In the Gutter

“The unbreakable bond between my father and his siblings serves as a testimonial that even though their parents lived very short lives, they did something right.”
When something traumatic happens it will usually bring family closer. For Firoozeh’s father, after his parents died the bond between him and his siblings got stronger. This is like Soka and her sisters,  because of the Khmer Rouge Soka is trying everything to get her sisters safe. She sends money and puts alerts out in the different camps. The traumatic event made the families realize how much they love meant to each other.

“My father dreamed of ways to get rich that required neither hard work nor further education. His dream was that the doorbell would ring and he would answer it. Standing there would be a man wearing a three-piece navy blue suit... Then the man would inform my father that through a series of unbelievable circumstances, he had come into boatloads of money.”
This doesn’t remind me of Children of the River, but it does remind me of Of Mice and Men. Kazem’s “American dream” was to be rich, like Lennie and George. However, unlike Lennie and George, Kazem did not want to work for his money, he wanted to get it by luck.