The Lucky Child Theme

Traditions are the customs or beliefs that are kept throughout many generations. They are worshipped by many, but are also scorned when the customs don’t align to a person 's view. In the novel Lucky Child, Loung and Chou are caught in between a war and are then placed into two different worlds. The clash between the two different environments create conflict for Chou, Loung and their eldest brother Meng’s education. The customs of one 's culture can prevent a person from being able to receive a proper education. Chou, the oldest daughter in the family, carried great responsibility since the beginning of the story. She followed the rules and regulations of being a perfect daughter or wife, and she fulfilled her role even till now. “As she …show more content…
Because she had an aggressive personality and was the youngest in her family she was chosen to go to America. There, she had the opportunity to get a better education than what she would have received in Cambodia. Even so, she had taken her education and opportunities for granted. Loung who had encountered many serious events, would most likely want to get a higher education to prove others wrong, but instead she decided to focus on fitting in. When Loung was younger she was devoted to being better, she was excited for school. “Today the stillness of the house does not dampen my spirit because it’s my first day of school! I have spent all summer watching TV and now know a few words and enough phrases [...]” (59). The imagery that this scene creates is the joy a child feels when they first attend school. They want to learn and make new friends. She had put in a large amount of effort to be able to fit in, such as learning english and their norms. “ I’ve spent a lot of time with Li and Anh, but at school, I want friends who are not asians, who aren’t ‘different.’ [...] On the small screen, these white girls, always seem so light and happy. I just know that if I’m friends with them, i’ll always be normal and happy too” (59). The goal of Loung was to be normal. She wanted to be the stereotypical perfect girl within the TV shows, to be the popular girl who could do and have everything she wanted. This quote shows the readers how much the world focuses on these stereotypes on being the perfect girl or boy and having the perfect life. After watching all those movies and TV shows she was led to believe that school was an amazing place, where you make friends and create memories in an instant. Her obsession with being normal led to her lack of concentration on her studies. I can relate to this because there was a time in my life where school was what I looked forward to the most. I