Bitter Melon, by Cara Chow, is a novel whose setting is in San Francisco, California, 1989. The main character is Frances Ching. She lives in a small, dingy apartment with her mother. Frances attends an elite all-girls private high school called St. Elizabeths.
Her mother is a bank teller, and works long hours to pay for Frances' education. Frances' mother is very strict and has many high expectations for her. Her mother wants her to get into UC Berkeley for college and attend medical school, so she can become a doctor. Frances' mother wants her to become a doctor so she does not have to work long, hard hours. "'That way, you can get into medical school and become a doctor. You will make lots of money and buy us a nice house so I can quit my job...with your medical skills, you can even cure the illness I have now. You can only accomplish this if you are focused. No distractions.'"(Page 12)
When Frances starts her senior year in high school, she finds out that her schedule says "Speech" for one class when it should say "Calculus", which is the class that her mother wants her to take. Frances realizes that she loves writing and taking speech. She feels that her speech class is where she belongs and fits in. "I promise myself that I will see Ms. Costello on the very last day to change classes. Unfortunately, I find out that I got the deadline wrong--one day too late." (Page 33)
Frances decides to not tell her mom and try to keep this secret from her, forgetting that her mother will eventually find out she is not taking calculus, when she should be. I think that Frances' mother will find out that she is taking speech behind her back, and that she is lying to her.
Her mother is a bank teller, and works long hours to pay for Frances' education. Frances' mother is very strict and has many high expectations for her. Her mother wants her to get into UC Berkeley for college and attend medical school, so she can become a doctor. Frances' mother wants her to become a doctor so she does not have to work long, hard hours. "'That way, you can get into medical school and become a doctor. You will make lots of money and buy us a nice house so I can quit my job...with your medical skills, you can even cure the illness I have now. You can only accomplish this if you are focused. No distractions.'"(Page 12)
When Frances starts her senior year in high school, she finds out that her schedule says "Speech" for one class when it should say "Calculus", which is the class that her mother wants her to take. Frances realizes that she loves writing and taking speech. She feels that her speech class is where she belongs and fits in. "I promise myself that I will see Ms. Costello on the very last day to change classes. Unfortunately, I find out that I got the deadline wrong--one day too late." (Page 33)
Frances decides to not tell her mom and try to keep this secret from her, forgetting that her mother will eventually find out she is not taking calculus, when she should be. I think that Frances' mother will find out that she is taking speech behind her back, and that she is lying to her.
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