Professor Calatrello
English Composition 102
10 June 2017
Reflective Paper #1 The life long bond between siblings is something inexpressible. Our siblings can serve as our supporters, mentors, and even our backbone. If you are lucky enough you know your sibling is the one person you can turn to when you’ve ran into some trouble. They become your best friend and someone you can always depend on no matter the circumstances. In May-Lee Chai’s “Saving Sourdi” we see the strong relationship that Nea and her older sister Sourdi share at the beginning of the story when they are children. Since Sourdi is older they are at different stages in life which Nea overlooks. The sense of betrayal Nea felt once Sourdi started dating and seeing Duke was the …show more content…
Perhaps I wouldn’t have impulsively stabbed the man, but I would’ve definitely tried to escape the situation. “Oh please call me older brother,” he said. It was the beginning of the end. I should have fought harder then. I should have stabbed this man, too.” (Chai 87). We learn about the attachment Nea carries with her sister. She doesn’t want to share Sourdi with anyone else. We learn more about her naïve personality and how she resorts to her immature ways of thinking when something doesn’t please her. When my sister was about to start high school, I was still in elementary. Just like with Nea and Sourdi our age gap of seven years took a strong toll on our relationship. She started to spend time with the people she befriended at school and soon after she started dating too. I didn’t want to accept the fact that she was older than me and in a different place in life. I began feeling neglected and I thought she didn’t love me anymore. Like Nea I faced an internal struggle with myself because I was too young to understand that my sister was growing up and I couldn’t have her as my childhood playmate for the rest of my …show more content…
Chhay, she calls home crying and Nea immediately feels the need to help her. She thinks something is wrong and gets Duke involved. After they find out everything is okay, Sourdi tells Nea “I’m a married woman now. I’m not just some girl anymore. I have my own family. You understand that?” (Chai 95). Again, Nea is still unable to accept that her sister is growing up without her. During my sophomore year in high school my sister told my family and I that she was moving to the state of Alabama with her boyfriend. We had lived in California our entire lives. California was our home and there was no way I ever pictured home without my sister. We always had plans of raising our own families there. We planned so much just like Nea and Sourdi did when they were younger, so when I heard this I felt like the world came crashing down on me. My sister finally met a good person and she was moving to start a new life. Like Nea I didn’t see this side of the situation. Selfishly, all I could see was that my sister chose someone over my family and I. “And I knew that I couldn’t trust my sister to take my side anymore…she had made her choice, and she hadn’t chosen me.” (Chai 96). Nea despised Mr. Chhay because she thought they were getting in the way of their relationship. I felt the same way about my now brother in law and I just laugh when I think about how childish I
English Composition 102
10 June 2017
Reflective Paper #1 The life long bond between siblings is something inexpressible. Our siblings can serve as our supporters, mentors, and even our backbone. If you are lucky enough you know your sibling is the one person you can turn to when you’ve ran into some trouble. They become your best friend and someone you can always depend on no matter the circumstances. In May-Lee Chai’s “Saving Sourdi” we see the strong relationship that Nea and her older sister Sourdi share at the beginning of the story when they are children. Since Sourdi is older they are at different stages in life which Nea overlooks. The sense of betrayal Nea felt once Sourdi started dating and seeing Duke was the …show more content…
Perhaps I wouldn’t have impulsively stabbed the man, but I would’ve definitely tried to escape the situation. “Oh please call me older brother,” he said. It was the beginning of the end. I should have fought harder then. I should have stabbed this man, too.” (Chai 87). We learn about the attachment Nea carries with her sister. She doesn’t want to share Sourdi with anyone else. We learn more about her naïve personality and how she resorts to her immature ways of thinking when something doesn’t please her. When my sister was about to start high school, I was still in elementary. Just like with Nea and Sourdi our age gap of seven years took a strong toll on our relationship. She started to spend time with the people she befriended at school and soon after she started dating too. I didn’t want to accept the fact that she was older than me and in a different place in life. I began feeling neglected and I thought she didn’t love me anymore. Like Nea I faced an internal struggle with myself because I was too young to understand that my sister was growing up and I couldn’t have her as my childhood playmate for the rest of my …show more content…
Chhay, she calls home crying and Nea immediately feels the need to help her. She thinks something is wrong and gets Duke involved. After they find out everything is okay, Sourdi tells Nea “I’m a married woman now. I’m not just some girl anymore. I have my own family. You understand that?” (Chai 95). Again, Nea is still unable to accept that her sister is growing up without her. During my sophomore year in high school my sister told my family and I that she was moving to the state of Alabama with her boyfriend. We had lived in California our entire lives. California was our home and there was no way I ever pictured home without my sister. We always had plans of raising our own families there. We planned so much just like Nea and Sourdi did when they were younger, so when I heard this I felt like the world came crashing down on me. My sister finally met a good person and she was moving to start a new life. Like Nea I didn’t see this side of the situation. Selfishly, all I could see was that my sister chose someone over my family and I. “And I knew that I couldn’t trust my sister to take my side anymore…she had made her choice, and she hadn’t chosen me.” (Chai 96). Nea despised Mr. Chhay because she thought they were getting in the way of their relationship. I felt the same way about my now brother in law and I just laugh when I think about how childish I