An individual’s fears and need to survive
can become a major factor in the buildup of their identities. ‘The Happiest
Refugee’ memoir written by Anh Do and the illustrated novel ‘The Boat’ by Nam
Le explores how the individual characters’ existence is based upon the
strengths and weaknesses that they have acquired from their fears. Do uses the
bold ambience Tam Do has to demonstrate how his early life in Vietnam has
impacted him in contrast to Le’s protagonist, Mai who begins to understand how
her memories and bonds with her family will helps her endure her journey on the
refugee boat.
Mai’s fear of losing the memories of her
family leads her to realize the significance of her life and ultimately the possibility
of losing her sanity. The muddled bodies, dramatic use of shadows and sharp
lines indicate how the refugees are losing their humanity as there are no
proportionate figures . The imagery of the shadowed objects also gives off a
claustrophobic aura from the ‘thighs and ribs and arms and hands’ that are
drawn unconnected to any particular body. Mai immediately ‘[looks] for Truong’
in order to tame her fear and to relieve herself from the tension the storm
possesses. The Boat’s contrast between monochrome colors highlights how Mai’s
fear is always there; the intensity of the dark background throughout the novel
also demonstrates how her fear and anxiety escalates. The protagonist’s incapacity
to control her mentality has caused her to rely on her memories of her father
in order to gain control over her fears on the boat. The fading image of her
father into a white abyss demonstrates how by losing those precious to her, she
begins to fall apart from not having a sustainable source of comfort. By
viewing Truong as a shrine of her father she is able to move on and to relieve
herself from a ‘human cocoon’ of emotions and terror. The psychological effects
of having a deep connection with families can lead individuals to become
vulnerable when it is taken away from them and therefore cause them to fear
death or isolation.
The characterization of Tam Do shows how
his traumatic experiences in Vietnam and on his daunting journey to Australia
has led him to be viewed as a leader and a role model to his family. Tam uses
his fears to strive to become a figurehead by using his own skills and
knowledge to save the victims of the communist government. His vulnerability is
however shown from his ‘little fishing boat’ as his livelihood and children’s
future rely on his actions. At one point Tam views the world as a ‘sinister,
tumultuous black’ nightmare with his mental state being represented as a
‘panicking ghost’ as it is not only the future of the refugees on the boat who
are relying on him but his own fear of dying. It also symbolizes how the vivid
description of his environment emulates the danger and innocence of the people
on the boat. Tam also lives by the motto of ‘there’s now and there’s too late’
signifying how he will take risks in order to alleviate himself of feeling guilty
over his mistakes. His cowardice has caused him to obtain a personality that
possesses great wisdom from his ability to confront his fears but to also
become thoughtless when it comes to analyzing the consequences. By persevering
through the fears and obstacles of immense terror; Tam is able to be recognized
as an authoritative figure to his community.
Do’s ‘The Happiest Refugee’ and Le’s ‘The
Boat’ demonstrate how a refugee’s perseverance and survival is the result of the
effects their fears have had on them. Although both texts relate to the
importance of the bonds created with those close to them and the relation to
their perseverance; the texts lead into the different results of relying on
family as Tam’s bravado is a result of his prevailing guilt in contrast to Mai
who begins to break apart both physically and emotionally. Mai ‘shuts her eyes’
in order to conserve herself away from fear and to prepare herself for her
death similarly to Tam who although is perceived as a persistent individual
experiences an ‘unexpected [change in his] tone’ which reflects his insecurity and
how he may falter when his family is threatened. Anh’s father manages to use
his fears as a basis for his strengths which inspires his children to not ‘let
the bastards know [they’re] scared and then to conquer them’. This leads to the
build-up of Anh’s identity as he aspires to become an individual who can handle
difficult and nerve-wracking situations. Le’s protagonist however begins to
drift in and out of a state of anxiety and depression to a comfort and calm
demeanor as Truong holds her sense of stability, without it she begins to feel
a ‘slow fire drawing air from her lungs’. By seeing Truong deformed she begins
to view her memories of her family as a dwindling series of macabre as she
loses hope and therefore loses control of herself. This juxtaposes the sense of
how fear can lead an individual to understand their fears and build up their
identity whilst also causing them to rely on others to survive internally.
A series of fears and the need to survive
can build up an individual’s identity. Anh Do’s memoir shows how fears can
cause people to strive forward through his depiction of Tam Do’s naïve
personality whilst Nam Le’s graphic novel illustrates how fear can weaken an
individual’s emotional, mental and physical stability through the broad use of
artistic techniques that are used and the introverted Mai. Both texts
demonstrate how society can adapt to their fears from their will to survive.
