Name That Tune
"I was so fired up," he continued, "I just couldn't come down. When I'm like that, I have trouble sleeping..."
Neil in the wake of Lia's traumatic seizure
How many Hmong were left abandoned on the airfield awaiting American planes to take them to the US?
100,000. And the field is straffed, forcing the Hmong to flee to Thailand.
During the Vietnam War, the Hmong were deemed "internal refugees," a phrase that is a literary device. Name the device.
Classic oxymoron or paradox; by definition, a refugee is someone who has fled their own land, but in this case, they're displaced within their own country, a terrible fate.
True or false: Despite growing poppies (the source of heroin and opium), few Hmong are addicts.
True, and fascinating given how highly addictive opium is.
Short Answer
What specific kind of farming do the Hmong practice?
Slash and burn or swidden farming; this is the most destructive form of farming there is, and it relates to their habit of abandoning land and decamping. Opium farms are especially bad for the soil.
"The doctor seemed like she was a good doctor, but she wasn't. She was really mean...she wanted to take Lia's medicine away from her and give it to someone else."
Foua, who is clearly distraught and doesn't understand what is happening. The chart notes that she demanded medicine to "fix Lia's brain."
What geographical/topographical region are the Hmong most closely aligned with?
The mountains; the name "montard" has to do with the mountains. It even affects their gait because they are so accustomed to stooping to climb the steep cliffs, they walk in a notable way when on lower lands.
What are tigers symbols of in Hmong culture (one is referenced in relationship to Lia's worst seizure)?
Wickedness and duplicity.
True or false: Hmong soldiers died at a rate ten times higher than American ones?
True, and appalling.
Short Answer:
What mistake do Lia's doctors make during the big one?
"My parents had to carried me and two of my younger sisters, True and Yer. My mom could only carried me, and my dad could only my sister, True with many things which they have to carry such as rices (food), clothing, and blankets for overnight." (sic)
May in her 8th-grade report on the horrors her family experienced in its flight from Laos to Thailand.
In Hmong legends, what does the poppy represent?
A lover who was buried; a beautiful flower grew on her grave, and those who smelled it or touched its sap were indoctrinated into how to grow poppies.
The fact that, one time, Lia's parents called an ambulance, thinking it would be faster, actually added twenty minutes to the arrival time at the hospital is an example of which device?
Irony
True or false: Despite the magnitude of this seizure, Neil and Peggy keep their vacation plans.
True, they have moved her to another hospital for a higher level of care, but it strikes a jarring note, as I suspect Neil himself realizes. In fact, Foua and NK, think she's been moved only because of Neil's vacation.
Short Answer
Without the family's permission, what does the doctor in Fresno do?
Removes her from all life-saving procedures and cancels all of the medical tests lined up. This is outrageous.
"My little baby was cold and hungry and I was hungry too."
Foua about Yee, the baby who starved to death.
A seizure of 20 minutes is considered dangerous. For how long did Lia seize during "the big one"?
Two continuous hours and so hard and long that her body was literally jumping off the table; it took multiple people to hold her down to get an IV in her ankle.
Which device is most evident here: "If you don't agree with the Pathet Lao, they can kill you just like a cow or a pig."
Simile
True or false, the brain scans reveal that Lia's long-sustained seizure has led to brain death?
True, and as soon as Jeanine hears the diagnosis, she fills a van with Lia's relatives and drives them to Fresno.
What were "seminar camps" really used for?
Forced labor and indoctrination (akin to concentration camps).
"You have had an exciting life! Please watch verbs in the past tense."
May's teacher is correcting a report in which she gives voice to bearing witness to the multiple deaths, including her own siblings!
Impossible to overstate how tone-deaf this teacher is.
What, specifically, does "The big one" mean?
It was the phrase Neil coined to warn of their greatest fear, that ultimately Lia would suffer one massive seizure. He had had a premonition that she would have one, and that he'd be the one on duty.
What tone is Anne using here, "All they had to do was leave behind every relative who did not belong to their immediate family as well as virtually everything they owned, and overnight, trade the high status they had enjoyed in Laos for a communal dormitory in a Thai refugee camp, where one bed was provided for their family of eight, and they stood in long lines for every meal, holding bowls for their ration of rice." (161)
Rage, sarcasm, cynicism.
True or false: Foua and Nao Kao had a baby who starved to death on the march to Thailand.
True. And he dies in Foua's arms. My goodness...what this couple has endured is truly beyond belief.
Which famous American politician was involved with getting the Hmong involved in the war?
Kissinger