Indholdsfortegnelse
Summary
Analytical Essay
Optimer dit sprog - Læs vores guide og scor topkarakter
Uddrag
The short story “How to pronounce knife” by Souvankham Thammavongsa takes place in an unnamed North American country, where Joy’s family has moved from the Asian country of Laos.
One day Joy brings a book home from school and asks her father to help her pronounce a word she does not recognize - "knife". The next day in school Joy is ridiculed for her mispronunciation by a girl in her class.
Unlike what her father taught her, Joy learns that the letter “k” in “knife” is silent. Joy refuses to accept the correct pronunciation and is sent to the principal's office.
When she returns home, she does not tell her parents what happened and that her father was wrong.
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The difference between Leo’s Asian identity and the North American one is represented by the two settings - the school and the apartment.
The apartment represents Joy’s Asian identity. The apartment is small with two rooms and in one of them hanging a painting by her father (ll. 5-7).
In the family´s apartment, the Lao’s traditions are representative: “…he’d hand over a newspaper to the child, who unfolded sheets on the floor, forming a square, and around that square they sat down to have dinner.” (ll. 9-11)
Meals served on the floor is a Leo tradition, which is something the family is still doing in the new country.
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