Inside Out and Back Again

All of the many challenges faced by Ha and her family ultimately stem from their being forced to leave their war-torn homeland of Vietnam. They live in Saigon in the south of the country, where...

The first thing we learn about Ha is that she loves her mother greatly. Mother has been raising Ha and her siblings on her own, since Father left on a Navy mission years earlier and has not been...

In Inside Out and Back Again, Ha's life comes back when she learns the true meaning of how to live a life that is "not the same, but not bad at all." The premise of the question rightly presumes...

Let's start with the physical. There isn't a lot of detail for this one. Most of the story/poem deals with her feelings and actions. First, Kim Ha is a girl. Second, she is young: 10 years old....

In Saigon, Hà has managed to grow her own papaya tree from seed. As the tree grows taller and taller it becomes the little girl's pride and joy. She loves nothing more than watching it grow, in the...

Although every teacher may have a different set of instructions for writing a paragraph about symbolism, here's a general method you can use. Step 1: Find a symbol that you like. Look for an object...

Life is, at first, difficult, shameful, unfamiliar, and frightening for Hà in Alabama. It's why she actually prefers the familiarity of her war-torn home nation at times. Toward the end of the...

The text does not directly reveal the reasons for Ha's regret once she begins to learn English. However, a close reading of the text will provide a clearer picture. Ha's interesting story is told...

Ha's brother Khoi has an unpleasant secret. It's related to the nasty stink that seems to emanate from his general direction. No matter how much he sweats or how smelly he gets he keeps on wearing...

Over the course of Part III: Alabama, Hà has learned, first of all, to compromise. We see how this plays out in her relationship to the American foods that she dislikes so much. She starts off in...

Pam gives Ha a doll. Pam is one of Ha's first friends at school. Before they met, Ha ate alone in the bathroom because she didn't know anyone. On gift-exchange day, Pam comes in with a doll that...

Há's brother works on helping the children learn to speak English. About a third of the way into the story, in the section titled "Routine," we learn that Há and her family have been on the ship...

The special day referred to in Inside Out and Back Again is Tet, which is the first day of lunar calendar. This day has great significance in this story, because the story starts on Tet in 1975 and...

Tết happens twice in the story: once near the very beginning, when Hà very sneakily touches her toe to the tile floor of the house to bless the house first, and once at the end of the story,...

As one can imagine, emigrating to the United States from war-torn Vietnam is a huge upheaval for Ha and her family. It also gives them a massive culture-shock, as they quickly realize just how...

It's 1975, and the Vietnam War is finally coming to an end. Nguyen Van Thieu, President of South Vietnam since 1967, has gone on television to announce his resignation. According to Ha, he looks...

Ha's life in Vietnam is drastically different from her life in America. In Vietnam, Ha understands the culture perfectly. She knows how to navigate the market, celebrates the same holidays as her...

Ha and her family have managed to flee from the turmoil in their native Vietnam. They're traveling aboard a Navy ship that will take them to safety. As there are thousands of other desperate...

Kim Ha's life changes dramatically based on where she lives, and her struggles reflect the greater conflicts of the historical period. When the story begins, Ha is leading a fairly normal life in...

Often we focus on the differences between Ha's life in Vietnam and her life in America, but there are similarities. Ha's life is still deeply intertwined with those of her mother and...

While Mother is the most practical, pragmatic character in Inside Out and Back Again, her refusal to believe Father is gone is the one fantasy she holds onto. As long as Father is still alive,...

Having escaped from war-torn Vietnam, Ha and her family have settled down in Alabama. It's not exactly the most racially tolerant of states, as Ha's family discovers not long after moving in. First...

It's the Vietnamese festival of Tet, the first day of the lunar calendar, and Ha is celebrating with her family. It's also Ha's tenth birthday, so there's a double cause for celebration. Ha's...

This is one of the biggest questions concerning Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. The protagonist, Ha, and her family experience a multitude of challenges as they attempt to "find home"...