Ha Coming Home Essay

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A refugee is someone who is forced to flee their home country due to war, prosecution, natural disaster, or any other reason that made them leave. Some universal experiences they have to go though are learning the language, finding somewhere to stay, and eventually getting used to a new life with the help of others. It is a long process, but almost all refugees are able to finally get back into the daily grind and adjust to their new lifestyle at some point. Ha and her family came from South Vietnam, but had to flee due to the war coming closer and closer. She had a happy life in Saigon, even though her father was captured when she was little, but when the war came close, she couldn’t do the things she loved anymore. Coming to America on a …show more content…
According to the novel, Ha is learning English from her brother, Quang, and is having trouble with the rules and exceptions. “Some verbs switch all over just because. I am, She is, They are, He was, They were. Would be simpler is English and life were logical”(135). This shows that Ha is having trouble learning English, and it is definitely an obstacle she has to face, turning her life “inside out.” Also in the novel, Ha gets English lessons from Miss Washington, her neighbor, and is looking at the spelling of words. “Sometimes a y is used instead of an e, even if it makes more sense for moldy to be spelled molde. Whoever invented English should have learned to spell”(177). This shows that Ha is getting frustrated with this new language, and she is angry at all the different spelling. This is a big challenge she is facing as she gets turned “inside out.” In the article titled, “Refugee and Immigrant Children,” Lots of refugee and immigrant children go to Canada, but barely any of them speak the main languages. “The majority of refugee children (70%) spoke neither of Canada’s official languages when they arrived in the country”(Fantino/Colak). This means that most refugees would end up feeling lost and confused, not being able to communicate with others, a big obstacle they faced as their lives turned “inside

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