Blog 1

Before watching the PBS documentary on the Vietnam War, I had little to no knowledge of the politics behind the conflict. I had gotten a much deeper understanding of such matters after viewing the film. I had already heard of the monk who lit himself on fire in protest, but did not know there would be more to follow after his passing. Additionally, I was unaware that Diem was a devout catholic and that the monks were not only protesting the conflict as a whole, but protesting the Diem's suppression of religions other than Catholicism in Vietnam.

In the selection provided, Butler combines the narratives of Dao talking with his old pal, Ho Chi Minh, and Dao talking to his family. This point in the story takes place after Dao and his family had left their country of Vietnam to start anew in New Orleans and Dao has gotten very old. The overall idea of the story here revolves around a feeling of never ending struggle and tension for the Vietnamese, all of which is directly linked to the conflict in their country. The narrative in which Dao speaks to his visions of Ho involve Ho asking Dao what to do with his sugar coated hands, recalling times when they had known eachother earlier in their lives, and Ho's path in politics versus Dao's path in religion with one yearning for freedom from "fools" and the other yearning for harmony. The reader may start to notice that Ho is not at peace by how he continually asks about what to do with the sugar, by his continually somber facial expressions, or by simply noting Ho's comment, "I am not at peace" on page 245. The other narrative involves Dao speaking with his family in his bedroom. He senses after some chatter that his son-in-law and grandson were involved in the shooting of a communist activist within their community. Dao also comments that he sided with the activist, hinting that they now lived in a country with freedom of speech, after all. It seems as though the violence and suppression they tried to escape has followed them to the US.