...2015 In the essay “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits,” author Suki Kim describes how her lifestyle as a wealthy child of a millionaire changed overnight. Due to bankruptcy her father lost everything and being that in Korea bankruptcy is a crime punishable by jail time, her family fled to America. They lived in Queens, New York where they rented a home from another Korean family as she describes queens as “the wild west” (62). An interesting focal in her essay is when she explains her first English word she learned in junior high school which was “F.O.B., short for fresh of the boat” (62). She could not grasp the understanding to why the other kids referred to her that way when her family had flown from Korea to America. She also learned that she was “Asian” and found it to be very offensive because the skin reminded her of the Forsythia flowers that characterized the lower class when she was in Korea. Another interesting key point Kim describes is taking public transportation for her very first time. This was an important moment she defines as she was used to being chauffeured. Without the use of maids she had when her family was rich, she noticed things became seriously messy around the house, and found it to be humiliating to take their dirty clothes to the laundromat. This was a challenge for her because she was accustomed to her princess lifestyle of servants for her daily needs and wants. Kim began to realize the major difference in culture between Korea and America...
Words: 477 - Pages: 2
...completely incompetent. Even though Jack had very poor eye site, this did not hold back Kipling’s actions to help his son join the army force. His performance as Jack is very real that as some point, I internally screamed NO! when he directs and leads his group to fight. Daniel Radcliffe brings both power and sadness at the same time in his role, especially when he speaks to his father for the last time and takes off. Another very significant cast member is Carrie Mulligan. Carrie began her acting career in 2005 and even though she is an Amature when is comes to acting, she displayed a very Professional part playing as Kipling’s independent daughter, Elsie - the only one of Kipling’s three daughters to live past the age of 18. Kim Cattrall (Carrie) delivers and magnificent performance as Kipling’s...
Words: 1598 - Pages: 7
...“Take up the White Man's burden— / Ye dare not stoop to less—/ Nor call too loud on Freedom / To cloak your weariness. / By all ye will or whisper, / By all ye leave or do, / The silent sullen peoples/ Shall weigh your God and you.” reads Ruyard Kipling’s poem, “The White Man’s Burden.” Rudyard Kipling, who was a well-known author around the turn of the century. He was a prestigious college graduate who had won many awards, including the Nobel Prize for writing. This tells us, the readers, that he is a very credible writer. Now, academically, there is much discourse and disagreement in regards to weather the poem is satirical. Many scholars believe that Kipling’s sentiment expressed about Imperialism as genuine, especially considering some of his other work. However, some do believe the poem is satire, and that Kipling is mocking the concept of “The White Man’s Burden.” Regardless of whether or not the poem is satirical, and while disregarding that the poem is directly about the Philippine-American War, “The White Man’s Burden” still shows what pro-Imperialists believed. “The White Man’s Burden” shows modern readers the thought process that lead many Western forces to go to lands they had never been before and systematically destroy a people’s way of life....
Words: 1025 - Pages: 5
...The greatest and obligated duty to the children is to love them, secondly, it is to teach them according to Richelle E. Goodrich. The meaning behind this is that children should not only be loved, but that teaching them important life lessons are just as vital. This can be seen in Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" poem. "If" is about being who you are without the thought of someone else's opinion in the form of a conversation with his son. Another poem that relates to this theme is Langston Hughes' "Mother to Son" poem which shows a discussion between a mother and her son about never giving up just because life can grow problematic. The significance of the two poems is that both authors display some sort tougher affection by teaching meaningful life lessons with a simple heart-to-heart talk. In Kipling's "If", the author is teaching his son influential values and etiquettes if he wants to be more like a man. Not just stereotypical jobs but more general ideas like, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you." Meaning that just cause others are against, people should never doubt oneself or "give way to hating" because it is a mistake if people mold oneself around others' views. This is the father's advice to his son. Hughes has a similar outlook in her poem. "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes has a strong resemblance to Kipling's "If" with its themes that harmonize with each other. The difference being that "Mother to Son" is more about overcoming...
