Character Clues
Character Analysis
Appearance
The observations Hà makes about others and the world around her help us understand what life is like for her, and since there isn't a whole lot of dialogue in this book, it's important to pay attention to the more descriptive moments for clues about other characters. For instance, when Hà writes about her mother's eyes, she says: "Eyes like hers can't help/but carry sadness" (1.14.14), which lets us know not only that Mother always has a tinge of sadness to her, but also implies a thoughtfulness to her character by revealing that Mother is a little bit haunted by the past.
Plus, while words are awesome and all, sometimes the most forward communication comes in the form of an expression. Hà and her family realize right away how the cowboy's wife feels about them with one glance at her. Hà writes: "[…] arms, lips, eyes/contorted into knots,/and we repack" (3.1.5). The cowboy's wife doesn't have to so much as open her mouth for Hà and her family to understand that she's not thrilled about their arrival, because her face says it all.
Actions
It's fine and dandy to take Hà's word for things when it comes to this book, but if we focus on her actions, we can learn more about her than she'll ever come out and just tell us. She's focused more on what happens then who she is when she writes, but if we read between the lines a bit, an even more complete picture of our main girl starts to develop. Look at how Hà handles being chased and taunted for being Buddhist for an example:
I don't make it inside the house,
but sit
under the willow tree,
dig a hole
and into it
scream scream scream
I hate everyone!!!! (3.43.1)
Hà's response to being bullied and mocked is to seek an outlet for her feelings that won't hurt anyone, which shows us that she's not someone who fights meanness with meanness, which in turn lets us know she's kind.
We can also see how overwhelmed she is by being bullied—she's at a loss for what to do, and overflowing with hard feelings (hence all the screaming). She says that she hates everyone, but do we believe her? Not really. Instead we think she's just sick of being tormented at school, confused and angry and sad, and not actually hateful. Her actions aren't the actions of someone who's filled with hate.