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Phuong’s father in “Fatherland.” Mr. Ly had one set of three children prior to the Vietnam War with the first Mrs. Ly, and then had had a second set of three children after the war with Phuong’s mother, naming his second set after his first. It is clear throughout the story that Mr. Ly loves his first set of children a lot more than his second set of children—a fact that becomes particularly evident when his oldest daughter, Vivien, visits. Phuong sees his preference for Vivien as emblematic of Vietnam as a whole, which she feels prioritizes tourists over its own citizens.
Mr. Ly Quotes in The Refugees
The The Refugees quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Ly or refer to Mr. Ly. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Fatherland
Quotes
He often compared Phuong with her absent sister, which had cultivated in Phuong a sense of yearning for Vivien but also some undeniable jealousy.
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We’re all the same to them, Phuong understood with a mix of anger and shame—small, charming, and forgettable.
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In the Ice Lantern’s glow, her sister’s face looked more like her father’s than her own, the symmetry rendering clear what Phuong could now say. Their father loved Vivien more than her.
The photograph ignited easily when Phuong lit it with a match.
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Get the entire The Refugees LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mr. Ly Quotes in The Refugees
The The Refugees quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Ly or refer to Mr. Ly. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Fatherland
Quotes
He often compared Phuong with her absent sister, which had cultivated in Phuong a sense of yearning for Vivien but also some undeniable jealousy.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
We’re all the same to them, Phuong understood with a mix of anger and shame—small, charming, and forgettable.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In the Ice Lantern’s glow, her sister’s face looked more like her father’s than her own, the symmetry rendering clear what Phuong could now say. Their father loved Vivien more than her.
The photograph ignited easily when Phuong lit it with a match.
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
