Only The Heart Character Analysis

Only the Heart is a novel written by Brian Caswell, which portrays the journey of refugees fleeing their homeland on a boat after being befallen by post-war communism in search of the dream. The story follows the Vo family as they embark on a fishing boat away from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam towards Malaysia before landing in Australia and the difficulties as well as the dangers they confront through their migration.

There are common themes strongly incorporated throughout the novel, which establish personal connections within the teenage audience. Family, relationships and adapting prove to be a significant part of the novel where there are often incidents of loss and drama surrounding the Vo family, which introduce traumas that threaten to dissolve bonds and times where they are exposed to different circumstances when they arrive on foreign land on which they are forced to adapt to in order to survive, such as Toan’s first day in an Australian school. At some stage in their lives, nearly every teenager will experience or

The alternating perspectives are relevant as they provide the reader with a new outlook on the members of the VO family, for instance,’” We could hear you saying Vuot Bein over and over out on the street.”(Mai) “But it was just a game, it means nothing, just nonsense words.”(Toan) “Which could cause your parents to be locked away, there are so many things you don’t understand.” (Mai) whereas a third viewpoint allows the reader to observe the characters and their actions. ‘“He is Five years old. Too young to be troubled by such thoughts, as his parents might be.”’ At times, the novel can be difficult to understand, therefore areas where the situation or writing is complex can be perceived more