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Saving Sourdi - Papers Online

Saving Sourdi

Name: Phan Thá»‹ Thanh Tuyá»n
Student's code: 7096551

SAVING SOURDI

May-Lee Chan

In "Saving Sourdi," Nea emerges as the hero of May-Lee Chai's short story. Though Sourdi is the story's object, Nea is the subject that the story follows from first-perspective. As she watches helplessly as the bond with her sister loosens, Nea keenly strives to save Sourdi from what threatens their relationship: men. Through Nea, Chai represents a little girl growing disenchanted by the real world. In coming to America, Nea expects much from this land of the free - an American dream. The story's conflict surfaces in the tension between fantasy and reality. Nea wrestles against realism, stabbing its ...

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sisters shared the same dream once, a dream of escapism, but, within Nea's lucid memories Chai signifies the once strong bond between the sisters and foreshadows Nea's conflict when the present times and men disrupt their past dreams. Arriving in South Dakota, Nea remarks how she "thought [they'd] find the real America," that is, "the life [they] deserved." Instead, she finds drunken men, angry boys, and loud music. Life's stark realities and ugly truths disillusion her. Chai initially expresses Nea's frustrations when a drunken man calls Sourdi his "China doll," enrages Nea. So she stabs him. In her defense she says to Sourdi, "I was trying to save you..." but Sourdi reacts oppositely. The unexpected reaction of Sourdi confuses her. Even as Sourdi warns her of the consequences, Nea still confesses she "was glad [she'd] stabbed that man." In Nea's confusion and aggression, Chai suggests her detachment from the real world's rules. Likewise, Chai marks a distinction between the two ...

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Saving Sourdi. (2012, April 14). Retrieved January 10, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Saving-Sourdi/100695

"Saving Sourdi." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Saving-Sourdi/100695>

"Saving Sourdi." Essayworld.com. April 14, 2012. Accessed January 10, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Saving-Sourdi/100695.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 4/14/2012 12:52:36 PM
Submitted By: tuyen_phan
Category: Asian Studies
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 662
Pages: 3

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