme; family honor. I have seen my grandmother teach this to my parents and my parents taught me to value honor. My grandparents and parents also endured the same adversities similar to Kim and her Ma. Because Kim and her mother have no other support than each other, Kim faces the burden to age faster. This novel not only explains the obstacles of the average immigrant trying to accomplish the “American Dream”. The story is a coming of age story. Kim must drastically become an adult at a very young age and sacrifice her childhood for the betterment of her life.
Manuel Francisco Seminario
Profesor,Sabir
English 1B
June 28th ,2011
Let freedom ring
What is freedom? To some freedomn is just a words ,without any meaning . Freedom to those of us that know wha the true meaning of freedom,will always cherish that day when we became free. Freedom many people have it ,yet few apply it . From struggle comes freedom ,from hardship comes freedom, from slavery comes freedom. In the animal kingdom only one kind of species has that privilage and that’s the bird species,to them freedom is flying through the sky to far and wide places. We humans have sometimes even dreamed of flying just like a bird ,soaring up in the sky looking down the scenery which has been given to you,the air rushing through your head,the simple suppletries of flying.We cannot be like birds and sprout wings,however we do have our ways some of us try becoming pilots. In Girl in Translation,to kimberly and her mother ,freedom means so much at the end when they have endured the hardships of being chained to one place ,to one person that kept on holding them back because of her insecurities and failures in life,Aunt Paula is such a person. Ones that didn’t earn her freedom but bought it ,that isn’t true freedom. When freedom comes one feels like a bird in the sky or like the mighty wind itself ,free to blow where you may please with leiasure .
Shad Emam
Professor Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Free write
“I wish I knew how it would feel to be free.” (Richard Lamb, William Taylor) sung by- Kim Nalley.
on she put a spell on me : Kim Nalley sings Nina Simone.
I wish I knew how it would feel to be free. These are words of a person trapped on the outskirts of freedom. When I think of feeling free, I think about the choices that I have in every day life. The choices of what I will do when I wake up, of who I will interact with, when I will go places are all key to feeling free. Kim Chang is not so fortunate as of yet. She is stuck working to pay off an unreasonable debt that prevents her from experiencing freedom. This is not the debt that is acquired from making stupid choices, like buying unnecessary commercial goods, but rather debt from investing in opportunities in the US.
The song emphasized how important feeling free is to a person. the rhythm expressed a true peacefulness when feeling free has been felt. The long beat segments in the middle of the song where no words were sung demonstrated to peacefulness of freedom. by finishing the song with words of not feeling free show just how overwhelmingly our peacefulness can be stripped from us when our freedom is taken from us. When we relate this to our reading of Girl in translation, we can see that Kim would like to achieve Nirvana, greatest happiness free from greed, hated, and delusion. this would be like the middle portion of the song where no negative words are expressed and we just let the beats carry our mind through to our happy place.
Rebecca Ramos
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Free Write
The idea of freedom and wanting to have it is an idea that many people have struggled with for many years. In the story Girl in Translation, by Jean Kwok, the theme of freedom is what helps to move the story along as the characters are in search of their freedom. Both Kim and her mother struggle to keep their heads above water and at the same time pay off their debt to Aunt Paula. Kim constantly is willing to flee in search of a better home and job, however her mother rather pay off the debt to Aunt Paula because she knows it’s the right thing to do. Sometimes no matter how badly you want your freedom their can sometimes be obligations that hold you back. Nevertheless, once you face those obligations instead of avoiding them it only makes your freedom much more triumphant. Once Ma and Kim pay off their debt to Aunt Paula, instead of just running away, they will have a chance to truly feel what freedom feels like. At times having to do the right thing may stop you from doing what you actually want. For instance, my mother found out at an early age she was going to be a mother. She could have simply chosen to go to college and not have me, but instead she knew it was her obligation to do the right thing and have me and take care of me. So she dropped out of school and decided to raise me and get dead end jobs that while they paid the bills were not meeting her potential. Both my parents had to struggle in order to take care of me, and in a way they lost the freedom that they could have had if they didn’t have me. In the end, because they chose to have me and work hard towards their goals they were able to gain back some of the vision they saw for themselves. Likewise Kim and her mother have obligations that they must live through in order to seek their freedom. With hard work and a high moral code they can get the freedom that they wish for
D. L.
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Free Write:
I think that the song “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”, by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas is very applicable to Kim’s mother. When ever Aunt Paula cuts their wages, or treats them horribly citing Kim and her mother’s “debt” to her as a reason, Kim’s mother always seems to speak in a special kind of tone. She always sounds resigned to fulfilling her honor, yet there is a kind of back tone suggesting that she dearly wishes to leave and forget this commitment to her sister, a wish to be “free”. She may speak of “honor” and “debt” in her conversations to Kim, but there is no denying that she wants to be free.
