Today we completed the book, and with the completion of any task there was a certain amount of notalgic sorrow (smile). In a three (3) paragraph essay response, reflect on the journey with Jean Kwok. You can discuss the ending and any dangling threada which might make for a great sequel.
You could write a scene where you have Kim confront some of her demons still roaming around, especially regarding her fatherless son. Write a scene where Kim tells her son about his dad. Write the showdown when her son demands that his mother introduce Matt to him and what happens at that first meeting. Is it a "we are family" reunion party.
Have Kim reflect on her options as a single parent and choose another one where Matt is not left out.
Look at the women in the novel as perhaps archetypes, each an aspect of Kim's maturation into the fine determined woman she is by the end of the story. See Writing about Lit. 148-149.
Is Kim a super hero?
How would one position this book using a feminist lens? See Writing 144-145.
2. In Lit. Circles discuss the book using a variety of lens. Talk about essay topics and possible ways to approach a critique of the book. See "Writing Common Writing Assignments" (43). Also see "Writing about Stories" (57).
Our next book is The Dance Boots. Bring to class Tuesday. It will be a fast read--not really, but we will read it quickly. Keep reading logs.
3. Homework--Read "Writing about Stories" if you have not already done so (Gardner 57). Write the essay. Bring to class. We will meet in A-232 for a peer review. It can be a fast draft. The polished draft will be due electronically on Thursday, Sept. 27. I will try to get it back to you sooner than the essay on Mockingbird. I will be showing you a film either Tuesday or Thursday about Native American culture.
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11 comments:
Nick Crawford
English 1b
Wanda Sabir
September 20, 2012
Girl in Translation Reflection.
When I first started reading the book I was a little reluctant because I felt there was absolutely no way I could relate to the main character. A young girl from China moving to an unheated rat/roach infested apartment in the slums of Brooklyn and couldn’t speak hardly any English on top of having to work in a sweat shop, how could I relate to that? I think it was for that very reason that I became more and more interested in what would come of someone living in those conditions. I think Kimberley was a very motivating character and helped awaken me to the simplicity of my own life. The trials she goes through by having to start a new school, learn a new language and then go back home to a grimy apartment is what made me appreciate my situation.
The thing I wonder the most is, how does she manage to keep the baby a secret from Matt? Did she get pregnant then all of a sudden just never see him again for the next 9 months? Also, how exactly did she take care of the baby while she was going to college as well as working four jobs? I wish there would have been an extention in that aspect of the story and had given a deeper insight into her childs life and how he is handling the situation. I think this part resonates with me because in regards to her choosing to raise her child as well as go to school, my own mother was in the exact same situation when she was 18 only she gave me up for adoption. I never knew my bio-logical father just like her son Jason. I was hoping to get a deeper insight into the mind of Jason and what his trials were like because as it turns out, I have more in common with the characters of this book then I thought.
All in all, I liked the overall struggle represented through out journey of Kimberly and has made me a little more aware to the conditions that exist , yet can be over come through hard work and dedication. Realizing that Jean Kwok actually lived a part of this life of Kimberley is inspiring because I know that what has been done isn’t entirely fictional, although I also still do wonder to what degree is this book non-fiction.
Marco Gutierrez
Professor Sabir
English 1B
20 September 2012
Freewrite: Final Reflection of Girl in Translation
In Jean Kwok’s debut novel, Girl in Translation, Kwok’s main protagonist had made a very difficult decision on staying with the protagonist’s significant other Matt, he wants to give her a happy life and provide her the best treatment. Matt didn’t want Kim to take care of him. She made her decision and go to Yale which was the school that Kim was accepted with honors and full financial aid.
About twelve years later, Kim became a doctor who treats kids and she has her own life with her son Jason. Jason is a mystery to who this baby belongs two, Kim had been knock up on several guys during her time in high school. It could have been Curt’s or Matt’s. She believes it was Matt’s baby as she was fond to have Jason as a part of him. Matt went back with Vivian, her girlfriend now wife years later having two girls of his own. Kim wanted to say hi to Matt but only makes her frown upon know she cannot have her life back with him, choices is what divides her decisions. Matt voiced back to Kim what went wrong,
---- When you broke up with me, you shattered my heart. At first, I believed you that we were too
---- different. ‘A bamboo door needs a bamboo door and a metal door needs a metal door.’ I’ll
---- never forget you saying those words. I always knew you were better than me, but I couldn’t
---- figure it out either, how you could be so cold all of a sudden. And then I counted the days
---- and I knew. (293)
It is why Matt back to Vivian, Matt could have provided everything for Kim, but Kim wanted so much more that she had to lose Matt.
