The Americans By Viet Thanh Nguyen

In Beloved by Toni Morrison and “The Americans” from The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen, protagonists Sethe and James Carver's desires to be understood are rooted in their traumatic experiences and resulting loss of identity. Sethe is haunted by the death of her daughter and memories of her enslavement. She yearns for her actions to be understood by those in society, but specifically the ghost of her deceased daughter Beloved. James Carver grapples with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the Vietnam War and desires his past and fears to be understood by his daughter Claire. By utilizing flashbacks to illustrate trauma, catalyst characters, and tone, Morrison and Nguyen explore this relationship of healing and validation that people must often

For some reason, he knew that no one was piloting the plane, and he rose and made his way forward, his skills in need. All the dozens of passengers were Asian, their eyes closed, among them the street kids and Claire’s students and Tom and Jerry.Fear clutched at Carver, but when he opened the cockpit door, all he saw were the cockpit windows peering out onto the starless river of night, the empty pilot’s seat waiting for him,” (Nguyen, 146). Nguyen creates a very ominous and eerie tone in this passage, demonstrating the clarity in Carver’s past. Carver waking up in a “darkened air” while everyone else is asleep illustrates his feelings of isolation. The lines “made his way forward, his skills in need” and “empty pilot’s seat waiting for him,” demonstrate Carver being compelled to take action, demonstrating the responsibility and weight he feels for those lives on the plane. The references to them being Asian, and “ Claire’s students” adds a real and raw element, intensifying Carver’s guilt. Each of these stories highlights the immense impact of traumatic events not only in the characters past, but also their

In the narratives, Beloved and Claire serve as physical manifestations of Sethe and James' trauma and essentially catalyze or initiate their process of healing. By forcing the protagonists to confront their pasts, they are able to demonstrate vulnerability and gain control of their identity. Beloved serves as this catalyst character as her identity becomes intertwined with Sethe’s, leading Sethe to find internal clarity. “You forgot to smile/ I loved you/ You hurt me/ You came back to me/ You left me” (Morrison, 256). In this line, the intentions of the Sethe and Beloved are directly stated, creating clarity and emphasis on these ideas. It is apparent that Beloved is still hurt by the actions of her mother, and Sethe wishes for her choices to be understood. Morrison purposefully does not mention who is saying each line as if to blur the identities of the characters. When Beloved’s identity becomes intertwined with Sethe’s, it illustrates how the past can be woven in with the present in traumatic memories. Through the union of these two identities, Sethe is forced to confront her greatest fear,