In the book, "Girl In Translation" by Jean Kwok, a young girl Kimberly immigrates from Hong Kong to America with her mother. Her life becomes very difficult in America because of her and her mothers financial situation. The two girls work for Kimberly's aunt in a factory under harsh conditions and under the constant watch of aunt Paula. When Kimberly is offered a full scholarship to an amazing private school, she finds it difficult to keep her biggest secret from her peers and best friend.
Being different can always be hard. Kimberly is considered different to other people because she doesn't have everything that normal girls around her have. For example, she does not have a bra and only has one underwear. Other girls think she is unsanitary and gross for this, but they don't realize that she does not have the same privileges as they do. She works at a factory with her mom for a very low pay. She cannot afford what girls at her private school might consider necessities. She can only afford to have the absolute necessities. She is also an immigrant from Hong Kong and does not speak perfect English or know the normal American social cues , this seems very strange in a very American community. At first, other girls judge her and underestimate her. All they see is a poor Asian girl with baggy unfitting clothes protecting her. But, behind that cheap polyester blazer, there is an amazingly intellectual girl with a lot of potential.
Though Kimberly may seem strange and different to other students, she has a special gift that will lead her to success and already has: intelligence. Kimberly is an extraordinarily intelligent student with amazing learning abilities. So far, her outstanding academic level has brought her the opportunity to attend a stellar and very exclusive private school. And in this private school, she becomes an amazing student with a very good work ethic, learns English better, and learns how to be more sociable. Kimberly's level intelligence has brought her amazing things, but also some not so amazing things. When Aunt Paula finds out that Kimberly got into the private school she wanted her son to go to, she becomes furious with jealousy. She stunts Kimberly by lowering her and her mothers pay, not letting them move out of their awful apartment, and subtly criticizing her. She needs to feel more dominate and successful because she is older and more wealthy. However, Kimberly will be able to achieve amazing things with the great education she is getting and her overall level of success so far.
All in all, I believe Kimberly will become very successful even with her differences and disadvantages. Intelligence is very powerful and important. It can provide opportunities and advantages for intelligent people who seek it out. Intelligence, above all, should be respected and valued for its power and importance.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Litterary Essay
Wealth should be dealt with responsibly and diligently, wealthy people should be aware of their power and chose to make good decisions that will benefit others. In the book, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir and Hassan are best friends but their friendship slowly starts to fall apart because of their drastic difference in class. Amir is a the son of a wealthy business man and Hassan is Amir's servant boy. Amir is pressured by society to behave a certain way because he is wealthy and so he makes some regrettable decisions and ruins his friendship. this lead me to realize that rich people can make bad decisions, especially with their money. Amir is selfish and does what he thinks will be the best for him but he never considers that sharing his wealth with Hassan will help Hassan and himself.
Wealthy people can loose sight of what's really important to them and how they can get it. In modern day society, money equates to power, so money is considered important to people in many different cultures around the world. But, when you have a lot of money... what will you do with it? Would you spend it on yourself, your family, or complete strangers in need? Of course, it is completely respectable to want to spend money on yourself at first, but what do you do with all that extra money that you don't need? The courageous and very respectable decision would be to spend that money on the less fortunate. But why would you do that? You want to save up money for things that may come up in the future! Many wealthy people think that saving money is a smart decision, though they are accounting for the future by saving money so they do not ever have to be broke or worry about money, they don't account for the future when they make more money. If you are in a position to make a lot of money at the moment, you will also still make a lot of money in the future. So instead of spending money on themselves and worrying about their future, they should spend money on others who really need it.
Wealthy people should use their power to help others around them and not just serve themselves. People with a lot of money, are higher on the social class ladder. Which means, they have a lot of power and ability to influence. However, rich people don't utilize this power to influence others to make an important change that may benefit society or just directly help people. For example, on page 39 of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Hassan stands up and protects him and Amir from a couple of rude, dangerous, and wealthy teenagers. However, he does not succeed and ends up being dragged into an ally and raped. But, Hassan never stands up to the boys and protects Hassan. He could have used his power to stop the boys, but instead he stood still and did nothing. This shows that wealthy people don't always utilize their power to help others, this is irresponsible and ignorant because they are aware of their power but chose to do nothing with it.