Jason, the 12 year old son of Kim will not know what is going to happen when he grows older and to know that his father is no longer with them. As Matt stays with his girlfriend, Kim had his son, maybe his son. Eventually Jason will have a better future than what Kim had endured through the entire novel. He has a mother and grandmother that he could look upon and Kim will be in the steps where Ma had once been. Pa in Kim’s life was never around after he died. For Jason, he will never know what his father is or what he looks like. Kim had to sacrifice a bit of her future, “I gave Matt this: his life with Vivian and his family, his simple happiness. At the same time, I took away his life with us. I owed Jason a great debt, one I could never repay.” (302)
One thing I would like to see if there was a chance to make a follow-up, I want to know the life of Aunt Paula, forgiving Ma and Kim the torture that they have done with them. Also include the outcome what Jason will do to find out who is his father, will Vivian leave the relationship from Matt and get Matt back to her life? What about Aunt Paula and Uncle Bob, do they still have the sweatshop? What happened to Matt’s brother? There are subject that need to close up and have a resolution. Jean Kwok wrote a book that hit the heart of a struggling immigrant entering a country with debt to pay. It will be great to see Kwok write a book following the events of Kim and Jason in a sequel in the future.
Sareth Chhoth
Professor Sabir
English 1B
20 September, 2012
The novel Girl in Translation was a good novel to read. It was about a girl named Kimberly Chang who immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong with her mother. They ended up in Brooklyn and worked in an illegally run factory from the help of Aunt Paula and Uncle Bob. Aunt Paula felt that Kimberly and Ma owed her for bring them to America. Aunt Paula felt that it was a debt that can never be paid, saying, ‘I gave you work and shelter! And this is how you repay my human currency. I brought you here! That is a life debt, one you can never repay’ (266). This reminds me of my mother and my aunt. My aunt came to America before my mother and helped my mother get in the United States. My mother is grateful for everything my aunt has done but my aunt still feels like my mother owes her. My mother has always helped my aunt ever since she came to America and my aunt still feels like my mother owes her; even today it is still the same. I like how I can really understand that situation.
In the novel, Kimberly endures through many hardships to have a good life with her mother. Kimberly had to struggle through school and make sure she gotten good grades, help her mother in the factory after school, and finish all of the unfinished work at home during the night. That work load was a lot for a girl in high school and would drain all of her energy. Even though she had to constantly work, she still succeeded in school, getting very high scores on her tests (242). She is really something to have all of the work she has and still be able to do great in school. She has the determination and drive that sets an example to many people.
Kimberly is a very kind person and thinks of others before she herself. An example of this is when she was pregnant with Matt’s baby,
I know, we were so happy then. But I didn’t think it was fair to tie you to me with a baby. Could you have lived with this? A pediatric cardiac surgeon for a wife? I often work eighty hours a week. I’m on call weekends and nights. It would have been different if you could have chosen freely, day by day, to be with me, but with the baby, you would have had no choice. (294)
Putting others’ happiness before theirs is common in a lot of other main characters or good guys. From this, Kimberly is seen as a hero who wants others to be happy. She helps others and put others first than herself.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010. Print.
Kevin Roper / Professor Sabir / English 1B / September 20, 2012
The character of Kim is an interesting one to say the least. From just migrating to America at an early age to growing up and facing the problem of modern-day adults, Kim indulges in many of life’s mysteries and finds herself stunned but able to stand for herself in the end. In this journey of delight, she has many favorable relationships, meeting most of them in a private institution in Brooklyn. This connection is exactly what her foundation for a better lifestyle becomes. With her new assortment of friends, Kim is guided along the path of most resistance and transcends into the great character and great leader that she is for her family.
Dung Le
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1b
September 20, 2012
Girl in Translation Reflection
The novel “Girl in Translation,” by Jean Kwok is primarily about Kimberly a Chinese immigrant trying to achieve a brighter future in America. However, it goes deeper than just trying to obtain the American dream. Kim had to go through the struggle of trying to fit in but with inadequate support from her mother, she never really achieved that till the very end. What I like about the novel is how it tells the reader about all the thing she had to sacrifice and go through to become what she is now, especially her relationship with Matt.
