Help Me

Izrailov (1)

Albert Izrailov

Prof. Ellis

English 12 Sec: D30E

4/21/10

Formal Essay 1

In the story named “ Keeper of the Word ”, the author Lao Cao describes experiences of a

young woman who, like herself immigrated to the United States as a child and learned to speak

English quickly in order to help her mother with her needs. The young girl came to the United

States from Vietnam before her mother and stayed in Connecticut with her Uncle Michael and

Aunt Mary. The young girl became fluent in English by listening to her aunt’s conversation

every morning. The narrator explains that Aunt Mary opened her mouth, and out came a

constellation of gorgeous sounds” (252). A young girl followed her aunt around the house by

“collecting words like a beggar gathering rain with an earthen pan” (252).

The narrator further explains, how she was adopting to American society from just doing

shopping with her Aunt Mary. A girl thought that Aunt Mary was a “ genius shopper” (250). She

further said, that her aunt was skilled in the art of coupon shopping and could identify, record,

and register every item on sale. Aunt Mary matched the coupons she carried with the precise

product. It came to the girl’s mind that by using coupons, the customers think they had gotten a

Izrailov (2)

good deal and save more money. The young girl said that she “ had been astonished that day that

the wide range of choices did not disrupt her aunt’s plan of shopping (250). Her aunt followed a

schedule which she mapped out herself on a yellow pad, and was checking off item after item.

The girl called this the “ science of shopping”, the ability to resist the temptations of dazzling

packaging (250).

However, the girl’s mom “ discovered soon after arrival to United States that everthing,

eventhe simple business of shopping the American way, unsettled her nerves “ (249). Her

“ mother did not appreciate the exacting orderliness of...