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New World Analysis

The document analyzes Ryka Aoki's short story "To The New World" which tells the story of Millie, a transgender woman living in Los Angeles. Millie struggles with self-acceptance and confidence as she faces negative reactions from others about her identity, including insensitive comments from her friend Sierra. The story highlights the challenges of transitioning and learning to be comfortable in one's true gender identity in a world not always accepting of it. It draws parallels between Millie's journey of self-discovery and the common coming-of-age experience of finding one's place in the world.

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josh alderson
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2K views2 pages

New World Analysis

The document analyzes Ryka Aoki's short story "To The New World" which tells the story of Millie, a transgender woman living in Los Angeles. Millie struggles with self-acceptance and confidence as she faces negative reactions from others about her identity, including insensitive comments from her friend Sierra. The story highlights the challenges of transitioning and learning to be comfortable in one's true gender identity in a world not always accepting of it. It draws parallels between Millie's journey of self-discovery and the common coming-of-age experience of finding one's place in the world.

Uploaded by

josh alderson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Close Reading Analysis 1

Transitioning takes a lot of courage however it also requires the arduous task of gaining a

sense of confidence and acceptance of one’s true self. This struggle and journey of self-

acceptance is only made harder by people’s negative reactions, comments, and opinions.

Additionally, it is not easy to learn all the facets of being a certain gender if one has not grown

up in that specific gender which leads to one being very self-conscious. These issues and ideas

are highlighted in an interaction between a transgender woman and her friend who inadvertently

alienates her in Ryka Aoki’s To The New World. It is hard to accept one’s true self in a world

that does not agree with how one chooses to identify.

Dealing with the opinions of friends and family who do not agree with who you are as a

person can be demoralizing. This struggle for self-acceptance and confidence can be seen in

Aoki’s text in which the main character Millie is a transgender woman living in Los Angeles.

The majority of this story mostly focuses on a day in which she is celebrating her late

grandmother’s birthday and delves into her relationship with her friend Sierra. Millie is shopping

at a farmer’s market when she runs into Sierra who is a loud and confident lesbian who is very

set in her ideals and does not seem to give a second thought about how her opinions and words

affect others. In contrast, Millie tends to over-think most things and second guesses her actions,

especially regarding her femininity. Sierra was one of the first people Millie came out to which

gave Millie a sense of comfort and safety with her; however, Sierra constantly makes alienating

comments to Millie throughout their conversations such as, “It’s a women only-space. ‘You

know, women women’” (Aoki 58), and comments such as, “With trannies, there was always

male privilege to root out.” (Aoki 57). These kinds of comments can degrade one’s sense of self-

worth and belonging. This is especially true for Millie who is trying her best to be more feminine
and is learning to accept herself. After her conversations with Sierra she thinks about her

grandmother’s experience as an immigrant, how what she did was best for herself and moved to

a new land regardless of other’s opinions. Millie realizes how it is similar to her own journey of

transitioning and she seems to gain a new sense of belonging and confidence even going as far as

to consider asking Sierra out.

The character of Millie in Aoki’s text showcases the struggles of a person trying to be

comfortable in their true self while combating negative comments and opinions. Gaining self-

confidence, accepting oneself, and finding one’s unique identity is often a common problem

young people face in their formative years. This story of self-growth and forming one’s self-

image reveals a parallel to the common coming of age narrative in that it shows how someone

who has transitioned has to find their place in the world in one’s true body similarly to how a

child steps into adulthood through puberty.

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