Chapter Summaries Happiest Refugee

An individual’s fears and need to survive can become a major factor in the buildup of their identities. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ memoir written by Anh Do and the illustrated novel ‘The Boat’ by Nam Le explores how the individual characters’ existence is based upon the strengths and weaknesses that they have acquired from their fears. Do uses the bold ambience Tam Do has to demonstrate how his early life in Vietnam has impacted him in contrast to Lee’s protagonist, Mai who begins to understand how her memories and bonds with her family will helps her endure her journey on the refugee boat.

Imagine not having a safe spot. A place where you don't feel protected. A place where you're not frightened. A place where you're not scared of dying if you don't leave immediately. In Refugee by Alan Gratz three characters are refugees in different times, going through the same experience of fleeing the life they knew. The 1930’s: Josef, a Jewish boy living through the Holocaust, must flee Germany on a ship headed to Cuba. 1994: Isabel, a Cuban girl living through riots and protests, flees Cuba on a makeshift boat after the Soviet Union collapsed. 2015: Mahmoud, a Syrian boy living through the Syrian Civil War, must leave Syria with his family after his home is bombed. All three of these realistic characters are experiencing the same journey,

America is the land of freedom and opportunity. It is a place where anyone can take refuge from harm and pursue their own dreams. However, the novel, The Refugees, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, portrays another perspective of being a refugee in the United States. The retelling of him becoming accustomed to America practices indicated that he faced an identity crisis. Specifically, he faces a contentious dilemma concerning how he would strike a balance between seeing himself as a person of Vietnamese heredity or of his American lifestyle. He amplifies the significance of this issue through the inquiry of certain practices of the community, his mixed views about fighting Communism, and his interactions with his family.

The father’s drinking and the mother’s temper result from the emotional impact of the devastating accident. The family eventually had to move to other city because they could not bear living their anymore because of the car accident. Not only did the accident affect the mom and dad, it affected the children.

Our cohort is nearing the end of its secondary education and therefore it is important that we reflect on the ways in which it has shaped our attitudes, values and beliefs. For example, over the past five years, we have read, analysed and evaluated various literary works such as novels, plays, poems and films in our English studies. These texts have expressed various ideologies, explored interesting themes and introduced us to fascinating characters. These elements have left a lasting impression on our attitudes, values and beliefs. In addition to this, English literary texts have provided us with historical knowledge as well as a thorough understanding of the role that aesthetic devices

Anh Do’s story is a timely reminder of the plight of refugee in our country. Discuss the Happiest Refugee in the light of Do’s universal message about the suffering of human beings during times of war and the struggle to make a better life in a foreign country.

His mother sacrificed a lot so Anh could pursue his dreams and passions. His mother Hein is extremely hard working. When she left her home country in Vietnam and arrived in Australia she immediately began working in her own business. The transition from country to country was very difficult for the Do family. They had language and cultural barriers to overcome. Hein owned a sewing business and worked tirelessly. It was critical for Hein to work long hours to provide Anh with the best education and opportunities. After Anh's father left, Hein was left to support three children on her own, as a single parent. Anh’s parents sent him to a fancy private school that cost a lot. Anh describes his mother as “beautiful, unselfish, loving and willing to sacrifice anything” to assist Anh with achieving his goals. His mother's sacrifice was an inspiration to Anh. Hein worked hard during the

gradual loss of his mother to natural illness, and already absent father. Watching the film so

Establish that your character had a poor relationship with his or her parents (provide text details!)

Belonging to a person or group of people is the fundamental basis for happiness in life, bringing a sense of similitude, comfort, and safety, impacting on the choices you make and your life’s course. Two things that greatly influence an individual’s perspective of belonging are your family, and social status, as they can shape how a person perceives themselves, and ultimately how they perceive belonging. The heart-warming story of a Vietnamese refugee portrayed in the memoir “The Happiest Refugee” (2010) by Australian author and comedian Anh Do reveals how important an individual’s sense of belonging is, as it influences who you are, and what you will become.

He was used to live in his brother’s shadow, but when the boat accident happened to them, he was the only one to survive. As he was always indentifying himself the less important one, he considered it was wrong that he was the one who would still have a life. As a result of nervous breakdown, he tried to kill himself with cutting his wrists in the bathroom, fortunately his father found out and save him. Then he went to the psychiatric for four months. When he comes back, there are still issues he needs to deal with.

how much of a man he was. After he hit his father, he felt a sense of pride as if he won a prize of some sort. The act was more selfish than selfless being that he was not thanked for it. After the incident, he looks at his sisters for validation for his actions but he has never seen the difference between them or separate the roles of them from their mother. His misogynistic views are passed down from his father and this is due to his immaturity and lack of exposure to the independent world.

Ha’s life as a refugee is a life experience is something that only the strong can go through, and her entire family made it. When refugees flee home, it is because of fear that their family will be torn apart by the war when they leave home, family, friends, memories, basically the perspective of the person is leaving what they desired. Then when they finally do find a home, (not all), they are greeted with new challenges, one of many is that acceptance in their new home, some people probably don’t want to make a living in their new home, “But life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not”. But when people turn “inside out” they feel empty inside and everything is useless, they have to start over from square one and become “back again”. When they become happy again and accept what has happened to them, so they can move forward in life. This book is mostly about a girl with her family who was in a war, so they left of fear of being torn apart by the war because they will be safer than where they are at in the moment, Saigon Vietnam, but are greeted with challenges in the Alamba U.S.A.

For instance, within the primary dysfunctional family, many relationships are developed, which include two unbearable children, a power hungry dad, a hectic wife tending to her baby, and an unendurable grandmother. These relationships bring out other dynamics within the characters and the family (Lambert 2009). For instance, although both the father and grandmother are strict in ensuring that the children be respectful, on their part, they do not set an example that can be emulated within the family. First, the grandmother advises her grandchildren to be respectful, and then she goes ahead, making a profane racially prejudiced remark almost immediately (McCann, Jr 2011). At the same time, the head of the family—the father of the children, Bailey, requests the children to conduct themselves accordingly. However, confronted by a tense situation, Bailey loses his temper and threatens the family telling them that if they did not shut up, they would not go anywhere (Katharina 4).

In both books, the characters feel disconnected from their close family members, and lack trust in each other.