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But Doi To understand who Ricky was and what he became you have to look at what he was exposed to and what he went through starting at a very young age. As a child in Vietnam he had no childhood as he worked selling bread on the streets to help his family. The abandoned childhood made him angry as he watched the school children his age play while he had to work. He experienced violence at a young age specifically death when while washing his hands in the river he noticed a dead body floating near him. He commented that he accepted this to be not unusual but just the way things were in Vietnam. In his family s attempt and eventual success in escaping Vietnam he was victimized in the refugee camp before he made it to America.
Arriving in the United States alone (literally) without his family he could not believe what he saw, a whole new world as he describes it. This new world fascinated him and he wanted to be a part of immediately and his life of abandonment and being alone would soon change dramatically. As he entered High School he started to experience what it was like to be a minority in the U. S. The other students at school begin to call him names and he experienced the racial bias that make up American society.
The further he withdrew from the name calling gook, nip and the more isolated he became, ultimately he drew closer to those like him. He found new friends, friends who spoke his language, understood him, could relate to him; he was no longer alone. Within these friends Ricky felt accepted, wanted and he felt like he belonged. They would share their life experiences, stories, likes, and dislikes all of the things that brought them together. He had a family a family from the heart as he would say.
In reality Ricky had a gang and that gang was his family now. Through the gang Ricky found he could get what he wanted, Money and with that money came power and with that power came girl s, cars and anything he wanted. He refers to the baker with little money and not wanting to be like the baker. Ricky wanted the fast buck through crime to get the power so he could give back to the baker who had nothing. As a kid he thought being a gangster was cool and he identified with those he saw on television. Once inside he was at conflict with himself as he got bored with gang life as he got older and admitted feeling guilty when he committed a crime.
The death of the leader of the Crazy Dragons led to Ricky eventually solving his inner conflict. Due to the emotion of losing his leader and the one he looked up to, Ricky got careless, Ricky got caught! He risked everything and did stupid shit as he did not care anymore about the money and the power they no longer mattered. I think that Ricky longed for attention and love and for a childhood that he never had; He says in the beginning I was alone from day one! He did not want to depend on anyone especially his family and once he left home he never came back both emotionally and physically. He was a lost soul always longing for a childhood, family, power, money, and acceptance.
Ironically he risked everything including his life to find a better way of life by coming to America. for what? Ultimately he ends up in prison with nothing, which he sums up by saying, I was always drifting, now everything has stopped moving and I only dream about going home.
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Research essay sample on Young Age Ricky Family