When first reading about Matt, I was given a sense that Matt was going to become Kim’s true love and I was right. It took Kim a long time before she opened up to him, but once she did they were both madly in love (259). While reading the novel, the first time when she describe how she felt about Matt and I notice she was using past tense words such as thought and I was given a feeling that something is not going to end well. I was given false hope that it Kim and Matt would end up together she asked Matt and his little brother Park to come along with her. In my head I wanted them to; I couldn’t see anything wrong with coming along and living with Kim while she attended school.
The situation become complicated when Kim found out that she was pregnant. Now this is where I became a little confused, the chapter ended with Ma telling Kim that sometime life is not what you planned and with that I thought she kept the child, “But sometime our fate is different from the one we imagined for ourselves,” (283). Only after reading forward that I realize that she didn’t go through with the abortion and not only that, but she kept the child a secret from Matt. The novel tells the reader that Kim didn’t want to let the baby change Matt’s life and that it’ll make him unhappy, but Matt was never even given a decision. Kim did what she thought was good for her and Matt and went on with the burden of caring for the child with Ma. Kim said,
‘I don’t want to force him to be with me. I don’t even know if I
can make him happy in the long run. What kind if wife would I be
for him? Poor, stressed, frustrated, with all my potential unful-
filled.’ (281)
I believe that if Kim had allowed Matt knowledge of the pregnancy that the story would’ve ended up differently. If Matt knew about the baby, I believe or hope that he’d make sacrifices and wouldn’t his manhood control his decisions. Then again maybe that’s just wishful thinking and more of what I really wanted for Kim and Matt. Still, I think that Kim should’ve let Matt know about their child if not before at least that last time when he went there to see her.
Professor Sabir
English 1B
20 September 2012
It occurs to me that Aunt Paula probably has as good and decent heart as anyone until sometime after she marries Bob and moves to America. While still in Hong Kong she takes care of Ma by going to work instead of continuing her education as Ma does, sacrificing her needs and desires to keep her obligation to her family.
Aunt Paula took care of everything. She
was smart and resourceful. She trained
as a gold-beater so I could finish high
school. (Kwok 88)
Ma continues her music studies and finishes high school. In due course she meets a music teacher, falls in love with him and marries him. Ma is promised to another man, Bob, a Chinese American, who comes to Hong Kong to marry her. Again Aunt Paula steps in and saves Ma’s honor by keeping the promise made to Bob and she marries him.
Aunt Paula is given the opportunity to go to America and help Uncle Bob manage a clothing factory. Ma stays in Hong Kong and regrettably her husband dies, leaving her destitute with their child. When Aunt Paula finds out about their situation she offers to pay for and sponsor Ma and Kim to come to America. Unfortunately Ma is stricken with Tuberculosis and once more Aunt Paula comes to the rescue. She pays for Ma’s treatment and “… our journey to America had been postponed twice before she got clearance from … the immigration department” (12).
Before Ma and Kim arrived in America Aunt Paula seems to be a kind and caring big sister with Ma. Over the years she is in America, she changes and becomes a calculating cruel woman who appears to care only for herself and to maintain her wealth and position. When Aunt Paula says that she does not need Ma to care for and tutor her sons she sounds sincerely caring as she explains how boys are harder to raise than girls (12). Yet we find out that she has a diabolical plan to put Ma and Kim in a rat and roach infested abandoned tenement and to work in the sweatshop she manages. It will be years before Ma has repaid Aunt Paula for her medical care in Hong Kong and her passage to America. Aunt Paula knows exactly how Ma and Kim suffer every day for years under the burden of their debt to her. We can speculate about what happened to Aunt Paula. Did she become immune to the pain of others by her work in the sweatshop she helped manage? Or was it her loveless marriage that closed down her feelings? Or was she born with a cold, hard, selfish heart but covers her true feelings with her politeness and gentility?
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010.
Professor Sabir
English 1B
20 September 2012
Final Reflections on Girl in Translation
It occurs to me that Aunt Paula probably has as good and decent heart as anyone until sometime after she marries Bob and moves to America. While still in Hong Kong she takes care of Ma by going to work instead of continuing her education as Ma does, sacrificing her needs and desires to keep her obligation to her family.
Aunt Paula took care of everything. She
was smart and resourceful. She trained
as a gold-beater so I could finish high
school. (Kwok 88)
Ma continues her music studies and finishes high school. In due course she meets a music teacher, falls in love with him and marries him. Ma is promised to another man, Bob, a Chinese American, who comes to Hong Kong to marry her. Again Aunt Paula steps in and saves Ma’s honor by keeping the promise made to Bob and she marries him.
