My Favorite Chaperone

“I love to swing up and up, higher and higher, and as I fly through the air, a wonderful thing happens and suddenly I have no worries and no responsibilities. I’m free!”

Being on the gymnastics team gives Maya a break from everything else in her life. It frees her from her burdens and fears while giving her the opportunity to make friends and integrate into American culture. Here, her practice on the uneven bars—described as flying— symbolizes this emotional freedom.

“Her mother has a red coat with gold buttons from Nordstrom, and her father cooks and sometimes even washes dishes!”

The red coat with gold buttons from Nordstrom is symbolic of an American way of life. Naming Nordstrom directly is a class signifier and represents the gap between the Lui’s resources and the Alazova’s. Mr. Lui’s cooking and washing dishes is also a sign of American culture, specifically Gender Roles and Taboos Between Cultures. Okimoto juxtaposes Mr. Lui’s housework both explicitly—Maya remarks after this quote that “no Kazakh man would do kitchen work” (5)—and implicitly in later scenes when Maya has to perform all of her mother’s household labor alone.

“He encouraged me to talk and listened to what I had to say (he’s also a very handsome guy), and I always look forward to this class so I can see him.”

These lines characterize Maya’s connection with Daniel as genuine; she emphasizes their conversations first and his looks second. They also show that Maya longs for someone to listen to her, alluding to the way her voice is not valued at home. This fact becomes clearer in later scenes between Maya and her parents and again emphasizes the difference in American and Kazakh gender roles.

“Poor Nurzhan, getting in such big trouble. I couldn’t fault him for fighting with Ossie Nishizono.”

Nurzhan’s bully, Ossie Nishizono, is always referred to by his full name rather than simply Ossie, reflecting the outsized impact he has on Nurzhan’s life. Ossie mocks Nurzhan for his accent and says he’ll “never be a real American” (9), prompting the fight. While details are never shared about Ossie’s background, his name is unusual in an American context, indicating he also comes from an immigrant family. As such, the tension between Ossie and Nurzhan illustrates how anti-immigrant bias can manifest within or between immigrant communities, especially in a society that emphasizes integration.

“I hoped Nurzhan had given him a hard punch.”

Maya believes that violence can be justified when used in self-defense. Her blunt language here contrasts with the roundabout language used by the principal: “We’re working with the other boy to help him show respect for all students” (11). While American culture is frequently elevated in this story, Maya’s thoughts here reflect a preference for a more direct way of handling interpersonal conflict.

“But as I neared Nurzhan’s school—my old school—I only worried about Papa. Even though he didn’t shout at me on the phone, that didn’t mean he wasn’t angry.”

Maya introduces her father’s anger here, which will characterize him for the rest of the story. She and Nurzhan fear his anger and acknowledge the different ways it manifests; here, he received Maya’s call at work and couldn’t show anger in front of the dispatcher and his passengers. The reference to Maya’s old school here shows that even as she is growing up, she shrinks and becomes more childlike in the face of her father’s anger.

“He and Mama think it’s my duty to watch out for Nurzhan and keep him out of trouble.”

As with household work, traditional gender roles dictate that Maya should watch over her brother, putting her in a guardian role even though they go to different schools. Maya uses the word “think” here to emphasize the injustice of this expectation, and it’s later shown that Maya is yelled at in Nurzhan’s place.

“Guess some things never change.”

These lines, uttered by Mr. Zabornik, reference racism and anti-immigrant bias in America, highlighting the fact that these issues persist into the modern day. Nurzhan’s fight reminds Mr. Zabornik of his own bully back in the 1960s. He uses an adage to express this idea, insinuating that he has assimilated into American society. Nonetheless, his childhood bully has permanently impacted him.

“‘You will go to bed tonight without dinner.’ He clenched his teeth. ‘I have lost money today because of you.’”

Okimoto uses the image of Mr. Alazova’s clenched teeth here to convey his anger. This is an example of showing, not telling. His reference to him losing money shows the family’s precarious class position—rather than a secure, salaried teaching job, Mr. Alazova is paid for each passenger he drives in his taxi.

“Daniel dropped me and I ran to the cab, whimpering and trembling inside like a dog caught stealing a chicken. Papa didn’t speak. His silence filled every corner of the cab like a dark cloud, slowly suffocating me with its poisonous rage. Papa’s neck was deep red, and the skin on the back of my hands tingled with fear.”

Okimoto uses two similes to describe both Maya's and her father’s emotions here. She is fearful and compared to a trembling dog, while her father’s anger is compared to a toxic cloud. Notably, Maya compares herself to a dog that has misbehaved when she hasn’t done anything wrong—other than disobeying traditional gender roles. Okimoto also uses sensory imagery to convey the two characters’ emotions in both Mr. Alazova’s red neck and Maya’s tingling hands.

“I was shocked. Mama hardly ever says a harsh word to her precious boy.”

These lines emphasize the traditional gender roles that define the Alazova household, where Nurzhan is treated better as a son. Maya uses the word “precious” disapprovingly to draw attention to the fact that her mother pampers Nurzhan. Still, Maya acting outside her proscribed gender role is enough to get Nurzhan in trouble as well.

“They don’t know about things here, only their own ways. They are like stone.”

Nurzhan tries to make their mother see Maya’s actions from a different perspective and understand American social norms, but she does not budge. He uses a simile, “like stone,” to express their stubbornness.

“‘Oh, Mama.’ I wanted to hug her like we hug on the gymnastics team, but I was too shy. We don’t hug in our family.”

When Maya’s mother gives Maya her gold bracelet, it shows that the ice between them is melting. They are starting to have an understanding. Maya wants to go all the way and express her affection for her mother in the way she knows, but these customs are American. While they are growing closer, cultural barriers still stand between them.