41 pages 1 hour read

Jean Kwok

Girl In Translation

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2010

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Essay Topics

1.

Why might the author have chosen the title Girl in Translation for this book? In what ways, other than language, is Kim a "girl in translation"? In what other kinds of translation does she engage?

2.

Kim has romances with two very different boys: Matt and Curt. What does each boy provide to Kim in terms of a relationship? Why does she choose one over the other? How might things have played out differently had she made a different choice?

3.

Many characters that Kim interacts with regularly (Annette, Curt, her teachers) have blind spots when it comes to Kim's experience as an immigrant. What are some interactions in the novel that reveal those blind spots? Why might those blind spots exist? How might Kim's actions affect the persistence of those blind spots?