Only The Heart
...irates. After their boat had take fire, all the refugees started to abandon the ship. Toan nearly drowns, but is saved by a local woman Isayah. For many refugees they will drown if they attempted this because many refugees could not swim. When Toan and family arrived on mainland Malaysia they are captured and take to a refugee camp Pulau Bisa. For refugees being sent to a refugee camp is not always a good thing. They maybe better off from were they came from but not much better. Pulau Bisa was compared to a less harsh version of Alcatraz. The imagery of this camp is that it is like a prison. The authors created the text in this way to convey to the readers that refugees or not treated very well but they are treated a bit better than prisoner. The comment by Linh mentions that the island looks nearly as harsh as Alcatraz. “Pulau Bisa. It’s small island, about ten minutes by boat off north-east coast of Malaysia. But if that makes it sound like Alcatraz or something, that’s probably a bit harsh” (pg95). After a trip to the Australian ambassadors office in mainland Malaysia they are accept as Australian citizens. The plight of all refugees does not always end up like the Vo families did many of them are either sent back to there own home or are left in these refugee camps. The texts last major setting is Australia. The text positions the readers to see this as a reflection period for the Vo family because as do many refugees the cost of coming to a land of the free with cost them dearly. As do many families, they loose some family members as in Only The Heart, Linh and Phuong They loose there mother on the journey from Vietnam to Malaysia because there mother sacrificed her self to save her daughter. The arrival to Australia brings about many changes for the Vo family as Linh, Phuong and Toan go to school for the first time. Toan becomes a Television star when he discovers a talent inside him self and succeeds. “you couldn’t really blame Toan for letting success go to his head” (pg 165). The reader responds to the use of setting that make the reader feel sympathetic towards the plight of refugees and what they have to go through. Only The Heart does not just have one narrative point of view but it has two points of view. The uses of multiple Narrative points of view by the authors of Only The Heart construct the reader to feel a fraudulent sense of empathy towards the plight of the refugees. The text is mainly narrated by Toan, Linh and Phuong. The narrative point of view changes from first person narration to third person limited. The use of these two points of view gives the reader a good understanding of what each character goes through and how it affects them and how the characters as refugees see and feel towards the dangers of the crossing to Australia. “I don’t ever remember a time when I saw tears on her face. I think she had to be the toughest kid I know”(pg 11). This passage show how first person narration positions the reader to see what a character thinks. Toan shows the readers what he thinks about Linh and that he believes that she is the mentally toughest kid he has ever seen. “he does not think of it in those terms, of course. Any more than he sees in their unquestioning industry and blueprint of what is being planned for his country, now that the war si over and changes are upon them. He is five years old. Too young to be troubled by such thoughts, as his parents might be” (pg13). The use of 3rd person makes the reader see that Toan during the period of the Vo family escape of Vietnam is five years old and he does not yet know what plight him and his family will face in being given the choice to leave there home...