Adolescence is a time when teenagers are subject to pressures. Many of their troubles arise from the culture in which they live. They feel as if they are different and that they don’t belong. Marie G. Lee 's “Finding My Voice”, explores how the life of a teen is influenced by others. This story revolves around the challenges and uncertainties of adolescence. It also displays that conflict is inevitable in a parent/child relationship. ‘Ellen Sung’ is a dynamic character. Many events lead to Ellen’s understanding of her personality and help her meet her goals. Ellen faces many problems as she struggles to accept changes in her life. Ellen the most assimilated person in the Sung family. She is in cultural dualism and an identity crisis. She is …show more content…
Towards the conclusion of the story, the reader notices the sudden and significant shift in Ellen 's personality. Ellen develops a forgiving nature. She is content and audacious. These changes in Ellen are all due to her unique way of responding to difficulties and challenges. Ellen reminds her parents that she “is not Michelle” and that she will never be like her. She is frustrated from being compared to her older sister. She hasn’t “done anything wrong” ; she is just asserting herself. Still recovering from her emotional turmoil, Ellen chooses to indulge herself in her Korean heritage. She believes that she can now speak up for herself “but that doesn’t mean that racist people are going to go away”. She is neither confident nor proud of her Korean heritage but she accepts it as an important part of her life. Ellen not only learns to appreciate small things in life but she also learns how to stand up for herself and what she believes in. She describes Marsha as ignorant and “a racist idiot”. Marsha eventually smashes a beer bottle on Ellen’s head, injuring her severely. Ellen, however, doesn’t press any charges against Marsha. She doesn’t let the scars on her face deter her path to Harvard. She leaves Arkin in hopes of starting a fresh chapter in her