Younger sister of Anh and Khoa, and daughter of Anh’s mother and Tam. Unlike her brothers, Tram was born not in Vietnam—the family’s native country—but in Australia, where the family finds shelter as refugees. Like her brothers and mother, she suffers greatly from her father’s abandonment of the family, and must struggle with poverty. As a child, she is extremely self-conscious over her misaligned teeth, so much so that she barely smiles. It is for this reason that her brother Anh uses the cash prize of a big comedy award he wins to provide Tram with braces to fix her teeth. Like Khoa, Tram refuses to reconcile with her father when she is urged by her brother Anh to do so, but eventually she reestablishes a relationship with him as well.
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Tram Character Timeline in The Happiest Refugee
The timeline below shows where the character Tram appears in The Happiest Refugee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...she hopes to earn an income as she looks after Anh and Khoa’s newborn sister Tram. Anh’s father soon quits his factory job, and he and Anh’s mother launch a business...
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Chapter 9
...Canberra, for a prize of $5,000. He uses the award money to get his sister Tram braces. Tram, throughout her childhood, has been so self-conscious over her misaligned teeth that she...
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...brain tumor. He also tells him that he wants to meet Anh’s siblings, Khoa and Tram, to tell them that he loves them. But when Anh talks to Khoa about meeting...
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Chapter 12
...saving up, he goes there on vacation with his mother and his siblings Khoa and Tram. His mother is delighted to be back. She always gives money to the many poor...
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...falls quite ill again with the brain tumor, Anh finally convinces his siblings Khoa and Tram to meet him. Anh feels that the reconciliation is good for everyone: his siblings seem...
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