StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The essay "Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do" provides a personal reflection on the book "The Happiest Refugee" that investigates the impact of overcoming and surviving Vietnam war. The writer of the essay would argue the views presented in the book by Ahn Do…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.5% of users find it useful
Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do"

The Happiest Refugee “Success, whether academic or professional, involves an ability to survive in a new environment and, eventually, to change it” In relation to Ahn Do’s book, this statement means that happy life that an individual attains, comes came from survival through many struggles. Do survived in an environment of war in Vietnam and they changes it when they fled for their lives. He was around age thirteen then and his readers can imagine how a boy at such a young age suffered having to seek refuge in another place.

The encounter with the pirates while on the congested boat and their brutal treatment is another new environment that Do survived. They changed this environment by complying with what the pirates commanded them to do. After making it to Australia, as if having to put up with trying to build a new life in a foreign country was not enough, Do’s father left them. Do survived and changed this environment by stepping up and supporting his family through the job he did, studying up to university and doing comedy (Do, 2010).

I enjoyed reading The Happiest Refugee and largely, I agree with Do’s views. According to the history texts I have read, I realize that he presents quite a good account of the life in Vietnam especially at the time of the war. Like in any other war-torn country, I agreed with Do that life in Vietnam was unbearable and his family’s decision to leave Vietnam was the best. Probably, Do could not have made it to be a successful comedian were it not for their leaving Vietnam. As risky as it was, I felt I could not blame Do’s family for their decision to use the ocean in search of a safe refuge.

When war breaks out, victims of war are extremely fearful and they lack the time to decide on the best route out of their current problems. They were lucky to live through two pirate attacks. I have read in the newspapers that in the current times, the issue of the people who come into Australia via the ocean has brought contention especially in the political arena (Do, 2010). The experiences that my refugees friends have shared with me help me identify with Do’s account of the difficulty they experienced starting life in Australia.

Most of them have told me that most of the people in the host country were unwelcoming and extremely suspicious at first. Similar to the stories I have read and heard, Do got inspiration from his mother, brother, and sister. Do lived though arduous work in the hands of unfriendly employers and property owners. While as a refugee, both nuclear and extended family become one’s source of encouragement before they make friends with the local people. It was, however, surprising to discover that Do trained in law before he went into comedy.

I have never heard of such a twist in life that connects law with comedy but I could not doubt the possibility because Do’s life turned out to be full of surprises (Do, 2010). ReferenceDo, A. (2010). The happiest refugee: The extraordinary true story of a boy's journey from starvation at sea to becoming one of Australia's best-loved comedians. Sydney: N.S.W.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do Essay - 15”, n.d.)
Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do Essay - 15. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1638120-reflective-essay
(Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do Essay - 15)
Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do Essay - 15. https://studentshare.org/literature/1638120-reflective-essay.
“Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do Essay - 15”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1638120-reflective-essay.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Concept of Survival and Struggle in The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do

Refugees and Races

For instance, there is the Section 91R of the Migration Act of 1958, which identifies the requirements for an immigrant that should be accepted because he or she is a refugee.... In a specific case that is already part of the Australian jurisprudence, Applicant A v MIIEA, it was held that "as long as the discrimination constitutes persecution and is inflicted for a Convention reason, the person will qualify as a refugee.... (Bagaric and Vrachnas 2006, 296) However, recent events demonstrate a different reality with regards to the Australian refugee policy....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Why Do I Consider Myself as a Survivor

I had an instinct for survival and it has served me well throughout my life.... I guess that should have been the telltale sign that my life would always be about a constant struggle to survive.... I guess that should have been the telltale sign that my life would always be about a constant struggle to survive.... She was strapped for cash and did not have the sources to support a baby who needed constant medical care in order to ensure its survival....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

In the paper “refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah” the author discusses Benjamin Zephaniah's concepts when he talks about a teenage boy named Alem who has to seek shelter at a new foreign place.... The most important is the refugee's current status of the native region; if presently it is unsafe to stay there, then it would be unjust to send such refugees back there.... Zephaniah explains why the term refugee should mean a narrow definition; because to some degree, we all are a kind of refugee....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

Struggle & Survival

In the extensive history of colonial America, each person partook in the social process that depicted the struggle for independence and for survival in the harsh realities of colonial rule.... In… These common persons were the genuine accelerators of social transformation in colonial society since they were the manufacturers, law struggle and Survival Introduction Life is constantly a struggle and continued existence is at all times a key objective....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Refugee health is a wicked problem

Additionally, passing of the diseases from one person to another often affects huge samples of the population within refugee Health refugee Health The issue of refugee health is a wicked problem that requires urgent intervention to avoid health hazards among other reasons.... Alternatively, with a large number of refugee health problems, health practitioners equally get overstretched because of limited healthcare resources such as drugs and other medicine (Estrine et al, 2010)....
2 Pages (500 words) Article

Role Models in the Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do

This paper delves into the analysis of the "Happiest Refugee" by ahn do.... (ahn 2011).... All these are highlighted in the earlier parts of the book (ahn 2011).... The writer narrates how the dad assisted the older people and the others that he did not even know just to get seats on the train (ahn 2011)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

Temporary Cities and Refugee Camps

It is also important to note that these people do not necessarily leave their countries.... This paper "Temporary Cities and refugee Camps" delves in temporary cities.... In the discussion, therefore, it is important to note that this paper will envisage explicitly one of the refugee camps under the discussion of the temporary cities.... The paper, therefore, delves on Zaatari which is a refugee.... It is important to highlight that a refugee camp is an area that is set aside by the governments in their various states for the purpose of accommodating the refugees....
13 Pages (3250 words) Term Paper

The Problem of Refugees

Another significant problem that refugees do face is deportation, in those countries that they always go and seek refuge the government may decide to deport them back to their country even if the condition of the country is not yet okay.... This typically makes the refugees feel guilty and insecure all the time, and this is because they do not know the time and the hour when they will be deported back to their home countries.... Some of them regularly do not receive health services, something that is very crucial hence it has been noted that the death rate in refugee camps is always very high as compared to those people who do not stay in the refugee camps....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us