Week 9 Nam Le Short Story

Week 9 Nam Le Short Story

I love how in the beginning the Dad came to visit Nam and cleaning around the house. As a parent, you naturally clean after your kids no matter how old they are. Nam insist that his father stop because he’s tired from the plane ride and they’ll go order food to eat instead of cooking. When Nam’s father arrives, Nam starting speaking Vietnamese again. I feel like no matter how much we have assimilated to Western norms; our parents remind us of our roots. Nam starts talking about his girlfriend who he hasn’t told his dad about. He describes her as an ash-blond. Maybe he has not told his dad about his girlfriend because she a not Vietnamese. One line that struck me was “why don’t you write about Vietnam?” They make it seem so easy to write about these topics. Imagine asking a white person to write about America. Where do you begin the story and how should the story end? At the end, Nam’s dad goes to the river and throws away the story that Nam has written about his father’s experience. I think it’s good to have your story written and be told but at the same time its hard to have to relive those difficult times again. I can’t imagine what it was like to go through those harsh events but having to tell it again and have it written where anyone can access it at any time but he hard. These stories are person stories. I always wanted to ask my parents about their experience with the Vietnam War but I’m afraid that it will bring up memories that they don’t want to remember. 

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