Impossible Goodbyes

In the memoir Year Of Impossible Goodbyes, Sookan changes from someone who is a child and very happy and becomes someone who is more adult like and safe. This change is seen in three moments: When she works at the sock factory and sees how horrible the Japanese are, when the family has to work closely with the Russians to escape, and when they cross the border into South Korea. When Sookan works at the sock factory, she realizes how hard the sock girls work. She also gets to take a deeper look into how the Japanese treat Koreans and gets a better idea of the world around her. "Sitting on the ground by the tree stump, we sorted, folded, and then packed into twelve or "tah", the pile of ugly green socks that Aunt Tiger put out for us in the morning" (Choi, 49). "Later that morning Captian Naritia came by for a second inspection" (Choi, 51). This changed Sookan as a character because she learns more about the outer world that her family has been hiding from her. When Sookans family has to work with the Russians in …show more content…
She feels a strong urge to meet up with her family and feel freedom again. When Sookan and her brother Inchun escape to the south it changes there life immensely. Sookan has taken care of her brother and safely escaped. It takes a lot of effort and courage for her to get to this point, but it is all worth it. "We're Safe, we're safe" (Choi, 195). "Inchun and I bent over and crawled under the train" (Choi, 158). This changed her as a person because she had finally overcome something. Throughout her whole life every time she tried something, she got pushed down 10 feet. For once, her and her brother are happy and free.
I think one of the life long lessons being taught is that even if you fail the first time and you don't start out the best, you can still conquer anything. Throughout this book I have learned many terrible things that happen but that you still have to belive in a better