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Paradise Of The Blind Character Analysis

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Development of One’s Own Belief System in Paradise of the Blind
In Paradise of the Blind, Duong Thu Huong manipulates the major characters to emphasis different motifs in many of her work and to illustrate that one must develop one’s own beliefs and values rather than blindly accepting what is imposed upon oneself. Many recurring topics in her work include, but are not limited to ancestral worship, the psychological impact of extreme poverty and corruption, the strength and suffering of Vietnamese women under the societal and cultural structure of Vietnam, and criticism of the Communist Party. The values and beliefs inflicted upon the protagonist build from these motifs in Paradise of the Blind and as a result of exposure to different beliefs …show more content…

Vietnam’s society and culture is based off of a patriarchal system. Que’s psychological and physical quests successfully enable these two topics to manifest Paradise of the Blind. The difference between Que’s psychological and physical quests in the exposition and the denouement reveals the growth that she underwent. Her character before the climax is static; what is importance to her is providing for her brother rather than providing for her daughter. Her mentality changed when she displayed anger and jealousy towards Hang because of how much affection she has with Aunt Tam. It is evident that Que’s mental quest builds from her physical quest when her value changes after the climax. To say that Que only places her values on blood and family is not enough because Hang is also her blood and family, however Hang is treated differently compared to the way Que treats her brother. Que is strongly influenced by her brother, even Hang recognized that her own mother had abandoned her to an extent where Hang longs to have more affection and care from her. Que’s submission to Chinh serves as a symbolizes the submission of traditional females to the patriarchal system in Vietnam. In relation to her values on blood and family, Que adopted the beliefs of the patriarchal system into her own belief system leading to her “love people who enslaved her” like Chinh (127; …show more content…

In Paradise of the Blind, her criticism is illustrated using Chinh. His lifestyle differs from Hang and Que’s. He lives in suspicion because he conforms to the lifestyles of communists and this causes Hang to feel irritated. Chinh pretends to be static, even though he is not a static major character, to maintain his illusions of transforming Vietnam into a paradise as implied by the title of the novel. The Bohemian makes it obvious to Hang that communists like Chinh “worn themselves out trying to recreate heaven on earth...they [do not] know what their heaven is made of, let alone how to get there” (225; ch. 11). What the communists envisioned is only a dystopia because they do not know the components to forming the paradise that they desire. He pretends to be static and retain his hope in creating a paradise in Vietnam only to hide his disillusionment, to remain in denial. Chinh’s political beliefs does not seem irritating to Hang, just the way he lives his life. He abandons the values in blood, family, and affection to become submissive to a political party that does not even know how to compose and build what they envisage. This may be the reason why Hang is always uncomfortable around Chinh for the most part. He deserts the values that Hang deem important for a system of beliefs that does not have a stable

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