My Favorite Chaperone

“My Favorite Chaperone” is narrated from Maya’s first-person limited point of view. This narrative perspective emphasizes the way Maya often feels alone in her coming-of-age journey. As a teen growing up in American culture, she tries to live up to her parents’ traditional expectations of her while her values become more aligned with their new society. Her parents are strict and isolate her from her peers, giving her few chances to socialize or do anything beyond schoolwork. This sparks the story’s central conflict when Maya wants to go to the Spring Fling and is certain that her parents won’t permit it.

Okimoto does not delve deeply into Kazakh culture but introduces some history through exposition and adds flavor to the text by incorporating Russian words into the dialogue. These bits of Russian also emphasize The Clash of Cultural and Individual Identity and are often used to create space between Maya and her parents. For example, Maya’s parents often tell her “Nyet,” which means “no” in Russian, emphasizing that their strictness is rooted in their cultural