Characters

The story “Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave” by Mai Nardone features three characters: the mother, the father, and their daughter Lara. The characters’ family relationship is marked by tension and conflict following the stress of an economic crisis. The daughter, Lara, sides with her father and blames the mother for her father’s decision to return to the US.

Lara is both the main character in the story and the narrator. She is a developing character because both her actions and attitude are influenced by what happens in the plot.

The father is a secondary character in the story, an American man who has moved to Thailand and started a family, but eventually returns to the US on his own. 

The mother is a secondary character in the story whose portrait is constructed using her daughter’s perspective. The mother’s inner characterisation is mostly conveyed through her actions and attitude in relation to her family.

We will focus on their characterisations and relationships in the following pages.