The main characters are the elder sister Sourdi and the younger sister Nea. These two sisters are close and grew together all through to their life. Their growth and togetherness exhibit their different roles played in this story thus clearly bringing out their definite characters.
Saving Sourdi. Saving Sourdi is a short story, which deals with the struggles and perceptions of Nea, who is one of the characters. The main characters are the elder sister Sourdi and the younger sister Nea. These two sisters are close and grew together all through to their life.
This is most likely due to her aggressiveness together with her nervous behavior that plays the negative roles all through the story. It is evident from the story that Nea continually attempts to save her sister all through the entire story but with no success over and over.
Nea is too naïve to understand the happenings between Sourdi, his husband, and Mr. Chhay (Chai, 143). All she fights for is happiness and closeness to her sister, whom she feels marriage has snatched away from her.
Even though Nea fails to grow-up like Sourdi at the beginning of the story, by the end her character has a moment of maturity. For these reasons, the sisters are foil to each other, Nea is the protagonist as well as the antihero, and both Nea and Sourdi can be considered dynamic characters.
The characters Nea and Sourdi were ages four and nine during the terrible reign of Khmer Rouge (1975-79), and the story ends when they are sixteen and twenty.
Nea, is a static character, showing no growth or development. She doesn't learn from any of her mistakes. She displays her controlling behaviors by continuing to make hasty decisions. For example, when she spontaneously calls Duke to drive to Sourdi's house based only on assumptions yelling “Duke!
Theme. Nea- Determined to Protect her sister and continues to be impulsive until the end. "In those days, I didn't understand anything" (Chai 139). Sourdi- At first the committed companion to Nea, but as men enter her life, her priorities to herself and her family change.
Nea finally realizes that Sourdi no longer needs her and has moved on and Nea is left feeling cold and alone as her one true friend has left her. Reality, like the snow, has finally come crashing down around her.
The third-person point of view in “Hi Howya Doin” forces readers to experience more than just one single minded view of these characters.
This is most likely due to her aggressiveness together with her nervous behavior that plays the negative roles all through the story.
Sourdi is more beautiful than Nea because Nea is too childish. The author describes her beauty by her round face, long and wide nose, sleek hair and crescent-shaped eyes. The beautiful looks makes her to get attention from admirers, especially men, throughout the story.
Duke, however, is a good example to show the reader how Sourdi changes and matures up with boys until marriage. In addition, it shows how Nea fails to change and remains childish and unwilling to let Sourdi experience her relationships. She goes further to deny Sourdi’s marriage with Mr. Chhay.
Therefore, Nea does not leave her elder sister to fight for herself in the midst of the drunkards even though she is the eldest and can take care of herself.
The main characters are the elder sister Sourdi and the younger sister Nea. These two sisters are close and grew together all through to their life.
Conclusion. To summarize, the short story “Saving Sourdi” is a story that deals with the struggles and perceptions of Nea, who is one of the characters.
Saving Sourdi short story took place in United States after the family moved there. It was difficult for Nea to adjust to this environment since the place was only occupied by Americans but not Asians as she opted to find. It was the only Asian family present in that society.
The reader understands why Nea was upset about her sister, Sourdi moving on since they were typically best friends growing up. As a young child, kids usually try to act older and more mature than they are. They are noisy and want to know about every little thing. This is a normal characteristic that most children have acquire. Nea, the younger sister, has difficulty growing up and maturing in her own life, as well as her sister’s life, as it progresses. Her naivety and aggression influences her decisions throughout the story in a negative way. Chai’s character is easily believable and relatable. Everyone has had a point in their lives where they didn’t want to grow up, handled a situation poorly, or realized that their relationship with someone has changed drastically to the point of no repair. The reader experiences her attempts at protecting her sister and we watch as they fail time and time again. Nea is a flat and static character. Throughout the story she does not change. Nea remains childish in her actions and decisions. Their mother addresses this issue early 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 see her in the same light despite the life lessons she experiences. Nea is the same drastic,......
...Many of us have siblings. You want to care and love on them as much as possible. Saving Sourdi demonstrates the love one sibling can have for another sibling as well as the struggle it takes to care for a loved one. In Saving Sourdi, May-Lee Chai utilizes sibling love, family protection, and courage as the three themes that Nea demonstrates for her older sister. The first theme, sibling love, shows the relationship between Nea and her older sister. Their relationship goes back and forth between good and bad. “Uncle fired Duke… It was during the Saturday lunch rush when Sourdi and I were not working and could not witness what had happened” (May-Lee Chai 74). This is good because they get to see each other and spend time together. “Now when I crept into Sourdi’s bed at night, when she talked about running away, she meant Duke and her” (May-Lee Chai 74). This is not a good situation because her older sister talks about running away with Duke. If this happened, Nea would never get to see her sister anymore. Having sisterly love is important because you need that special connection if you have a problem. You may not want to talk with your parents right away about something but need someone to be there for you. A sister connection would be good in that situation. The next theme, family protection, shows what Nea would do to save her sister. “I grabbed the knife and ran back out to Sourdi” (May-Lee Chai 70). Nea grabs a knife and comes back out to the bar and......
