The Best We Could Do

What is Bui’s position on her gendered identity in The Best We Could Do? How does Bui’s identity as a girl and then a woman, as well as her understandings and interactions with her mother, exercise strong influence upon her overall identity formation? Use analysis of direct quotations, characters, and/or plot to answer these questions.

How does the notion of gender concretize itself in the lives of Bui’s parents, as well as the life of her family at large? Throughout the narrative, we see Thi’s parents hew closely to gendered norms, with Hắng providing nurturing, comfort, and stability for the family, while Nam is much more emotionally remote and more prone to open anger. There are also recurring narratives of unfaithful men who mistreat women. Perform a textual analysis to arrive at an articulation of Bui’s specific theme regarding gender in this work.

What does The Best We Could Do assert about the life of a family? What, essentially, composes the life of a family, and how is a family’s collective life distinct from the lives of the individuals which comprise it?