The Refugees

by

Viet Thanh Nguyen

The boy’s father Character Analysis

The father of the boy who narrates “War Years.” He had fled Vietnam with the boy’s mother and the boy after the Communists had seized his auto parts store. He now owns a grocery store, the New Saigon Market, with his wife in San Jose, California. Like his wife, the boy’s father sees the value in maintaining the boy’s Vietnamese culture, though he does not work to maintain it as strictly as the boy’s mother does.

The boy’s father Quotes in The Refugees

The The Refugees quotes below are all either spoken by The boy’s father or refer to The boy’s father. 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:
War and the Refugee Experience Theme Icon
).
War Years Quotes

“And what about bologna?”

“What?” My mother’s brow furrowed. “If I can’t pronounce it, my customers won’t buy it.”

Related Characters: The Boy (speaker), The Boy’s Mother (speaker), The boy’s father
Page Number: 50
Explanation and Analysis:

“Go buy,” she said in English, motioning me inside. Whenever she spoke in English, her voice took on a higher pitch, as if instead of coming from inside her, the language was outside, squeezing her by the throat.

Related Characters: The Boy (speaker), The Boy’s Mother (speaker), Mrs. Hoa, The boy’s father
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Refugees PDF

The boy’s father Quotes in The Refugees

The The Refugees quotes below are all either spoken by The boy’s father or refer to The boy’s father. 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:
War and the Refugee Experience Theme Icon
).
War Years Quotes

“And what about bologna?”

“What?” My mother’s brow furrowed. “If I can’t pronounce it, my customers won’t buy it.”

Related Characters: The Boy (speaker), The Boy’s Mother (speaker), The boy’s father
Page Number: 50
Explanation and Analysis:

“Go buy,” she said in English, motioning me inside. Whenever she spoke in English, her voice took on a higher pitch, as if instead of coming from inside her, the language was outside, squeezing her by the throat.

Related Characters: The Boy (speaker), The Boy’s Mother (speaker), Mrs. Hoa, The boy’s father
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis: