Setting

Physical setting

The events described in the short story “How to Pronounce Knife” by Souvankham Thammavongsa take place in an unnamed Western country, where Joy’s family has moved from the Asian country of Laos. The difference between West and East is represented by the two physical settings – the school and the apartment. 

The school represents Western culture. Here, the teacher and the principal make the rules. For example, on the day of the class photo, all the children in Joy’s class have to wear outfits of a particular color: “A few days after that, there was some commotion in the classroom. All the girls showed up wearing different variations of pink, and the boys had on dark suits and little knotted ties” (ll. 28-29). Most of the time, Joy tries to fit in, although she does become stubborn at times and chooses her Asian identity over the Western one. 

At school, successful students get to pick a prize offered by Miss Choi. Joy tries to ...