The Happiest Refugee

Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Prologue-Chapter 3

Reading Check

1. Where is the narrator going in the Prologue?

2. What did the narrator’s father say to him when he was younger?

3. What is the young girl trying to catch as Chapter 1 opens in 1970s Vietnam? Why?

4. What did Uncle Huy do with his life after he saw the explosion on the boat?

5. According to Do, how do many Vietnamese families give nicknames to their children?

6. What is the “Motherfish?”

7. What does the German rescue boat give Anh’s family? Why?

8. What does Anh’s mom sell to a local Malaysian man in the refugee camp?

9. Why does Anh’s family move to the factory in Newtown?

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following best describes how Anh’s dad feels the night before he leaves Vietnam on the boat?

A) excited and hopeful

B) resentful and frightened

C) guilty and grief-stricken

D) shameful and sad

2. What was unusual about the second pirate attack?

A) It was joyful because Anh’s family knew the family on the other boat.

B) It was ironic because the pirates gave Anh’s family water to help them survive.

C) It was beneficial because Anh’s family stole from the pirates instead of vice versa.

D) It was life-saving because the pirates helped Anh’s family repair their boat.

3. What literary device is used in the following quote: “In this wonderful, incredible shop where everything is already a bargain, Uncle Dung has found the table that is bargained again. It’s like cheap, minus rock bottom, divided by the square root of next to nothing” (Chapter 3)?

A) anaphora

B) personification

C) alliteration

D) hyperbole

4. How can Anh’s dad’s attitude towards his son during the family’s first years in Australia best be described?

A) supportive and encouraging

B) ashamed and embarrassed

C) boastful and attention-seeking

D)    demeaning and pejorative

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the circumstances in which the young girl and man meet on the train. What happens with them several months later?

2. On the morning Anh’s family leaves Vietnam, they experience many obstacles on their boat journey. Describe some of these obstacles.

3. After arriving in Australia, Anh’s parents frequently remark, “what a great country” in reference to their new home. List some of the reasons they feel Gratitude.

Chapter 4-6

Reading Check

1. Who is Karen?

2. What handy trick does Anh’s father teach him that he uses later in life?

3. What happens to the farm at the end of Chapter 4?

4. Who is Ba Noi?

5. Why did Anh’s parents take him and Khoa to McDonald’s at the end of Chapter 5?

6. How does Anh decide to protect himself and his family?

Multiple Choice

1. Consider the following quote from Chapter 4: “Then six months later, a strange thing happened. Uncle Six suddenly moved out and I never saw him again. He just disappeared. I asked Mum and Dad where he went, and they genuinely didn’t know. One day he was my favourite uncle, the next day he was gone—no phone calls, no visits, no contact ever again.” Which literary device does Do use to describe his uncle’s disappearance?

A) onomatopoeia

B) simile

C) anaphora

D) alliteration

2. Anh’s dad’s decision to buy a pheasant at the auction implies what about him?

A) He is an impulsive decision-maker.

B) He is a long-term and strategic farmer.

C) He is a calculated buyer.

D) He is a wealthy and affluent businessman.

3. Consider the following quote from Chapter 5: “Those pieces of paper meant we were safe and without them my family felt as vulnerable as someone selling snacks on a Saigon train with no permit.” Which of the following literary terms does Do use in this quote, and what effect does it have?

A) He uses a metaphor to remind readers of the first encounter between his parents.

B) He uses a metaphor to compare the instabilities of living in Australia to Vietnam.

C) He uses a simile to compare the importance of possessing documentation between the present day and the first scene where the reader meets Anh’s family.

D) He uses a simile to compare the harsh dictatorial Vietnamese government to the flexible, accepting Australian government.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe what Anh does on the farm his father buys. Overall, how does he feel about his time there?

2. Anh explains in Chapter 6 that his father’s increased alcoholism is related to his guilt. What are some of the things his father feels guilty about?

