The Importance Of Myths In Monkey Bridge

In "Monkey Bridge,” Mai and her mother use key aspects of Vietnamese mythology and traditional beliefs, also known as the “luminous motion,” that encompasses speculation of the past as well as of the future. It reflects between the past and present worlds, telling two engaging stories through the narrative of a mother and daughter. Although, both Mai and her mother have had to quickly adjust to American life, they are immediately confronted with an encounter of cultures and generations that quickly start to show hidden secrets from their own family’s past. Vietnamese myth demonstrates obscure historically documented realities.
The First, legend and myth used is Vietnamese Confucian Ethics is one part of the political, social, and moral philosophy developed by …show more content…
Trying to keep the ancient, modern in her daughter’s mind, Thahn, attempts to give Mai something to connect her strengths to. “Myth, transforms history into nature” the legends such as the betel-nut and the Trung sisters in order to portray their history. In Vietnamese culture the fruit and the leaves have a special significance symbolizing true love because they are so often combined together. The Betel Nut Tree is to give you the sense of how important the home life is. The legend of the Trung sisters is about two sisters that were the first to lead a national uprising against the Chinese, they enjoyed many freedoms. This freedom allowed them to attempt such a difficult task as removing the Chinese from their land. They had gathered an army of 80,000 people, with 36 women as their generals, and soon claimed victory soon after. “My parents and stories that offered the sweet shield of this history to me. They were given to generous and creative revisions and would fill our world with different, more magnificent details with the retelling of each story.” (Cao