Manifestations of Personal Freedom in Protagonists with Differing Backgrounds - Essay Example

? Manifestations of Personal Freedom in Protagonists with Differing Backgrounds The actions, reactions and learning of Nea and Jake are a product of their peculiar backgrounds. While Nea can be seen as coming close to realising that her special bond with her sister Sourdi is over but Jake can be seen persisting in his frame of mind from start to end. A host of other factors can be attributed to the ends presented for either story but the relative time frames for each story are very important. Nea’s story takes a few years to develop fully while Jake’s story consists merely of a few minutes and therefore the amount of adulthood learning cannot be compared directly. On the one hand Jake’s frame of mind and his priorities do not change at all while Nea’s relationship with Sourdi changes but does not end altogether. Jake is portrayed as a typical suburban white teenage boy in the story “Love in L.A.” and his projection on life and its problems does not change from start to end. In the start Jake “needed an FM radio in something better than this ’58 Buick he drove” as well as a “crushed velvet interior with electric controls for the L.A. summer.” After his encounter with Mariana, Jake relapses into his previous train of thought as “he couldn’t stop the thought about that FM stereo radio and crushed velvet interior and the new car smell that would even make it better.” In contrast Nea can be seen developing new perspectives on the relationship between her sister and herself without changing the basic framework of the relationship. The knife attack on the customer in the restaurant reflects that Nea was ready to go to any length to protect her sister. Moreover the author reflects on their closeness by commenting that both sisters planned to run away with Sourdi being her legal guardian. However as the story develops, Nea realises that her relationship with Sourdi is coming to “a fork” and not to “crossroads” which signifies that their closeness is evaporating. Although this dimension of the relationship modifies but Nea’s protectiveness of her sister does not change at all. In fact Nea goes to great trouble to visit Sourdi’s house “a good six hours drive” through rain and snow to see if she has been beaten by her husband. Another noticeable difference between Jake and Nea are their reactions to social stimuli. As noted before Jake encounters Mariana and then persists in his frame of mind without modifying his attitude or perspective on life. On the other hand Nea eventually comes to the realisation that she can do little to change the existing circumstances. May Lee Chai signals this behaviour at the end of her chapter “Saving Sourdi” by commenting that Nea wished she “was a Naga” who “would have swallowed the whole world in one gulp” but she realises that she has “no magic powers”. The contrast between both characters reveals that Jake is hardly prepared to modify his life while Nea is on the track to adulthood and has begun to change her ideas as she encounters new experiences. It can also be reasoned that the actions and reactions of Jake and Nea are a product of their individual backgrounds. Jake has been portrayed as a person with little ambition in life except for changing his car, a “’58 Buick”. Moreover he is seen turning a car accident into an opportunity to flirt with a Cuban woman which is an indication of his priorities in life. Jake is also portrayed as a young person with little experience in life as he directly asks Mariana for her phone number right after the accident. His use of informal language with Mariana such as his musing that Mariana should give her number so that he wouldn’t “have to lay his regular b.s.” on her to get it later shows that his social interaction is largely limited to people his age only. Furthermore Jake does not seem to have either a stable career or a sense of direction for the future. He tells Mariana that he is a singer and then tells her that he acts and has a few movie appearances as a means of laying an impression on her. When this is compared to Nea, a different picture emerges. Nea is supported by a traditional family background with a mother and close relatives such as her uncle and auntie who own the “Silver Palace”. Nea’s mother is also protective of her girls after the death of their father and their subsequent immigration to the United States. The author expresses this by stating that Nea remembers a mother who “worked two jobs” to support her and her sister. The marriage of Nea’s sister to an older man is also arranged by her mother and uncle and reflects that the family has a traditionally conservative mindset. Nea is also expected to follow such a mindset but she has desires of freedom and is ready to support her sister in order to secure her freedom. Moreover Nea’s protectionist attitude towards her sister stems from her memories as a little child in Cambodia when her sister traversed “rotting flesh” to ensure that Nea would not end up as a landmine victim. The strong familial bonds that tie Nea close to her sister and her desire for freedom are two opposite views on spending life but Nea’s inexperience binds them together. Perhaps the only thing that both protagonists possess is a desire for personal freedom. Jake is seen reflecting on his state of personal freedom to an extent that he hits the vehicle in front of him. His dislike for the “steadily employed” is also noticeable in the author’s description. Furthermore his portrayal of himself as a singer and actors further reveals his desire to do what he wants to do and thus his personal freedom. Nea’s desires for personal freedom are comparable to that of Jake too. Nea first plans to “run away” with Sourdi and when that dreams fails to materialise she encourages Sourdi to run away after thinking that her husband hit her and gave her “a bruised cheekbone and a purple eye”. Both stories keep stressing on the personal freedom wanted by the protagonists in both visible and latent forms. Throughout this comparison between the protagonists it must be kept in mind that the time frames considered are very different. The story “Love in L.A.” takes place within a few minutes while “Saving Sourdi” is composed of a few years of personal development. Jake is more or less incorrigible throughout the entire story but it is highly unrealistic to expect anyone to change their attitude in life or to learn to be more mature this quickly. When Nea is compared to Jake it can be discerned that she learns progressively from her mistakes. When Duke creeps into Sourdi’s life, Nea is hardly ready to accept him. However when Sourdi is being married off to another older man, Nea sides with Duke and gets “sips of beer” from Duke. Similarly when Nea learns that her sister was not beaten up by her husband but rather succumbed to an “economy size” diaper pack falling off a shelf, she retracts her immediate worries regarding her sister. Such behaviour can be expected of an individual given that years of new experiences are changing the individual’s attitude. Read More