Chapter 7-9

Reading Check

1. What causes Anh discomfort at his new private school?

2. Whose actions influence Anh to become a comedian?

3. Why does Anh want to score 30 points at the basketball game?

4. At what moment in Chapter 7 is Anh grateful that his parents gave him an unusual name?

5. What was Anh’s primary motivation for joining the army?

6. What significant event allows Anh to buy a computer?

7. Who is Minh?

8. What event inspires Anh to try to contact his father?

9. Why does Anh want to win the “Green Faces” competition in Canberra?

10. What medical information does Anh’s dad share with him?

Multiple Choice

1. How does Anh react to not being selected for the drama class?

A) with relief, since he was an introvert

B) with fear, since he worried his mother would punish him

C) with disappointment, since the drama activities helped him escape from reality

D) with anger, since he believed he was the best actor in the class

2. How does Anh feel about leaving St. Aloysius?

A) He doesn’t want to leave because he is the most popular boy at school.

B) He doesn’t want to leave, but he believes it is the best decision for his family financially.

C) He wants to leave because he is not very popular.

D) He wants to leave because he is failing all his classes.

3. Which of the following best describes Anh on his first visit to his father after eight years?

A) He has many feelings all at once, although he wants to reconnect with his father.

B) He only seeks to humiliate the man who walked out on his family.

C) He is overjoyed to reconnect and share the news that he is engaged.

D) He is scared his father will abuse him again, and only visits him because his mother insisted.

4. Which of the following sentences best describes the relationship between Anh’s family and Suzie’s family?

A) Suzie’s family disapproves of Anh’s refugee background and regularly uses racial slurs against him and his family.

B) Anh’s family disapproves of Suzie’s family because they do not have a Vietnamese background.

C) Both families agree the match is unsuitable since Anh and Suzie are from different cultures.

D) Both families embrace Anh and Suzie, supporting the multicultural relationship and often lovingly teasing the couple.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. During Chapter 7, Anh discusses how he combats his feelings of shame towards his family’s financial situation by finding creative ways to enjoy more expensive foods and items. Describe some of these ways.

2. What type of work does Anh accidentally find after the pamphlet distribution job? What dangerous accident happens to him?

3. Describe Anh’s interest in studying law versus studying art. What is the main difference for him?

4. In Chapter 9, Anh deliberates between working as a stand-up comedian and as a consultant. Which path does he take? What are some of the reactions of people in his life? How does this motivate him?

Chapter 10-12

Reading Check

1. What was one of Anh’s most terrifying audiences?

2. What story does Anh finally learn from his father?

3. What unusual skill helps Anh secure his first regular acting role?

4. Why was the film that Anh helped support called The Finished People?

5. According to Do, what was the best part of making Footy Legends?

6. Who is Daniel Martin?

7. Who does Anh choose to thank when he is a guest on the TV show Thank You?

8. What does Anh’s mother love to do after she stops working?

Multiple Choice

1. How does Anh’s opinion of his father change after he learns that he often felt fear in his moments of bravery?

A) He feels more respect and love for his father.

B) He is disappointed that his father feigned his bravery.

C) He feels ashamed that he respected someone who lied.

D) His opinion does not change.

2. Which of the following best describes how Khoa initially feels about Anh nominating him for the Young Australian of the Year Award?

A) He feels proud because he will finally receive recognition for his charity work.

B) He feels disheartened because he knows he most likely will not win.

C) He feels embarrassed because he doesn’t like fanfare or attention.

D) He feels angry because Anh nominated him without his permission.

3. Anh’s decision to help move the bus during the Dos’ family trip to Vietnam implies what about his character?

A) He is cocky and arrogant.

B) He is well-respected by his peers and family.

C) He is feared by all.

D) He is unlike anyone else in his family.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Hard Work shape Anh’s approach to his acting and television performances?

2. In Chapter 12, Do discusses his mother’s journey with learning English. What are some of the key events that happen when his mother begins to take classes?

3. Describe the circumstances in which Anh’s siblings see their father. How does their father react? How does this visit affect their father’s health?