The Happiest Refugee
by Anh Do
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Younger brother to Tam, Anh’s father. Uncle Nine left Vietnam on a boat voyage six months before Anh and his family. On that voyage, he was accompanied by brothers Three, Five, and Seven. However, pirates shipwrecked the boat the brothers were fleeing on, and only Uncles Three and Nine survive—their two other brothers perish. Uncle Nine invests in Tam’s farming and property ventures, losing all his savings when the ventures go bust. He ends up returning to America, where he had lived after leaving Vietnam and before his arrival in Australia.

Uncle Nine Quotes in The Happiest Refugee

The The Happiest Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Uncle Nine or refer to Uncle Nine . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Migration and Luck Theme Icon
).

Chapter 6 Quotes

Uncle Three passed out and woke up on a beach in Malaysia. After searching desperately for other survivors he found Uncle Nine alive. Eventually they found the dead bodies of uncles Five and Seven.

Related Characters: Anh Do (speaker), Uncle Seven , Uncle Nine , Pirates , Uncle Three , Uncle Five
Related Symbols: The Journey
Page Number and Citation: 70
Explanation and Analysis:
Anh recounts the tragic fate of two of his father’s brothers—Uncles Five and Seven. They had attempted to escape Vietnam by boat, setting out six months earlier than Anh and his family. They were accompanied by brothers Three and Nine. On their journey, they were hijacked by pirates, who sunk their boat. Only two of the brothers—Three and Nine—survived the shipwreck.  While Anh and his family are also hijacked by pirates during their escape, they are lucky enough not to have their boat sunk, and it is for this reason—among many other lucky breaks—that they manage to survive the journey. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque
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Uncle Nine Character Timeline in The Happiest Refugee

The timeline below shows where the character Uncle Nine appears in The Happiest Refugee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Poverty and Hardship Theme Icon
Family and Community Theme Icon
...was known as Four, among his other siblings, One, Two, Three, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine. Anh’s grandmother supported all the children on the meager earnings of her husband’s wages, who... (full context)
Chapter 4
Family and Community Theme Icon
Anh’s father Tam and his brothers Two, Three, and Nine buy a waterfront farm. Tam wants to launch a duck egg business. Anh, his siblings,... (full context)
Chapter 6
Poverty and Hardship Theme Icon
Courage and Perseverance Theme Icon
Family and Community Theme Icon
Betrayal and Forgiveness Theme Icon
...too late.” When the duck farm was doing well, Tam and his brothers Three and Nine had invested in several properties. Eventually, however, interest rates went up, and they had to... (full context)
Migration and Luck Theme Icon
Poverty and Hardship Theme Icon
Family and Community Theme Icon
Uncle Three had left Vietnam with UnclesFive, Seven, and Nine six months before Anh and his family made their voyage of escape. On the journey,... (full context)