Native Speaker
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
"Peanut Butter Shelley, I'd murmur beneath my breath, unable to remember all the poet's womanly names. It was my first year of school, my first days away from the private realm of our house and tongue. I thought English would be simply a version of our Korean. Like another kind of coat you could wear. I didn't know what a difference in language meant then. Or how my tongue would tie in the initial attempts, stiffen so, struggle like an animal booby-trapped and dying inside my head" (p.233)
The quote above is Henry's struggle to become a true American, or as the book calls it, a Native Speaker. Lee defines a true American as one assimilated politically, legally and most importantly, culturally. This is heavily shown through language. Lee shows Henry Park struggling with language, "unable to remember all poet's womanly names", in the same way he becomes a spy and is discombobulated in respect to his identity and how well he is placed in the social framework of America...