Words: 414 - Pages: 2
...Kipling’s use of syntax and tone reveals a sympathetic and considerate approach to interracial relationships as a means of discarding imperialistic dogmatism. The majority of the story occurs within Holden and Ameera’s home in which Kipling employs poetic and romantic diction which lends itself to “sense of artificiality [that] often surfaces whenever they speak of the eternality of their love and the permanence of their happiness” (Dillingham 68). However, this artificiality is not a genuine flaw in the work, but indicative of the artificiality, or rather, unsustainability of Holden and Ameera’s relationship. Holden deviates from any imperialistic language within the house and speaks poetically: “‘I have seen fire-balloons by the hundred. I have seen the moon, and – then I saw no more fire-balloons’” (WBOC 1728). The absence of legalistic language suggests a childlike ignorance of the outside world. This ignorance, however, is a conscious rejection. The reality is, Holden is a man employed by the empire and knows “the drawbacks of a double life are manifold” (1729). He chooses to live the double life because he is implicated within the empire but finds more joy in his relationship: “she was all but all the world in his eyes. By every rule and law she should have been otherwise” (1728). Therefore, Kipling established Holden as knowing what he is doing, but doing otherwise as a means of finding happiness. This is indicative of the complexity nostalgia brings to the work. Just...
Words: 1884 - Pages: 8
...Sinem KELEŞ THE CONCEPT OF IDENDTITY IN ‘KİM’ About the Writer of the ‘KİM’ and the novel Rudyard Kipling, writer of the novel, is a British writer from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He acquired great fame with his novel which is notable for detailed depiction of the culture and people of India. It is described as a picaresque novel in which the adventures of the main characters are told. Kim is an orphan son of a British soldier. One day, he meets a Tibetian Lama who is in search of the River of the Arrow and becomes his chela. Incidentally, the priest of the regiment which his father is the member of it, identifies him and sends him to an English school. Then, Kim sets out on a journey with Lama who is in search of the River of Arrow. Meanwhile, Lama gets into a conflict with Russian agents. So, the Lama realizes that he should search for the river of the Arrow in other place, not in the mountains. Then, Kim summit the secret documents to the required people and the Lama finds his river and manage to reach Enlightenment. It is an adventure story of a boy who is seeking for his place in his country while he is trying to find an identity for himself. “The novel develops along two interconnecting threads of Kim‘s life from age thirteen to seventeen: his adventures as he traverses India both as the servant of Teshoo Lama, a Tibetan monk, and as a spy-in-training for the British government, and his eventual hand in saving British...
Words: 658 - Pages: 3
... By Suki Kim Professor Michelle James English 115 April 18, 2016 The short essay “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habit” written by Suki Kim starts out in the early 80’s. Suki and her family came to America from Korea because her father lost his business and in Korea you could be placed in jail for bankruptcy. Suki and her family stayed in a house that belonged to another Korean family. Suki thought the house was ugly. There in the house she met her first playmates Billy and Andy. They spoke English and she learned to speak from them. One of the first term she learned from being around them was F.O.B(Fresh off the Boat). She couldn’t understand what they meant, but she was pretty sure she flew on a plane from Korea. Being in America life changed for her, from having people do things for her such as laundry to her being chaffureffed everywhere. Now she had to do all things as she said “Each week I found it humiliating to wheel out dirty clothes to a bleak place called the laundromat”. (Kim,2002 para.3) Manners and being respectful were taught to all Korean school children, but here in America kids didn’t bow, girls wore skimpy clothing and made out with boys in class. The school also was different, graffiti on the walls, guards at the front doors with metal detectors to check book bags. Suki found that she had...