Kim on the other hand, is almost shouting for freedom as the book progresses, back talking to Aunt Paula despite her mother’s wishes, even threatening her near the end of the book to let her and her mother alone. She transforms from a shy girl willing to believe her mother’s reassurances about her aunt to a headstrong, modern woman who won’t tolerate Aunt Paula’s treatment. It’s as if living in America, the land of “freedom”, has filled her with a fire that her more conservative mother isn’t. As Kim says herself, she is like a “bamboo knot”, tough and resilent.
Taylor, Billy. "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free." She Put a Spell on Me. RCA Records, 1967.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010. Print.
Virgil Gamble
Professor Sabir
English 1B
28 June2011
Freewrite :
This song reminds me that there is always something to work hard for. I don’t know if we are ever truly free though. No matter what, we all have some sort of attachment to something or someone. I guess freedom is on the eye of the person seeking it.
In “Girl in Translation,” Kim is trying to gain freedom from their whole situation. It seems that she has a certain picture in her mind of freedom. She talk more and more about gaining freedom as she gets older and older, while her mother continues the daily grind to pay back what she feels is owed.
Some of us describe freedom as reaching a certain goal like financial stability or creating a family. Others look at freedom as shedding responsibility that tie our hands at time. All of these are wishes for change in our current situations for the better. At the end of the day, we can only achieve freedom with perseverance and hard work.
Trang Tran
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
28 June, 2011
FreeWrite
Song: “I wish I knew how it would feel to be free” (Richard Lamb, William Taylor)
Sung by-Kim Nalley, She Put a Spell on Me: Kim Nalley sings Nina Simone
In the story Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok the idea of freedom plays a role in the life of Kimberly Chang and her mother. In Kim’s perspective, freedom meant to her was getting out of that condemn building that she and her mother calls home for seven years and getting out of the factory rule by her Aunt Paula. She also wants to escape the good Chinese girl role that was taught by her mother and to be like a normal American teenager. However her idea of freedom clashes with her mother idea of freedom and the reason why they cannot leave the place yet. In Kim’s mother view, she thought freedom would mean being able to move out of the slum, since this was the only thing she kept asking her sister Paula about. Though they both want to escape the place, Aunt Paula was the one holding them back since they had a debt to repay for the medicine to treat Ma’s tuberculosis, the green card, flight to America and the building that they were living in. Even though during the time when they were bound by these debts, Kim works hard both in school and at the factory achieve a higher education that can help her and her mother out of the hands of Aunt Paula and into a more peaceful place where they have a nice home, where she works and her mother doesn’t and bringing back the music to her mother life.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010. Print.
B.P
English 1B
Professor Wanda Sabir
28 June 2011
Freedom is not the act of releasing oneself from responsibilities and living in the world without a worry in the world, but rather the act of releasing oneself from the situations of the world and carrying out responsibilities without these obstacles. For Kim, her freedom is not running away and detaching all the responsibilities she has, although she really wants to, but rather living an American lifestyle is her ticket to freedom. Going to the movies, getting free perfume samples at Macy’s, looking at the Statue of Liberty, going over to a friend’s house, all these are the freedoms which Kim wants, her freedom from her situations. By becoming another person, her American self, she releases herself from her real identity, the identity who works long hours in the factory, study much harder to succeed, and living in a hidden lifestyle.
Kim Nalley as she sings “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” brings the ideas of breaking the chains that binds one to wherever the chain had originated. These ideas view freedom generally, that freedom is freeing oneself from the factors which keep one down and living a life one wishes to live however unrealistic or unaccepted it might be, like how Kimberly wishes to live an American life though her mother disapproves at the time. Freedom is a huge idea, and the meaning differs between Kim Nalley and Kim.
Satima Flaherty
Wanda Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Freedom from this summer school class would be nice. English is great but not during the summer. I’d like to free my mind of all the free writes, essays and group discussions. Freedom would be enjoying my family and friends during the summer. This is no bias against my teacher but come on it would be great to stay home and read a good book. Freedom would be sleeping past 6:30am Monday through Thursday. I must have been out of my wits to think this English class would be a breeze. Freedom is accomplishing an A in this intense yet interesting class. Freedom is at the end of the semester.
