Essay Questions

Explore the concept of family and its influence on the lives of individuals in Huang Thu Duong’s Paradise of the Blind

Paradise of the Blind explores the idea of family and the influence that it has on the personal lives of the individuals. The book sheds light on the concept of family ties as the focal point of the lives of most Vietnamese people, particularly the people presented in the novel. In the story, several characters embody certain traits that promote familial ties. In the novel, Que becomes a symbol of love as she takes care of her nephews, spending money on them, her nephews being part of her family—her brother’s children. Que exhibits a high degree of respect for the family as she goes to the extent of risking starving her daughter so that she could take care of her brother’s emaciated and skinny children. When on one occasion, Hang complained of being hungry, her mother yells at her for doing the same.

Additionally, in contrast to Que, Aunt Tam also exhibit the precedence of family ties over everything else. As such, she takes care of Hang. Having no other family apart from Huang, Aunt spends most of her life working to ensure a proper and admirable future for Huang. Furthermore, during the onset of the novel, Hang, despite herself not being fully recovered, has to travel to Moscow to see her uncle (Uncle Chinh), who was sick himself. Indeed, Huang places a great emphasis on family and the influence it has on individual lives.

Explore the influence of Hang’s perception of beauty and her desire for freedom using illustrations from Duong Thu Huang’s Paradise of the Blind

During her time traveling to see her sick uncle in Moscow, Hang bumps into a Russian woman who she describes vividly to the reader. Hang explicitly contrasts the features of the woman with hers. She notices a striking difference between the two women as the Russian is more flawless as compared to her reflection: “I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window: a pale young woman with a lost, worried expression, stooped shoulders, and cheap maroon wool suit. A frightened human being of about eighty pounds (Paradise of the Blind, 16). It is implicit that Hang held herself in low esteem with regard to her beauty.

However, when Hang meets a group of Japanese girls who seem more jovial, vibrant, and more carefree than her, more beautiful and flawless, she decides to break free of her family's imposed restrictions. Hang, therefore, decides to seek freedom and gain more control of her life, aspects which family trumped over in Vietnam. Hang’s perception of beauty plays a pivotal role in drawing her towards the desire to acquire her freedom and defining her path.