The Refugees

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Based on your prior knowledge, what is a refugee? What leads people to become refugees? What would be some difficulties for refugees who have just entered a new environment?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer question situates students within the sociological context of the novel. Broadly speaking, refugees are people who are forced to flee from their home country for a multitude of reasons—including political, sociological, and religious conflict or discrimination—in order to receive protection elsewhere. People who apply for international protection (i.e., refugee status) may be called “asylum seekers,” while individuals who are displaced within their country due to war may be called “internally displaced persons.” Factors that contribute to these situations often include war, famine, targeted discrimination, and climate change. As a result, refugees must often adapt to a new culture, language, and employment. Throughout the novel, Nguyen alludes to the variety of difficulties that people who fled from the war in Vietnam face, connecting with the overarching themes of Intergenerational Conflict and Haunted by Trauma: PTSD and Narrative Exposure Therapy as a result of refugee-lived experiences in the US. This Short Answer question links with Essay 1.

• The UN Refugee Agency shares information about refugees in this informative article.
• This article by National Geographic explains the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in the US following the Vietnam War.

2. What led to the US invasion of Vietnam in the mid-20th century? Discuss the geopolitical context surrounding the invasion, as well as the causes and effects of the war in Vietnam.

Teaching Suggestion: The Short Answer question prepares students for the historical context of the novel. With hopes of deterring the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, the US invaded south Vietnam in the mid-1950s to prevent the northern communist regime from taking over the country. The war in Vietnam also represented Cold War tension between the US and the USSR, in that the USSR supported the Communist north Vietnam and the US aided the capitalist south Vietnam. The war not only had a disastrous effect for those living in Vietnam, but also caused conflict for the US government, as public opinion increasingly disapproved of the US presence in Vietnam throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Eventually, the US pulled out its troops and Vietnam was unified under Communist leadership in 1975, making it one of the five communist nations in contemporary society (including China, Cuba, Laos, and North Korea). Nguyen’s novel is set in the aftermath of this war, the stories centering on refugees who fled the conflict and went to the US, many of which survived harrowing journeys via sea. This Short Answer question links with the Story 1 Paired Resource.

• This article provides a thorough overview of the war in Vietnam, including photographs, timelines, and videos.
• BBC’s “Bitesize” learning modules share information for students learning about the consequences of the war in Vietnam.

Short Activity

Throughout the novel, many of the characters learn about their family’s journey from Vietnam to the US from members in their community. In this Short Activity, you will interview a family member and/or a member of your community regarding a story from your family’s history in the US. Using the resources below, develop 5-10 interview questions for your interviewees. Record your interviewee’s responses, and share your results with the class.

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Activity mirrors much of the content of the novel, as many of Nguyen’s characters struggle to share their histories with their family and friends. Depending on the nature of the questions, as well as the background of individual class members, students may find it challenging to 1. Develop appropriate and sensitive interview questions, 2. identify possible interviewees, and 3. record material that may be triggering. Prior to assigning this Short Activity, use the resources below in order to ensure that the class feels comfortable with this assignment.

• This article by American Ancestors provides a guide for conducting interviews.
• Ancestry.com shares advice in this article for interviewing World War II veterans. (Please note: This approach may apply to veterans in general.)

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who might not be able to speak to their families or communities can instead interview a classmate about what that peer knows about their family history. If not much information is known, initial questions can be used as a jumping-off point for further research into ancestry and immigration.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the story.

Consider the effects of trauma on memory. What is trauma? How does trauma shape one’s memory of a certain situation? Think of a famous character in literature or media that experiences a traumatic situation and consider how this trauma affects their memory.

Teaching Suggestion: This Personal Connection Prompt invites students to reflect on a central theme of the novel: the prevalence of trauma in refugee communities. Throughout the novel, many of the characters are Haunted by Trauma related to war and death, as well as their journeys to the US. Students who are refugees themselves or who have family or acquaintances who are refugees may reflect on their own experiences (if they wish to do so) or redirect their reflection to characters in literature or media. It may be helpful to have a list of resources available for students who may be experiencing trauma and require extra support.

• This article has the American Psychological Association’s definition of trauma.
• This article has learning material and resources from the US Department of Health & Human Services on child traumatic stress.