The Character of Soka in Children of the River

In stories of any genre, characters may change dramatically. This holds true for many characters in Children of the River, a story that tells the true nature of change. The most prominent change is evident in the character of Soka. Her character begins as very stubborn and strict and changes to that of a caring person. This essay will explore the true nature of Soka’s behavior.

At the beginning of Children of the River, the story unfolds in Cambodia. Soka has given birth to a baby (who dies later on). A warring faction, named the “Khmer Rouge” have begun to attack the city where the family, and self live. She becomes stubborn, unwilling to leave her home, since she becomes weak. Her stubbornness almost costs her family’s lives. This also leads to a conflict with her husband. Stubbornness can become a very distracting trait in people, as is Soka. However this trait will become less prominent later on during the story.

In the middle of the novel, Soka changes once again somewhat, from being very stubborn to very strict. She shows her strictness mostly towards her teenager niece, Sundara. It is sometimes uncertain of her behaviour. She believes very highly of her culture’s customs and beliefs. She thinks the Cambodian way is the only way. Her beliefs get very annoying sometimes, especially toward’s her niece. These patterns of behaviour distances Sundara from her aunt, turning her partially rebellious side towards her family. Soka’s trait keeps the story woven together, and adds a thorny edge to it as well. But this trait changes once again.

The last part of this story is essential to Soka’s last change. She starts to show sympathy toward’s Sundara’s needs. Albeit, slowly. This change is the most prominent throughout the entire story. What mostly surprises the reader is that of Soka’s allowance of Sundara’s seeing her friend Jonathan. What first sets this chain of reaction off is Soka’s allowance of Sundara to help Jonathan’s father, Dr. McKinnon with her language due to a medical urgency needed in Cambodia. I believe this is the most exciting part of the story. This change in Soka takes away some of the distance from Sundara because of her second change. This is a much needed change in Soka’s personality.

In conclusion, all of these changes in Soka’s personality change the story in their own unique way.