Ricardo A. Chavarria
Professor Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Freewrite: Freedom
In the book “A Girl in Translation”, Kim and her mom discuss their desire to leave their jobs at the factory. Mom however refuses on the grounds that it is dishonorable to leave without paying her debts. I think that the main attraction for immigrants coming to America is opportunity and freedom. Despite the U.S. claiming to be the land of freedom and opportunity, immigrants and lower class workers are still “enslaved” to their jobs. The best opportunity for freedom is through education.
The song by Kim Nalley and “A Girl in Translation” have similar themes of the desire for freedom. Kim Nalley sings of her longing to be free and Kimberly wants to succeed in school so she can rescue her mom and herself from Aunt Paula. I think that some people do not have true freedom because of the constraints put on them. Some people grew up in an impoverished neighborhood and others do not have legal documents to get a license or certain priviliges that citizens have. Kimberly is both poor and undocumented. Freedom for Kimberly is getting a good education and helping her mom leave the job at the factory. One of the main obstacles for Kimberly is learning english, her grades suffer for it. I think that mastering the english language can also be another type of freedom for Kimberly.
Kim Nalley. “I Wish I knew How It Would Feel to Be Free.” She Put a Spell on Me: Kim
Nalley sings Nina Simone. CE Jazz & Blues, 2006. CD.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010. Print.
Raymond Ye
Professor Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Freewrite 3
Freedom is a word that can mean many things. For example, America promises freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, etc. Although we are all promised to have such freedoms, are we really as free as the government promises? We all think we can do as we wish, but there is a rumor that the government has started a big brother program which they will track anyone’s post, email, text, blog, or anything else that is suspisious, including words about illegal substances and phrases implying violent acts. Also, we assume that we can write or do anything, but the government can pull up anything from ages ago to use against us. For instance, they can use old texts, phone calls, pictures, emails, or anything else digital. So, the question still remains: are we as free as we were promised? Personally, I believe that the word freedom should allow people that have it to do as they wish without any penalties or fear of consequences. Many people use code words in texts because they are scared to use words such as “weed, pot, pills, ecstacy, marijuana, cocain, meth” and many more because they assume the big brother program will track them down and someone will catch or spy on them. Freedom should promise every individual to act on their own and not be monitored. Also, freedom must consist of the cliché rights such as speech, expression, beliefs, etc. Many people are stereotyped and discriminated by the way they act, so does the freedom of expression really apply? Many men may be “in touch with their feminine side” or homosexual, but society doesn’t accept them. Therefore, they are not free to express their lifestyle, so is anyone else really free with all the media, stereotypes, and being monitored by the government?
Joanna Louie
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Free Write in response to “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”
“I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to Be Free”, sung by Kim Nalley is an inspirational song with an upbeat and bright tone. The lyrics of the song moved me and the message it gave was a powerful one, and one that everyone can relate to – one about freedom. The lines of the song are simple, yet very powerful. We can guess the song is sung from the stand point of a slave, or somewhere to that degree. One of the lines reads as followed, “All of the chains she can break.” From this, and the title of the song, we know she is held by an authority, someone of higher standing than herself. All she wants to do is “share all the things [she] [has].” Later in her song, she sings about a bird in the sky. A bird is a symbol of freedom, a symbol with wings, wings that can carry her or anyone in any direction. A bird has no direct path it has to follow, it has the whole sky above us to explore where desired. Everyone should be free, and she just wants to reach her chance at freedom. But what is freedom? Is freedom one particular place or thing? I believe the definition to freedom is different to each individual and with the time period we define freedom in. Freedom to me is different to what Kim in “Girl in Translation”, written by Jean Kwok, would define it as. Freedom to her is to escape her harsh double life she has to live and to reach the “American Dream”. Freedom to teenage children today could be as silly as wanting to be free from their parents, something incomparable to the character Kim and teenage immigrants.
Work Cited
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010. Print.
Taylor, Billy. "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free." She Put a Spell on Me. RCA Records, 1967.
Alex Lam
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Freewrite #3 – Freedom
Freedom, in my opinion, is to be able to do (almost) whatever you want to do, without any restrictions. If one could do anything, it would bring anarchy to the world. I believe that freedom is more like being able to speak, to believe, to worship, to move about etc… until the actions infringed on someone else’s personal freedom.
