One thing that I learned from watching the PBS documentary was how much Ngo Dinh Diem feared overwhelming American presence and that it was this perceived American presence of power that eventually gave way to his assassination. The American's role in helping Diem was to be on Diem's terms and the United States being the powerful state that we think of ourselves could not handle the unrest that was occurring in the Vietnam state. It was a fight for power and by the United States betraying the trust of Diem and his brother, the United States thought they could control the power struggle. It was interesting to learn that the united States was so quick to betray Diem and his brother for the war of power.
In “A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain”, Butler uses two comparative narratives, one between Dao and Ho Chi Minh and the other between Dao and his family, to explain the eternal struggle for Vietnamese. At this point of the story, Dao is nearly a century old as he is nearing the end of his life; he is lying in his bed when his pal Ho Chi Minh appears for three straight nights. Ho’s presence at first is confusing to Dao because Ho is dead, but his presence is very much alive to Dao. Ho is distracted during his visits to Dao as he is trying to figure out the recipe for the sugar on his hands. As Dao tries to recall the recipe for the confection sugar that is on Ho’s hands, he is triggered by the smell of the sugar back to his days when he and Ho used to work in the same pastry shop, Ho as a student and Dao as a dishwasher. Dao asks Ho if he is peaceful in his afterlife and he struggles with Ho direct response of No. The struggle that Dao sees in Ho’s afterlife and his own struggles relate to the struggles of the different paths they took in life, one political and one religious. While the paths are different the struggles of Vietnamese politics remain the same and they are forever implanted in the lives of these two men as well as many others as seen when Dao is talking to his family. These struggles can be seen through the generations when Dao is listening to his son in law talk with his grandson. Dao thinks that the two were involved in the murder of a Vietnamese man by the name of Mr. Le, who was a man after the same ideals as Dao. Dao realizes that even though his son in law owns a Chevrolet pick-up truck and lives in America that the Vietnamese politics of religion versus politics of communism still live on and it is these struggles that are universal. These narratives combine the past and present struggles of Vietnamese politics around the world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
One thing that I learned from watching the PBS documentary was how much Ngo Dinh Diem feared overwhelming American presence and that it was this perceived American presence of power that eventually gave way to his assassination. The American's role in helping Diem was to be on Diem's terms and the United States being the powerful state that we think of ourselves could not handle the unrest that was occurring in the Vietnam state. It was a fight for power and by the United States betraying the trust of Diem and his brother; the United States thought they could control the power struggle. It was interesting to learn that the United States was so quick to betray Diem and his brother for the war of power.
ReplyDeleteIn “A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain”, Butler uses two comparative narratives, one between Dao and Ho Chi Minh and the other between Dao and his family, to explain the eternal struggle for Vietnamese. At this point of the story, Dao is nearly a century old as he is nearing the end of his life; he is lying in his bed when his pal Ho Chi Minh who appears for three straight nights. Ho’s presence at first is confusing to Dao because Ho is dead, but his presence is very much alive to Dao. Ho is distracted during his visits to Dao as he is trying to figure out the recipe for the sugar on his hands. As Dao tries to recall the recipe for the confection sugar that is on Ho’s hands, he is triggered by the smell of the sugar back to his days when he and Ho used to work in the same pastry shop, Ho as a student and Dao as a dishwasher. Dao asks Ho if he is peaceful in his afterlife and he struggles with Ho direct response of No. The struggle that Dao sees in Ho’s afterlife and his own struggles relate to the struggles of the different paths they took in life, one political and one religious. While the paths are different the struggles of Vietnamese politics remain the same and they are forever implanted in the lives of these two men as well as many others as seen when Dao is talking to his family. These struggles can be seen through the generations when Dao is listening to his son in law talk with his grandson. Dao thinks that the two were involved in the murder of a Vietnamese man by the name of Mr. Le, who was a man after the same ideals as Dao. Dao realizes that even though his son in law owns a Chevrolet pick-up truck and lives in America that the Vietnamese politics of religion versus politics of communism still live on and it is these struggles that are universal. These narratives combine the past and present struggles of Vietnamese politics around the world.