Inside Out And Back Again Analysis

Between the years 1975 and 1995 about 2 million “boat people” fled from Vietnam. “Boat people” refers to the refugees who fled from Vietnam by boat and ship after the Vietnam War. Of these 2 million people was a young girl by the name of Ha, her mother, and three older brothers: Quang, Vu, and Khoi. Ha’s life in “Inside Out & Back Again” relates to the universal refugee experience because life started out okay, gradually got worse, and then got better. “Every Tet we eat sugary lotus seeds and glutinous rice cakes. We wear all new clothes, even underneath”(Lai 1). This explains what their family usually does for Tet, which is like our New Year’s. “Last September she (Ha’s mother) would give me fifty dong(Vietnamese currency) to buy one hundred grams of pork, a bushel of water spinach, and five cubes of tofu. But I told no one I was buying ninety-nine grams of pork, seven-eighths of bushel of spinach, four and three-quarter cubes of …show more content…
He can’t multiply 18 by 42. I go to the board chalk the answer in five moves. My cheekbones lift to the ceiling until I see horror on the faces of Pem and Sss-Ti -Van. I know Pink Boy will get me, but right now I feel smart”(187-188). This illustrates how things were getting better for Ha. She is actually learning English and Mathematics again, and she is even better at math then some of the kids who have grown up with the abilities and opportunities. “At sunset Vu teaches Bruce Lee moves in our front yard. First came the eager boys. Next came the giggly girls. Then came our neighbors who couldn’t help their curiosity”(193). This explains how life gets better because they are adapting to their new life. “Pem comes over on gift-exchange day with a doll to replace the mouse-bitten one I told her about. My high emotions are squished beneath the embarrassment of not having a gift for her”(239). This illustrates how life gets better, Ha made some new friends that even remembered to give her a gift on