Only The Heart Analysis
Only the heart is a novel written by Brian Caswell, which entails the journey of refugees fleeing their homeland on a boat after being consumed by post-war communism in search of the dream. The story follows the VO family as they embark on a fishing boat away from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam towards Malaysia before landing in Australia and the difficulties as well as the dangers they confront through their migration.
The following discussion of this novel will revolve around the different issues, themes and narrative techniques practiced by the author and how they connect with a teenage audience.
There are common themes used throughout the novel, which establish a connection of personal connections within the teenage audience. Relationships prove to be a significant part of the novel where there are often recollections and incidents of loss and drama surrounding the VO family as well as external relations. The novel mostly interprets the cousins, Toan’s and Linh’s story who belongs to the third generation of the …show more content…
Her inward suffering generates defiance towards Minh and Hoa for escaping Vietnam since Mai’s death could have been avoided, as preceded in chapter 10 – Cang, pg. 109 ‘“It’s your fault!” She Shouted. “If it wasn’t for you, we’d still be safe In Rach Gia. She wouldn’t have come without you. And you’re not my father, so don’t think you can take his place.”’ Subsequent to arriving on Pulau Bisa, a remote island in Malaysia as a refugee among her family, Phuong follows a gang in which she is drawn to their leader Cang, with the intent of offering herself to him, impersonating her mother’s actions with the pirate on the boat in the process of coping with guilt. A lot of adolescents have suffered through the experience and engaged in similar actions to survive, consequently allowing them to connect and sympathize with the characters in the
The following discussion of this novel will revolve around the different issues, themes and narrative techniques practiced by the author and how they connect with a teenage audience.
There are common themes used throughout the novel, which establish a connection of personal connections within the teenage audience. Relationships prove to be a significant part of the novel where there are often recollections and incidents of loss and drama surrounding the VO family as well as external relations. The novel mostly interprets the cousins, Toan’s and Linh’s story who belongs to the third generation of the …show more content…
Her inward suffering generates defiance towards Minh and Hoa for escaping Vietnam since Mai’s death could have been avoided, as preceded in chapter 10 – Cang, pg. 109 ‘“It’s your fault!” She Shouted. “If it wasn’t for you, we’d still be safe In Rach Gia. She wouldn’t have come without you. And you’re not my father, so don’t think you can take his place.”’ Subsequent to arriving on Pulau Bisa, a remote island in Malaysia as a refugee among her family, Phuong follows a gang in which she is drawn to their leader Cang, with the intent of offering herself to him, impersonating her mother’s actions with the pirate on the boat in the process of coping with guilt. A lot of adolescents have suffered through the experience and engaged in similar actions to survive, consequently allowing them to connect and sympathize with the characters in the