The Unwanted By Kien Nguyen: An Analysis

“The Unwanted” is the most interesting and inspiring memoir that I have ever read. In “The Unwanted”, Kien Nguyen, the author, narrates a real story that happened during and after the Vietnam War from his own personal experience. His family used to be a wealthy family, and they had been capitalists until the fall of Saigon. After the Communist took over the government, he and his family lost everything such as wealth, social status, and hope. However, he never gave up and tried his best to escape from Vietnam for the United States. Finally, he made it and had a better life in the United States even though he had been through the war, the mental trauma from the society, and lots of unhappiness in his adolescence. I think “The Unwanted” is acceptable

reading material for a high school English class. We should use “The Unwanted” in a high school 11th and 12th grade English class because it can make teenagers become anti-racist and mature. Also, it can make teenagers persist in when they have faced with adversity.
First of all, Kien Nguyen brings out a very good point about racism. He wants to use his own experience to tell the people who are racists how bad racism is through his book. For example, Nguyen’s father was American and his mother was Vietnamese. People in the community just thought that Kien Nguyen and his brother should have been treated very badly because Kien Nguyen and his brother were mixed-race. Even his aunt and cousin, they still laughed at him and made jokes about him in a cruel and harsh way. Once Kien Nguyen had a chance to prove himself as same as other Vietnamese kids, the people would prevent him from expressing. When the school was planning to celebrate the unification of Vietnam, the dean had chosen his class to lead the parade because of their academic achievement. Miss San, his teacher, decided Kien Nguyen to be the front-runner of the march. Being the front-runner of the march was an honor for every kid at that time because the front-runner must be the best of the school. However, the dean finally decided to refuse him to be the front-runner due to his race. This event made him feel ashamed. After this event, he lived with the shame and self-hatred. As he grew older, his hair got darker. He believed that because of his own urgent desire to fit in with the other Vietnamese children in his community.
In the United States, racism is a very serious social issue, and racial discrimination is a major social problem.

A lot of people migrate from different countries to the United States each year. Most of them are looking for education especially for college students. In order to adapt easily to the new surroundings, many parents think their children should come here as soon as possible. However, in order to not forget their origin, the parents decide to send their children to the United States when they are 14-17 years old. Thus, most of them are high school students when they come to the United States. Due to that, there are many students of other races in high school. I think American high school students need to discuss racism. Because racism can cause students to discriminate against students of other races, understanding what causes racism is very important for the high school students, especially the 11th and 12th grade students. Why is it more serious for the junior and senior? According to official statistics, the school bullying statistics shows us that cases are often conflict between the students of different races. Because of rebellion, those students are junior or senior. For instance, one of my friends was treated badly in high school. My friend was a typical Asian boy as same as the others. However, he did not get on well with the other students. The other students always called him a nerd because he was an Asian. They not only called him a nerd, but they also made fun of his name. Due to the unkind nickname, my friend started to cut class. Finally, his parents had to find another school for him. Generally, most of the students think the Asian students are not diplomats, and they only know how to deal with the computers. Racism doesn’t only cause physical bullying, but it is also a severe hurt to one’s pride. Reading “The Unwanted” can make students see clearly how racism put the screws on a kid. In order to prevent the same thing, that’s why I think

students should read “The Unwanted” in their junior or senior year in high school.
In addition, I recommend this book to the high school students who are 11th and 12th grade because it can make them become more mature. Nowadays, many teenagers don’t look like teenagers. They behave like elementary students. For instance, some students put a lot of time in entertainment or other activities instead of paying attention on their studies. They always focus on those things that are unnecessary such as fashion, grooming, and widening their social circle. On the contrary, Kien Nguyen acts more mature than those students even though he is younger. For example, Kien Nguyen had to take care of his siblings when he was only nine years old. Khuon, his mother, had to leave from Nhatrang to Saigon for getting the permission to run a business legally. Also, his grandfather needed to take care of his grandmother in the hospital, so Kien Nguyen was in charge. He had to take the responsibility of taking care of his little brother and sister. We can tell that many teenagers are not able to do as well as he does. Those students don’t work hard, and all they can do is whine. They always complain of too much homework, their parents, and teachers. They have to become mature because that can help them a lot when they make a decision. For instance, they know what they should do in each moment. They will never put other activities before academics. Therefore, this book is very useful to them.
Besides, some teenagers can’t go through their adversity. They might blame on their misfortune, parents, and teacher, but they never think about how to solve it. Therefore, I strongly recommend this book to the high school students because it can make them persist in when they have faced with adversity. I think the most important message that Nguyen wants to bring out through his story is persistence. For instance, after the fall of Saigon, it was not easy to escape from Vietnam for the United States because the Communist stopped the people who were leaving and arrested them. Nguyen had three times to escape for the United States. The second time was the most dangerous time among the escapes because it almost took away his life twice. In the second time, he was leaving with Mrs. Dang because Mrs. Dang had found a way to leave from Vietnam. However, things never went the way you had planned. They could only come back to Nhatrang because the ship didn’t come to take them to Thailand. When Nguyen and Mrs. Dang were forced to jump off the boat, he was faced with the most dangerous crisis in his life. Not only did he need to take care of himself, but he also had to take care of Mrs. Dang. Since they were on the sea, Mrs. Dang had gradually given up. Also, she wanted him to abandon her since she would be a burden on him. After Mrs.Dang left him, he began to swim. His body was losing control due to swim for a long time, so he stopped swimming. However, he had never given up even though his right arm was paralyzed. At this moment, he still tried his best to swim back to Nhatrang.
At this point, can you imagine that a child swims in the sea alone even though his right arm is paralyzed? It needs a lot of courage to do that. Many teenagers might give up and wait for the death to take away their lives quickly. They can’t do anything when they are facing with adversity. For example, high students abuse drug and alcohol when they are stressed out, especially to the junior and senior. At the beginning, they might reject to take drugs, but most of them can’t persist in due to peer pressure. If they don’t do the same thing what their friends do, they might be marginalized from the others. Therefore, they give up their own principle to avoid being marginalized. On the contrary, Kien Nguyen never gives up because of his belief. When he faces with adversity, he never retreats. For instance, he kept swimming even though his right arm was paralyzed in order to see his family one more time. This reason makes him to persist in even if there are many difficulties. Because he believes that tomorrow is another day, he is never tempted to give up when he has faced with adversity in his life. Therefore, it can cause the high students to persist in when they are facing with adversity, or it can help them avoid doing something bad when they are struggling.
“The Unwanted” is a great book I have ever read. The author not only narrates a real inspiring story, but he also teaches us a lot. He points out the most serious issue in the United States, and he shows us that persistence is everything. His book seems a life lesson. This book is very useful for the people who have no life experience. Therefore, I strongly recommend this book to the high school students, especially the 11th and 12th grade because they are going to become an adult. They need some life experiences to adapt the society.