Professor Khanh/The Professor Character Analysis

Mrs. Khanh’s husband in “I’d Love You to Want Me.” The professor and Mrs. Khanh came to the United States via a refugee boat with their children. The professor, whose work was in oceanography, was only able to find a job teaching Vietnamese at the local community college. The story focuses on the professor’s battle with a diagnosis he receives. Though it is never explicitly stated, it is heavily implied that he has Alzheimer’s disease, as he is constantly mixing up dates and information, forgetting how to get home, and how to use various appliances in the house. When he calls Mrs. Khanh by the incorrect name, Yen, she initially gets upset. But eventually, Mrs. Khanh realizes that the only way in which she can help her husband retain his sanity is by sacrificing her own identity, as she starts to call herself Yen.