Saving Sourdi Analysis

In May Lee Chai’s “Saving Sourdi,” Nea attempted to save Sourdi from the life she believed she didn’t want; however, the story displays that Sourdi was not the one who needed saving. The main character, Nea experiences feelings of loneliness, possessiveness, and jealousy as the bond between the two sisters is threatened due to Sourdi's progression into adulthood. As Sourdi matures, Nea begins to experience fear of abandonment from the one she loves most, causing her to exhibit these qualities. Nea feels lonely and fears being replaced by the people in Sourdi’s life. She feels threatened because these people consume Sourdi's attention and drive her farther away from her. Sourdi matures as Nea remains the same. She assumes that Sourdi should stay as she is and not grow into an adult, let alone grow apart from her. Nea fears that as Sourdi grows and becomes occupied with her life, the one thing she loves and cares for the most will abandon her. From the outset, Nea believes that as Sourdi grows, she will grow as well with her. She makes plans in the future involving only Sourdi and herself to help her believe that they will always remain …show more content…
As Sourdi invested more time in Duke, Nea began to think of him “as a fork in the road, dividing [her] life from Sourdi from Sourdi’s life with men”(139). Her analogy shows that she feels envious and fears being abandoned by the one person she wants the most attention from as she progresses into adulthood.
Nea also experiences the feeling of possessiveness over Sourdi. She is so jealous to the point where she feels she must be possessive over Sourdi. Nea wants Sourdi to herself and herself only at all times. Sourdi getting married to Mr.Chhay was a breaking point for Nea, she was inevitably jealous of everyone stealing Sourdi from her, that she took matters into her own hands and traveled to Des Moines with