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Were there any foreigners in the book? I know the one dude -- Story -- he had a couple Nam flashbacks....
Oh, sure. Story spent decades in Vietnam, hiding from his Dad. But the whole thing kicks off with his finally leaving Nam and finally heading back to the States to face his destiny. Overseas is presented as a place where nothing really happens; nothing of consequence will happen to you until you're back in the bosom of America.
One of the main characters was a Vietnamese-American woman—a transnational adoptee, IIRC (it's been a while)—and (again, IIRC) her character arc wasn't so much about reconciling her dual nature as finding her place within the American context.
Remember, too, that Story was actually English-born, although he had remade himself as someone and something emblematically American.
Foreignness, in the OUTLAW NATION worldview, is something to be discarded as soon as possible: Americanness is overwhelming and unstoppable, and crushes all other identities in its path. |
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