TBWCD Character Upbringings

 Having read chapter 1-5 in this novel, what stood out most to me is the contrast between Bo and Ma's upbringing, and how their childhood parallels with their ways of parenting and who they are as adults. Bo grew up in poverty, displaced constantly and abusive father. Ma on the other hand came from a wealthy family, placed in French schools since she was little, and even has servants. However, even with this, we see that she has gone through the death of two of her children. One way we see their childhood foreshadow how they are as adults is when Bo is kicked by his father and he thinks in his head "You are not my dad". Which is a reminder from earlier in the book, when he kicked Bich out and said that she was dead to this family. Bo's strictness and aggression is stemmed from his childhood and is a trauma response by the lack of security growing up. With Ma, she is responsible and disciplined due to her wealthy and adult supervised childhood. For Thi, this creates an unbalanced home dynamic. One parent is flawed with their absence and anger issues, while the other is emotionally scarred by the loss of her two children, which presents its own challenges. Ma's inability to be there in the room when Thi gives birth at the start of the novel illustrates this. Ultimately, Thi discovers why and how her parents are the way they are by learning about their early years. They weren't born that way; rather, their hardships shaped them into the people they are now today.