Death takes many forms in The Refugees: it haunts the main character of "Black-Eyed Women" in the form of her brother's ghost; it hangs over the heads of Liem's family, who can't write what they really think without fear of being persecuted by the Viet Cong; and it reminds Arthur Arellano to be grateful for what he has after he survives a liver transplant to treat a deadly autoimmune disease. In “War Years,” a similar loss defines the community and families at the center of the narrative, as they confront the memories of the people they have had to leave behind. The theme of a story is what the author is trying to convey — in other words, the central idea of the story. This Study Guide consists of approximately 79 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Refugees. Since many of the characters in The Refugees deal with past traumas and former lives, an obsession with memories and a connection to ghosts play a large role in Nguyen’s stories. Teachers and parents! Then I said it once more, louder: “I can be the father.” Feeling Sam’s hand grip my shoulder, I said it a third time, just to make sure they both heard me right. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. This novel is about an old man who is too old to even work, he is so hardworking that when he is offered money he would not take it even though he is not sure about the next meal of the day. Whilst she is writing the ghost of her brother visits her briefly. Often, people in the novel use the excuse of just doing one’s job, or following orders, or trying to survive. T he main characters in The Refugees include Liem, James Carver, and Thomas.. Liem, the protagonist of “The Other Man,” is a … Arthur, hovering in the corner, sensed that he was merely a specter, already dead, acknowledged by Norma only as she brushed by him on her way out the door, saying over her shoulder, “Don’t forget your pills.”. The narrator of this short story, whose name is never revealed, is introduced simply as a “ghostwriter”—a person who is hired to write literary works that are officially credited to another person as the author. We'll make guides for February's winners by March 31st—guaranteed. Viet Cong soldiers are said to believe in a brighter future for all their comrades but at the same time spy on their people to the point of restricting their freedom of speech. Log in here. James hadn’t wanted to return to the country—he knew nothing about it except what it looked like at 40,000 feet—but Michiko wanted to see it and visit their daughter and her boyfriend, Khoi Legaspi. James Carver and his wife Michiko take a trip to Vietnam to see their daughter Claire. These themes may be common, but in each story, they may have a deeper meaning. She realizes how the things she has lost have come to define her, and particularly emphasizes that the most painful losses are the years that she and her brother might have had, and the lives of the many other refugees who were killed on the same boat and were robbed of their future. Gratz uses the theme of abdication of personal responsibility to show how refugees are treated on their travels, and to show to the reader how these situations become exacerbated. A priest and a Levite each cross to the other side of the road to avoid having to help. Already a member? The Refugees content, as well as access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. In crafting this series of narratives, Nguyen unveils many of the characters’ ghost stories: they are haunted by the past and by what they have lost, but even more so by the possibility of what they might have become. He is the author of The Sympathizer, which was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction alongside seven other prizes.He is also the author of the short story collection The Refugees, the nonfiction book Nothing Ever Dies, a finalist for the National Book Award, and is the editor of an anthology of … Remembrance is a common theme in Nguyen's stories, particularly the kind of unwelcome memories that haunt the pasts of those who have endured trauma. That was true love, she thought, not giving roses but going to work every day and never once complaining about teaching Vietnamese to so-called heritage learners, immigrant and refugee students who already knew the language but merely wanted an easy grade. In conversing with her brother, the ghostwriter gains some closure in finally grieving for his life and her own life. An unprecedented 70.8 million people around the world have been forced from home by conflict and persecution at … The ghost of her brother acknowledges this, saying to her that when he died, she died too and simply did not know it. Summary. How does The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen relate to immigration? But after they have broken up and he sees that she is pregnant, he is haunted by the opportunity he lost and tells her that he wants to be the father of her child. Last Updated on January 6, 2021, by eNotes Editorial. It shows a rural community faced with millions of refugees from the future seeking shelter in the present. In the fallout of such catastrophe, they are forced to trudge forlornly towards the alien … For a number of characters in the collection, death is something that strikes early—unfairly—killing the wrong people at the wrong time. Word Count: 606. The series is a joint production of BBC Worldwide and Atresmedia that premiered on laSexta on 7 May 2015. They include: 1. However, the means of immigrating to the United States aren't always safe, easy, or attainable, as the narrator of "Black-Eyed Women" learned when she was gangraped by pirates who raid the boat on which she and her family were fleeing Vietnam. In “I’d Love You to Want Me,” Mrs. Khanh’s husband, Professor Khanh, begins to lose his memory to Alzheimer’s Disease, and he starts to call his wife by a different name—Yen. It's also a quiet certainty, a dark force that hovers at the very edge of Mrs. Khanh's life, reminding her that she's getting older and won't be able to take care of her own husband for much longer. This is why when Mrs. Hoa, another Vietnamese refugee, extorts money from other refugees to support a small Vietnamese guerilla army training in Thailand, the boy’s mother refuses to spend money to try to fight the Communists, believing that it is instead necessary to focus on their future in America. The Refugees Characters. Immigration is the foundational theme in The Refugees . In addition to looking at individual characters’ traumas, Nguyen also makes a point to show how even after a war has ended, it can impact lives on a massive, country-wide scale. The Refugees Summary T he Refugees is a collection of short stories about Vietnamese immigrants and their children, many of whom fled Vietnam after the communist regime took power.