Words: 499 - Pages: 2
... October 20, 2013 I feel that Suki Kim was a spoiled child. She had a governess, maid, and a chauffeur when she lived in Korea. She didn’t need anything as she was growing up there. Her father was a millionaire from having a shipping company, a mining business and hotels. Then one day they lost all of their money and had to flee to America. Bankruptcy in Korea had jail time behind it, something that her father didn’t want to go through or put his family through. So they left Korea in the ‘80’s and moved to Woodside, Queens in New York. To what Suki says was an “ugly house” that a Korean family owned that ran a dry cleaners. Their sons, Billy and Andy became her playmates. Suki was picked on from the other Korean children both at home and in school. She felt out of place. Therefore the other students didn’t want anything to do with her kind. They were Koreans, but not Korean American. They would call her FOB, “fresh out the boat,” or “yellow.” Funny because they didn’t arrive in a boat, they flew here in an airplane. Even the rich Koreans that left there and came here moved to Manhattan or Westchester. The children were ashamed of her and her kind. In order for her to learn English, she would watch reruns of “Three’s Company.” “Immigration is meant to be the great equalizer, yet it is not easy to eradicate the class divisions of the old country.” (para. 7 pg. 63) Suki says that, “more brutal than learning English was...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
...The essay I chose to summarize is Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits by Suki Kim. Suki Kim describes how life was different when she moved from Korea to America. She also pointed out how the differently American culture was from her own. Such as when she was in school in Korea they bowed at the teacher every chance they got, but not in America. Based on her Korean culture she felt that it was disrespectful the way America ran their schools with no respect for the teacher. Suki describes how when she was in ESOL, and sadly none of the fellow Korean students had anything in common with her. It did not take long for Suki to discover that most of the Koreans that lived in New York with a decent amount of wealth lived in West Chester or Manhattan. Obviously she didn’t get along with the lower class Koreans because that was not how she grew up in her country. I believe the purpose of this paper was to make other cultures aware of how things are different in every country. Also I believe this was healing and closure for the pain she felt from being rich, then unexpectedly poor and moving to a new country. The audience behind this story was the general public I felt because she wanted to make others aware of how quick life can change. We live in a country where we are used to things being a certain way, but this story can teach so many life lessons. Businesses can be successful and producing great revenue, but tomorrow can go bankrupt we have seen this in with our economy...
Words: 439 - Pages: 2
...Assignment 1 Summary and Response - Week 1 Bari Williams Jr. Eng. 115 English Composition Dr. Roger Fontana April 16, 2016 “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” by Suki Kim, was about a young lady who moved from South Korea to the United States. She also pointed out how differently American culture was from her own. She is trying to transition her life from being wealthy to poor, being raised on a “hilltop mansion with an orchard and a pond and peacocks” to a “two-family brownstone in Woodside” which was owned by family friends. Her world came crashing down when her father went bankrupt, and in her country that is punishable by jail time. Kim and her family fled to America penniless. This was hard due to the fact that her and her family were used to living a catered life with chauffeurs and butlers. The writer’s purpose of this summary is talking about Suki Kim “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits. Another purpose explains how she discuss the language affecting on her fitting in on society, in Queens, New York. The Genre in this case, in some’s opinion can be literary. I for one feel that she is telling readers about going from rich to poor. Her main audience would be someone who might’ve experience poverty, or even live a wealthy lifestyle. I also believe that her audience could possibly be young, from another country. In this summary the tone and attitude setting is calm and compelling. She talks about growing up in a two family brownstone house, crammed but in...
Words: 416 - Pages: 2
...Response By cause of unforeseen circumstances, Suki and her family are forced to give up their "fairy tale" life in South Korea. In her essay “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits,” Suki Kim (2011, p. 62) shares some of the struggles of fitting in that she endures after moving to America. Due to the financial collapse of her father’s businesses and the option of bankruptcy being out of the question, Suki and her family are forced to abandon their extravagant life in South Korea. After arriving in America, the family takes up residence in Queens, New York (Kim, 2011, p. 62). Suki’s new home is anything but glamorous. She describes it as “a crammed, ugly place” compared to the “hilltop mansion” where she grew up. For the first time in 13 years, she has to make her way through the day-to-day routines without the aid of the hired help. Aside from being stripped of her pampered lifestyle, Suki is now attempting to knock down the language and cultural barriers that separate her from her peers. In her new school, Suki is enrolled in an English as a Second Language class. With this class comes the opportunity for Suki to converse with fellow students in her native language. However, in the midst of these common bonds is also the obvious distinction of social status (Kim, 2011, p. 63). America is most often looked upon as a melting pot where all are welcome with the expectation of being treated equally. It doesn’t take long for Suki to realize that this is not always the case...
