Essay The Girl Who Wouldnt Sing by Kit Yuen Quan - 704 Words

The Girl Who Wouldnt Sing by Kit Yuen Quan In the memoir The Girl Who Wouldnt Sing, Kit Yuen Quan describes her life experiences growing up as a Chinese girl in America. In her attempt to try and find her place in society, Quan intermingles with several groups of people. Her interactions with a feminist group, two young Cambodian girls, and finally her own father allow her to explore her Chinese background and how that affects her interactions with people. In order to find her own voice in a society that is not really hers, Kit Yuen Quan explored relationships with people of different lifestyles. She does so in order to be able to recognize how she wants to express herself, and through which culture, American or†¦show more content†¦The two girls, Yan and Eng, lived in a terrible neighborhood where there were drunk men and prostitutes near corners, the fragrant smell of piss and jasmine rice wafting from windows, and a medley of languages: Vietnamese, Chinese, Cambodian, English, Black English, Laotian(Quan 216). Kit went into the situation thinking that she would be able to connect to her culture through knowing a common language. Somewhat to her surprise, the connection to her culture did not come through language, but through observing the experiences of childhood that these two girls were immersed in. Kit states that whether they were living in a refuge camp in the Philippines or in Thailand or in some one-room apartment on Eddy Street, they were connected to each other through their language and their culture(Quan 217). It was not so much Kits own interaction with the girls that allowed her to realize where should would find herself, but her observation of the girls and their interaction with their native language and society. Kits experience with Yan and Eng compelled her to learn more about her native culture, rather than solely try to fit into the American culture. Kits attempt to conform to the American standards and culture was precisely the mistake she had made with the feminists. Kit Yuen Quans time spent with the Cambodian girls allowed her to see