Throughout chapter twenty until
the end of chapter twenty-three, Kien, already having lost his childhood, moves
from taking on adult responsibilities, to the man of the house while his mother
and grandparents are away. In my image, I drew Kien
very large to signify his growth. He is the size of a house and everything that
has had an effect on him is placed inside of him. For example, the loss of his
dog Lulu, his sexual assault by Lam, and being the sole provider of his
siblings while his mother is away. Up until the end of the chapter twenty-three
it seems that Kien has lost hope of ever seeing his mother again, and has to
begin coming up with plans to keep himself and his younger siblings alive. With
the new pressure of taking on the role as a father figure, Kien begins to image
what it would be like if he just abandoned them, as he believes his mother has
already done. All of these obstacles have tested Kien and put his childhood on
the hold, which is defiantly going to affect him throughout the rest of the memoir.
By Tori R.
At first, I was worried that Kien grew up a little too fast; that he childhood was forever lost. Luckily, as shown through his memoirs, he'd never forgotten his childhood. At the end of his story, he writes how he sympathizes with other Amerisans that had tough childhoods like him.
ReplyDeleteBy William H.
Hello Tori, I enjoyed your depiction of Kien as almost larger than life, and having "housed" the burdens of his lost childhood. I believe that Kien had to bear a significant responsibility in taking care of his father. As I continued reading the memoir, I found myself wondering if other children in his circumstance possessed the same level of strength as he did. Ken's display of commitment, is truly a sign of character.
ReplyDeleteCassandra V.
Kien's size in relation to the buildings symbolizes the large amount of adult responsibility he has to burden. The family, school, and his old life weight him down. His role as the man of the house at such a young age. When he is left alone with his siblings to survive, that was not a responsibility for a child, and although he hit his sister in attempt to stop her crying of starvation, he did the best he could.
ReplyDelete-Ivan R.
Hey Tori, I want start by saying that your drawing is immensely insightful and is very helpful in understanding Kien’s new role among his family. I complete agree with you; in this chapter Kien has obviously taken on a new role as the “man of the house”. Kien really did grow up fast and it bothered me that he did, after all children should enjoy being children, but it was necessary for him to grow that fast. He’s thrown into the world of adulthood really fast, and he question himself constantly which we see throughout the rest of the memoir. His loss of childhood affected him throughout his life, but in the writing of this memoir he is able to finally cope with it.
ReplyDeleteBy Steve
Tori,
ReplyDeleteI really like the image you created. It is very symbolic of how Kien has had to grow up very quickly, starting from the moment Khuon tells him that she can not allow him to be a child anymore. This image ties in all the weight he has had to carry, the torment of the abuse he endured, and being responsible for his siblings. It shows the difficulty and complexity of being a young boy but facing adult issues.
By Elilta Z.
I really liked the image created because it represented the immense pressures that Kien had to experience. The responsibilities that Kien had were very extreme. He was forced to grow up too fast in order to help his family survive, and as a result, he had to deal with the guilt of his thoughts of abandoning his responsibilities. No adolescent should ever have to be accountable for such duties, yet alone a child. The drawing captures anxieties and traumas that Kien had to experience. I agree that all of the negative things that he was forced to experience, as well as the added responsibilities of making sure his family stayed alive, deeply affected him as time passed. Although, there is no doubt that Kien would be scarred from what he had to endure during his time in Vietnam, his persevering spirit shows that there is always hope to rebuild and move on from the traumas of the past.
ReplyDeleteBy Andrea M.
I love this interpretation. You show that Kien is obviously just a little boy, in his little boy pajamas, but then you add all of the things that have weighed down on him through the memoir, pushing him toward adulthood before his time. Sadly, some of those events took it away before he even realized it.
ReplyDeleteEven the style you chose to draw in, it clearly shows that this is the life Kien should have lived, in innocence with his superhero PJs. Being raped and then left as sole provider would invoke such a strong sense of responsibility on anyone. Kien is thrust out of childhood before he had even realized what happened. This drawing makes me imagine that this is something that Kien should have innocently drawn in grade school if he would have had a normal childhood and life.
By Erica R.
The image of Kien larger than life is the perfect depiction of how he sees the world around him. There is so much happening in his home and community and yet, as a child, he feels obligated to take on the world as if he is greater than his surroundings. Kien constantly feels like he has the world on his shoulders and even though he is slightly aware of the destruction occurring outside of his home and community, his won perspective is more of “Me against the world,” he only looks down upon his family and those he cares about as he is trying to discover who he is at such a young age—even though he has already made the temporary decision to take the position of “the man of the house.”
ReplyDeleteBy: Sarah R.
There was so much pressure placed on Kien to protect his siblings and to be in some regards the other parent and I think your drawing captures that feeling well. Kien seems to be constantly reminded that he is the eldest and there for in charge of his family's well-being to a certain extent. This is an enormous amount of pressure to place on anyone, let alone a child, and because of this Kien was robbed of not only his childhood, but also his innocence.
ReplyDeleteI think Kien faced a lot of pressure of having the role of the older brother. As the oldest sibling, Kien faces the challenge of protecting and looking after his younger siblings. He is the one who takes every blow and prefers to suffer the mistreatment rather having his sister and brother suffer the mistreatment. I think this is a good depiction of how he perceives his surroundings in South Vietnam as a young adolescent. I think the moment that truly captivates Kien's role of responsibility as an older brother is when Khoun leaves home for job purposes, he takes full care of both BeTi and Jimmy. At this moment, Kien faces a lot of pressure of having to feed two other young individuals. The weight is lifted off his shoulders the moment Khoun returns home and he tells her not to leave again. I think this is the moment that demonstrates that Kien is still a child, unable to take care of his siblings on his own.
ReplyDelete