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.
Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits In the book, “The Interpreter”, Suki Kim writes about her struggle which is published in the New York Times “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits”. The main point of her writing was how she faced difficulty adjusting to the change she went through when coming to American, after growing up in Korea as a wealthy girl. In Korea she was raised with maids, chauffeurs, and governesses all while living in a Mansion on the hilltops. Her father was wealthy millionaire from businesses he owned such as a shipping company, mining business, and hotels. 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.
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.
However, because reader are learning all of the information from her, reader never truly understand why the mother is pushing her daughter so hard to be something she clearly does not want to be. Readers are given very little information about her life or culture in China before she came to the United States. Therefore, the mother comes across as harsh and cruel. When the mother says, "Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter," the mother seems inflexible, stubborn and even a bit abusive.
We need them, as they need us In the United States, service jobs are essential to the community, but not enjoyed by everybody: the workers. Barbara Ehrenreich decided to live by herself a service-worker life. During the process, she wrote her article “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America”, in which she tells us her discoveries and feelings about her new life. On the other hand, another writer, Sonia Nazario, wrote the article “Benefit and Burden”, in which she explains the good and bad facts about immigration. These writers basically write about two completely different topics, but there’s a point we can relate: immigrants are most of the service workers.
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.
But as she moves on in life, she begins to regret her past actions and finds out that her mother’s difficulties and problems, are (now) put on her shoulders and (now) for her to solve. Suyuan Woo was an elderly woman, faced with many problems from her pastime (past) escaping from Kweilin. Her husband was an officer and was killed when the Japanese invaded China. Now forced to escape, she packed all her belongings and started her long journey. Day by day, her variety of items became a nuisance (burden) and she was forced to get rid of them.
As a result, urbanization quickly started going out of control due to lack of communication, too many people being forced into slums, and many other reasons. Without the help of women, urbanized areas could have become horrible places to live and nothing would have gotten done. For example, Jane Adams established the Hull House, a prominent American settlement house. Adams despised both war and poverty. The Hull House offered instruction in English, counseling to help immigrants deal with the American big city life, childcare services for working mothers, and cultural activities for immigrants of neighborhoods.
Saroun Neang English 97 Professor Miklos 02/24/2014 Home Is Where the Heart Is The House on Mango Street, a novel written by Sandra Cisneros, is based on a young Chicana (Mexican-American girl) named Esperanza who is probably in her young adolescents years when the story begins. Within the year, she has moved around with her family to various neighborhoods and finally ends up on Mango Street. The house is not what Esperanza has dreamed of because it is shabby, broken down and crowded. She struggles with her feelings of loneliness and her shame at being poor. Like many young adolescents, she is embarrassed and wants to fit in.