Refugees struggle to choose the decision of whether or not to flee their homes, facing multiple challenges, and trying to find a home in another place such as the U.S. where things are different from what they’re used to, making them feel inside out. First of all, a refugee from Vietnam named Ha feels inside out when trying to find home in the United States, ”To make it worse, the cowboy explains horses here go neigh, neigh, neigh, not hee, hee, hee. No they don’t. Where am I?” (Lai 134). Ha has felt stranded in an unknown place, because the ways things were done in Alabama are very different than what she was used to in Vietnam. Next, Arthur Brice portrays how a refugee from Bosnia named Amela feels inside out when she reads a letter from …show more content…
In any case, Ha’s mother and father knew where to meet each other when they are separated, “If war should separate them, they know to find each other through Father’s ancestral home in the North.” (Lai 51). Ha knows that her mother misses her father dearly and wishes for him to come back home safely. When they decide to leave Saigon and go on the U.S. Navy boats to safety, her mother knows that she could meet her husband again in his ancestral home in the North. Therefore in another article “Forgotten Ship: A Daring Rescue As Saigon Fell” written by Joseph Shapiro, the refugees helped each other to get on the Navy ship that got them to the U.S, “Refugees are saved by the Kirk, over the camps in the U.S. and resettled across the country.” (Shapiro). After everything they have done by pushing helicopters off the ship and throwing their children off flying helicopters, the refugees were able to resettle in the U.S.to start a new life. As time had passed, Ha began to feel safe and comfortable in her brother’s arms, “I sit sidesaddle, holding onto the saddle bar. The edges of our hands touch.” (Lai 154). Ha and her brother have a connection that they didn’t have before and she has a feeling of safety. He had a bicycle back home, and riding one again brings back memories. As a result, refugees feel a sense of faith when things help them think back to the place where they call home, giving them hope of going back home where things are the same as they
When refugees flee home, they can’t live their life like they used to. For example when He had to flee her home she had left many meaningful things. She had left her father’s things which meant a lot to her and her family because they would hope that one day he’ll come back. In the novel it states “ Mother chooses ten and burns the rest”. This quote from page 58 demonstrates that they wouldn’t live their life like they used to because they are permanently erasing memories that they had left from Ha’s dad. In addition this explains that refugees can’t live their life they used to before because it's not like being home .Another example that demonstrates that Ha was affected when she had to flee her home is not being able to eat food while they were in the ship because they weren’t able to cook anything. In the novel it states “Hard and moldy,yet chewy and sweet inside”. This quote
Families and their traditions can impact on the level of devotion and affection that ties people together, as well as how one reacts to a particular situation that may reinforce or harm his or her relationships. The notion of family belonging is an idea repeated throughout The Happiest Refugee and the analysis of various techniques makes this evident. ‘But my father treated that loss as if it were a win, and it was a lesson that stayed with me for a long time. If the worst happens, but you still celebrate coming second. There is no need to fear failure’ is a quote from page 48 that highlights the level of family belonging through the use of repetition as it is a message that reoccurs throughout the memoir. The sole idea recreated throughout the novel thoroughly
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 Happiest Refugee is a novel that effectively portrays the importance of family relationships, emphasising the power of strong family ties. A family relationship, is a bond of love and care that is shared between almost all human civilisation. This connection acts as a pillar of strength throughout tough times, as exemplified through Anh and his family’s journey to Australia. The incorporation of anecdotes throughout the novel allowed Anh to pin point specific events in his life and discuss it in a short amusing story. He was able to use this technique to further value the importance of family relationship. This is reflected from the following example; at the age of thirteen, Anh’s father left him and his family due to his alcoholic problems, however a few years later the drunken father walked into the house asking where Anh’s mother was. However Anh stated “You stupid fool. You no longer have the right to order
‘The Happiest Refugee’ discusses various concepts including the effects of war, the trauma that refugees experience, their desire to contribute to society and our negative attitudes towards them. After the war, South Vietnamese soldiers and their families were captured by the North Vietnamese Communists and held in labour camps. Some of these prisoners were eventually released (after 1976), however, they had no right to education, employment or government supplied food rations. If Ahn had not left this oppressive environment, he would have grown up in extreme poverty and would be a very different person due to the trauma that
The Happiest Refugee is a memoir written by Anh Do which was first published on the 1st of August in 2010. It is regarded as one of the most influential and well-received novels in the world of literature for its great insight on the life of refugees. The book provides a universal message to its readers about the suffering of human beings during wars and their struggle to make a better life in a foreign country. The Happiest Refugee is about Anh Do and his family’s journey from
The Happiest Refugee written by Anh Do, is a story of his life and the struggles that his family encountered. Through all of the struggles they endured, they supported each other and as a result survived. The Do family originated from Vietnam and took an overloaded boat to Australia in 1980 to start their new life. Anh’s family struggled initially to make money, however, that did not change the way that they saw each other, which was as a kind, loving family. The novel demonstrates that families ought to be supportive, foster personal growth and forgive unconditionally.
