I have chosen to read and discuss “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” that was written by Suki Kim a Korean immigrant and now American citizen. This essay was a very interesting piece that pulled at my heart strings. I say this because I am originally from Astoria Queens, New York and could truly relate to what Suki Kim transmitted in this essay. I believe the most important point of this essay was Suki Kim’s realization that she was no longer a rich and spoiled child living in her native land, but a poor immigrant girl living in a foreign borough. I think Ms. Kim may have experienced “culture shock” when she arrived to Queens and realized this was not a dream, but her horrible reality.
“Facing Poverty With a Rich Girl’s Habit Kelly Knue English 115 April 18, 2015 Professor Trammell “Facing Poverty With a Rich Girl’s Habits” I have chosen to write about the essay “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits”, by Suki Kim. This essay is about a very wealthy young girl who lost almost everything overnight. Suki describes all of the new obstacles she has to endure and overcome. All of these changes basically came about just so her father would not have to serve jail time for going bankrupt which is a strict law in South Korea. In South Korea, she lived famously in a mansion.
Patricia Harris ENG115 6/23/2013 Patricia Harris ENG115 6/23/2013 (Image provided by New York Times, 2004) (Image provided by New York Times, 2004) Professor Jeanette Trammell Professor Jeanette Trammell Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits From peacocks to pigeons, Suki Kim tells her story about what it was like going from riches to rags. Her family forced to move to America, out of South Korea, she explains in detail how she “Faces Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits” (Kim, 2011). From maids to Laundromat’s, Kim was thirteen in the early 80’s when her family moved from their mansion to the upstairs portion of a two family brownstone. Public transportation now carried her to school instead of a chauffeur. Her living arrangements were not her only challenges; she also attended a public school due to their financial status.
When he lost it all through bankruptcy they had to come to American because in Korea bankruptcy was punishable by law to which he could serve jail time if he stayed. This is how Suki and her family lost it all and lived in poverty when she came to America. She talks about how she struggled having to live in the new conditions at the home in Harlem, having to deal with living in a “crammed, ugly place”, and how she found it “humiliating” to have to take their dirty clothes to the Laundromat (McGraw Hill p. 62). This was all a lot to take in going from one extreme to another but another point she made that she struggled with was the language barrier she faced with others that spoke English. Her first playmates were the kids of the people who owned the house she lived in, Billy and Andy, although she hardly considered playmates since they couldn’t understand each other, they were the first kids she interacted with.
In Mother Tongue Amy made a great point when she spoke about how when she was fifteen years old her mother would have her call people on the phone and pretend it was her in order to ask and receive the correct information she needed. “I think my mother’s English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well.” In this quote Amy is discussing that because English is not her first language it could have jeopardizes her future in school and how she would educate herself all throughout college. Most people can relate to this because she already has disadvantage growing up and attending school as a young
As an adult, Wong realizes that she had lost an opportunity to become a more complete Individual when she let go Chinese identity. Part 2: Reaction In “The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl.” Wong talks about her cultural experience. It is sad that she denied her Chinese culture and missed the chance to have a mixed culture. She refused to accept her Chinese origins, which her family was intent on keeping. Chinese culture has a long history, and to inherit one’s culture is valuable; Wong should have cherished it.
Although English is not my second language, I feel that “proper” English is. From Amy Tan’s essay and my own life experience, I believe that too many people in America are treated unfairly because they do not speak “proper” English. I remember growing up with my aunt and having trouble with my English because the school system was so poor. I had to be taken out of my normal classes in third grade and put in a class for kids who had trouble with their English. On career day my teacher asked me what I wanted to be, and I told her I wanted to be a lawyer.
In her writing career, she has completed a lot of good work, which shows her thought and experiences. Tan considers her relationship with her own mother, concentrating on the different “Englishes” she and her mother use to communicate with each other and with the world. Tan’s mother moves from Shanghai to The United States. She is not good at English. When she communicates with people, they cannot fully understand what she says.
RUNNING HEAD; FACIING POVERTY WITH A RICH GIRL’S HABIT FACING POVERTY WITH A RICH GIRL’S HABIT JONETTA FRANKLIN ENG-115 April 21, 2014 DR. MARYROSE KASRAIE Suki Kim appeared in the New York Times on November 21, 2004 where she wrote an article on “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habit “. Kim was raised by wealthy parents in South Korea, who last everything that they owned in bankruptcy. I n South Korea bankruptcy is punishment by jail time so they decide to leave and go to America. Her father was a millionaire from having shipping company and a mining business and also hotels. (Paragraph 1) Kim never did anything for herself or on her own such as homework, dishes, cleaning, washing clothes Just nothing.
I had to get up early in the morning and leave the house while it was still dark to catch a bus carrying my book bag, diaper bag and a car seat just to drop off my baby at day care and catch another bus to make it to my first class on time, and just managing this schedule was a challenge. I had no clue what it would take to care for a baby and I lacked the knowledge and the skills necessary to manage my time and stay in school. Even with a support system, my baby was my responsibility alone and I needed someone to help me cope with the demands on my life. Requiring that all pregnant teens take parenting classes will help them prepare for being a teen mom and give these girls the support they need to become successful adults. In parenting classes, pregnant teens will address their immediate needs and the issues that are essential to the baby’s health first.