In this particular song from Kim Nally, freedom means being able to be freed of a burden. It permits one to accomplish their dreams. For me, that would be to travel. Being able to go wherever and whenever I want to would be amazing. It would be nice to not worry about anything, especially school and how to pay for the trips. This is exactly what Kim Chang wants. Working and being laughed at are her burden, and being free of those two, would let her accomplish her dreams. She would not have to worry about others treating her meanly.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010. Print.
Taylor, Billy. "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free." She Put a Spell on Me. RCA Records, 1967.
Shipra Pathak
Professor Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Free Write: Freedom.
Freedom for me at this moment of my life is freedom from school, freedom from the long hours of sitting in front of the computer to write my assignments for my summer classes, freedom from the countless pages of assigned readings, and freedom from all the family responsibilities and obligations. Summer break suppose to come with freedom in my life, freedom from all the academic work at least, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted. I wish, I had any other option in my life besides working so hard to achieve a better life, and to support my family. As Kimberly, in Girl in Translation the only thing that can change my life and current living condition is education to so I can support my family and secure their future.
I wish I could be free from this constant stress to be able to support my family, fulfill their expectations, make my own identity in this new country and still be happy and not say a word of complaint. May be I had a choice, may be I wanted to be the one to take all the responsibilities, and yet be the prefect daughter. This isn’t easy and often times I do miss my freedom. Freedom for me is when I will not have to worry about anything in my life, a day when I can just lay down on my couch and just watch TV and simply enjoy my time. I think I was free back home; I didn’t have to worry about a thing. At least I was never thinking how I will be able to make a living, how I will support my family or what about if I didn’t get a decent paying job because I knew, my elder brother will do it for me and our family, but now since he is not here with us, as the oldest child in America I have to be the one to take responsibility of my family of four. And to keep me going I think about “no pain no gain,” and encourage myself and talk to myself by saying that my pain is temporarily because soon I will graduate and will have a nice job. And then I will be free, at least I will no longer worry about how to pay bills. I also know that the freedom from all my responsibilities is impossible, but freedom from thinking about making a decent living will be over soon, and I am eagerly waiting for that moment to come. Oh that movement will be lovely, it will be perfect, and it will be so peaceful . . . waiting to be free. . .
Work Cited
Kim Nalley. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free.” She Put a Spell on Me: Kim Nalley Sings Nina Simon. CE Jazz & Blues, 2006. CD.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010. Print.
Shipra Pathak
Professor Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
Response to Alex Lam’s free-write.
Alex Lam, I agree with you that freedom is the liberty to do anything and everything without any restriction. I wish we all had that opportunity, but I also think if it would be possible, the world would be a total different place where we might not want to live.
I liked how you associated the song, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free with Kimberly’s freedom. I think, due to Kimberly’s responsibilities to change their life for better, she was under a lot of restrictions of her mother and herself. And this kept Kimberly always thinking how it would feel to be free…
Sharron Dawkins
Professor Sabir
English 1B
27 June 2011
Free Write: I wish I knew How It Would Feel to Be
Freedom, what it means to me; I often think of freedom as being able to live life with out the responsibilities of having to worry about finances, the freedom to wake up in the morning and make the first thing I do, be about taking care of myself though meditation and exercise, then ease into the day and do things that make me feel alive.
Freedom to me is about being free to support others because I want to, not because I have to, it’s about going to a Job I love because I feel passionate about what I’m doing, not because I have to make ends meet. Freedom is about being able to have the time to appreciate the sunrise and sunset, not being so preoccupied by the tasks of the day that lie ahead or bogged down by the events that happened throughout the day.
Most of all Freedom to me is a state of mind that allows me to be at peace regardless of the many responsibilities I have; it’s a thankfulness that allows me to breathe deep and feel total gratitude in the moment and be thankful to be alive.
Kim Nalley. “I wish I knew How It would to Be Free” She Put a Spell on Me: Kim
Nally sings Nina Simone. CE Jazz & Blues, 2006 CD
Jeffrey To
Professor wanda Sabir
Enlgish 1B
28 June 2011
I wish I knew how it would feel to be free.
