In the book Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, many sad events take place. Those events are connected to real life. This book takes place in 1975, during the Vietnam war. The main character who goes by Ha is living in Vietnam at the time with her mother and three older brothers. Throughout the book Ha has to live on a boat for months before they move to the U.S.A as refugees. Ha’s story relates to many other refugees stories that have happened over time. Refugees have gone through many challenges that include, language, fitting in, and having to escape the situation they are currently in.
During the war in Vietnam Ha was living in Saigon where she was a smart, happy, and a rebellious girl. During her time there her family may have …show more content…
Ha was feeling like an outcast because she was not able to speak English and she looked different than the students at her school. Looking different is not a crime nor a sin but to little fourth graders when someone with skin that isn’t light or dark but in between can seem extremely unusual. This causes Ha to be bullied, not only for the way she looks but for the way she speaks as well. Ha came from Vietnam which means that she is fluent in Vietnamese and speaking english is a big challenge for her. “Whoever invented English should be bitten by a snake.” (Lai, pg 128) Ha was having many difficulties learning English, just like other refugees in the real world have trouble switching from one language to the next. In the Til Gurung article he spoke about how difficult it was for his wife to go to the store because she didn’t know english and at that time could not learn it. “...,my wife was unable to understand any English...taking the bus...going to the store...challenge for her.” (paragraph 4) Other difficulties Ha had that can be related to real life refugees is the bullying and being an outcast. When Ha begun going to school she started getting teased and it really got to her when they called her pancake face “...She has a pancake face.” (Lai, pg 196) In the article “Children Of War.” one of the four teenagers says “When I say I’m a Muslim they don’t react like, “ Oh I don’t wanna be your friend.”...” (Paragraph 21) This evidence is basically opposite of each other. This relates to one another because it is capturing the maturity of young adults compared to little ten year
During the war in Vietnam Ha was living in Saigon where she was a smart, happy, and a rebellious girl. During her time there her family may have …show more content…
Ha was feeling like an outcast because she was not able to speak English and she looked different than the students at her school. Looking different is not a crime nor a sin but to little fourth graders when someone with skin that isn’t light or dark but in between can seem extremely unusual. This causes Ha to be bullied, not only for the way she looks but for the way she speaks as well. Ha came from Vietnam which means that she is fluent in Vietnamese and speaking english is a big challenge for her. “Whoever invented English should be bitten by a snake.” (Lai, pg 128) Ha was having many difficulties learning English, just like other refugees in the real world have trouble switching from one language to the next. In the Til Gurung article he spoke about how difficult it was for his wife to go to the store because she didn’t know english and at that time could not learn it. “...,my wife was unable to understand any English...taking the bus...going to the store...challenge for her.” (paragraph 4) Other difficulties Ha had that can be related to real life refugees is the bullying and being an outcast. When Ha begun going to school she started getting teased and it really got to her when they called her pancake face “...She has a pancake face.” (Lai, pg 196) In the article “Children Of War.” one of the four teenagers says “When I say I’m a Muslim they don’t react like, “ Oh I don’t wanna be your friend.”...” (Paragraph 21) This evidence is basically opposite of each other. This relates to one another because it is capturing the maturity of young adults compared to little ten year