Importance Of History In Vietnamerica

We study history in order to know how humanity has gotten to where it is today, and learn from past mistakes. History helps us to understand where we come from. Family history helps expand that understanding. In this way, history is a part of our identities. The quote “ A man without history is a tree without roots” explains that without history we really aren’t anything, just like a tree cannot grow without roots, a person cannot develop without a history. In the novel Vietnamerica, GB Tran is reluctant to learn about his families’ history. He refuses to go on trips to Vietnam with his parents and at one point exclaims “ Rice again? Why can’t we just eat hamburgers?”. GB Tran as a teenager did not have a touch with his family or even ethic …show more content…
While his parents, especially his mother, do want to share that history with him there are some moments that show that there are some things they aren’t comfortable telling him. For example, when GB and his mother are sorting through old boxes and he finds a specific postcard the mother takes it from him and closes the box quickly. It’s later revealed that this postcard was the one that informed her of her father’s death. However, GB already knows that his grandfather is no longer alive, so why would she not want him to read the postcard? Perhaps she was ashamed of the fact that she wasn’t there for her father in his final days. Mentioned throughout the novel multiple times is the phrase“ Our parents care for us as our teeth sharpen, so we care for them as their teeth dull, my parents didn’t get the chance to do that”. Therefore, the mother probably felt ashamed of not taking care of her parents because it was something that she thought was her duty that she was not able to