Paradise Of The Blind Analysis

The final part of Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong examines social class and gender roles in 1980’s communist Vietnam. In 1980, Vietnam was divided among four different social classes; the Ruling class at the top, the Scholar class, the Working class, and the Business class at the very bottom. Both Hang and her mother were considered Business class, and had a very difficult burden to bear, as they were essentially viewed as the scum of the country. Uncle Chinh and his family traveled between classes; from the Ruling class all the way down to the Working class. These classes in Vietnam not only determined one’s power and influence, but also the opportunities one received in life and the amount of respect among others that one demanded. …show more content…
Yen Thanh the Bohemian states, “You still measure our human dignity with your official hemlines...young people...don’t dare deviate an inch from your fashions or you might accuse them of ‘betraying the party’ or ‘selling out the fatherland,’”(215). Throughout this line, the author weaves a metaphor about a tailor. Words such as “measure,” “hemlines,” “inch,” and “fashions” all allude to this underlying idea of a tailor or clothes vendors. Traditionally, these jobs were held by women, and so Huong is implying that women are very compliant to the government. This idea is echoed later in Huong’s mention of the “fatherland,” typically meaning one’s home but in a patriarchal sense. Women typically have lower societal roles, and men hold most of the power. The Bohemian also mentions “dignity,” showing the different levels of respect deserved by all social classes; with peasants and landlords ranked near the bottom, and leaders and government officials ranked at the top. These social castes define the level of power and influence all members of Vietnamese society had, and these castes are mentioned throughout the book as tensions escalate and families break …show more content…
Social classes play a role in varying levels of dignity and power and respect for the Vietnamese people; from the Bohemian up to Uncle Chinh. The author also uses social class to show the political evolution of Vietnam in their treatment of communists like Uncle Chinh. Finally, Hang dreams of rising above her social class and becoming something more, something rarely heard of in this social atmosphere. All the changes and differences seen in social castes emphasize the discrimination and segregation found throughout Vietnam, and explain the difficulty of Hang’s

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