27 pages • 54 minutes read
Jean Davies OkimotoMy Favorite Chaperone
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 2004A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Permission Slip
At the beginning of the story, Maya takes a permission slip for the Spring Fling, even though she’s certain her parents won’t sign it. Nonetheless, she can’t bring herself to throw it away, symbolizing that she has hope. She references the US specifically when reflecting on her hope for a better future. As such, the permission slip specifically symbolizes Maya’s desire for her parents’ treatment of her to become more American—she wants permission to do more things like other American teens. The activities she seeks permission for give her pleasure and purpose and make her feel like an individual. This is represented by her positive feelings about gymnastics, for which her father signed a permission slip.
At the end of the story, Nurzhan convinces their parents to sign the Spring Fling permission slip, to Maya’s surprise. This symbolizes their willingness to change and see their daughter as her own person, even if they don’t see eye-to-eye (and even if that permission must be given in a culturally appropriate way, like giving her a chaperone). As such, the permission slip represents Maya getting permission in a broader sense to come into her own and participate in American culture.
The Bull
Maya uses a simile to compare her father, Mr. Alazova to “a huge bull in his dark leather jacket” (16). In another instance, she compares him to a “creature that is half man and half bull” in a “glistening dark leather jacket” (17). This recurring image symbolizes Mr. Alazova’s strength, masculinity, ferocity, and aggression, adding a visceral and animalistic quality to his behavior. In describing his anger, Maya creates the image of a bull charging toward her for a fight, and it reflects her fear. In contrast to this strong animal image, she compares herself to a trembling dog to represent this fear.
The half bull, half man also conjures an image of a minotaur, a Greek monster. The minotaur is also a symbol of death, anxiety, and fear of the unknown. In Greek mythology, the minotaur hunts people in a labyrinth, so this image creates an anxious feeling for Maya as if she is trapped and cannot escape his wrath. While the minotaur is a formidable foe, it is eventually defeated by Theseus, adding a glimmer of hope to the symbol.
The Gold Bracelet
On the day of the Spring Fling, Maya’s mother gives her a small gold bracelet to wear. Her own mother gave it to her in Kazakhstan when she was 16, and when she gives it to Maya she states, “Girls and boys dance younger here, Maya. So, you wear this now” (23). The bracelet is a sign of her appreciation of Maya for all the work she has been doing, but more importantly, it is a coming-of-age present passed on from mother to daughter. As such, it symbolizes Mrs. Alazova’s acknowledgment of Maya’s maturity, as well as Maya’s first steps into womanhood. It also represents Mrs. Alazova’s understanding of the cultural differences between Kazakhstan and the United States and her new openness to cultural integration. As a cultural heirloom, the bracelet is also a physical representation of Maya’s Kazakh culture and the idea that she can be an individual while being proud of her background. This is embodied by the scene where she is dancing with Daniel, the gold bracelet “gleam[ing].”
