Symbolism In Inside Out And Back Again By Thanhha Lai

Inside out and back again by Thanhha Lai is a work of historical fiction. First, Ha and her family were forced to flee their home country of Vietnam due to war. They have to face this hardship and without the support of their father, who was kidnapped by the Communists and disappeared. Then, they travel on a boat in unsanitary and awful conditions to refugee camp in Guam. Next, they are sponsored by a man they called ‘’cowboy’’ and and taken to live with him in Alabama. In America, the family faces discrimination Because of their race and language and struggle to adjust to their new life. Finally, they accept that their dad, husband is gone and still living free. In inside out and back again the papaya tree symbolizes hope,greatfull, and happiness.

On page 9 it states,’’ I vow to rise every morning…….. I will be the first to witness its ripening.’’ That show’s the reader that she believes the papaya will grow until it is big and strong and she know’s that that tree is not going to die because she is going to watch it grow every morning. She is expecting her tree to grow so she has hope. On page 60,’’Wet and crying’’, Mother says,’’yellow papaya’s taste lovely dipped in chili salt. You children should eat fresh fruit while you can.’’ Mother said that because she has hope that her backdoor ali way,’’ a key to the boat’’, will make it to the boat in time. Then she also has hope that they are going to stay on the boat because on the boat they are going to loose their food supply because of how many people there are so she says eat as many fresh food as you can because they aren’t going to have that in a long time On the back of the book it states,’’A protagonist so strong,loving, and vivid I longed to hand her wedge of freshly cut papaya.’’ That means that it is loving to cut the beautiful fruit the papaya. Ha has to savor every bit of the papaya because once they leave Saigon then papayas will never taste the