On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “Epistolary Writing: Letters as Vehicles for Expression and Healing,” Part A

In this activity, students will analyze other epistolary texts and compare and contrast them to Vuong’s novel.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is an epistolary novel, written as a letter to Little Dog’s illiterate mother. Working in small groups, analyze another example of an epistolary text. Include a co-written reflection that shows a critical understanding of the chosen text, and that discusses it in relation to On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Consider overlaps in tone, mood, theme, and intent as you complete the steps below:

• Choose one epistolary text. Some possible options include:

o “Will V-Day Be Me-Day, Too?” by Langston Hughes

o “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams

o “My Dungeon Shook” by James Baldwin

o Selections from The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

• Read the selection independently, annotating for imagery, mood, tone, theme, intent, and author’s purpose.
• Share your analysis with your group.

As you complete the activity, synthesize the analyses into a 1-2 page co-written reflection in which you and your group members examine the message of the chosen epistolary text and how it is conveyed. Make sure to include the similarities and differences between your chosen text and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to build a bank of possible epistolary texts and/or provide selections from longer epistolary novels for students to choose from. It may also be helpful to remind students that while their chosen epistolary text will be very different from On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, there will likely be similarities in terms of content and literary techniques. Consider reminding students throughout this activity that the point is to explore the letter as a specific genre of creative expression.

ACTIVITY 2: “Epistolary Writing: Letters as Vehicles for Expression and Healing,” Part B

In this activity, students will write their own epistolary work or series of works, and they will reflect on the epistolary form in relation to their own work and that of Ocean Vuong.

In this activity, you will expand upon the Personal Connection Prompt that you engaged in prior to reading the novel. As you write your own epistolary text or series of texts in letter format, consider the following options:

• Is this letter going to be written to a person or entity?
• Will it take the form of a poem, essay, journal/diary entry, short story, or memoir?
• Would it be beneficial to create a multi-genre text?
• Is this going to be a single text or series of interconnected narratives?
• Should this composition be fiction or nonfiction?

Consider who you are writing to and what you want to say to that person or entity. Like Little Dog, the audience of your text may be unlikely to read it, which may provide freedom of expression. Your written piece should be approximately 700-1,000 words total.

The class will celebrate each other’s epistolary texts with an “open studio” style gallery walk, after which you will complete a short written reflection in which you comment on how the epistolary form can help writers explore certain topics and convey certain messages in unique and purposeful ways. As you reflect on this process, make connections between your own work, the work of your peers, and that of Ocean Vuong.

Teaching Suggestion: Depending on the academic standing of the class, it may be helpful to consider using a writing workshop protocol or checklist as students draft and revise their epistolary pieces.

Differentiation Suggestion: Some students may be overwhelmed by the options in the activity. If this is the case, consider limiting their choices to a poem, essay, or journal entry. For advanced students, it may be helpful to expand the wordcount to allow more detailed personal expression and creativity. This activity may also be amended to strengthen students’ visual communication skills in the form of a decorative and/or symbolic poster in which they creatively display their epistolary texts for the gallery walk.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Throughout the novel, commas are used to describe and explain various characters, experiences, and events.

• What does the comma symbolize in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Analyze the symbolism of the comma by selecting three distinct examples in which the comma is used to explain or describe someone or something.
• In your concluding sentences, articulate how the examples you chose support the development of the theme of The Survival of Beauty Through Loss and Violence.

2. In On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, names (or the lack thereof) hold extreme significance.

• How do names convey meaning in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Analyze the names that are or are not given to people and things. For example, consider Little Dog, Lan, Tiger Woods, and/or the nameless purple flowers by the highway. Select three examples to explore within your essay and explain how the names of the examples you chose convey meaning.
• In your concluding sentences, consider how these names connect to one or more of the novel’s three themes: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Mental Health, Drug Use and Addiction, or The Survival of Beauty Through Loss and Violence.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The theme of The Survival of Beauty Through Loss and Violence is explored throughout the novel, specifically through Lan. How does Lan’s character help develop this theme? Consider her history, her name (and self-naming), her relationship to Little Dog, and her connection to Paul in your response. Explain your ideas carefully using specific references to the text.

