Only the Heart

Only The Heart is a novel written by Brian Caswell and David Chiem that tells a story familiar to many Australians. A Vietnamese family is threatened, pulled apart by the war in that country. Some of its members disappear; hard-earned wealth is lost. The novel leads the reader to a new understanding of refugees with the demonstrated views of pain, determination, survival and freedom, which are brought to life throughout the novel.

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The fall of Saigon in 1975 provides the momentum for Mai and her daughters, Phuong and Linh, with Mai’s brother Minh, his wife Hoa and their three sons, to escape the new regime that has transformed their country into a prison. The novel Only the Heart shows that just because they are refugees they are not helpless, useless or lesser than any other human. They can still achieve greatness in many ways. Toan and his family achieve a sense of accomplishment when they finally arrive at Australia. “It was strange and exciting. The beginning of the dream. ” (Chapter 14, Fortune and Flying South; pages 152 – 153).

Toan’s thoughts not only represent his own sense of accomplishment and achievement but his family’s too. It puts attention on their excitement, happiness and sense of relief. It is an achievement of great feats as the family endured the hardships of the long boat trip and the re-education camp to finally achieving freedom and happiness being able to finally live freely in Australia. An achievement of Toan’s is when he got his first acting gig. “ He was the first Vietnamese actor young or old – to score a starring role in a television series in Australia.

Out of all the hopefuls, they’d chosen him. ” “ It was a source of pride that one of their own had made it. ” (chapter 16, Cattle Call, page 165). This shows that if one has a passion for something and if you work for it you can truly achieve, no matter who you are.. The quotes show that not only was toan proud of himself but also the Vietnamese community in Australia. These achievements of refugees changes the readers understanding of them. They show that not all refugees that come to Australia aren’t just their to take the jobs of others.

Toan’s family shares deep bonds with each other. They are loyal to each other just like any other family. They show love and compassion for each other. Through their journey they endured not just extreme conditions but dangerous situations. An example of a dangerous situation was when the pirates boarded the boat that they were on and attempted to take Phuong for sex. Phuong’s mother Mai offered herself in place of Phuong to protect her. She then says “ Your mother loves you child. Remember that. Always. ” (Chapter 6, Fair Exchange, page 67).

The situation was dangerous indeed and through Mai’s bond with Phuong and as a mother, protected Phuong from her would-be kidnappers. The use of emotive language in this scene show that Mai truly loved her daughter. One of the many similes that the writer used was: “The world slides away like a memory and is gone. ” (Chapter 13, Before the Death of Innocence, page 139). The use of this simile tells the audience that Cang’s death was painless and showed no emotion and no feelings. It shows bonds because the reason for Cang’s death was because he went into the fire that he started to save Phuong.

There was an invisible bond between Cang and Phuong because even though Cang started the fire and caused the death of twenty-five people, he still went back into the fire to save Phuong, which ultimately caused his own death. This shows that refugees have bonds like everyone else. Toan and his family never lost their cultural identity even though they lived in a place with a large Vietnamese community and moved away from it. They are able to live in a place with people not of Vietnamese background and are still able to not lose themselves.

This shows that refugees never forgot who they were. In conclusion everyone is entitled to their opinion but should be more informed themselves. The reason why refugees are seen in a negative light is because of the media However no one knows what they truly go through to achieve freedom and a better life. After listening to personal experiences opinions change and the audience is presented a bigger picture. No matter how many different stories people listen to they wil never know the real extent of how terrible the refugees lives.

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