Literary Element: Setting
Title: Saving Sourdi (May-Lee Chai)
Setting and Saving Sourdi The story Saving Sourdi took place in the United States after their family had moved there while the girls were at a very young age. Sourdi’s family operated a bar in South Dakota, where the story opens with a recollection of Nea’s first saving of her sister, Sourdi. The setting of the bar plays a key role in developing the protective characteristics of Nea; the bar causes situations to arise where she feels that it is necessary to save Sourdi from the situation. Despite Sourdi being older than her sister, Nea still tries to save Sourdi from angry and/or drunk customers at the bar. Towards the end, the setting changes as Sourdi moves away to start her own life with her husband, Mr. Chhay, leaving Nea behind with her mother at home. Nea is upset that they have to be separated and is skeptical about Mr. Chhay, which helps even more with building the character of Nea. The theme of companionship ties in greatly with the setting of the story. This is present in the earlier parts of the story because the girls are growing up as sisters living under the same roof. They develop their friendship and love for their siblings as they mature together. Nea trails behind in maturity, but she is also younger than her sister, which is ironic because Nea still feels protective over Sourdi. As mentioned above, the setting changes as Sourdi is moved away after her arranged marriage to Mr. Chhay. This places a heavy burden on the companionship between the two protagonist characters. Sourdi is breaking away from childhood and embracing her individuality alongside her husband. This is the opposite of Nea, who attempts to voice her negative opinions to her deaf-eared mother of Sourdi’s husband. By the end, the separate settings of Nea and Sourdi cause Nea to make the realization that