Blog 1

After watching the PBS documentary in class I realized that i did not know nearly as much about the Vietnam War as I thought I did. One of the most interesting things that i learned was the Untied States' decision to allow a coup d'etat of the present government and president. My knowledge of the war really only started in the late 60's and adding this large piece of information gives a much clearer picture of the rest of the war.

The narratives involved in "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain" include the narrative between Dao and Ho Chi Minh, and the conversations between Dao and the people that come to pay their tributes and respects to him before he passes on.
The conversation between Dao and Ho Chi Minh is very interesting. Dao gives us a brief history, describing the friendship between the two and how they used to work in the kitchen of a hotel in London, explaining the sweet smell coming off Minh's hands. It seems as though Minh is not happy with the way things are going currently in Vietnam even though he has long since passed. The narrative between Dao and the family members is a little more somber. These conversations are being held on the basis that Dao is either on or nearly on his deathbed and it is time for his family to say goodbye, in the literal sense. He listens to his son- in-law and his grandson talking about the murder of a local Vietnamese man and starts to believe that these two were in fact involved in the murder. Even though the grandson is a born American citizen, Dao feels as though he still carries the Vietnamese ideals of politics. it seems as though both these narratives give the ideals of the Vietnam political system and intertwines them into the personal life of Dao.