2. Ocean Vuong places the narrative within a broader social and historical context. For example, Trevor’s death is told in the context of the opioid epidemic; the story of Little Dog’s merged family history as well as his own name is told alongside the story of Earl Woods and his son Tiger; and Paul’s story is explored next to the personal and cultural impacts of World War II and the Vietnam War. Analyze one of the novel’s themes (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Mental Health, Drug Use and Addiction, or The Survival of Beauty Through Loss and Violence) by using one example of this juxtaposition of the personal and the public.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following areas of literature connects to the author’s choice of writing the novel as a letter?

A) Tone

B) Mood

C) Genre

D) Theme

2. What is shown about Lan through her decision to call her grandson Little Dog?

A) She loves Little Dog and wants to protect him.

B) She sees Little Dog as better than an animal.

C) She hopes the name will motivate Little Dog.

D) She is living with her own past traumas.

3. What is ironic about Little Dog’s birth name being Patriotic Leader of Vietnam?

A) He does not have any leadership abilities.

B) He and his family flee the country.

C) He rejects his past and his present culture.

D) He drops out of school at a young age.

4. Which of the following shows Lan’s choice of name for herself and her daughter?

A) Her rebellious nature and strong will

B) Her rejection of her home and her past

C) Her desire to create beauty in a broken world

D) Her display of the early signs of a mental health condition

5. What does Little Dog’s choice to keep calling Paul “grandpa” show about him?

A) He does not want to believe the alternative.

B) He likes the image that it presents.

C) He feels like it will protect him.

D) He sees Paul as a genuine family member.

6. What is revealed about Rose when she mistakenly arrives at her sister Mai’s old house?

A) She suffers from mental health conditions and PTSD.

B) She struggles to sleep and often sleepwalks.

C) She has substance use disorder.

D) She is emotionally abusive and manipulative.

7. Little Dog calls the nail salon a “makeshift classroom.” What is best revealed about the use of this metaphor?

A) It is a place to learn new skills that will propel the workers into success.

B) It is a place that teaches many hard truths about being an immigrant in America.

C) It is a place where immigrants learn how to assimilate into American culture.

D) It is a place that can foster connections as the workers build their own businesses.

8. Why does Little Dog refer to multiple examples of hate crimes against the gay community in Part 2, Section 4?

A) It lays the groundwork for Little Dog’s eventual activism.

B) It shows different levels of acceptance in the US versus Vietnam.

C) It gives context for Rose’s reaction when Little Dog comes out to her.

D) It helps explain why Little Dog chose to become a writer.

9. How does Little Dog emphasize the prevalence of the opioid crisis in Part 2, Section 5?

A) He describes the setting by listing the places his friends have died from overdose.

B) He presents statistics about OxyContin leading to other drug use.

C) He talks to Trevor about how drugs have impacted their lives.

D) He describes a scene in which Trevor uses heroin for the first time.

10. In Part 2, Section 6, Little Dog says, “Both of you lying beneath the slide: two commas with no words, at last, to keep you apart.” What literary device is used in this quote?

A) Allusion

B) Personification

C) Metaphor

D) Hyperbole

11. What best describes the tone of Part 3, Section 1?

A) Numb and disbelieving

B) Angry and combative

C) Mournful and sad

D) Annoyed and bothered

12. What is the impact of Little Dog’s discussion of the opioid crisis in such detail in Part 3, Section 2?

A) It acts as a plea for government action.

B) It places Trevor’s death in a broader context.

C) It offers a glimmer of hope that things could change.

D) It gives Little Dog a way of coping with Trevor’s death.

13. Which line best describes one of Little Dog’s realizations at Lan’s death in Part 3, Section 3?

A) “The room is silent as a photograph.”

B) “I would never know those flowers by name.”

C) “After a while, the pain melted into a strange ache.”

D) “It was beauty, I learned, that we risked ourselves for.”

14. What is best shown by the repetition of “I remember the table” in Part 3, Section 4?

A) Little Dog is beginning to piece together his story.

B) Little Dog is finally confronting his traumatic past.

C) Little Dog reconnects with his Vietnamese culture.

D) Little Dog realizes he cannot forgive his mother.

15. What best explains Little Dog’s reason for saying, “All this time I told myself we were born from war—but I was wrong, Ma. We were born from beauty” in Part 3, Section 4?

A) The beauty of Vietnam

B) Lan renaming herself Orchid

C) The family’s compassion

D) Rose’s love for Little Dog

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. The first section of Part 2 is largely told in second-person point of view. What impact does this choice have on the narrative?

2. The narration of the novel is fragmented and often interrupted by odd memories and associations. What is significant about structuring the novel this way?