Summary

In Part IV, "Ben, 1994 - 1998," Tuấn was living in a duplex. After his fight with Hương, Ben went to Tuấn's house. Inside, Ben told Tuấn everything he had learned. Tuấn was not angry. Because of the war, he told Ben, there were many things they would never understand (193).

Ben stayed with Tuấn for "the next month" (194). He dropped out of school, and found a job cleaning for a professor named Lars Schreiber.

Mr. Schreiber soon realized how smart and capable Ben was. Eventually, he helped Ben get into the university. He even invited Ben to dinners with his graduate students. They were jealous of Ben, and treated him unkindly. Schreiber encouraged Ben. With time, Ben began wondering about how much he owed "this man and what did this man mean to him" (204).

In "Hương, 1998," Hương...