Saving Sourdi

The one thing that all people have in common when trying to reach whatever goals they may have in their lives is motivation. There are different types of motivation, but it is a needed element in order to reach a goal. The goal may be conscious or unconscious but in the end it remains the same, motivation is needed. Nea is driven in much of her life by the goal to save her older sister, Sourdi. She tried time after time to save her. Sourdi did not normally need saving though. Sourdi did not saving from the drunk man who was hitting on her. Nor did Sourdi need saving when her boyfriend, Duke, took her to the field and Nea thought she was panicking. Again, Sourdi did not need saving when she married a much older man, moved away, and started a family of her own. Nea was wrong when she thought her new husband was abusing her. Nea was simply trying to keep things the same and to always have Sourdi remain with her. In the story, “Saving Sourdi”, Sourdi and Nea have always looked out for each other. Since their mother was a single mom in a new country, she couldn’t be there for them as much as she should have been at times. Both girls were brought to a new country at a young age and dreamed of a life in America that was better than what they had. Nea and Sourdi’s ma had a goal to give them a better life. Her motivation was her girls. The first time Nea tried to protect her sister was by stabbing a man who was drunk. She thought that Sourdi was in trouble and instead of getting an adult, she tried to become the adult. She became almost furious when her sister or her mom did not back her up in this decision. “I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to take the knife back and stab myself.” (Chai) Nea wanted Sourdi and Ma’s approval for the decisions she made in life. She only wanted to do the right thing. Nea believed that life in America should be good and wanted to remove herself from the culture in which she was raised. She thinks that she

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