Close Reading Prompts - The Best We Could Do by Jeanelle https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k Write your analysis below. Look at diction, syntax, language, narrative, context, imagery, etc. en-us 2017-11-02 22:08:52 UTC 2026-02-17 05:09:59 UTC hello@padlet.com Group 5 jhorcasi https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203132885 (Bui 144-45)]]> 2017-11-02 22:10:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203132885 Group 6 jhorcasi https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203133025 (Bui 86-89)]]> 2017-11-02 22:11:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203133025 jhorcasi https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203133774 2017-11-02 22:15:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203133774 Group 7 jhorcasi https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203133826 (Bui 284-85)]]> 2017-11-02 22:15:39 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203133826 Group 8 jhorcasi https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203133972 (Bui 306-07)]]> 2017-11-02 22:16:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203133972 https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203400918 2017-11-03 17:22:37 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203400918 https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203456048 Thi Bui's mother is telling Travis about when she would go to the countryside with her friend over the summer. There's a contrast in imagery with the mother's house compared to when she goes to the rice fields. When the mother is at home, there is a distance between her family members, marked by the unclear and distant faces drawn while scenes in the patty field have close up faces of her enjoying a simpler life. 
- She has a very simplified view of life where she enjoys what her parents would have called poor. And the mother talks about her trip in a very nostalgic way, calling the moon magical, enjoying freedom from the restrictions her mother would place on her at home.
- There's also significance with where colors are used. Thi's mother is the only one with a red shirt among her friends, symbolizing her "higher" status in the economic system. ]]> 2017-11-03 19:26:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203456048 https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203456308 In this scene, Thi's family is currently living in San Diego. They were having a hard time being accepted into society, and those frustrations reflect in her familial life. This scene depicts how she copes with these frustrations . The imagery on page 87 which shows Thi as a small figure in this dark, somber hallway portrays and emphasizes the torment she is facing. Also on page 87 ("dear are not supposed to talk to us...if we open the door we can close it"), it shows that though Thi's torments are internal, she reasons through it pragmatically. In addition, she objectifies her fears as a door to allow herself to control them. She then escapes through dreaming, which is shown through the image of her swimming away, being free.]]> 2017-11-03 19:27:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203456308 The left scene portrays the survivalist nature of Thi Bui's family. The tone is rather abrupt as she describes they "put away documents and went to sleep". Despite the fact that they went through a fire and multiple traumas, their lives as refugees deeply impacts their attitudes toward calamity. Rather than actively reacting to the situation, they are forced to see the best in any situation, such as when they notice that the inside of their house is still intact, and continue to do their best to move forward. In contrast to the left scene, the right images are void of her family, and this void helps the author come to terms with her new role as a parent. In the left scene she is the child whereas the right shows a role reversal in that she is now the adult who must make sacrifices for her child. Additionally, the relative emptiness in the pictures in the right as opposed to the left exemplifies this void within her, and her newfound responsibility and appreciation towards her parents for all the difficult decisions they made to provide her with a better life. https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203456936 2017-11-03 19:29:57 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203456936 https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203457000 In pages 284 to 285, Thi Bui depicts the cultural divide between her immediate refugee family and her distant integrated “American” family. Thi Bui’s use of imagery enhances the sense of “other-ness” felt by her refugee family. She shows the difference between the two families by showing the American family as more confident in their body posture, clothing, and facial expressions. On contrast, the refugee family looks unsure in their body posture, clothing, and facial expressions. Another way she uses imagery is illuminating the family instead of the dark house, displaying their feelings of isolation within a new environment. The final panel, through the use of dialogue, shows the difference in core values of the cultures. The American family cares about the apperance while the refugee does not. ]]> 2017-11-03 19:30:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jhorcasi/fpcciazx999k/wish/203457000