In the book Ru, Kim Thúy tells her story as a woman named Nhuyên An Tịnh fleeing South Vietnam during the Tet Offensive in 1968. While coming to Canada she describes her journey without leaving out any gruesome details. The beginning of her life filled with fear, destruction, and hopelessness but towards the end of the book, she had gained strength. She learns that it’s important not to look back on the past and feel pity but to look towards the present and future with joy. Overall Nhuyên went through difficult time and really grew as a person throughout this book. Using only a boat to flee Saigon, Nhuyên finds herself at a refugee camp in Malaysia after 4 days. She was only there for 4 months which is short compared to many “boat people”. While there Nhuyên’s mother did her best to stay positive and give their children the best with what they had left. “I know the sound of flies by heart. I just have to close my eyes to hear them buzzing around me again,
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It grew difficult to adapt to the climate, language, and culture of their new home, though difficult at times, were eased by the warmth of their neighbors' welcome. After arriving in Canada and being welcomed with open arms Nhuyên thinks back to when a Vietnamese waiter in Canada, who thought she was “too fat to be Vietnamese” says “The American dream made me believe I could have everything ... But the young waiter reminded me that I couldn't ... that I no longer had the right to declare I was Vietnamese because I no longer had their fragility, their uncertainty, their fears. And he was right to remind me” (77). Now that Nhuyên has been in Canada for most of her life she feels as if she doesn’t have the struggles of the Vietnamese people. Nothing stood in her ways and she was aware that she could start a whole new life in Canada. So she began to work hard and find a job as a lawyer and open up a restaurant in
It grew difficult to adapt to the climate, language, and culture of their new home, though difficult at times, were eased by the warmth of their neighbors' welcome. After arriving in Canada and being welcomed with open arms Nhuyên thinks back to when a Vietnamese waiter in Canada, who thought she was “too fat to be Vietnamese” says “The American dream made me believe I could have everything ... But the young waiter reminded me that I couldn't ... that I no longer had the right to declare I was Vietnamese because I no longer had their fragility, their uncertainty, their fears. And he was right to remind me” (77). Now that Nhuyên has been in Canada for most of her life she feels as if she doesn’t have the struggles of the Vietnamese people. Nothing stood in her ways and she was aware that she could start a whole new life in Canada. So she began to work hard and find a job as a lawyer and open up a restaurant in