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Paradise Of The Blind Analysis

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The Interactive Oral on Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong enabled me to better understand the cultural contexts of Vietnam and how it tied into the distinct characteristics of the characters in the novel. Upon reading the novel, I did not fully understand how Confucianism and communism affected the character’s decisions, especially from a Western point of view. One significant aspect that I discovered is the importance of self-sacrifice within familial ideals. Hang ultimately rejects her mother and aunt because they were both extreme cases of self-sacrifice. Most of the class despised the way Que neglects Hang. In a way, Que is greedy in the way that she would rather put more effort into providing for her another form of corrupted self-sacrifice is Aunt Tam. Our class discussion concluded that her self-sacrifice may not be in the best intentions. Many of us struggled to understand why Aunt Tam put a great amount of effort in providing for Hang’s future, but after analyzing Aunt Tam’s past we concluded that it was done in spite. Her self-sacrifice was only the result of her vengeance against Chinh and communism itself. Despite this, after some consideration, I found sympathy for Que and Aunt Tam knowing that this form of self-sacrifice is a direct result of Confucian ideals and the pressure it puts on these women. Finally, the interactive oral led me to better understand Chinh and how he is a political allegory for communism. Communism on the surface is supposed to

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