What do Ha and her family do at the end of the book? How is it similar to the beginning of the novel? *

In many ways this is called a "frame story" meaning the beginning and ending resemble each other. At the beginning the family is mourning the loss of father who was captured by the Communists on a naval mission nine years before.

By the end of the story, Ha’s mother loses her amethyst ring--a gift from her husband years before--she takes it as a sign that he is dead. As a result, the family holds a mourning ceremony for him and vows to move on in America while remembering the past.