Fern J. Jacoby
Far Rockaway High School
Far Rockaway, New York

(Excerpt from the novel Blue Dragon, White, Tiger: A Tet Story (1983), published in the U.S. in English. Van Dinh was born in Hue, Vietnam in 1923).

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Imagine having to flee your country at a moment's notice. How would you feel? Limited as to what you can carry in a sack or a small suitcase, what would you take with you? The "boat people" of Vietnam considered themselves "wadering souls,"' as stated in the excerpt. Even when they reached Thailand and safety, they were still sent to live in squalid refugee camps where they were forced to remain until a country, hopefully, the United States, would accept them and they could start a new life.

AIM: As you read this excerpt, consider the following question: How must it feel to be a person without a country?

1. Color imagery and animal imagery are important in this selection. Look at the" Blue Dragon," "the bluish dog," the "White Tiger." What feeling does theauthor wish to convey to the reader?
2. Why do the Vietnamese" lower their heads more in shame and anger than in fear," when they encounter the Thai bandits? How is a sense of great danger
evident here?
3. What hope is offered by Dr. Minh? How is he able to offer this hope?
4. How does the Thai Prime Minister react when he hears from his old friend? What was your response to his reaction? What other reaction might you have expected, considering everything else that has happened to these people?
5. What significance might the fact that it is Tet have for the boat people?
6. At the end of the excerpt, why do the people have no appetite, even though they're treated to a meal at a Chinese restaurant?
7. Consider their lives one year from the time they reach Thailand. How do you think they are faring?

GROUP ASSIGNMENT- These might be given before a class discussion of the excerpt.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT-
You are one of the boat people. Write a journal entry describing your feelings as you make your way on an overcrowded boat through treacherous waters to the safety of Thailand. Keep in mind that the possibility of ever returning to your native land is extremely remote.