Women and the Vietnamese society
The main theme in the second story, ‘’Mr. Green’’, revolves around the idea of womanhood and how a woman was seen in the traditional Vietnamese society. The narrator is a young woman who tells her story to the reader and the idea transmitted is that women were not appreciated in the society in which she lived. Women were mothers and wives but had no other responsibilities and were not expected to have their own ideas and thoughts. When the narrator tries to assure her grandfather that she will pray for his soul after he dies, she is told that her prayers would have no value because she is a woman. This represents the first time when the narrator realizes the limitations imposed on her because she is a woman and this realization makes her feel powerless. In time, as she moves away from the society in which she lived as a child, she starts to become more independent and thus her views on the world change as well, the narrator transforming form a powerless little girl into a young and powerful woman.
Old versus new
The main theme in the story ‘’The Trip Back’’ is the conflict between the old and new. The narrator, a Vietnamese businessman named Kánh, thinks about the way he used to live in Vietnam and the new life he built for himself and his family in America. Kánh is reminded of the Vietnamese traditional ways when he meets with one of his wife’s cousins and sees him behaving. Kánh criticizes his behavior and the way in which he refuses to tell the truth and what is really happening. Kánh is also against the way in which Vietnamese people put a lot of value on maintaining a close relationship with their extended family, something Kánh considers as being pointless. Kánh considers that the new way of living, the American way, is more sustainable. He appreciates the way in which people tell what is on their mind and a person is not expected to sustain his or her entire family. This represents the clash between old and new and even though Kánh claims he likes the American way, he still maintains some of the old traditions.
Wanting to fit in and maintain one’s traditions
In the story ‘’Crickets’’, the narrator Ted writes about his desire to keep his Vietnamese traditions in some way alive even though he moved to America. Ted finds himself in a dilemma when his son, Bill, refuses to learn about the Vietnamese culture and way of life. Ted continues to try and teach his son but is unsuccessful and as a result he feels frustrated. Ted is conflicted because he wants his son to be accepted and be considered American while at the same time to remember the traditions of his home country and parents. This presents a struggle many immigrant parents had to deal with, being torn seeing their children rejecting their own origins and refusing to learn about the traditions dear to their parents.