"Money cannot buy happiness" is a saying we hear a lot. That's because it is a very good and true saying. Money cannot directly buy long term happiness and self satisfaction, however it can "buy happiness" if it is spent the correct way. If it is spent on others, the giver will feel satisfied with
themselves and so will the receiver. However, many rich people don't think this way and believe that by them having more material possessions they will be more happy. But they don't realize that they will be happy by spending money on others. It is very nice to spend money, time, or effort on another person. However, many people, like Hassan, actually need help and are not given it even though there are many wealthy people who can actually help them by just putting some time and consideration into helping them. It is selfless and very nice to put effort into helping others but it is selfish not to if you can. Money may not be able to buy you happiness but it can help someone else in need.
All in all, wealth is a very difficult thing to deal with. It is hard to make the right decisions and spend your money and power responsibly and considerately. However, it is very important to be responsible and take control over the situation of having a significant amount of money. Wealthy people need to be aware of the power that comes with their wealth and success. They should use this wealth and power to help others in need who aren't as fortunate to have as many opportunities as they do.
Link to original blog post: http://nikkivaynshteynms51.blogspot.com/2014/01/in-book-american-born-chinese-by-gene.html
Wealth should be dealt with responsibly and diligently, wealthy people should be aware of their power and chose to make good decisions that will benefit others. In the book, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir and Hassan are best friends but their friendship slowly starts to fall apart because of their drastic difference in class. Amir is a the son of a wealthy business man and Hassan is Amir's servant boy. Amir is pressured by society to behave a certain way because he is wealthy and so he makes some regrettable decisions and ruins his friendship. this lead me to realize that rich people can make bad decisions, especially with their money. Amir is selfish and does what he thinks will be the best for him but he never considers that sharing his wealth with Hassan will help Hassan and himself.
Wealthy people can loose sight of what's really important to them and how they can get it. In modern day society, money equates to power, so money is considered important to people in many different cultures around the world. But, when you have a lot of money... what will you do with it? Would you spend it on yourself, your family, or complete strangers in need? Of course, it is completely respectable to want to spend money on yourself at first, but what do you do with all that extra money that you don't need? The courageous and very respectable decision would be to spend that money on the less fortunate. But why would you do that? You want to save up money for things that may come up in the future! Many wealthy people think that saving money is a smart decision, though they are accounting for the future by saving money so they do not ever have to be broke or worry about money, they don't account for the future when they make more money. If you are in a position to make a lot of money at the moment, you will also still make a lot of money in the future. So instead of spending money on themselves and worrying about their future, they should spend money on others who really need it.
Wealthy people should use their power to help others around them and not just serve themselves. People with a lot of money, are higher on the social class ladder. Which means, they have a lot of power and ability to influence. However, rich people don't utilize this power to influence others to make an important change that may benefit society or just directly help people. For example, on page 39 of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Hassan stands up and protects him and Amir from a couple of rude, dangerous, and wealthy teenagers. However, he does not succeed and ends up being dragged into an ally and raped. But, Hassan never stands up to the boys and protects Hassan. He could have used his power to stop the boys, but instead he stood still and did nothing. This shows that wealthy people don't always utilize their power to help others, this is irresponsible and ignorant because they are aware of their power but chose to do nothing with it.
"Money cannot buy happiness" is a saying we hear a lot. That's because it is a very good and true saying. Money cannot directly buy long term happiness and self satisfaction, however it can "buy happiness" if it is spent the correct way. If it is spent on others, the giver will feel satisfied with
themselves and so will the receiver. However, many rich people don't think this way and believe that by them having more material possessions they will be more happy. But they don't realize that they will be happy by spending money on others. It is very nice to spend money, time, or effort on another person. However, many people, like Hassan, actually need help and are not given it even though there are many wealthy people who can actually help them by just putting some time and consideration into helping them. It is selfless and very nice to put effort into helping others but it is selfish not to if you can. Money may not be able to buy you happiness but it can help someone else in need.
All in all, wealth is a very difficult thing to deal with. It is hard to make the right decisions and spend your money and power responsibly and considerately. However, it is very important to be responsible and take control over the situation of having a significant amount of money. Wealthy people need to be aware of the power that comes with their wealth and success. They should use this wealth and power to help others in need who aren't as fortunate to have as many opportunities as they do.
Link to original blog post: http://nikkivaynshteynms51.blogspot.com/2014/01/in-book-american-born-chinese-by-gene.html
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