The Happiest Refugee Analysis

An individual’s fears and need to survive can become a major factor in the buildup of their identities. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ memoir written by Anh Do and the illustrated novel ‘The Boat’ by Nam Le explores how the individual characters’ existence is based upon the strengths and weaknesses that they have acquired from their fears. Do uses the bold ambience Tam Do has to demonstrate how his early life in Vietnam has impacted him in contrast to Lee’s protagonist, Mai who begins to understand how her memories and bonds with her family will helps her endure her journey on the refugee boat.

-Guilt (Anh’s father feels quite guilty over losing his brother’s trust and is struggling to cope with memories of the deaths of two other brothers)

Imagine not having a safe spot. A place where you don't feel protected. A place where you're not frightened. A place where you're not scared of dying if you don't leave immediately. In Refugee by Alan Gratz three characters are refugees in different times, going through the same experience of fleeing the life they knew. The 1930’s: Josef, a Jewish boy living through the Holocaust, must flee Germany on a ship headed to Cuba. 1994: Isabel, a Cuban girl living through riots and protests, flees Cuba on a makeshift boat after the Soviet Union collapsed. 2015: Mahmoud, a Syrian boy living through the Syrian Civil War, must leave Syria with his family after his home is bombed. All three of these realistic characters are experiencing the same journey,

Anh Do perpetuates that he and his family had a prosperous future in their journey to Australia, between the life lessons Anh learns. During his childhood and early years as a student Anh learns valuable lessons from his family although his dad is away for most of his childhood years. As shown through family relationships Anh has a sense of stand up for all his family’s positive values that he eventually assimilates from when he migrates to Australia. When Anh and his family could not afford the farm for their breeding ducks, Anh’s father was not the one who they could stop. His famous Vietnamese line, “There's only two times in life, there now and there too late,” symbolises that Anh’s father has a very built of nature

Continuing with the views of Nguyen and his parents, Nguyen’s split identity of being Vietnamese and American is fueled by the way he interacts with his family. The aforementioned disagreement between Nguyen and his parents on fighting the

The Happiest Refugee is a novel that effectively portrays the importance of family relationships, emphasising the power of strong family ties. A family relationship, is a bond of love and care that is shared between almost all human civilisation. This connection acts as a pillar of strength throughout tough times, as exemplified through Anh and his family’s journey to Australia. The incorporation of anecdotes throughout the novel allowed Anh to pin point specific events in his life and discuss it in a short amusing story. He was able to use this technique to further value the importance of family relationship. This is reflected from the following example; at the age of thirteen, Anh’s father left him and his family due to his alcoholic problems, however a few years later the drunken father walked into the house asking where Anh’s mother was. However Anh stated “You stupid fool. You no longer have the right to order

‘The Happiest Refugee’ discusses various concepts including the effects of war, the trauma that refugees experience, their desire to contribute to society and our negative attitudes towards them. After the war, South Vietnamese soldiers and their families were captured by the North Vietnamese Communists and held in labour camps. Some of these prisoners were eventually released (after 1976), however, they had no right to education, employment or government supplied food rations. If Ahn had not left this oppressive environment, he would have grown up in extreme poverty and would be a very different person due to the trauma that

In the history of Australia, there are a variety of people in their respective areas have made outstanding achievements, made a contribution to the identity of Australia. Among these people, Anh Do is probably the most instructive and interesting person. As his book "happy refugees" implied, Anh experienced suffering in his early years. At the same time, he has maintained an optimistic attitude, this pain into an inspirational story, to share with you. At present, Anh has made achievements in various fields such as writers, films, television, artists, live performances and corporate speeches (Anhdo.com.au 2017). Anne 's story is sure to shape the identity of Australia. This report will analyze the achievements of Anhe and his

Anh’s journey from Vietnam to Australia was similar to many other refugees trying to escape from their war-torn

After that moment, I no longer saw myself as an intelligent kid who was unable to fail, but one who was and could be challenged by failure and challenged to learn from my mistakes. After revising the essay, I received an “A+,” yet this was not what made me happy. The fact that I, the twelve-year-old boy who had previously rejected failure as a possibility, could accept failure (by my standards) and use it as

This sample utilizes emotive language in the words ‘scarred and distorted’ as Anh is unsure of his feelings towards his father and is lacking self-confidence. The simile of ‘bubbling poison’ describing the pain and discomfort of crossing ‘that line’ demonstrates how torn Anh was between protecting his sense of self or protecting his family. This fractured self-belief leads to a dilemma of patriotism versus antagonism with the relationship between him and his father. The ruptured devotion of family traditions encountered by individuals creates different aspects of camaraderie and subsequently, The Happiest Refugee portrays various perspectives on the essence of belonging.

Belonging to a person or group of people is the fundamental basis for happiness in life, bringing a sense of similitude, comfort, and safety, impacting on the choices you make and your life’s course. Two things that greatly influence an individual’s perspective of belonging are your family, and social status, as they can shape how a person perceives themselves, and ultimately how they perceive belonging. The heart-warming story of a Vietnamese refugee portrayed in the memoir “The Happiest Refugee” (2010) by Australian author and comedian Anh Do reveals how important an individual’s sense of belonging is, as it influences who you are, and what you will become.

This essay is about the universal refugee experience and the hardships that they have to go through on their journey. Ha from Inside Out and Back Again and other refugees from the article “Children of War” all struggle with the unsettling feeling of being inside out because they no longer own the things that mean the most to them. Ha and the other refugees all encounter similar curiosities of overcoming the finding of that back again peaceful consciousness in the “new world” that they are living in .

For the podcast, I interviewed Lina Abdulnoor, with the intention of exploring the intricacies of refugeehood by analyzing Lina’s refugee experience. Lina lived in Iraq with her family until they began receiving death threats due to their religious beliefs. Convinced that they needed to flee the country to survive, they left Iraq as refugees. After leaving Iraq, they settled in Jordan, where they waited two years until the U.N. to approve their request to move to the U.S. in 2012. Lina and her family initially settled in Virginia, where she experienced culture shock as she adapted to American culture and the English language. However, Lina did not feel accepted in Virginia; her experiences in the state led her to think that Americans treated her according to negative stereotypes of Iraqis. After living in Virginia for several months, Lina and her family chose to resettle in San Diego, California, which harbored a larger Iraqi population than Virginia did. Supported by San Diego’s Iraqi community and various refugee organizations, Lina flourished, and she currently studies at UCSD while holding a stable job.

The solution of letting less people as refugees into the U.S. and having a better system to determine what people are good or bad, is likely to happen because our president, Donald Trump, supports the idea of letting less people into the country from the Middle East and Africa and the majority of both houses of Congress supports having less refugees enter our country. Some refugees can be dangerous people and we are not sure if they could be terrorist or not. It is very easy for refugees claiming to be fleeing war and persecution but they actually have connections with terrorist groups the commit terrible acts. If we can reduce the amount of people that come into our country from the Middle East and Africa it would reduce terrorist attacks