Saving Sourdi Summary Essay

Analysis character Nea of Saving Sourdi by May-leeward ChaiSaving Sourdi by May-Lee Chai, theme discusses a classic plot of the metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood. In her story, the two main characters Sourdi and Nea develop in stark contrast to one another. Nea, the younger sister, has difficulty growth up and maturing as her own life, as well as her sisters life, progresses. Her naivety, aggression, and anxiety influence her decisions through bulge the story in a forbid way. Chais character is easily believable and relatable, everyone has had a point in their lives where they didnt want to grow up, handled a blank space poorly, or realized that their kinship with someone has changed drastically to the point of no repair. Nea, the protagonist in Saving Sourdi, is a tragic hero. We experience her attempts at protecting her sister and watch as they fail time and time again. Nea is a flat and static character. Throughout the story she does not change, she remains childish in her actions and decisions. Their mother addresses this issue primal on by saying, You not thinking. That your problem. You always not think (Chai 70) Chai does not show us another side to Nea making her a flat character.We go to her in the same light despite the life lessons she experiences in this short story. Nea is the same drastic, hardheaded child in the beginning as she is in the end. emergence and maturing is crucial in life. Some people, however, suffer from a sort of Peter Pan Syndrome. Nea can be described as an impulsive, strong- ordained, and selfish adolescent who will never truly grow up. The family has never had it light-colored, always having to work and tolerate prejudice payable to their foreign culture. Nea was forced to become a fighter betimes on no matter the situation. If she was a mature character, she could distinguish between when it was most sensible to simply avoid confrontation and back down. Nea is extremely preventative of Sourdi. Her desire to fend for her China Doll sister (69) is the stem of all her decisions throughout the story. Sourdi is the prettier and more desirable sister. Chai highlights the incongruity of the sisters looks by solely depicting Sourdis beauty. By depicting Sourdias a China Doll so early in the story when the two men are harassing her in the familys restaurant, Chai sets us up to believe that she needs defending and isnt strong enough to do it herself. Nea thoroughly believes that is her role in life.As the plot progresses, however, it is easy to see that Sourdi is in fact quite strong and unbreakable. As Nea interacts with the other characters, she is always brash and rarely takes the time to understand their side of a situation. In many cases, she lies to manipulate people and her situation to achieve her selfish goals. Nea fakes her remorse about attacking the customer just to please her sister I was well-chosen Id stabbed that man. I was only crying because life was so unfair. (72) When Nea needs to find a way to Sourdis home she lies to Duke about the ruggedness of the situation because she knows deep down that it is not as bad as she wants to believe. If Sourdi was in trouble, it would ultimately mean that Nea could get her sister back. Nea fabricates this story to make up for the loss she felt when Sourdi moved on and abandoned her. She would rather believe that it was someone else who caused her sister to mature and move on than to believe it was her own disgrace or that it was Sourdis choice. I would stay awake all night pinching the inside of Sourdis arm, the soft flesh of her thigh, to keep my sister from falling hypnoid and leaving me alone. (72) Although her overall purpose at a glance is for Sourdis safety, her true ambition is wanting to keep her sister all to herself.During the story, May Lee Chai Saving Sourdi paints a picture of two extremely close sisters who assume been put to the test. The pair has been relocated, put to work, and expected to matur e quickly in their approximative new world. Nea is the narrator of the story, and she shares We used to say that wed run away, Sourdi and me. (72) The sisters would whisper their secrets back and forth at night, and lock themselves in the bathroom together and traverse away together. As children the girls were inseparable simply soon the age difference comes between them. Sourdi finds comforts in her first romance with a dishwasher, Duke, and slowly but surely Nea is left by the wayside. This distance is increased when Mr. Chhay is introduced and Nea quickly realizes that her sister is being severed from her life It was the beginning of the end. I should restrain fought harder then. I should have stabbed this man, too. (75) In America, everyone is supposed to be equal. People are supposed to be able to have the American Dream and have a successful occupational group as well as supporta family without any trouble despite race, age, gender, or any other factors.In Ma and Sourdis e yes, however, they have seen their traditional culture and are still tied to those beliefs instead. Nea is much more Americanized than the other two women. Ma works very hard to support her children and in an effort to give Sourdi a better life, she makes sure she marries someone who can support her financially instead of someone like Duke who may not be as financially successful. Although she is unhappy, Sourdi understands her role and obeys her elders. Nea, who has been exposed to mostly American culture with little memories of their true roots does not understand this arrangement. As a result, she acts out and rebels against her entire family. The climax of the story occurs when Nea makes a daring attempt at saving her sisters life. Neas irresponsible actions lead to an awkward situation for everyone. Nea refuses to believe that Sourdi is simply a busy woman with a child and a home to care for and immediately jumps to the conclusion that her husband is hurting her in some way. He r over active imagination gets her into trouble. She leaves home without telling her mother, lies to Duke about her true ambitions, blames Mr. Chhay for something he did not do, and creates a huge conflict over a slightly distraught phone call from Sourdi.The moment when Duke punches Mr. Chhay is the cultivation of Neas ill thought out plan crumbling before her eyes. Her immaturity caused an easily evitable confrontation. Near the very end of the story, Chai shares Neas insight on her situation. Sourdi looked at me then, so disappointed. I knew what she was thinking. She has grown up, and I had merely grown unworthy of her love. (83) Nea in the long run realized she was being foolish the whole time. Chais protagonist in Saving Sourdi, Nea, is nave, impulsive, and brash. She is unchanging and narrow-minded. Neas journey seems solely based on saving her sister when in actuality she is trying to find excuses to avoid growing up. The tragic hero fabricates false dangers to compensate her desire to be needed by her sister who has moved on with her life. Nea feels abandoned becausen Sourdi matures while she remains a child. Ma and Sourdi remain connected with traditional customs that Nea simply cannot understand due to her exposure to American culture. Her over active imagination, anxiety, and aggression get her into trouble. When Nea tries to rescue Sourdi from her husband, it is the last straw and she knows that she has lost her dear older sister for good. She had made her choice,and she hadnt chosen me. (84) Sourdi has matured and moved on while Nea is stuck in the memories of her childhood.Works CitedChai, May-Lee. Dragon Chica a Novel. Boston, Gemma, 2011.Fichter, M. M. et al. Anorexia Nervosa in Greek and Turkish Adolescents. European Archives of psychopathology and Neurological Sciences, vol. 237, no. 4, 1988, pp. 200208.