The novel “Inside Out and Back Again” describes the life of a family of refugees searching to find home. It describes the highs and the lows of day-to-day life for the family, perfectly describing the universal refugee experience. The universal refugee experience is an umbrella term used to describe the myriad of trials and tribulations refugees endure as they move to a foreign place. These are experiences that all or most refugees typically go through in their process of finding a new home. Ha’s journey is a perfect example of the universal refugee experience. She faces racism, discrimination, loneliness, and, over time, a growing sense of love for her new home. Ha’s life is turned “inside out and back again”. Before Ha had to flee Saigon, she was headstrong and selfish, but she was also a girl who loved her mother and couldn't wait to grow up. She wanted to be able to do something before her older brothers did it, and do it better. But most of all, Ha wanted to fit in, to be liked. At her core, Ha was a normal little girl.
Though they may speak a different language, have a
…show more content…
People who have been thrust into a completely unfamiliar situation where the differences in daily life leave a big gaping hole. They have to suddenly adjust to living in a completely different way. And often, refugees have to adjust to being in a situation where people might be unfair to them based on where they used to live or their way of life. Refugee children often feel the ache of losing their homes more profoundly than their elders.The article “Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison” states “Once in Canada, they both have to endure the ‘push-and-pull’ forces of home and
The Universal Refugee Some people believe that Universal Refugees are different people that deal with different hassles. However, that is not true. The Universal Refugees understand each other and deal with the same struggles such as immigration, hardship and assimilation. When entering a new country, refugees most likely will deal with hardship from just entering the country to actually living in it.
”(Lai,1). Ha is also a very rebellious person when she is living in Vietnam because in Vietnam she directly defies her mother. Also when she defies Mother it isn’t one little disobedience it is Ha defining her religion and her culture because it is something her culture does. And finally Ha in Vietnam is comertable as show when she regularly goes to the market alone and how at her school she feels very compatible, because she bullies the other girl who had her desk. “I used to like making the
In the book Inside out and back again, written by Lai, is a story about Ha and her mother, father, teacher, and classmates. Ha lives in Vietnam in 1975 and eventually moves to Alabama because of war. Her story is just like a refugees story. They both left their country in hope of finding safety. All refugees have struggles they need to overcome.
She thinks it would be better to be back in Vietnam with all of her worldly belongings and just deal with the war, than to try to conquer these difficulties. Likewise, Ha had to leave her papaya tree. Ha loved her papayas and described them as, “...orange-yellow delights smelling of summer,”(Lai 21). She was devastated when her brother cut them down; she saw this as an execution. While she was watching this, she said, “the head falls; a silver blade slices”(Lai 60).
Most families would think of moving away from their home town a very hard and stressful experience, imagine if familiys from the United States had to move to diffrent countries at the drop of a hat. Ha’s family did exactly that, Ha and he family packed (insert what they packed) and left their home to escape poverty and war. The Title Inside Out and Back Again relates to the universal refugee experience of fleeing and finding new homes in a new place and it mirrors Ha’s experience because
The lives of refugees are turned “inside out” out when they are forced to flee because they have to leave the only home they have ever known and try to figure out a way to leave their old lives behind. They are not leaving their country because they want to but because they are forced to and it can feel like
“The Cardboard Room” by Teresa Pitman is about a teenage girl who comes from a judgmental family. Particularly, they are not fond of a refugee family, who according to them do not belong. When assigned to work on a project with a member of the family, Eric Nye, she begins to understand how someone’s appearance does not define who they truly are. After spending more time with Eric and his family she quickly realizes that people should not be judged and criticized for their circumstances. Eric informs the protagonist about events that happened back home and the struggles it took to get where they are today.
The estimated number of refugees leaving their own country since World War II is one hundred million ("Refugee”). A refugee is a person who has left their country because of fear of their safety due to violence, race, religion, or war. Supporting and solving today’s refugee crisis is especially controversial because of the current events, financing, and security issues. ("Refugee Facts”). Climate change and natural disasters sometimes cause people to leave their homes or countries.
A refugee is someone that is from a nation that is victim to war or violence,
Ha also has to learn a new language because she had to move to a new home in a new country with a new language. Ha states, “MiSSS SScott points to me, then to the letters of the English alphabet. I say A B C and so on.” This quote shows that even though Ha found a safe home with no potential threat of war, she faces challenges such as learning one of the most difficult languages in the world. Ha found a home in Alabama that is safe with no threat of war as there is in Saigon, but she faces several challenges a day and one of them is missing her father and wishing he will soon appear in her classroom one day.
Comparing texts can enrich experiences for readers by allowing audiences to grasp a further understanding of underlying themes within a text, and how they have the ability to challenge reader’s perspectives. Anh Do’s autobiographical memoir, The Happiest Refugee (2010), discusses the highs and lows of growing up in Australia as a Vietnamese refugee, during a time where racial intolerance and scepticism towards foreigners was common. Do has constructed themes that through the use of various literary devices, work towards altering audience’s stereotypical perspective of refugees, instead replacing it with a less critical and more accepting viewpoint; these themes are also explored in other texts. Themes surrounding resilience, family bonds and
Coming to Miami I can still remember that gloomy sky on October 21st 2001. It seemed like a normal day to me, yet that day would change my life forever. I remember my mother rushing around the house trying to gather my brother’s clothes while I just sat on the floor observing so much commotion around me. For an 8 year old, I was a very hipper child. I ran around the house, climbed trees, sat on the roof top which was 3 floors high.
Growing up at a refugee camp in a very poor country is not what an average child has to go through. In Nepal we did not have much shelter to live by. We were given some bamboos, thatch and some rope to build up our home and once a month they would give us some rice. I grew up without electricity therefore television was very rare to me. I was born at the house made up of bamboo and thatch rather than a proper hospital with some form of professional care.
Yet, she could not stands watching her people get hurt in front of her. Before going to Jamaica, where she clears her mind about the confusion, she had about the whole culture problem that led to her depression, she was
A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their home country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. There are many different types of refugees, these include refugees who are escaping war, social discrimination, racial discrimination, religious persecution, those who are seeking aid after a natural disaster, political unrest, and those who fear for their lives and the lives of their family. These people are given refugee status and are placed in designated refugee camps across the country where they are supposed to be cared for and educated, but this is not happening. Many of the countries only provide shelter for the refugees but do not provide the rest of the basic needs. There are many factors that contribute to a person becoming a refugee these include war, famine, racial prejudice, religion, harassment or torture due to political views, nationality, and natural disaster.