Duong Thu Huong's Paradise Of The Blind

Thematic use of the Cripple to reflect physical and emotion unfulfillment in Paradise of the Blind

Duong Thu Huong’s Paradise of the Blind follows the life of a Vietnamese girl named Hang as she is shaped and influenced by the expectations and characters in Post-War Vietnam. As Hang matures people such as her mother and aunt, who have forfeited their aspirations as they’ve aged and live their lives unfulfilled, surround her. This shapes Hang as strives to live her life free of obligation, a contrast to the themes of unfilled potential and dissatisfaction. The cripple living in the street of Hanoi most embodies this theme, due to Huong’s description and the dark lyrics of his song, echoing with sadness. Throughout her life, encounters with the cripple reveal Hang’s character development as well as provide the concept of physical and emotional unfulfillment.

Huong’s description of the cripple portrays the concept of living a life unfulfilled. …show more content…
Hang ‘no longer [feels] the stab of sadness’ or the despair induced by the song as she had in her childhood. No longer is she affected by the sorrow in the song, no longer does the music induce the loss of her father and lack of his presence, thus her ability to move forward indicates Hang’s character development as realizes the true meaning of the song and gains a greater sense of self. Finally, the deeper meaning of the cripple’s music resonates with Hang as she comes to the realization that ‘it wasn’t a song. It was the cry of a crooked heart, a wounded beast. ’ This is the final appearance of the cripple in the novel, and the final mention of him. This labeling of the ‘cry’ is contradictory to the description of the ‘song’ in comparison to the rest of the novel; this reinforces Hang’s understanding as she recognizes the sounds of agony different from the ‘lull of the familiar music’ of her