One thing that I learned while watching the film was that the United States government told the Vietnamese Emperor that his acts would have to be publicly discredited which in turn may lead to a coup.
In Robert Olen Butler's A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain two narratives are combined in order to highlight the continuing political strife of Vietnamese in the United States after the Vietnam War. The first narrative depicts the dreams of an old dying grandfather named Dao. In his earlier years Dao was a friend of Ho Chi Minh, and the two travelled and worked together. Later on Dao chose the life of a Buddhist because he wanted peace, but Ho Chi Minh chose the life of politics. In the dreams Minh visits Dao for three consecutive nights to ask him how to make the Maestro's glaze, while Dao questions Minh about the afterlife, his happiness, and what he should do about his grandson knowing who killed Mr. Le. The dreams are broken up by the second narrative in which Dao's family visits him to discuss feelings and to say good-bye. While there, Dao's son and grandson were talking about the death of Mr. Le and who the murder was. The reason in which Mr. Le was killed was because he wrote, "That it was time to accept the reality of the communist government in Vietnam and begin to talk with them (238)." Many of the Vietnamese at that time in the United States wanted to squash any thoughts of Communism, but with Vietnam being Communist there would have to be talks eventually. In the last line "His kitchen was full of such smells that you knew you had to understand everything or you would be incomplete forever (249)." Dao chose a life in which he wanted harmony and peace while Ho Chi Minh and Dao's son and grandson chose to live lives entangled with politics. In the dreams Minh was trying to figure out the Maestro's glaze, but since he did not pay close attention in the kitchen he could not remember. Dao on the other hand knew the recipe because he listened to everything. The overall idea of this story in the political strife that many of the Vietnamese in the United States went through after the war. Many did not want to listen or open up talks with the Communist but if they were going to be complete they must listen to what is being said. Dao was the only person in the story who understood that there was more value in life by being peaceful and not fighting.
One thing that I learned while watching the film was that the United States government told the Vietnamese Emperor that his acts would have to be publicly discredited which in turn may lead to a coup.
ReplyDeleteIn Robert Olen Butler's A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain two narratives are combined in order to highlight the continuing political strife that many Vietnamese people faced in the United States after the Vietnam War. The first narrative depicts the dreams of an old dying grandfather named Dao. In his earlier years Dao was a friend of Ho Chi Minh, and the two travelled and worked together. Later on Dao chose the life of a Buddhist because he wanted peace, but Ho Chi Minh chose the life of politics. In the dreams Minh visits Dao for three consecutive nights to ask him how to make the Maestro's glaze, while Dao questions Minh about the afterlife, his happiness, and what he should do about his grandson who knows Mr. Le’s murderer. The dreams are broken up by the second narrative in which Dao's family visits him before his death to discuss feelings and to say good-bye as was the Vietnamese custom. While there, Dao's son and grandson were talking about the death of Mr. Le and who the murderer was. Mr. Le was killed was because he wrote, "That it was time to accept the reality of the communist government in Vietnam and begin to talk with them (238)." During this time many of the Vietnamese in the United States wanted to squash any thoughts of Communism in order to fit in with their American counterparts. Throughout the story there are references made to white power conservatism such as the Chevy pickup truck Mr. Le drove. Chevrolet is an iconic American symbol associated with the south, and its own way of living. Although many Americans did not want to open communication lines with the Vietnamese it would have to be done eventually. In the last line "His kitchen was full of such smells that you knew you had to understand everything or you would be incomplete forever (249)." Dao chose a life in which he wanted harmony and peace while Ho Chi Minh and Dao's son and grandson chose to live lives entangled with politics. In the dreams Minh was trying to figure out the Maestro's glaze, but since he did not pay close attention in the kitchen he could not remember. Dao on the other hand knew the recipe because he listened to everything. The Maestro’s glaze was a symbol of the war, and while Minh was alive winning the war was a sure thing. However, once he died the war was left up in the air, and either side could have been the victor. In addition to this, many did not want to listen or open up talks with the Communist but if they were going to be complete they must listen to what is being said. Dao was the only person in the story who understood that there was more value in life by being peaceful and not fighting.