this is another Book report I did for my sister. This one was written for a 8th grade calss so don’t go giving it to your junior english teacher. I don’t remember the questions I had to answer in this one, but you should be able to figure it out by reading it. Good luck
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5/13/98
Language Arts
Song of the Buffalo Boy
Book Report
I. PLOT
A. This story is about a young Amerasian named Loi, she wishes to marry a boy she loves in her village in Vietnam. Unfortunately she has always faced a lot of prejudice because she is con-lai (is a half-breed, because she has an American father.) The conflict is Lois struggle to get approval to marry Khai (the boy she wishes to marry,) the opposing character are Loi against societies prejudices.
B. The most significant event in the rising action in the story occurred when Loi went to market with many of the people in her village. While in town an American journalist saw her and questioned her about her birth. This journalist had been in Vietnam during the war, and had fathered a little girl while stationed there. He had returned to try to find his child, and write a story about Amerasians. Although he wasn’t Lois father he told her about a program that allowed Amerasian children go to America to find their fathers. This sounded perfect for Loi; in America she would be free from prejudice in American, then she could marry Khai without facing opposition.
C. The climax of this story occurred shortly after Loi met up with the American Journalist again. She had been staying in Ho Chi Minh City (where Amerasians register to go to America) for a month waiting for her request to be approved. She had become separated for Khai when she left for Ho Chi Minh City, and was also waiting for him to come find her. After she met the journalist again he informed her that he had failed to find his own daughter, but was willing to take Loi to America with him the next day. Loi was torn at first, she wanted to go to America, but she knew Khai was in the city somewhere and she couldn’t imagine leaving without him. She went to a store where the shopkeeper had seen Khai, and left a message for Khai. The next morning Khai still hadn’t shown up, so she decided to leave without him, then while getting ready to leave with the American Khai showed up. This was the climax scene because she was finally on her way to America, and Khai was with her. She could have a “happy ending” now.
D. The story ends with Loi deciding to stay behind in Vietnam, because of several things Khai brought with him to the city. The most important was the news that Khai could now marry Loi with his families permission. The second was a letter from Khai had brought a letter from her mother with him. In the letter Lois mother told her the truth about her father. The man Loi had a picture of, was in fact not her father. He was a kind American solider who had helped Lois mother during her hard times. After this Khai realized that she would most likely not find her real father but she could now find happiness with Khai back in her village.
II. CHARACTERIZATION
A.
1. Loi – Lois greatest trait was her perseverance, she had lived with prejudice all her life but never let it get to her. When she came to Ho Chi Minh City she knew nothing about living in a city, but she survived. She never gave up hope that Khai would come find her, nor did she give up hope that she would someday go to America.
2. Khai – Khai was the buffalo herder Loi wanted to marry, his most significant trait was his timidness. He wasn’t really timid, but he was unwilling to stand up to his family and tell them he WAS going to marry Loi. He did overcome this trait by the middle of the book. When Loi was on the bus for Ho Chi Minh Cit Khai was comin got join her when Khais brother stopped him, Khai stood up to his brother then. When Khai did miss the bus he went back to his village and told his family how he felt about Loi, he father then agreed to their marriage. This was his most significant trait because it was wht kept he and Loi from marrying earlier.
3. Raymond Smith – Raymond Smith was the American journalist Loi met the same man who offered to take her to America with him. His most important trait was his kindness. When he first met Loi he told her how she could go to America, then he paid her for letting them take pictures of her for his news story. Then later when they met again in Ho Chi Minh City he took Loi and Joe out to dinner, and bought both new cloths. He then offered to take Loi with him to American, he showed his kindness yet again when Loi chose not to go to America. Loi asked Mr. Smith to take Joe with him instead, and he agreed.
B. Loi was the character who changed the most in this book. In the beginning of the book she was slightly ashamed of her heritage as a Amerasian. She didn’t go to school because she couldn’t stand the way the teacher glared at her, and she hid her curly hair under a hat. When she meets Khai again in the city and he tells her about what has happened in the village since she left she realizes that she should no longer be ashamed of her heritage. Loi pit it best when she said “I have finally learned that I am as much a part of this country as those villagers. Whether they like it or not, my umbilical cord is buried in the earth of Vietnam just like theirs.”
III. THEME
The theme of this story was about accepting who you are. Loi had an American father, and had always been taught to hide her heritage, but when she was in the city she realized that she must be true to herself. Many people today face this same dilemma today, they may not be of mixed heritage but there might be some part of who they are that is looked down upon by society. If these people ever want to be truly happy they must accept who, and what they are. This is what Loi figured out while away from her village, away from the people who persecuted her.
IV. PERSONAL REACTION
A. “My mother and Uncle Long have always taught me to always run and hide my face. To cram my curls up under my non-la and stare at the ground. I know they did it out of love, to protect me from cruel remarks. But no more.” This was the most memorable line in the book because it was where Loi accepts who and what she is.
B.