Mother and Queer Son: Trauma and the Search for “Home” in Graphic Novel The Magic Fish

Abstract

        This article aims to analyze the recognition of trauma and the search for “home” experienced by two diasporic characters: a refugee mother who fled the Vietnam War and her son growing up as part of the queer diaspora in the United States. The themes are explored through fairy tales in the graphic novel The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen. The analysis reveals that the relationship between the two characters is intertwined with the trauma of displacement. The novel portrays the mother’s trauma as a refugee of the Vietnam War, which cut her off from her homeland and exposed her to racial and class prejudice in her new environment. Meanwhile, the son grapples with the trauma of his queer identity, which alienates him from his Vietnamese family and is suppressed in a homophobic American society, alongside the displacement he experiences as a Vietnamese American. Although the mother’s and son’s traumas highlight the shared emotional state of “homelessness,” the characters’ recognition of each other’s trauma works as a transformative force that guides their search for “home,” a space of healing that enables diverse diasporic identities to coexist.