38 pages • 1 hour read
Paradise of the Blind
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Themes
Communism’s Negative Cultural Impact
The novel is set against the political backdrop of land reform in communist Vietnam. Even in a peaceful country village, residents cannot escape the crushingly traumatic reform efforts. Land reform measures proceed the Rectification of Errors campaign, an attempt to right the wrongs of land reform that is ultimately “incapable of picking up the pieces” (33).
Communist ideology is simultaneously feared and mocked throughout the novel, as the characters struggle with the reality and aftermath of these Communist reform efforts. Tam’s family is an example of the devastation of the reforms: Before land reform, Tam had a family and a home; in the aftermath of land reform, Tam is alone and evicted from her family home. When Tam reclaims her family home, the home’s condition is symbolic of the disaster and chaos left in the wake of Communist measures: bricks and tiles gone missing to sell for food, animals defecating in the courtyard, a living room divided by a partition (78). The chaos, demise, and filth in the house are symbolic of the aftermath of Communism’s failed efforts.
The inadequacies and shortcomings of Communist rule affect leaders within its own ranks as well: “Although there was prestige in being a Communist official, state salaries were barely enough to live on” (178). Chinh experiences the inadequacy of a Communist earning. Both Chinh and his wife work for the Communist Party, yet they can barely afford to feed their two children. Education is also inadequate: Aunt Chinh obtains a high-level teaching post despite her own remedial education of only two short classes for workers and peasants (175). Aunt Chinh’s poor education leaves her frustrated with her students and her students frustrated with her. She is not properly trained for the post to which she’s assigned, but her loyalties to the Party are strong, so she wins the position. Her inadequate preparation highlights the incompetence and mismanagement of Communism.
Moscow is the beacon of Communism, yet Hang notices that Russian culture has suffered for it:
[T]here was something sinister about this tranquility, and order of this existence [...] Russian culture had bred too many broken dreams. All that was left was the pure, thin air of ideals, too poor to sustain a human life, or its need for creativity and fulfillment (202).
The beacon of Communism is only a shell of a culture, the true essence of Russian culture having been stripped away by reform and conformity, yet this is what Vietnam strives to accomplish.
Clashes Between Ancestral Tradition and Modern Politics
Local villagers predict Que’s unhappiness in life early in the novel when she defies the traditional mourning period following the death of her parents. Marrying Ton so quickly is scandalous, setting the stage for a continuous theme of challenging traditions. This challenge to traditional values intensifies when Chinh returns to the village intent upon crushing the landowning class to which Ton’s family belongs. Que is stuck between two sides and must choose whether to support her brother, which means accepting and adhering to his Communist values, or remaining loyal to her husband’s family. In turning her back on Chinh, Que risks the dishonor of being cast off by her own brother. In choosing her married family, though, she also risks the dishonor of abandoning her own blood relative. Que frequently fails to recognize her own daughter as the link connecting the two families by blood, and her failure to honor the blood relationship with her own daughter causes further division between them.
Aunt Tam represents traditional values in the novel and is among those in the village considered to be “pillars of the countryside” (23). Her morals are grounded in caring for and honoring her ancestors. She keeps an altar for her deceased brother, she teaches Hang to pray to their ancestors, and she expects Hang to accept her inheritance along with an obligation to stay at her home. When faced with Land Reform, Tam accepts the situation and learns to navigate the new political atmosphere, but she maintains her loyalty to tradition and blood relations. In contrast, Ton flees the political violence and sheds his familial lineage to take on a new life elsewhere.
While Tam represents traditional values, Chinh represents the revolutionary new political ideology. Their clashing principles divide the family down blood lines, with Hang and Que initially caught between the two sides. Chinh continuously pressures Que to forgo her married family and think of his own reputation: His authority and honor could be ruined if his own sister mingles with landowners like her husband. Chinh demands that Que choose between “a future with the revolution or the life of an outcast among the enemies of the people” (32).
The rivalry between Tam and Chinh eventually seeps into the relationship between Hang and Que, with mother and daughter gravitating to opposite sides of their shared family. Que gravitates toward supporting her brother, while Hang gravitates to a stronger relationship with Tam on her father’s side. When Hang returns to Hanoi and visits her mother at the end of the novel, their encounter is tender and supportive until Que asks for an update about Chinh. Hang responds calmly, but internally she feels her heart exploding and the chasm in their relationship widening again (237). Even when he is thousands of miles away, Chinh is a divisive figure for Que and Hang, just as he is a disruption to family traditions.
Family Obligation Contributes to a Cycle of Sacrifice
The novel opens with Hang giving in to her feelings of obligation to her uncle. She doesn’t want to make the trip to Moscow and initially resists, but she quickly comes to the decision that she doesn’t have any choice other than to obey her uncle’s wishes. Hang’s decision to visit Chinh, despite her own desire to avoid the trip, leaves her feeling bitter and frustrated before she even arrives in Moscow. Hang’s mother describes the duties of a woman to her family under similar terms: “unhappiness forges a woman, makes her selfless, compassionate” (14); Unhappiness itself becomes a reward in life because it signifies the extent of a woman’s sacrifices. Que is willing to sacrifice her happiness and well-being for even the slightest contribution she can make to her family. Que’s reward for her sacrifice is acceptance in Chinh’s family. Hang knows her mother expects her “to show the same selflessness” in her relationship with Uncle Chinh (14). Ultimately, though, this trip brings Hang to finally break from her family’s repeated cycle of unrewarding sacrifices.
Aunt Tam feels obligated to provide for Hang, since Hang is her own blood: “You realize how happy this makes me. That your father and I will not have lived in vain. I’ve lost so much, suffered so much in this world. But I don’t regret this life” (74). Tam works endlessly to provide abundantly for Hang, just as Que works endlessly to provide for Chinh. In both cases, the elder women feel obligated to see to the comfort of their own ancestral bloodline.
Hang is pulled into this repetition of sacrifice. Que infuses a sense of obligation and selflessness in Hang, and these familial values are what push Hang to visit Chinh in Moscow. Hang’s earlier sacrifices are made as a result of Que’s choices and actions: Que chooses to ration food for herself and Hang to the point where Hang is starving and cannot focus on her studies, all for the sake of providing a little more for Chinh’s family. Meanwhile, Chinh has the means to acquire a refrigerator and television, while Que sells Tam's jewelry to barely make ends meet for herself and Hang. When Que sells the jewelry intended for Hang, Hang unknowingly sacrifices part of her inheritance for Chinh’s family. Tam draws this connection and is infuriated to learn that her hard-earned wealth is used to feed her own enemy.
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