Prompt 1: Infusion of Culture in Robert Olen Butler’s “The Trip Back”
Robert Olen Butler’s remarkable short story, “The Trip Back,” highlighted the cultural differences between Vietnam and the United States, narrated by the Vietnamese immigrants living in the U.S. The short story of “The Trip Back” tackles about a human condition from a Vietnamese perspective.
The short story of “The Trip Back” narrates about a young man named, Khánh, picking up his wife’s grandfather in the airport and later becomes shocked of the grandfather’s inability to remember his own granddaughter. In the first part of the story, the narrator, Khánh, is a Vietnamese immigrant living in Louisiana. His Vietnamese origin is evident as he reflects upon the strong family values, respect for elders, and superstition that are second nature to him. When describing his wife’s grandfather, Mr. Chinh, he explains: “My wife loved him very much. We are all like that in Vietnam. We honor our families. My four children honor me very much and I honor them.” However, the Vietnamese culture as depicted in the story became a struggle for the narrator as he was baffled with the American life, whilst living with the Vietnamese culture. Another struggle portrayed by the narrator was the condition of his wife’s grandfather with the inability to remember …show more content…
In “The Trip Back,” love and compassion were conveyed, thus shown in the narrator as he comes upon a realization towards the old man’s condition: “Something deep inside him was sorting out his life as it was about to end. And that is what frightens me the most. I am afraid that deep down I am built on a much smaller scale than the surface of my mind aspires to.” The narrator believed that in his mind, he wouldn’t want to forget his children and his wife even if he will grow old and experience the same
Robert Olen Butler’s remarkable short story, “The Trip Back,” highlighted the cultural differences between Vietnam and the United States, narrated by the Vietnamese immigrants living in the U.S. The short story of “The Trip Back” tackles about a human condition from a Vietnamese perspective.
The short story of “The Trip Back” narrates about a young man named, Khánh, picking up his wife’s grandfather in the airport and later becomes shocked of the grandfather’s inability to remember his own granddaughter. In the first part of the story, the narrator, Khánh, is a Vietnamese immigrant living in Louisiana. His Vietnamese origin is evident as he reflects upon the strong family values, respect for elders, and superstition that are second nature to him. When describing his wife’s grandfather, Mr. Chinh, he explains: “My wife loved him very much. We are all like that in Vietnam. We honor our families. My four children honor me very much and I honor them.” However, the Vietnamese culture as depicted in the story became a struggle for the narrator as he was baffled with the American life, whilst living with the Vietnamese culture. Another struggle portrayed by the narrator was the condition of his wife’s grandfather with the inability to remember …show more content…
In “The Trip Back,” love and compassion were conveyed, thus shown in the narrator as he comes upon a realization towards the old man’s condition: “Something deep inside him was sorting out his life as it was about to end. And that is what frightens me the most. I am afraid that deep down I am built on a much smaller scale than the surface of my mind aspires to.” The narrator believed that in his mind, he wouldn’t want to forget his children and his wife even if he will grow old and experience the same