Blog 1

From watching the PBS documentary American Experience: Vietnam War, "America's Mandarin 1954-1963," I learned that Ngo Dinh Diem's secret police forced the Vietnamese people who worshipped their ancestors to practice Catholicism instead. This was because Diem was a devout Catholic, which is also probably the reason for why he was so harsh with the Buddhists who at first only peacefully protested his government, and later resorted to setting fire to themselves after his police used physical force to put down their demonstrations.
In his short story "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain," Robert Olen Butler combines the narrative of Ho Chi Minh's old friend Dao telling about his nightly visits from Ho as well as his visit from his family, with Dao's narrative of his past with Ho. In the first narrative, Dao explains how Ho is distracted and unsettled, even though he is dead and should be at peace. Dao also conveys his criticisms and suspicion of his son-in-law Thang and grandson Lo'i. In his second narrative, he recounts his and Ho's past work and travel together, during which he remembers his friend's constant struggle for Vietnam's independence.
The overall idea of the story is that even when Dao and his fellow Vietnamese people travel to and settle in America after the Vietnam War, there continues to be political strife and uneasiness about the situation in their homeland. For example, Dao discusses the murder of Nguyen Bich Le, who publicly supported the cooperation of the Vietnamese with the communist government in Vietnam. "We had to work now with those who controlled our country... I would not have been afraid to say that Mr. Le was right" (Butler 238). Although Dao admits that he also believed it was time to come to terms with communism in Vietnam and work toward future peace, he is fully aware that his son-in-law and grandson are of a different opinion. Dao states, "'I believe my son-in-law and grandson are involved in the killing of a man. A political killing'" (Butler 248). Although Dao believes this, he admits that he will not speak against his family in the hopes of establishing peace, whether it be in life or in death. This ties back to the reason he did not join Ho in his course of action, because he was a Bhuddist and wanted to maintain peace and harmony. Throughout the story, Dao sees how restless Ho is even in death, and he understands that this restlessness will continue through the years after the war because people like Thang and Lo'i persevere in the fight for Vietnam's independence. In this story, Butler shows how no matter what side is responsible for the violence, whether it be the communists, such as Ho Chi Minh, or the nationalists, like Thang and Lo'i, there will always be strife where there is resistance. When it comes down to it, both Ho, Thang, and Lo'i want the same thing, which is freedom, independence, and civil rights for the Vietnamese people.