Characters

The main characters of the short story “How to Pronounce Knife” by Souvankham Thammavongsa are Joy and her parents. Joy is a first-grader, whose family has moved to a Western country from Laos. Joy’s parents struggle to adapt to the new country, while Joy is caught between the two cultures and tries to protect her parents from losing face. 

Other characters worth mentioning are Miss Choi –Joy’s teacher, and the yellow-haired girl who tells Joy how to pronounce the word “knife”. The two characters illustrate two opposing attitudes towards children of immigrants. Miss Choi seems to understand Joy’s struggles, while the yellow-haired girl treats Joy with superiority and mocks her for her inability to pronounce the word “knife” correctly.

You can read a full characterization of Joy and her parents in the following pages.