Blog 2 Scent of Green Papaya

In the film Scent of Green Papaya, there is much symbolism in relation to the Vietnamese people/way of life as well as the Vietnam War. In the beginning of the film when the servant girl Mui goes to a wealthy Vietnamese household in Saigon to work for the family there, Mui, the other serving woman, and the mother of the family take on most of the chores of the family. This shows how the women in the Vietnamese culture served the men. The father of the family leaves the house for long periods of time, showing how unfaithful Vietnamese men could be. This can be attributed to the fact that many Vietnamese marriages were arranged, and therefore lacked love. Also, the two youngest sons of the family are portrayed as bitter and almost evil. For example, the very youngest son entertains himself by harrassing Mui and making her work harder. The older son who is closer to Mui's age is finds enjoyment in killing ants, which proves to be very distrubing. This most likely symbolizes the fighting and hatred in the Vietnam War, as well as the dropping of bombs and napong by the Americans on the Vietnamese people.
Secondly, the lack of conversation and Mui's love for nature symbolize the Vietnamese way of life. This is because the Vietnamese are known to be a peace-loving and prayerful people, most of them being followers of Bhudda. Their way of life is humble and largely involves nature. Mui's love for her pet crickets reveals the superstitions in Vietnam, such as the belief that crickets are good luck. Mui also symbolizes Vietnam before it was influenced by other cultures, such as the French and American cultures.
Another form of symbolism in the film is Mui's eventual union with her long-time love, the pianist Khuyen she becomes a servant to, which could symbolize the hope for a peaceful union between northern Vietnam and southern Vietnam. This is because just as the north and south have their differences, Mui and Khuyen are from much different social classes.
Khuyen's original fiancee symbolizes the French culture with her French clothes, hair style, and large wedding ring. Khuyen also symbolizes the French's influence in Southern Vietnam because he plays French music on the piano. He eventually comes back to the Vietnamese culture when he relates Mui's face to Bhudda's face, and picks up drawing Mui's face as a new form of art he finds enjoyable.
Finally, there is symbolism in the last scene of the film when a pregnant Mui reads a story after Khuyen has taught her how to read. The story she reads is about how a cherry tree always maintains the same shape no matter how many violent waves hit it, which symbolizes how Vietnam is still the same land after the war as it was before the war. The fact that she is pregnant probably symbolizes new hope for a peaceful future with the generations to come.