Aunt Paula is given the opportunity to go to America and help Uncle Bob manage a clothing factory. Ma stays in Hong Kong and regrettably her husband dies, leaving her destitute with their child. When Aunt Paula finds out about their situation she offers to pay for and sponsor Ma and Kim to come to America. Unfortunately Ma is stricken with Tuberculosis and once more Aunt Paula comes to the rescue. She pays for Ma’s treatment and “… our journey to America had been postponed twice before she got clearance from … the immigration department” (12).
Before Ma and Kim arrived in America Aunt Paula seems to be a kind and caring big sister with Ma. Over the years she is in America, she changes and becomes a calculating cruel woman who appears to care only for herself and to maintain her wealth and position. When Aunt Paula says that she does not need Ma to care for and tutor her sons she sounds sincerely caring as she explains how boys are harder to raise than girls (12). Yet we find out that she has a diabolical plan to put Ma and Kim in a rat and roach infested abandoned tenement and to work in the sweatshop she manages. It will be years before Ma has repaid Aunt Paula for her medical care in Hong Kong and her passage to America. Aunt Paula knows exactly how Ma and Kim suffer every day for years under the burden of their debt to her. We can speculate about what happened to Aunt Paula. Did she become immune to the pain of others by her work in the sweatshop she helped manage? Or was it her loveless marriage that closed down her feelings? Or was she born with a cold, hard, selfish heart but covers her true feelings with her politeness and gentility?
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010.
Javier E Mendez
English 1B
Professor Wanda Sabir
September 20, 2012
Girl in Translation Free write
The novel “Girl in Translation” by Jean Kwok, tells us the story of a young girl from China and her mother, and everything they have to go through to achieve success here in the United States. Along her journey the main character Kim, has to face many emotional, physical and intellectual challenges, in order to get ahead and achieve her dreams. Despite all the disadvantages she has she never gives up, and she always does her best knowing that by her getting ahead in her education is the only way to save Ma and herself from “The circle of factory life” (429).
When Kim first arrives at school she is made fun of, and treated unfairly considering the fact that she doesn’t speak english. Despite all this Kim shows her determination after seeing how much her mother has to work, she works hard constantly and studies every instant that she isn’t at the factory, Kim practices english and does her homework. After surviving the odds in middle school and earning a scholarship to a prestigious high school, and eventually rises to the top of her class so that she can earn her way in to Yale.
During the years that she is in school Kim falls in love with Matt, but due to her hesitation, Matt ends up dating someone else. This leads Kim on a somewhat questionable path. And when she eventually gets together with Matt, she get’s pregnant and has to make a difficult choice. Knowing that he is a different type of person and partially afraid that it would hold both of them back from their dreams she decides to leave Matt, and go on to raise her child on her on and still manages to achieve all her dreams.
‘I don’t want to force him to be with me. I don’t even know if I can make him happy in the long run. What kind if wife would I be for him? Poor, stressed, frustrated, with all my potential unful- filled.’ (3809).
All in all Kim seems to be the perfect protagonist for this story. She overcomes all the discrimination, learns english, finds love for a moment, and achieves great success in her life. The only mistake I believe she made was not going after everything she wanted including Matt. Other than that she shows an incredible amount of determination and becomes a good heroine for this story.
Works Cited
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010. AZW File
Rosetta Egan
Professor Sabir
English 1B
20 September 2012
It occurs to me that Aunt Paula probably has as good and decent heart as anyone until sometime after she marries Bob and moves to America. While still in Hong Kong she takes care of Ma by going to work instead of continuing her education as Ma does, sacrificing her needs and desires to keep her obligation to her family.
Aunt Paula took care of everything. She
was smart and resourceful. She trained
as a gold-beater so I could finish high
school. (Kwok 88)
Ma continues her music studies and finishes high school. In due course she meets a music teacher, falls in love with him and marries him. Ma is promised to another man, Bob, a Chinese American, who comes to Hong Kong to marry her. Again Aunt Paula steps in and saves Ma’s honor by keeping the promise made to Bob and she marries him.
Aunt Paula is given the opportunity to go to America and help Uncle Bob manage a clothing factory. Ma stays in Hong Kong and regrettably her husband dies, leaving her destitute with their child. When Aunt Paula finds out about their situation she offers to pay for and sponsor Ma and Kim to come to America. Unfortunately Ma is stricken with Tuberculosis and once more Aunt Paula comes to the rescue. She pays for Ma’s treatment and “… our journey to America had been postponed twice before she got clearance from … the immigration department” (12).