The main characters are the elder sister Sourdi and the younger sister Nea. These two sisters are close and grew together all through to their life. Their growth and togetherness exhibit their different roles played in this story thus clearly bringing out their definite characters. This story is illustrated to show how the character of Nea and her viewpoint shapes the interpretation of the reader about the story. Saving Sourdi is a tale that holds up the strong bonds of sisterhood and family and change as people grow to maturity. The story is created from a point of view that can influence how one views the characters and their choices. This short story by May-Lee Chai is quite interesting in showing how the characters ultimately play different roles. Nea, who is the sister to Sourdi, is the narrator as well as the principal protagonist in “Saving Sourdi” as they grow up into adulthood (Chai, 43). Although Nea and Sourdi grow up together, the development of their characters is differently manifested. Nea falls behind, maturity-wise, but Sourdi continuously matures. This is most likely due to her aggressiveness together with her nervous behavior that plays the negative roles all through the story. It is evident from the story that Nea continually attempts to save her sister all through the entire story but with no success over and over. Her action shows her......
...The Character analysis of Saving Sourdi “The hardest part about growing up is letting go of what you were used to, and moving on with something you’re not.” - Kamari aka. Lyrikal Saving Sourdi is discussing a classic plot of the metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood. In her story, the two main characters Sourdi and Nea develop in distinct difference to each other. Nea, the younger sister, has difficulty growing up and maturing as her own life, as well as her sister’s life, progresses. Her naivety, aggression, and anxiety influence her decisions throughout the story in a negative way. Characters in this story are easily believable and relatable, everyone has had a point in their lives where they didn’t want to grow up, handled a situation poorly, or realized that their relationship with someone has changed drastically to the point of no repair. Nea, the protagonist, is a true hero. We can see 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 early on by saying, “You not thinking. That your problem. You always not think!” Growing and maturing is crucial in life. Some people, however. Nea can be described as an impulsive, strong-willed, and selfish adolescent who will never truly grow up. The family has never had it easy, always having to work and tolerate prejudice due to......
...Ashly Aquino Professor McIntyre ENC 1102 April 22, 2016 Saving Sourdi “Saving Sourdi” is a short story written by May-Lee Chai. This short story is about two sisters, Nea and Sourdi, who have a sisterly bond however, Nea the protagonist character starts feeling like her relationship with her sister is being threatened by the men that enters Sourdis life. This causes Nea to become a courageous, protective, and ignorant character throughout the story. While Nea assumes that she is helping her sister, she fails to realize that she makes the situation worse. The author uses characterization as a literary device to show how siblings can act towards a loved one ignoring the consequences that are yet to come. “A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves- a special kind of bond.” (Toni Morrison) Having a sister can be either a blessing or a curse. A sister can be your mirror, partner in crime, your midnight companion, and a teacher. For many it's a blessing however, at times a sister can bring out many attributes and moods. Nea and Sourdi are two sisters that grew up together and were seeking for the real America with their mother. The sisters encountered many events and shared many moments “…the two of us, so we could talk about things like boys at school or who......
...Your thesis statement is no exception to your writing: it needs to be as clear as possible. By being as clear as possible in your thesis statement, you will make sure that your reader understands exactly what you mean. Tip: In order to be as clear as possible in your writing: Unless you're writing a technical report, avoid technical language. Always avoid jargon, unless you are confident your audience will be familiar with it. Avoid vague words such as "interesting,” "negative," "exciting,” "unusual," and "difficult." Avoid abstract words such as "society," “values,” or “culture.” These words tell the reader next to nothing if you do not carefully explain what you mean by them. Never assume that the meaning of a sentence is obvious. Check to see if you need to define your terms (”socialism," "conventional," "commercialism," "society"), and then decide on the most appropriate place to do so. Do not assume, for example, that you have the same understanding of what “society” means as your reader. To avoid misunderstandings, be as specific as possible. Compare the original thesis (not specific and clear enough) with the revised version (much more specific and clear): Original thesis: Although the timber wolf is a timid and gentle animal, it is being systematically exterminated. [if it's so timid and gentle -- why is it being exterminated?] Revised thesis: Although the timber wolf is actually a timid and gentle animal, it is being systematically exterminated......