The Distance Between Us Positionality and the Diaspora from Vietnam to North America in Adrift at Sea, by Forchuk Skrypuch, and “American Address” by Thanhha Lai

Both Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy's Story of Survival, written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (author) and Brian Deines (illustrator), and “American Address”, a poem included in Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out & Back Again, refer to the voyage of the “boat people”, which is the name given to th...

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Autor principal: Trucco Salowski, Camila
Formato: Artículo revista
Lenguaje:Español
Publicado: Centro de Investigaciones de la Facultad de Lenguas (CIFAL), Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Avenida Enrique Barros s/n, Ciudad Universitaria. Córdoba, Argentina. Correo electrónico: revistacylc@lenguas.unc.edu.ar 2025
Materias:
Vietnamese-American
Positionality
minority discourse
vietnamita-americano
posicionalidad
discurso minoritario
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/CultyLit/article/view/51539
Aporte de:
Revista de Culturas y Literaturas Comparadas de Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
id I10-R337-article-51539
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institution Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
institution_str I-10
repository_str R-337
container_title_str Revista de Culturas y Literaturas Comparadas
language Español
format Artículo revista
topic Vietnamese-American
Positionality
minority discourse
vietnamita-americano
posicionalidad
discurso minoritario
spellingShingle Vietnamese-American
Positionality
minority discourse
vietnamita-americano
posicionalidad
discurso minoritario
Trucco Salowski, Camila
The Distance Between Us Positionality and the Diaspora from Vietnam to North America in Adrift at Sea, by Forchuk Skrypuch, and “American Address” by Thanhha Lai
topic_facet Vietnamese-American
Positionality
minority discourse
vietnamita-americano
posicionalidad
discurso minoritario
author Trucco Salowski, Camila
author_facet Trucco Salowski, Camila
author_sort Trucco Salowski, Camila
title The Distance Between Us Positionality and the Diaspora from Vietnam to North America in Adrift at Sea, by Forchuk Skrypuch, and “American Address” by Thanhha Lai
title_short The Distance Between Us Positionality and the Diaspora from Vietnam to North America in Adrift at Sea, by Forchuk Skrypuch, and “American Address” by Thanhha Lai
title_full The Distance Between Us Positionality and the Diaspora from Vietnam to North America in Adrift at Sea, by Forchuk Skrypuch, and “American Address” by Thanhha Lai
title_fullStr The Distance Between Us Positionality and the Diaspora from Vietnam to North America in Adrift at Sea, by Forchuk Skrypuch, and “American Address” by Thanhha Lai
title_full_unstemmed The Distance Between Us Positionality and the Diaspora from Vietnam to North America in Adrift at Sea, by Forchuk Skrypuch, and “American Address” by Thanhha Lai
title_sort distance between us positionality and the diaspora from vietnam to north america in adrift at sea, by forchuk skrypuch, and “american address” by thanhha lai
description Both Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy's Story of Survival, written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (author) and Brian Deines (illustrator), and “American Address”, a poem included in Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out & Back Again, refer to the voyage of the “boat people”, which is the name given to the Vietnamese refugees who escaped Vietnam after the war for a posterior resettlement in North America (particularly Canada and the United States). However, the texts present a different view of the new environment and its inhabitants, which becomes significant when considered within Sheppard’s theory of positionality. In this framework, the way entities are positioned with respect to one another is embedded in power relations and can either reproduce or challenge pre-existing configurations. Following this line of analysis, Forchuk Skrypuch’s text, which retells the true story of Tuan Ho, offers a reinforcement of the American paternalistic, savior-like discourse, through which North America is presented as a beacon of hope for the helpless refugees. In contrast, Lai’s poem unveils the hidden motives for the American generosity, such as the feeling of guilt from losing the war. Consequently, “American Address” can be framed within Viet Thanh Nguyen’s notion of minority discourse, one that challenges the official sources of History and offers a narrative that brings to light the distance between the personal version of the Vietnamese refugees, and the national version of North American countries about Vietnam. In this regard, North America built a statement based on forgetting and erasing both the violent implications of its participation in the war, as well as the inequalities ingrained in the notion of the American dream. This article considers how both texts address the same distance (between Vietnam and North America) from contrasting perspectives. In this way, the comparative methodology contributes to highlighting both sides of the same journey.
publisher Centro de Investigaciones de la Facultad de Lenguas (CIFAL), Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Avenida Enrique Barros s/n, Ciudad Universitaria. Córdoba, Argentina. Correo electrónico: revistacylc@lenguas.unc.edu.ar
publishDate 2025
