Words, Accents, and Identity

The Sun is Also a Star

The novel shows language changing across place and time, marking cultural belonging while also carrying histories that speakers may resist or lose.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Names Locate a Family Names Locate a Family from "The Sun is Also a Star". Names as Maps A Cultural Compromise Min Soo gives her sons American names alongside Korean names and the Bae family name.

Names Locate a Family from "The Sun is Also a Star". Names as Maps A Cultural Compromise Min Soo gives her sons American names alongside Korean names and the Bae family name.

Names as Maps A Cultural Compromise Min Soo gives her sons American names alongside Korean names and the Bae family name. Identity Carried Forward The naming choice expresses hope that they will know where they came from and where they may go.

Samuel’s Accent Changes Samuel’s Accent Changes from "The Sun is Also a Star". Speech and Opportunity A New Voice Samuel’s speech shifts as he tries to sound more American and improve his chances of acting.

Samuel’s Accent Changes from "The Sun is Also a Star". Speech and Opportunity A New Voice Samuel’s speech shifts as he tries to sound more American and improve his chances of acting.

Speech and Opportunity A New Voice Samuel’s speech shifts as he tries to sound more American and improve his chances of acting. Distance from Home The altered accent becomes an audible sign of disappointment and of the life he is trying to enter.

Irie Misunderstood Irie Misunderstood from "The Sun is Also a Star". A Word Flattened Tourist Definition Lester calls Jamaica irie based on a resort visit and a simplified understanding of the word.

Irie Misunderstood from "The Sun is Also a Star". A Word Flattened Tourist Definition Lester calls Jamaica irie based on a resort visit and a simplified understanding of the word.

A Word Flattened Tourist Definition Lester calls Jamaica irie based on a resort visit and a simplified understanding of the word. Natasha’s Anger She distinguishes a tourist’s version of a country from the history and complexity of a real home.

Samuel Performs Jamaicanness Samuel Performs Jamaicanness from "The Sun is Also a Star". Language as Rehearsal Slang Returns Samuel begins using Jamaican expressions and an exaggerated cheerful manner after learning the family must leave.

Samuel Performs Jamaicanness from "The Sun is Also a Star". Language as Rehearsal Slang Returns Samuel begins using Jamaican expressions and an exaggerated cheerful manner after learning the family must leave.

Language as Rehearsal Slang Returns Samuel begins using Jamaican expressions and an exaggerated cheerful manner after learning the family must leave. An Unsteady Identity His speech shifts make Natasha wonder whether language can recover belonging or merely perform it.

A New Accent in Jamaica A New Accent in Jamaica from "The Sun is Also a Star". Belonging Through Speech Accent Acquired Natasha fakes a Jamaican accent until it becomes natural in her new environment.

A New Accent in Jamaica from "The Sun is Also a Star". Belonging Through Speech Accent Acquired Natasha fakes a Jamaican accent until it becomes natural in her new environment.

Belonging Through Speech Accent Acquired Natasha fakes a Jamaican accent until it becomes natural in her new environment. Identity in Motion Her voice records adaptation without proving that her earlier American life was false.

when Min Soo names her sons

the years Samuel lives alone in New York City

the morning Natasha meets Lester Barnes

the months after the family receives the removal order

the months after Natasha’s return