Kyle Groden

4-28-2014
IIS 131
Paradise of the Blind

Duong Thu Huongs Paradise of the Blind is the story of a trip that a textile worker named Hang
takes to visit her sick uncle, Chinh, in Russia. Throughout the trip, she recollects on her childhood and
the many hardships she had to overcome at a young age. When she reaches her uncle, she discovers
that he really needed her to assist him with shipping black market goods. The story ends with Hang
paying her uncle a sum in place of her service and heading back to visit her aunt on her deathbed.
Throughout the book, the roles of women are constantly shown by the author, as well as the level of
independence that they had in society. Huong also used the book to protest communism, which resulted
in it being banned in Vietnam.
Women held important family roles in Vietnamese society. The role of a mother was to care for
her children, as well as take care of her house and serve her husband. Although a woman traditionally
was supposed wewe to be completely subservient to her husband, this did not mean that women were
less than men by a significant degree. This can be seen through the relationship of Que and Ton, Hangs
mother and father, who lived as equals in the book. Women were generally expected to cook for their
family as well, as sharing a meal around the table was a very important aspect of Vietnamese culture.
Also, once married, women would shift focus from their own family to the family of their husband. Aunt
Tam, Tons sister, took significant interest in Hang after her fathers suicide. In order to please her, Que
made sure her daughter went through with her requests. This included regularly writing to her, studying
hard in order to attend a university, and attending Aunt Tams various events. On Ques side, Chinh was
only visited when he fell ill. Although Que did give a lot to help Chinh afford his diabetes medication, it
took a significant disease in order for her to get involved with her own family.
Huong also used her characters to show how independent vietnamese women were during this
time period. Ques husband was punished for owning land and left their home village following a
communist campaign for land reform led by Chinh. He proceeded to remarry in another village. Once he
caught wind his wife had moved to Hanoi, he went back and found her. This was when Hang was
conceived. However, he committed suicide once his wife forbade him from seeing Que ever again. In
order to provide for Hang, Que began work at a market as a merchant. Nobody batted an eye at the fact
a woman was working and being the breadwinner of her family, although her husband was no longer
alive. Hang also supported her mother by dropping out of college and working in a textile factory after her
mother was hit by a car and had to have her leg amputated. This is another example of women being
able to work and provide for themselves and not rely on, for example, a male figure. Aunt Tam also
serves as a symbol of independence. A landowner before the communist campaign, she was also
punished like her brother. After the rectification of errors campaign, which corrected decisions made by
the communists, Aunt Tam received her land back and became quite wealthy. No alarm was raised at
the fact that a woman was one of the most wealthy residents of her village.
This book was banned due to its negative implications toward communism. For example, the
campaign for land reform elevated two peasants to be the pillars of land reform. One was Bich, who
was know to be regularly intoxicated and entertain villagers with his dirty humor. The other was Nan, a
large widow who had a problem with eating way too much. The fact these two were selected to be the
figureheads of a communist campaign definitely doesnt show the ideology in a positive light. Uncle
Chinh serves as another reason for the books banning. He led the communist land reform campaign and
publicly punished and humiliated his own sisters husband and his sister. Through these actions, he
serves as a symbol of communism throughout the book. We also learn that after a visit with her uncle at
the communist residence, Hang never wants to visit her uncle again. The fact Hang doesnt want any
part of Chinh is synonymous with the author wanting nothing to do with communism. Near the end of the
book, Chinh ends up working as a housekeeper for a graduate student at a university in Russia. Huong
is still using Chinh as a symbol of communism and has placed him in a very low social position. This is
an example of another implication of the authors negative views on communism.
Throughout the novel, the author was able to help the reader understand the role of women in
Vietnamese society through her specific characters and their relationships. In addition, her views on
communism are very clearly heard in the book, which served as an excellent canvas to voice them in.