119 pages 3 hours read

Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Refugees

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 2017

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Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Story 1

Reading Check

1. Why was the speaker disguised as a boy?

2. What is the speaker’s brother’s response to the question, “Why did I live and you die?”

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does the speaker believe her job as a ghostwriter is ironic? Describe how her job title relates to the situation that she describes in her story.

2. What is the difference between a “good death” and a “bad death”? Provide one example of each, as shared in the story.

Paired Resource

Vietnamese Boat People

  • These stories convey experiences of people who fled Vietnam in the years after the war.
  • The speaker’s experience as a “boat people” survivor connects with the theme Haunted by Trauma: PTSD and Narrative Exposure Therapy.
  • How does the speaker’s experience mirror the stories shared in the above resource?

Story 2

Reading Check

1. Whom did Liem learn English from?

2. What comment does Marcus make that Liem believes is a “very American way of thinking”?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence.

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