Inside Out And Back Again

On Christmas Eve, Mother receives a reply to her letter that she sent months before to Father’s ancestral home in the North. Father’s brother tells in the letter that he checked with the family’s old neighbors and friends of Father’s in the former South; he left messages; he waited. No word came, though, about Father’s whereabouts. The letter causes “a silent / Christmas Eve” (238). Pam brings Hà a new doll with long black hair on Christmas Day. Hà loves the doll and is ashamed that she has no gift to give Pam. The Brothers speculate about Father; maybe he went to Cambodia, France, or Tibet. Only Hà speaks realistically: “What if Father is really gone?” (240). Mother chants each evening, seeking a sign about Father’s fate.

On the first day back at school after the holiday break, Hà accidentally wears a new nightgown, thinking it is a dress. A girl in the class points out the small flower on the chest of the nightgown, proving it is sleepwear. Hà pulls the stitched decoration off the gown, says “Nightgown no more,” and wears it through the day. Hà shares the incident with Mother. Hà also tells Mother how it feels to receive a gift from Pam without having one to give.