Words: 470 - Pages: 2
...Facing poverty with a rich girl’s habit Adele Strader Professor Chryst English Composition October 22, 2012 Facing poverty with a rich girl’s habit was written by Suki Kim and published in the New York Times on November 21, 2004. The most important point that Suki want to make was that (1) what we have in life can be taken away in an instant (2) do not go bankrupt in South Korea (3) that a person must adapt and endure through the trials and tribulations in their life and (4) that no matter what you have or don’t’ have in life you must always be true to yourself. Some of the other main points in this story are that Suki’s father owned shipping, mining and hotel companies in South Korea and that the Kim family was millionaires who lived in a mansion on top of a hill surrounded by ponds, peacocks and orchards with chauffeurs and maids. They had lived in a society were money, education and family history dictated who you were and how you lived. “Gone in an instant was my small world, made possible by my father’s shipping company, mining business and hotels. In queens, most of my E.S.L. classmates came from our families who had escaped Korea’s ridge class hierarchy, one dictated by education level, family background and financial status”, (2004, pgs. 62-63). Suki’s family has to flee South Korea because her father went bankrupt and in South Korea bankruptcy is a crime punishable by jail time so the family immigrated to New York. Arriving in Queens...
Words: 783 - Pages: 4
...a rich girl’s habits” Suki Kim appeared in the New York Times on November 21,2004 where she wrote an article on “Facing Poverty with a rich girl’s habits”. Kim was raised by wealthy parents in South Korea who lost everything overnight and became bankrupt. In South Korea bankruptcy is punishable by jail time so they fled to America. Kim and her parents moved in an meteocre house where the people who owned the house had two sons who became her friends. She wondered why she was called F.O.B. (fresh of the boat) when she flew from Korea to the U.S.. Kim never did anything for herself or on her own such as homework, dishes, cleaning, washing clothes etc... All these things were new to her so she didn’t like doing any them. Kim realized that do to the color of her yellow skin tone she was now labeled Asian. Kim noticed that in Korea Schools were different from American Schools. She asserted that slippers were worn in Korea to keep the floors clean why graffiti were on the walls of American Schools. In Kim ESL (English as second language) class, she hoped to find others like her but the rest of her race had nothing in common because they were poor when they came to the states. Kim learned that her and her fellow F.O.B.’s were separated by generations. According to Kim, coming to America as a teen she felt she was in the middle of the two generations because the first generation was Asian ghetto and the second generation was uptight American. Kim, feeling in the middle can...
Words: 432 - Pages: 2
...According to Suki Kim, the author of “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s habits, learning how to survive physically, emotionally, and educationally in a world that was far removed from the style of life she was accustomed to was one of the biggest challenges of her life. Kim went from having a father who was considered a millionaire, living in a mansion complete with a governess to living in a small apartment in another person’s home within a short period of time. While reeling from the shock and devastation of losing all that was familiar to her, she also had to learn English, how to do everything for herself that was originally done for her, and get used to a new school and way of life. In her essay, she discusses the various challenges that rose up to face her almost daily. As a young adolescent, Kim was ostracized due to her being from Korea, being made fun of and called names. Even while she was in her E.S.L. classes and having the ability to communicate with those who spoke Korean, she was an outsider. At one point in her essay, she describes the first English word she had learned as being “fresh off the boat” (Roen, Glau & Maid, 2011). Kim, not understanding English, didn’t realize that the joke was on her until much later when she had a better grasp of the language. Kim was also amazed at the differences in Korean schools and those in America. In Korea, she describes school as being quiet and respectful, using examples of bowing to teachers and wearing slippers...
Words: 326 - Pages: 2
...“Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” Suki Kim Nov 2004 a Rich Girl’s Habits” In this essay I will be discussing “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habit” by Suki Kim (2004) In the essay Kim talks about how her childhood went from having everything to barely surviving. During the essay Kim will compare the battles of herself and family when forced to move from Korea to America. Kim was born in South Korea in 1970. She was from a wealthy family where she lived in a mansion on a hilltop that had ponds and peacocks. Kim’s dad was a millionaire. Kim’s world came crashing down as her millionaire father lost everything in a blink of an eye. Kim’s dad shipping company, mining business and hotels all tanked which caused the family to go bankruptcy. In Korea bankruptcy is punishable by a jail term. The family fled to America penniless. Once in America Kim’s family called Queens their home. They lived in a two story brownstone that was owned by a Korean family that ran a local dry cleaner in Harlem. She was forced to be friends with the Korean family sons due to Kim’s language barrier. Kim didn’t understand how the kids called her F.O.B “fresh off the boat” when she actually flown on Korean Air to Kennedy airport. {Kim, 2004} At the age 13 Kim was taking public transportation instead of being driven to school by a driver. Kim now had to do homework alone and noticed the house would get messy without any maids around to clean up. Kim felt humiliated by carting the family dirty...
Words: 630 - Pages: 3
