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1975: Year of the Cat
Tet is the New Year in Vietnam and this one day acts upon the rest of the year. Ha is very angry that only her brothers can step on the floor first because in their society, men dominate woman. But, Ha put her foot on the ground first. "Not even Mother, sleeping beside me, knew."(Page 3) -
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Ha
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Inside Out
When Ha's mother visits the I Ching Teller of Fate, he says that their lives will twist around. Ha believes that it is for the better and that she will be able to do more things outside and not be scared. But, the war is coming closer to their home. "... this year's "banh chung", eaten only during Tet, will be smeared in blood."(Page 4) -
Papaya Tree
Ha unintentionally flicked a papaya seed into her back garden. Now, her tree is twice as tall as her when she stands on her tippy toes. Each of her brothers can see taller than the next one but Ha wants to be the first to witness the papaya ripening. "I vow to rise first every morning to stare at the dew on the green fruit shaped like a lightbulb. I will be the first to witness its ripening." (Page 9) -
Current News
In school, Ha's class always talks about current news on Fridays. Miss Xinh's, Ha's teacher says she wants to talk about good news on Fridays to distract the kids from war. " From now on Fridays will be for happy news. No one has anything to say." (Page 18) -
Birthday Wishes
Ha is allowed to celebrate her birthday because she is the youngest of the family. She wishes for some childish things like losing her chubby cheeks and having a sister to play dolls with. But, she also wishes for serious things like "... Father would appear in our doorway and make Mother's lips curl upward, lifting them from a permanent frown of worries." (Page 31) -
Twisting Twisting
When Mother is cooking she realizes that there will not be enough rice to last till the end of the month. Ha realizes that her Mother is trying to cover it up with other foods. "Yam and manioc taste lovely blended with rice, she says, and smiles, as if I don't know how the poor fill their children's bellies." (37) -
One Mat Each
When Ha and her family board the ship, it is very crowded and they only get one mat for everyone to lay on. People know that the ship can sink but they won't deny anyone since nobody denied their entry. "By sunset out space is one straw mat, enough for us five to huddle together." (63) -
Saigon is Gone
As Ha and her family are on the ship, there is a plane that looks like Communist. People start chaos only to see that it was one of South VIetnam's planes and was safe. The Communist has taken over The Presidential Palace and South Vietnam. "Then he adds what no one wants to hear: It's over; Saigon is gone." (69) -
Lasts Respects
On the boat, they lower the flag of South Vietnam since it no longer exist. People are so sad that they try to commit suicide by throwing themselves overboard. Ha and Khoi have to throw Khoi's dead chick overboard so, Ha wraps it in her doll that was the only memory she could bring from Vietnam. "Brother Khoi nods and I smile, but I regret not having my doll as soon as the white bundle sinks into the sea." (86) -
English Above All
Ha, Mother, Brother Khoi, Brother Quang, and Brother Vu all live in the lowest level of the house where the wife would not see them. Mother tries to make good out of it by saying that its more room then two mats. The kids can only wish for English and have to leave their old life behind, even Father. "She tries to mean it about Father, but I know at times words are just words." -
Rainbow
At school, Ha sees everybody with different ethnecites and nobody looks like her. Ha feels left out because she is from Vietnam and she is a new student. "I'm the only straight black hair on olive skin."(142). -
Smart Again
One day in class, Pink Boy goes to the board to solve a math problem. He can't solve it so Ha goes up to the board and solves it in five moves. She knows that she did the wrong thing by making Pink Boy look dumb but she doesn't care. "I know Pink Boy will get me, but right now I feel smart." (188). -
War and Peace
Miss Scott shows the class photos of where Ha came from. She shows the class Saigon during the war and how many people were fleeing. Ha doesn't like that MIss Scott made her hometown look awful. "No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama." (195) -
Boo-Da Boo-Da
Miss Scott shows Ha's class Vietnam in a good state and Ha says that she knows Buddha. When class ends, Pink Boy and his friends yell Boo-Da Boo-Da at Ha which makes her embarassed. They chase her while she is walking to where Brother Khoi would be. She goes down the wrong street and has to run while Pink Boy yells Boo-Da and pulls her hair. "All the while surging from my gut: fear sourness weight anger loneliness confusion embarassment shame" (208). -
Gone
Mother's amethyst ring is gone when she comes home from work. Brother Quang, Mother, and Ha all go back to the sewing factory to try to find it. They retrace all of Mother's steps to try to find the ring. Mother has been looking for a sign to see if Father was alive or dead. " At dusk, the guards shoo us out. We're afraid to look at Mother" (249).
