TBWCD blog

• In the first chapter, we found out that Thi's father Bô was not in the delivery room with Má when their children were born. What do you think about that when you read that? And by the end of the book,  did you ideas shift? If so, how and why? If not, how and why not?

When I first read that he stayed out of the delivery room, I was a little bit confused, because usually in America the husband stays by his wife and watches it happen. But I understood why he wasn’t there after Ma said that it was just a custom that the men didn’t stay in the room when the women gave birth. Ma also went on to say that he went to see a movie which Bo adamantly denies. I think that he denies this because he’s insecure about it, and wants to make it seem like he is there for her and his children. I think that his excuse of not wanting to see her go through the pain and let her go shows this because it makes it seem like he was just afraid and not just going to see a movie. My views hadn’t really shifted by the end of the book, but I did feel more sympathetic towards Bo after reading about all the stuff that he had to go through to end up where he was today. He’s loves his family despite his and Ma’s divorce, and I think that to a certain extent he might just be trying to appeal to the American customs that his children have grown accustomed to from living their for most of their lives. It doesn't seem like Thi care's that much when Ma tells her that, but I think that Bo is self conscious about his actions in the past, and doesn't want to admit that he wasn't there for Ma. As his relationship with his family is already a little bit strained because of the divorce, he doesn't want to be portrayed in a negative light to his family because he is scared that he will lose them.