Characters

MAIN CHARACTER

Kimberly Chang (Ah Kim)

Kimberly is a very smart girl who excels in school. But due to the language barrier once in New York, Kimberly struggles academically. It helped to immerse me in the world of an immigrant to the United States. Jean Kwok illustrated the cultural differences and adjustments Kimberly and her mother had to make, as well as the importance in the Asian culture of education. I felt sad for her because as a child she need to protect her mother while trying to fit in at school. For me English is very important language as we know that we are living in the world of globalization. English language is a common language and is spoken in many countries. It is considered as universal language. Most of the universities worldwide include English as one of their major subject. English is the first and foremost criteria whether you are applying for a job or you are seeking admission in a reputed college,university or institution. Besides, Kimberly is a determined and brave person. You need to brave enough to know your goals. If you don’t know what you want to achieve how can you possibly know where to make brave choices to get there.  Make sure you are facing the direction you want to go.

SIDE CHARACTERS

Kimberly's Mother (Ma)

In my opinion, Kimberly's mother is a very protective person. She is willing to do everything to make sure that Kimberly get a good education in New York even though she cannot speaks English. Being protective or sometimes over protective is common for mothers. They want their children to be safe from any dangers. They also want the best for their children because they hope their children will become more successful than them. Moreover, Kimberly's mother is also a hard working women. She work every day and night arranging skirts in the factory. Being a hard working person can give you many benefits. First, you can feel a sence of achievement. After we've completed a session of hard work, not only is it rewarding to see the end result, but it also gives the sense of achievement. Also, It teaches you to be responsible and independent . Working hard will mean that we will inevitably make a mistake. A mistake, is not only a learning curve for our minds, but also a chance for you to be responsible and accountable for the mistake. Thus in turn making you more independent and more reliable in the future.

Aunt Paula

Aunt Paula is the sister of Kimberly's mother. She married to a rich American Chinese man and stayed in New York City. She was the one who brought Kimberly and her mother to New York after Kimberly's father died. Even though she provided them with jobs and shelter, sometimes she did not being kind to them. She was jealous when she heard that Kimberly got an offer letter to Hunter High School. A school that her son wanted to go but he did not get into it. As a family, it is our responsible to care about each other. We are not suppose to hurt the feelings of our family members. If one of us are in trouble, we need to give them a help as much as we could. Even though she was the one who brought Kimberly and her mother to New York, she did not care much about them when they arrived. She did not make any effort to move her sister into a new apartment. Her sister's apartment was full of rats and cockroaches and soon to be destroyed by the government.  

Annette

She is Kimberly's best friend. Different from any other white children, she did not ignoring Kimberly. They always spent their time together doing homework, studying, chatting and playing. However, Kimberly always  gave excuses when Annette want to go to her house. Annette seems do not have problem about that. For me, even though they are best friend, Annette did not care much about Kimberly. As friend we must be concerned about our friend. We suppose to know a little bit about them like where they live, how many siblings they have, who are their parents and what are problems they are facing. Annette was also easy to be influenced by her surrounding. When she went to high school, she became a member of a politics club. She began to involve in election held in her school. Besides, I think she did not know what is the feeling of become poor because her family lived in Brooklyn upper class area. In my opinion, best friend is someone to share your deepest secret, someone to give you advice and tell you the truth no matter what, someone to keep away anything that could hurt you, standing beside you and protecting you, comfort you with open arms in the bad times, laugh with you in your good times. Someone to hang out with, share thoughts and experiences. To have someone who accepts you as you are.