url https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/CultyLit/article/view/51539
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spelling I10-R337-article-515392025-12-30T17:40:56Z The Distance Between Us Positionality and the Diaspora from Vietnam to North America in Adrift at Sea, by Forchuk Skrypuch, and “American Address” by Thanhha Lai La distancia entre nosotros Posicionalidad y la diáspora desde Vietnam hasta Norteamérica en Adrift at Sea, de Forchuk Skrypuch y “American Address”, de Thanhha Lai Trucco Salowski, Camila Vietnamese-American Positionality minority discourse vietnamita-americano posicionalidad discurso minoritario Both Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy's Story of Survival, written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (author) and Brian Deines (illustrator), and “American Address”, a poem included in Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out & Back Again, refer to the voyage of the “boat people”, which is the name given to the Vietnamese refugees who escaped Vietnam after the war for a posterior resettlement in North America (particularly Canada and the United States). However, the texts present a different view of the new environment and its inhabitants, which becomes significant when considered within Sheppard’s theory of positionality. In this framework, the way entities are positioned with respect to one another is embedded in power relations and can either reproduce or challenge pre-existing configurations. Following this line of analysis, Forchuk Skrypuch’s text, which retells the true story of Tuan Ho, offers a reinforcement of the American paternalistic, savior-like discourse, through which North America is presented as a beacon of hope for the helpless refugees. In contrast, Lai’s poem unveils the hidden motives for the American generosity, such as the feeling of guilt from losing the war. Consequently, “American Address” can be framed within Viet Thanh Nguyen’s notion of minority discourse, one that challenges the official sources of History and offers a narrative that brings to light the distance between the personal version of the Vietnamese refugees, and the national version of North American countries about Vietnam. In this regard, North America built a statement based on forgetting and erasing both the violent implications of its participation in the war, as well as the inequalities ingrained in the notion of the American dream. This article considers how both texts address the same distance (between Vietnam and North America) from contrasting perspectives. In this way, the comparative methodology contributes to highlighting both sides of the same journey. Tanto Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy's Story of Survival, escrito por Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (autora) y Brian Deines (arte) como “American Address”, un poema incluido en la colección Inside Out & Back Again, de Thanhha Lai, refieren al viaje de la “gente de los botes” (“boat people”), que fue el nombre dado a los refugiados vietnamitas que escaparon de Vietnam después de la guerra en vistas de un asentamiento posterior en Norteamérica (particularmente Canadá y los Estados Unidos). Sin embargo, los textos presentan una perspectiva diferente del nuevo ambiente y sus habitantes, aspecto que se vuelve significativo cuando se lo considera desde la teoría de posicionalidad de Sheppard. En este contexto, la manera en que las entidades se posicionan con respecto a la otra está enclavada en relaciones de poder y puede reproducir o cuestionar configuraciones pre-existentes. Siguiendo esta línea de análisis, el texto de Forchuk Skrypuch, que cuenta la historia real de Tuan Ho, ofrece un refuerzo del discurso paternalista, símil-salvador americano, a través del cual América del Norte se presenta como un faro de esperanza para los refugiados indefensos. En contraste, el poema de Lai revela los motivos escondidos detrás de la generosidad americana, tales como el sentimiento de culpa de haber perdido la guerra. Consecuentemente, “American Address” puede enmarcarse dentro de la teoría de Viet Thanh Nguyen sobre el discurso de las minorías, aquel que desafía las fuentes oficiales de la historia y ofrece una narrativa que trae a la luz la distancia entre la versión personal de los refugiados vietnamitas contra la versión nacional de los países de Norteamérica sobre Vietnam. En este sentido, América del Norte construyó una declaración basada en el olvido y en la eliminación de tanto sus implicaciones violentas en su participación en la guerra como de las desigualdades arraigadas en la noción del sueño americano. Este artículo considera la manera en que ambos textos tratan sobre una misma distancia (entre Vietnam y Norteamérica), pero desde perspectivas contrastantes. Así, la metodología comparatista contribuirá a mostrar ambos lados de un mismo trayecto. Centro de Investigaciones de la Facultad de Lenguas (CIFAL), Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Avenida Enrique Barros s/n, Ciudad Universitaria. Córdoba, Argentina. Correo electrónico: revistacylc@lenguas.unc.edu.ar 2025-12-30 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/CultyLit/article/view/51539 Revista de Culturas y Literaturas Comparadas; Núm. 16 (2025): Nuevos horizontes del comparatismo en el primer cuarto de siglo 2591-3883 1852-4737 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/CultyLit/article/view/51539/52026 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

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