Vocabulary
What does contorted mean?
twisted or distorted
What happened to Ha’s father?
Ha’s father was kidnapped when he was serving in the Navy
Why does Ha eat slowly?
_ha eats slowly because she tries to enjoy the last crumbs she has.
What is the man from Alabama looking for?
The Man from Alabama is looking for a young man that wants to train to become a mechanic.
What does the family learn in the letter from Father’s brother?
Ha Family learned from the letter that Ha Father Brother was looking for Father’s friends to find out if they heard from Father. But nobody has heard from Ha’s father.
What does solitude mean?
The experience of being alone
What is the family taking with them and why?
They mostly take clothing, tooth brush, tooth paste, soap, food, sandals, and one item of your choice. because they are leaving for America.
What does Ha draw? Why?
Ha draws food and sweets. She draws sweets because she loves sweets cause she's craving for sweets but she can't get any cause she's stranded on the ship.
Describe what the family’s sponsor looks like?
__The Man is Tall, has a pig-bellied, black cowboy hat, tan cowboy boots, cigar smoking, teeth that are shining, red face, and golden hair. Also, Ha immediately loves the Man.
Why do you think Pem and Ha trade coats?
Pem trades coats with Ha because instead of Ha getting beat up Pem took Ha's cap so she could run and then when Pink Boys friend sees her it's not Ha so Ha wouldn't get beat up.
What does lyric mean?
word that accompanies a melody
What does Ha learn while watching the news on the TV? How does she feel about the news?
While watching the tv she saw that a commusists captiured a prisoner and Ha felt sad because Ha’s father was captured by communists.
What two objects does Ha place in the white handkerchief?
the doll and the dead duck which were wrapped around the white handkerchief
Describe the cowboy’s wife.
__She was mad when she saw people in her house. She looked like she was angry.
How does the butcher treat Ha and her mother in the poem?
the butcher treats Ha and Ha’s mother like they're invisible but then later on get their order. I know this because it says so on page (218) “ The butcher turns away without a word. Mother presses the buzzer for a long time. When the butcher returns, he hears a lot of Vietnamese in a voice stern and steady, from eyes even more so. Mother ends with a clear, NOW! The butcher stares then takes our meat to the grinder.” Yes the butcher was being racist because they were Vietnamese.
What does fermented mean?
underwent chemical breakdown or agitation
Describe the conditions on the ship.
_the ship was huge because it could support thousands of people but there was getting a lot of people and no one had the gut to say that they is no more space for every one plus they were afraid that the ship will sink.
Why does mother point to the moon?
mother points to the moon because she's giving Ha hope.
How does the family feel about the chicken? What evidence in the text gave you the answer?
Ha family does not like the chicken because when they were back home the chicken was freshly killed. I know this because the text said,”Mother wipes the corners of her mouth before passing her piece into her napkin. Brother Vũ gags.
What is Ha going to give Pem?
Ha is going to give the seeds thath she picked in saigon with Titi
What does Haiku mean?
a type of poem made up of 17 syllables divided into 3 lines.
What does that tell the reader about the situation in Vietnam?
Vietnam is still in war. There was overpopulation due to migration. There was a lot of people there who lost a member of their families because we can tell there was a lot of men missing.
What does Ha do to the man’s arm hair? Why do you think she would do this?
Ha pulls the hair off the arm of the navy man because she has never seen blonde hair. And she wants a surverior she pulled the hair to remember that she was rescued vitamin.
What does Ha like and dislike about their new home?
______Ha doesn't like her new home because the plates are mismatching, the chairs are different colors, before when they were poor they had nice looking furniture and plates, they have to wear worn out clothes. But Ha likes that there a lotus tub the showe r and that there's 2 rooms one for the brothers and the other for Ha and her mother. _______________________________________________________________________________
What happens to the mother's ring?
She lost her ring.