A. Select three short stories out of the eight possible in Nguyen’s book The Refugees. For each story, write one summary of at least three sentences in which you mention the short story title in quotes, name the main characters, summarize the plot and possible theme.
Here is an example: In Nguyen’s short story “Black-Eyed Women,” the narrator is a “ghost” writer who herself is seeing the ghost of her dead brother who was killed trying to protect her as they escaped from Vietnam. She lives with her mother and works for Victor, the sole survivor of a plane crash. Themes include loss, death, the power of memory, resolution.
B. Then, copy three quotes from each of your selected three short stories (9 total), citing the page number, and write a brief personal comment about what that quote reveals regarding the character or theme. See bottom of this attachment for some possible themes. Remember, since this is a work of fiction, it is the character who is saying the quote.
Here is a quote/comment example: The narrator believes, “In a country where possessions counted for everything, we had no belongings except our stories” (7). Stories are usually related to memories that have more personal impact than most possessions. Obviously, this is true for the main character. *Note: Since these stories are fiction (made up), the quotes will come from a named character or the narrator.
Possible Themes: coming of age, loneliness, anger, overcoming obstacles, betrayal, war, searching for identity, role of the father, lost love, survival, death, relationships, family, loyalty, biculturalism, prejudice, survival, homosexuality, gender roles, infidelity, patriotism, ghosts, mental illness, power, corruption, confusion, hypocrisy, transformation, sacrifice, responsibility, perseverance, commitment, change, redemption, phoniness, peace, justice, lying, capitalism, communism . . .
The main characters in the story “Black-eyed women” written by Viet Thanh Nguyen are the orator, who is a “ghost writer”, also known as the Black-eyed women, her mom, and the ghost of her older brother who died 25 years ago on the other side of the ocean. The side character Victor Devoto, the client of the narrator, also briefly appeared in the story. The story narrates the verbal interaction between the “ghost writer” with her mom about some brief ghost encounter event, as well as her painful memory that is reminded by the encounter with her ghost brother which brought her back to the painful moment years ago that killed her brother and suffered physical violence by a pirate. Themes include survival, death, family love, survival, ghosts, and sacrifice.
In Nguyen’s short story “The Other Man,” the main characters are Liem, a 18 years old boy, fled from Saigon 4 months ago, left Long Xuyen last summer. Liem is the oldest son of his family and learned broken English when he was 8 years old. He came to the United States and landed in San Diego. Mrs. Lindemulder, who works for the refugee service in San Diego assisted him to move to San Francisco to live with his new sponsor, a middle-age ambivalent Catholic homosexual Parrish Coyne with his mid-twenties partner Marcus Chan in a Victorian house in Mission district. Parrish used to be an accountant but now a rich environmental lobbyist. Marcus was born in Hong Kong and came to San Francisco State to study. Marcus’s father cut off financial support to Marcus after receiving candid photos from his former gay lover. Afterward, Parrish pays for Marcus’s needs while Marcus is reluctantly attending college. Liem found a job and started earning money. During the time Parrish was away, Liem developed a romantic homosexual friendship with Marcus and eventually had sex with him. The story also mentions the interaction between Liem and his parents, during the farewell, as well as his remote flirting with two other gay couples passing by his window. Themes include overcoming obstacles, war, relationships, family, homosexuality, and perseverance.
In Nguyen’s short story “War Years,” the main character is Long, a Vietnamese refugee boy who studies in St. Patrick and works for his parents. His parents own a Vietnamese store called New Saigon Market and are Catholic from the north of Vietnam. A young white man aged in his twenties attempted to rob his house with a gun. Mrs. Hoa tries to ask her parents to donate money to support the guerrilla army in Thailand to fight against Communist Vietnamese government. Long’s mother changed her attitude after paying a visit to Mrs. Hoa’s home and listen to her story. Themes include war, survival, family, confusion, change, death, relationships.
The ghost of her brother said “You died too, … You just don’t know it” (17). The painful violence the narrator suffered killed part of her. After her brother got killed to protect her, and she got violated by the pirate after, part of her died with her brother. And yet, she bravely survives with her mom to write down more stories.
The mother said, “These kinds of stories happen all the time,” (20). For people who went through a lot of difficulty due to war and danger, they have many more opportunities to encounter memorable moments and abnormalities, which could be a blessing or curse to a writer, depending on how you face them. This shows her mother interacting with a lot of people who experienced similar suffering.
Asked the mother, “Why write down what I’m telling you?” “Someone has to” said the narrator (20). This shows the narrator feels obligated to record and spread all the little stories she heard from her mom, probably as a redemption process to her own pain.
“When they began arguing seriously in front of him, he knew he was becoming a part of their household” (32). Liem long to fit into the household of Parrish and Marcus when he first arrived and did not feel he was part of their inner circle until he found Parrish and Marcus lowered their guard and allowed Liem to observe their disagreement. At that moment, Liem feels Parrish and Marcus truly accept him as part of their family.
The conversation between Marcus and Liem “‘They think we’ve got a Western disease,’ Marcus said. ‘Or so my father says.’ ‘We?’ Liem said. ‘Don’t think I don’t know’” (41) indicates Marcus sensed the untold homosexual desire in Liem’s heart for a while and is now provoking Liem’s emotion with a subtle hint.
What Marcus said to Liem after their sex, “‘A year from now you’ll be the one hearing other men say they love you,’ Marcus said. ‘They’ll say you’re too pretty to be alone.’”(43) implies that Marcus treated their sex as casual sex and had no intention to commit to a long term romantic relationship with Liem.
Long mentioned how frugal his mother is by mentioning the way she wore her nylons scratching, “A seam had opened behind her knee, but my mother would keep wearing the same hose until the run nipped at her heels” (52). This shows her financial situation is very tight and she saves every penny to maintain her household.
In the other hand, the narrator mislead the reader to think Mrs. Hoa is rich, “Mrs. Hoa unclasped and clasped the silver latch on her purse. A thin gold band enriched her ring finger, and the red enamel on her nails was as polished and glossy as a new car’s paint” (52). These description intentionally deceive the readers to think that Mrs. Hoa is wealthy and enjoys a leisure lifestyle.
The author describe how his parents keep most of their wealth at home, under direct control, “My mother wrapped blocks of hundred-dollar bills in plastic and taped them underneath the lid of the toilet tank, buried dog-tag-sized ounces of gold in the rice, and stashed her jade bracelets, twenty-four-karat gold necklaces, and diamond rings in a portable fireproof safe, hidden in the crawl space underneath the house. To distract thieves, she devised decoys, placing a large glass vase heavy with coins high on a bookshelf by the front door, and a pair of gold bracelets on top of her dresser” (57). It is very typical for Asian families to keep their wealth at home, especially those whoever experienced the bankruptcy of a bank in a foreign country. This vivid description reminds me about my mom, who refused to purchase a modern day safe at home but instead placed her most valuables inside a cookie metal box above the ceiling.