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Claire
Phuong’s older sister in “Fatherland.” Vivien’s name is also Phuong, but she goes by Vivien—a symbol of her Americanness. Vivien arrives in Vietnam like a movie star, with big sunglasses, makeup, and crimson luggage. Throughout her stay, Vivien lives up to Phuong’s belief that she is more blessed, taking her entire family out to an expensive restaurant and giving them all gifts. It is also clear to Phuong that their father, Mr. Ly, loves Vivien more than he loves Phuong. Vivien and Phuong become close on her trip, but ultimately Vivien reveals that she has been lying about her job and her success. She is not a pediatrician, but is an unemployed receptionist with a lot of credit card debt. When she tells Phuong that she is unable to sponsor her to come to America, Phuong realizes that she does not need to aspire to be her sister, but instead aspires to be something even more.
Vivien Quotes in The Refugees
The The Refugees quotes below are all either spoken by Vivien or refer to Vivien. 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.
Vivien Quotes in The Refugees
The The Refugees quotes below are all either spoken by Vivien or refer to Vivien. 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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Explanation and Analysis:
We’re all the same to them, Phuong understood with a mix of anger and shame—small, charming, and forgettable.
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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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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
