In the Australian Anthology, we read about the family’s boat trip to Australia. En route, they have two encounters with pirates. The second encounter is particularly dangerous and life-threatening.
The excerpt (pp 66-67) is from the Happiest Refugee, pp. 24-25.
Here we have a stereotypical encounter between the swash-buckling pirates with their guns and machetes and bravado and the “thirty-seven starving refugees”. One of the pirates threaten to throw the baby overboard; they grab the “slice of gold” that falls out of his nappy. They terrorise one of the Auntys who is pushed into the pilot house on the pirate’s vessel.
(See the Language of Stereotypes, p. 16 and The Language of Comparison p. 37 in (The Language of Analysis).
Note the metaphoric references to the “cornered” and “fearful” animal. All of a sudden, the refugees fight for their survival — starting with the threatened baby.
This encounter turns out fortuitous; ironically the “second pirate attack saved our lives”.
See p. 39 in “How to write an A+ text response”. This turn of events proves a nice example of ambiguity: the young teenager does not conform to the pirates’ ruthless behaviour and attitudes and this provides the refugee with some luck.
Examine the contradictions and ironies inherent in the “gallon of water” (p. 67)
Write two paragraphs related to the prompt: “Facing conflict demands strength of character”. This encounter shows two sides to this prompt.
The Happiest Refugee is just one man’s story. Discuss.The characters:
The father’s story is very important in The Happiest Refugee. He is the one who shows amazing courage throughout their journey. He shows fine leadership skills. At 25 years of age, he is in charge of the boat and the extended family. When the boat is raided for the second time, he stands up to the pirates. He is also inventive and mends the broken motor. He uses the strap from the thong. Anh looks up to his father who gives him good advice, which is also useful for readers. For example, Anh’s father tells him to “always look on the bright side”. He supports him and shows him that even if you do not win, you can always be happy that you tried. The other example is when Anh is told that “there is now and there is too late”. This means that you have to grasp everything that life offers. Do not wait. However, the father’s guilt lets him down and the family . The death of Number One affects him badly. The other example is when he has to sell the farm and one of his brothers is very unhappy that he has lost their money. The guilt leads to alcohol problems and he deserts the family which is another story.
The story is also about his mother’s selfless attitude to life. She makes a lot of personal sacrifices in order to give her children a better life. She works long hours to pay the school fees and the rent. She struggles when her husband leaves her and has to work on her own. Like the father, she also gives the children (and readers) a lot of good advice. She believes that you should always look after other people. The family does a lot of charity work.
Anh is also the hero of the story because of his personality. He takes the father’s advice and always follows his passion. This is evident when he does not follow his law career. Instead he takes a risk and becomes a comedian. This is very difficult for a Vietnamese person but he always makes people like him. One of his hardest performances was at the RSL club. He had to perform in front of war veterans from Vietnam. He states that the “tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife”. After his performance, the veterans warmed to him. He told them the story of his dad fighting in the war. Also Anh has a very positive attitude towards life. He makes an effort to try hard and to fit into the new society. He is always grateful that he had a chance to improve his life. He says “Mum and Dad always told us kids to do as much as you can to give back to this beautiful country that has given us a second chance.” He realises that he has had a great chance when he returns to Vietnam and sees the young boy like himself selling the postcard for 50 cents.
WHAT MESSAGES CAN THE READER LEARN FROM READING THE HAPPIEST REFUGEES?
One of the most important messages is the value of family and the need to support and help each other. The family supports each other constantly throughout their troubles.
- The family works very hard to make a new start and provide opportunities for the children.
- The mother makes a lot of sacrifices. This makes Anh appreciate his luck and the opportunity to have a better life.
- They shared their resources. “When my family were planning to leave Vietnam, they pooled all their money together until they had enough to buy a boat.” (186)
- As soon as Anh got his first decent job, he bought a house for his mother.
Another message is that people should always have hope and be optimistic. Anh learns from his father that it is important to always have an optimistic outlook on life and try your best. If you try then there is no need to fear failure and no need to feel disappointed.
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