Theme and message

Adapting to a foreign country

The short story “How to Pronounce Knife” by Souvankham Thammavongsa illustrates the theme of struggling to adapt to a foreign country. The theme is represented by Joy and her parents, who have moved to a Western country from Laos. 

The theme is suggested from the story’s title, which hints at language issues when it comes to pronouncing a word in English. The story confirms this later on, when Joy has trouble pronouncing the word “knife” which she comes across in a book for school. When she asks her father’s help, he mispronounces it: “He leaned over it and said, ‘Kah-nnn-eye-ffff. It’s kahneyff.’ That’s what it was, what it sounded like to him” (ll. 60-61). This shows that his knowledge of English might not be too good yet, which probably makes it harder for him to adapt to his new country.

Joy’s pa...

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