What is the theme of communism in Inside Out and Back Again?

Communism is an important theme in the novel “Inside Out & Back Again” by Thanhha Lai. Communism is a social and economic theory and system of government that evolved from various strains of similar thought, from Socialism to Marxism. In such systems of government theoretically, the State forms an all-powerful entity meant to ensure equality among its people. In reality, Communism is a brutally oppressive and evil system which denies basic human rights to people in order sustain only itself, its power, and its control. Communism relies on brutality, fear, and force in the novel order to do so. Throughout the novel, Communism and its effects can be seen firsthand.

When the novel begins, South Vietnam is under invasion from Communist North Vietnam. Mother explains to Ha and her other children that she was originally from the North, where she married her husband at the age of sixteen. She explains the North was a wonderful place until Ho Chi Minh and the Communists took power. When they did, they took away the properties, lands, and rights of human beings. As a result, Mother and Father fled to the South.

Communist North Vietnam was always determined to crush and conquer democratic South Vietnam, but the United States intervened in the war on behalf of the South. Following a peace treaty which preserved a free and independent South Vietnam, the United States withdrew its forces. Shortly thereafter, Communist North Vietnam resumed the war, and brutally invaded the South.

When the Communist troops of North Vietnam arrive in Saigon, they make no distinction between soldiers and civilians and proceed to kill and bomb everyone. As a result, tens of thousands of South Vietnamese flee the country in every way possible, including by boat, such as was the case with Ha and her family. As they leave, Vu chops down Ha’s papaya tree, thereby preventing it from falling into the hands of the Communists.

Ha and her family later learn that, while things are horrible living under the Communist conquerors, the Communists are treating those they catch trying to escape even worse. They are hunting down refugees like wild animals, indicative of the cruelty and force that Communism must exert to maintain control.