Before Ma and Kim arrived in America Aunt Paula seems to be a kind and caring big sister with Ma. Over the years she is in America, she changes and becomes a calculating cruel woman who appears to care only for herself and to maintain her wealth and position. When Aunt Paula says that she does not need Ma to care for and tutor her sons she sounds sincerely caring as she explains how boys are harder to raise than girls (12). Yet we find out that she has a diabolical plan to put Ma and Kim in a rat and roach infested abandoned tenement and to work in the sweatshop she manages. It will be years before Ma has repaid Aunt Paula for her medical care in Hong Kong and her passage to America. Aunt Paula knows exactly how Ma and Kim suffer every day for years under the burden of their debt to her. We can speculate about what happened to Aunt Paula. Did she become immune to the pain of others by her work in the sweatshop she helped manage? Or was it her loveless marriage that closed down her feelings? Or was she born with a cold, hard, selfish heart but covers her true feelings with her politeness and gentility?
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2010.
Anna H.Y. Lim
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
11 September 2012
Final Reflection on Girl in Translation
Even by glancing at its cover, I sensed Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok was going to be an emotional read for me because I, too, am a “girl in translation.” From the first chapter, I had hard time holding back my tears. The hardships that Ma and Kimberly face are heart wrenching, but what really made me cry was seeing the love in between them. I found myself desperately wishing that I had been loved like Kimberly as a child and teenager. But in both Kimberly’s and my cases, I recognize that love works as a powerful motivator. Ma’s love for Kim motivates her to work hard and overcome all the obstacles while my desire to be loved motivated me to survive.
That is why I see Kim’s decision to give up the relationship with Matt as a great irony. In most of the decisions she has made, the unconditional love of her mom “translates.” She may think that she’s given Matt, “his life” and “his simple happiness,” but in reality, she is trying to justify the greatest mistake she’s ever made (302). Life situations are never one dimensional. They are often complex and complicated. However, I believe that Kim’s final decision regarding her relationship with Matt should have been different. Even if she has failed in other areas of her life, this is the one area where her decision should have been based on love and not on fear.
Overall, Kwok’s story made me look back and remember how far I have come. It also reminded me that love is powerful. It also made me question the extent of human will in a difficult situation.
Work Cited
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead, 2011. Print.
Matt Dillon-Guerrero
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
26 September 2012
“Girl in Translation” is a story about a girl who immigrates to the United States of America with her mother. At first I was unsure as to whether or not I would enjoy this book, or if I would toss it into the pile of dislike along with such books as “Red Pony” by John Steinbeck, or the final installment in the Harry Potter series. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I enthusiastically enjoyed the dynamic that was Kimberly and Ma. What I liked about their relationship was the need for each other. Ma needs Kimberly to translate from English into their Chinese dialect. While Kimberly appears to have a need to take care of mother, she also seems to have an overdeveloped guilty conscience. An example of this occurs shortly after Kim asks Ma if they can run away and find work at another factory. Ma replies no, “ and what about our debt to her then?” At first Kimberly is furious with Ma but begins to calm down after Ma informs Kimberly precisely as to the reason why they will not run away. The reason why is: they are “decent people who repay our debts (84).”
One issue that did not sit well with me in Girl in Translation was the fact that Kimberly never informs Matt that she had his son. I do however understand the reason why, having been raised in a household with a single mother: a woman does need a man to raise a child. Considering how Matt is treating their future it is absolutely understandable that she did not want Matt to hear. The event unfolds as such: “Matt, I can’t give Yale up. Come with me. We could get an apartment close to school. You could get a job there, I’m sure. And later, I’ll become a professor or a doctor, and we can do the most exciting things together. Travel. Have adventures. It’ll take time but eventually maybe you wouldn’t even have to work.” Matt responds as he typically does with the male archaic response, “ I want to take care of you (266).”
The other item I did not like was the ending. Just like with Harry Potter’s series finale there was a gap of time. I found this to be very annoying and just like with Harry Potter if the previous parts had not been so rewarding, the entire piece could have suffered. For instance, I would have love to have read about her days in college as opposed to her time before she was accepted, and after she graduated. One part that I enjoyed in the final chapters was how she was finally able to talk with Matt about that fateful night in which they “made the baby (281).” She begins with saying she has something to tell him but in fact he has known all along. After a moment of discussing how their lives have turned out, she gives him a ride on her Ducati motorcycle. After she drops him off that is the last time she sees him, as far as we know…
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