The Boat. Metaphorical Usage of a Boat in a Work of Digital Literature

Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 2,3, University of Hannover, language: English, abstract: The animated graphic novel 'The Boat' that was created in 2015 by SBS and Matt Huynh tells the story of 16-year-old Mai who is a Vietnamese refugee at the end of the Vietnam War. It is based on the short story The Boat by Nam Le. The reader follows her as she is escaping the country by a boat towards Australia. As The Boat belongs to the category of digital literature, the story is enhanced with audiovisual content. This paper aims to analyze the story in order to either validate or negate the thesis whether the actual boat in The Boat is metaphorically paralleling the emotional turmoil a refugee is experiencing when escaping their country.