Paradise Of The Blind, written by Duong Thu Huong, tells the story of a young Vietnamese girl in the 1980s. As Hang travels to Moscow by train she recounts her life experiences during the corrupt Communist reign. The author narrates events through Hang’s perspective and illustrates her childhood memories using various motifs. Particularly, food is used as the most recurring and notable motif. Through the imagery of traditional cuisines, Huong emphasizes the character's financial status’ and value placed on family bonds. In Paradise of The Blind, Vietnamese cuisine is also a strong manifestation of character emotions that display affection and respect among family members. The most common use of food as a motif is as a direct depiction of
…show more content…
Common human instincts like love and respect are used to display these connections. When Uncle Chinh falls ills, Que sacrifices necessities in her own life to provide care for him. Her massive efforts can be seen through the fact that she constantly provided Chinh and his family with food during his illness. As their food supply deteriorates the families living standards and health decline as well.Que proves that she greatly values family bonds and is willing sacrifice from her own food for the benefit of her brother but in doing so sacrifices her bond with Hang. Eventually, Que starts to completely shirk her duties as a mother to provide for Uncle Chinh instead. This is shown through the fact that while suffering from starvation, Que, “skipped her noon meals’’ to provide care for Uncle Chinh until the point her “face was hollow and pinched’’(179). By sacrificing her own meals and health for the recovery of her brother, Que proves that her love for Chinh is unconditional. Huong also expresses the impact food has on emotion and family ties through characters like Hang. While the family struggles in poverty, Hang quickly realizes the significance of family and understands how Que makes certain sacrifices for Uncle Chinh. Shye values the sense of community and avoids complaining about the food quality. For example, when Hang states that “the taste …show more content…
When describing prepared foods the author's diction indicates a sense of collaboration among her characters. Since “this is the first time a member of the Tran family has made it into the university,”(147) Aunt Tam hosts a massive banquet. The vivid descriptions and metaphors used in the depiction of the event illustrates community bonds. For example, the quote: “The scene was lively but well-ordered as if all the feverish activity was directed by the iron hand of some invisible conductor.”(141) uses literary devices to emphasize the importance of preparing food and the necessity of a perfectly managed team. The fact that Aunt Tam can afford an expensive team of servants for the banquet is another expression of her wealth. The “conductor” simile compares food preparation to an orchestra which portrays the level of effort and planning that has to go into food preparations and emphasizes the importance of community. Huong’s word choice in the sentence is critical because it creates contrast between chaos and order: “feverish activity’’ and “well ordered’’ are phrases used to display this disparity. The narrative also displays how characters who are ranked highly in the social hierarchy value food differently. Instead of viewing food as a need for survival, Aunt Tam sees food as work of art and an expression of wealth. This creates a massive contrast between
Common human instincts like love and respect are used to display these connections. When Uncle Chinh falls ills, Que sacrifices necessities in her own life to provide care for him. Her massive efforts can be seen through the fact that she constantly provided Chinh and his family with food during his illness. As their food supply deteriorates the families living standards and health decline as well.Que proves that she greatly values family bonds and is willing sacrifice from her own food for the benefit of her brother but in doing so sacrifices her bond with Hang. Eventually, Que starts to completely shirk her duties as a mother to provide for Uncle Chinh instead. This is shown through the fact that while suffering from starvation, Que, “skipped her noon meals’’ to provide care for Uncle Chinh until the point her “face was hollow and pinched’’(179). By sacrificing her own meals and health for the recovery of her brother, Que proves that her love for Chinh is unconditional. Huong also expresses the impact food has on emotion and family ties through characters like Hang. While the family struggles in poverty, Hang quickly realizes the significance of family and understands how Que makes certain sacrifices for Uncle Chinh. Shye values the sense of community and avoids complaining about the food quality. For example, when Hang states that “the taste …show more content…
When describing prepared foods the author's diction indicates a sense of collaboration among her characters. Since “this is the first time a member of the Tran family has made it into the university,”(147) Aunt Tam hosts a massive banquet. The vivid descriptions and metaphors used in the depiction of the event illustrates community bonds. For example, the quote: “The scene was lively but well-ordered as if all the feverish activity was directed by the iron hand of some invisible conductor.”(141) uses literary devices to emphasize the importance of preparing food and the necessity of a perfectly managed team. The fact that Aunt Tam can afford an expensive team of servants for the banquet is another expression of her wealth. The “conductor” simile compares food preparation to an orchestra which portrays the level of effort and planning that has to go into food preparations and emphasizes the importance of community. Huong’s word choice in the sentence is critical because it creates contrast between chaos and order: “feverish activity’’ and “well ordered’’ are phrases used to display this disparity. The narrative also displays how characters who are ranked highly in the social hierarchy value food differently. Instead of viewing food as a need for survival, Aunt Tam sees food as work of art and an expression of wealth. This creates a massive contrast between