(Richard lamb, william Taylor)
Sung by-kim nelley
on She Put a spell on Me:Kim Nallet, Sings Nina simone
Freewrite on theme freedom |
Freedom in the book
In the book, Kim does not understand the meaning of freedom. She is constantly trapped with her mom in her aunt’s and uncle Bob’s debt. At times she would ask her mom to leave their condition and lifestyles but the mom feels as if it would be an dishonor to leave. She feels as if she cant leave because of the debt she owes. Kim does not understand what freedom is because because it is block by her aunt. Her aunt prevents her from being free by mentioning how much money her mom and her owes. Kim wated to be away from her aunt and be free. Free from her livings condition. Free from her aunt and uncle Bob. She feels she is not free because of her aunt. The debt is a reminder she is not free.Freedom to me is the right or ability to do something without being stopped. To be free means to not be restricted or stopped. It is to do something a person wants to do. In the book, Kim Chans has a different meaning of freedom. To her, freedom is being away from her aunt and home. Some people feel freedom and free when their at home but in the case of kim her home is more like a prison . She can not be free. She can not do what she wants.
Freedom in my life
In my life, I never feel like I have freedom. I feel like my parents control my entire life. They pick the school I go to and the choices I make. At times, they even pick out what im going to grow up to be. I feel like I do not have any freedom. I’m not free because I have no voice in my decisions. When I want to go out with friends, I always have to inform my parents or ask for permission. I feel like I don’t have any freedom at all when im with my parents. Even when I have free time at home,I am asked to study random things.
The only time I feel freedom is when I am at school or outside of the house. I can do what I feel like doing. Making decisions for myself when im at school. Deciding my school major and using my own free time on what I want to do.
Kim Nalley. “I Wish I knew How It Would Feel to Be Free.” She Put a Spell on Me: Kim
Nalley sings Nina Simone. CE Jazz & Blues, 2006. CD.
B.P
English 1B
Professor Wanda Sabir
28 June, 2011
That is a good way of looking at freedom Sharron D. Freedom is not simply the state of having no responsibilities and being able to do anything one wants, but rather it is the state of being happy with the responsibilities. It is the state of being able to live life one would want to live it, not the life that the world makes one live in, as you say that “freedom to me is about being free to support others because I want to, not because I have to, it's about going to a job I love because I feel passionate about what I'm doing, not because I have to make ends meet.” Freedom is much more than living a life without responsibilities, it is a life that one enjoys to be in everyday, a life of one's own decisions rather than the world's.
Work Cited:
Dawkins, Sharron. “Reflections on Freedom.” Online poster. 28 June 2011. College of Alameda. English 1B web forum. 28 June 2011. http://poeticsrapandtothersocialdiscourses.blogspot.com/2011/06/reflection-on-freedom.html
Nalley, Kim. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free.” She Put a Spell on Me: Kim Nalley Sings Nina Simon. CE Jazz & Blues, 2006. CD.
Joanna Louie
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
28 June 2011
To Shad Emam:
I really like the way you interpreted the middle (wordless) section of the song, how you felt it demonstrated that peace carries freedom. I agree that it is not Kim’s direct fault where she stands now, and with the opportunity to come to America, came a burden of stress, struggle and hardship. Kim continues to want to put on wings, and fly away, to flee the burdens she faces, mostly her Aunt Paula and the inadequate place she shelters them. Wings, being a symbol associated with the bird mentioned in the song. The text often compares her experiences she had in Hong Kong with the ones she faces in America. She later finds reason to overcome the hardship she faces with her teacher and others she encounters. She realizes it is in her hands to take care of the wellbeing of her and her mom. The strong character of Ah-Kim is determined to find freedom.
Work Cited:
Emam, Shad. “Reflection on Freedom.” Online posting. 28 June 2011. College of Alameda. English 1B Web Forum. 28 June 2011.
< http://poeticsrapandtothersocialdiscourses.blo gspot.com/2011/06/reflection-on-freedom.html >
Nalley, Kim. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free.” She Put a Spell on Me: Kim Nalley Sings Nina Simon. CE Jazz & Blues, 2006. CD.
Jeffrey TO
Professor Wanda SAbir
ENglish 1B
30 June 2011
Response to Stephanie Chan
I agree with your view on the book about freedom. Kimberley and her mother have limited freedom. They can only do so much. They are limited because of the income and what they can do base on their Aunt's actions. I never thought abotu Kimberly's burden at a young age. I forgot how old she was because of the things she did at a fast pace. I find it hard to believe at times she's a teenager. Her childhood and teenage life was taking away from her because she had to work and help her mom .
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