Do you know what Refugees are what they do how they live and how they survive. Refugees are people that have to leave there home all because of war, they have to leave and find new ones far away. Before war happened in Vietnam Ha was different she was sneaky because when she went to get groceries she would by fried dough for herself, and she was mean because when she would hide her brothers sandals when she got mad at them. The title of the book makes you wonder a little by the words inside out and back again, the author Thanhha Lai had a good idea for making this book for a history lesson. Refugees like Ha and her family turn back again when they find better home like Ha she stared understanding more.
Ha’s life is turned inside out when the war is coming near her home, which leads to her family moving to America. The experience that Ha is going through is similar to what refugees have to go through. “Refugees are every day who are forced to flee their homes because they are afraid to stay in their home country” (Model Essay). Articles like, “Children of War,” and “Refugees: Who, Where, Why,” explain what refugee children have to go through when they are forced to leave their homes. Before Ha left her home, she was a playful, careless, easy-going girl, and selfish.
The vietnam war was a time of grief for many who left their homeland and traveled thousands of miles on rocky ships to foreign lands with foreign languages. Homes were abandoned, paperwork was feverishly gathered, and there was hope for a better life out of vietnam. Scattered within refugee camps across the world, the “boat people” desperately waited for their new life, hoping for the best. However depending on when they resettled and what their reason for leaving Vietnam was, these immigrants and refugees had different experiences starting a new life socially and economically.
Ha from Inside Out and Back Again and other refugees from the article “Children of War” all experience the same upsetting feeling of being inside out because they have lost everything familiar to them. One way that they feel inside out because of the loss of their possessions is in the poem “Last Respects” it states, “Brother Khoi nods and I smile, but I regret not having my doll as soon as the white bundle sinks into the sea.” (Lai 86). Ha goes through a struggle when she gives up her doll, the one possession that she was allowed to take with her as they were leaving, to help her brother and give him comfort for the loss his chick. Another way that represents the universal refugee experience of feeling inside out because of loosing everything is that in “Children of War” it explains, “Everything completely changed. One minute we had everything, then we had nothing.” (Brice). Plainly it is stated that the people in the Bosnia at that
For the podcast, I interviewed Lina Abdulnoor, with the intention of exploring the intricacies of refugeehood by analyzing Lina’s refugee experience. Lina lived in Iraq with her family until they began receiving death threats due to their religious beliefs. Convinced that they needed to flee the country to survive, they left Iraq as refugees. After leaving Iraq, they settled in Jordan, where they waited two years until the U.N. to approve their request to move to the U.S. in 2012. Lina and her family initially settled in Virginia, where she experienced culture shock as she adapted to American culture and the English language. However, Lina did not feel accepted in Virginia; her experiences in the state led her to think that Americans treated her according to negative stereotypes of Iraqis. After living in Virginia for several months, Lina and her family chose to resettle in San Diego, California, which harbored a larger Iraqi population than Virginia did. Supported by San Diego’s Iraqi community and various refugee organizations, Lina flourished, and she currently studies at UCSD while holding a stable job.
When refugees abandoned home for the better, they have to get on a transport vehicle to go to the new country. The challenges are not only mentally but also physicals, the transport vehicle is mostly boat and the boat is not always in the best shape too. When Ha left her home, she had to leave behind the only sense of hope, her papaya tree, her family all left something and took one
Lj Smith, the author of the Vampire Diaries, wrote, “...but right now everything looks strange to me, as if I don’t belong here. It is me that is out of place, and the worst thing is that I feel there’s somewhere that I do belong, but I just can’t find it.” In 2016 65.3 million people are refugees around the world that are displaced throughout the United Nations. These people now have to adjust to a new life, in a new country, and a new “home.” Although some might believe that newcomers, immigrants, and refugees adjust and adapt to culture easily, Lahiri illustrates through Interpreter of Maladies the difficulties and issues men and women experience when adjusting to a place and culture where they do not feel at ease.
Ha’s family is trying to decide if they should leave the country of Vietnam. This is a very hard decision for them to make. First of all, it is hard because they are worried that their Father will come home and find “his family gone.” Since they still believe their father is alive, they do not want to leave him behind. Also, brother Quang says, “How can we scramble away like rats, without honor, without dignity…” He has a sense of pride for his country and does not want to leave without honor. Finally, Ha and Brother Khoi make an agreement that they will not leave. Brother Khoi says “I must protect my chick and you your papayas.” Even though this is an extremely tough decision, I think that Ha’s family will choose to leave for the safety