My Favorite Chaperone is an endearing short story by Jean Davies Okimoto about a brother and sister looking out for each other in a new country with new people. They navigate family and traditions, all the while carving an American identity for themselves. Okimoto’s story is replete with themes typical of diasporic literature; it is told from the perspective of a teenager, Maya, whose family has come from Kazakhstan. It portrays the challenges of the diasporic community as they start life anew and find a new identity to live with- the American identity.
My Favorite Chaperone | Summary
My Favorite Chaperone begins with Maya being handed the permission slip for Spring Fling, which she takes silently knowing that her parents will refuse to allow her to the dance. She and her family came from Kazakhstan to America through a dating magazine; through the magazine, her beautiful Aunt Madina had gotten married to an American man named Bob Campbell and came after Kazakhstan broke away from the Soviet Union and things got very bad. When Maya’s family came, Aunt Madina sponsored them and soon after, Maya’s father found a job driving a cab and her mother cleaned houses.
Maya loves her gymnastics practices; she especially loves gymnastics because Shannon Lui, her friend, is on the team. Shannon’s grandparents came from China and her family is very American. Her parents speak perfect English, unlike Maya’s parents who speak Russian. As she sits in her next class, Maya is suddenly called by Mr. Walsh, the vice-principal, who tells her that she is wanted in the office. Scared, Maya walks to the office where Ms. Johnson tells her that her little brother, Nurzhan Alazova, had been in a fight with Ossie Nishizono, who had apparently told him he would never be truly American. She asks Maya to call her parents and ask them to report to the office at Evergreen Elementary within twenty-four hours.
Maya calls her dad, Aibek, who reaches by three-thirty at the same location. Maya reached Evergreen where Mr. Shanaman was the principal, while Nurzhan sat in one corner quietly. Once her father reaches, she is asked to translate Mr. Shanaman’s English to Russian for her father. Maya, in trying to help her brother, translates Mr. Shanaman’s words slightly incorrectly; when he says that the other boy needed three stitches, Maya translates that he was only a little hurt and Nurzhan need not be punished much, he should only be disallowed from watching television.
On their way home, their father is angry but does not say a word. Once home, Maya starts cooking, upset that she had to miss gymnastics, and Nurzhan softly thanks her for helping. The next day after practice, Maya and Shannon spend time with Daniel and David; the boys pick the both of them up like weights and fool around. Maya thinks Shannon likes David, and Maya too slowly grows comfortable with him picking her up. One day, her father sees her and yells from afar. She slowly sits in the back seat of the cab. Once home, her father has an argument with her mother about how she raises the children, scoffing at Maya in the arms of an American boy. Things stay tense for a week and gradually go back to normal.
Maya works very hard as her mother has a fall that does not allow her to lift her feet up for six weeks. One day, Nurzhan spots the permission slip for the Spring Fling and tells Maya that he has a plan to make her go. Maya does not get her hopes up, but once her father is back home, Nurzhan comes back after a conversation with him to tell her that he has sought their permission and that she can go with Nurzhan as her chaperone. Maya cannot believe her luck; her mother also gifts her a bracelet that once belonged to her. She goes to the dance happily, while Nurzhan sits on a chair in the hall. When she is dancing with Daniel, Maya notices her brother is gone. Once back home, Nurzhan tells her that he escaped to the bathroom. They go to bed, Maya staying awake and happily wishing that her brother be her chaperone next year as well.
My Favorite Chaperone | Analysis
Replete with instances of the diaspora’s struggle and perseverance to navigate their new identity, My Favorite Chaperone endearingly captures a brother and sister’s resilience in a world that is novel to them. They try to make sense of their new identity as they confront completely different worlds at home and outside.
Maya’s attempt at saving her brother from her father’s wrath comes from a deeply empathetic place; she knows why her brother got into a fight, but this is something her parents will never understand. As a young Nurzhan is teased about mispronouncing words and speaking incorrect English, his actions are understandable to his older sister as they are both trying and desperately want to fit into or assimilate into American society. It is a shock to Maya that Shannon’s father also does household chores, which is not common at all in Kazakhstan. Her act of mellowing down the complaints of Nurzhan’s principal comes from a place of deep empathy for her brother’s actions.
The same can be said of Nurzhan; he understands his sister’s ardent desire to go to the Spring Flint. Maya is a teenager; her interest in the dance, in boys, is extremely natural. Yet again, this is a taboo in the culture she has migrated from, thus she never brings up the Spring Flint with her parents. Her brother’s plan to help her go to the dance not only shows his empathy and affection for his sister, but the fact that he excused himself to the bathroom depicts his understanding of his sister’s want of privacy. The story is thus a very endearing depiction of a brother and sister looking after each other as two Russian-Americans navigating their new lives.
It is interesting to note that they do not expect much from their parents, since they have never known a world other than Kazakhstan. However, they themselves understand that things are “different” here in America, and it is this mutual understanding that makes them each other’s best allies.
My Favorite Chaperone | Character Sketch
Maya Alazova
Maya is the protagonist and the narrator of the story. She is a ninth grader who loves gymnastics and secretly wants to go to the Spring Flint, the school dance. She is hardworking and understanding and helps her brother when he is suspended from school. Maya’s resilience shows the kind of problems the diasporic community faces but navigates on an everyday basis; learning a new language while holding up traditions from back home.
Nurzhan Alazova
Nurzhan is Maya’s younger brother. He too is deeply empathetic; his sister and he look out for one another as they try to make sense of their American life. He studies at Evergreen Elementary, Maya’s old school.
Shannon
Shannon is Maya’s friend, who is also a part of gymnastics. Her grandparents migrated from China and she is a third-generation immigrant; her family has completely assimilated into American life, which is very surprising to Maya.
Through My Favorite Chaperone, Jean Davies Okimoto portrays the story of a brother and sister whose resilience in their new American lives shows the kind of problems that a diasporic community faces. The story of each character depicts how each of them migrated and assimilated into American life; Aunt Madina, The Alazovas, and even Shannon. The central conflict lies in how much of a Kazakh and how much of an American should Maya be, to carve a new identity for herself in a new world.
