38 pages • 1 hour read
Duong Thu HuongParadise of the Blind
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1988A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Paradise/Garden of Eden
The novel’s setting in Vietnam is like a beautifully overgrown and chaotic garden, striking in color and vivid with sensory descriptions. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the people in this garden setting have collectively sinned, yet they are blind to the way out of the garden. Just as Adam and Eve are cast out of the Garden of Eden for their sin, Hang is eventually sent away from Vietnam to pay for the errors of her family.
Hang’s Bohemian friend draws the connection between the failures of Communism and the Garden of Eden. He declares that man tried to create heaven on earth but simply wasn’t intelligent enough to know how to do it. Adam and Eve didn’t fully grasp the rules of conduct in the Garden of Eden, and God expelled them from Paradise as a result. This novel depicts Vietnamese society in a similar predicament. With so many sweeping reforms at the emergence of Communist rule, no person could fully grasp the long-term impacts and effects to see that attempting to create heaven on earth was actually creating hell for those living in it. This version of Paradise becomes a prison, but the prison is also home, making it difficult for people to leave it behind. Similar to Plato’s allegory of the cave, the characters in this novel react to convoluted shadows of future promise, blind to the endlessness of their suffering. Hang breaks free from this cycle when she walks away from the wilted flowers at the cemetery, leaving the Paradise she knows and the shadows of her past behind for the opportunity to find real happiness.
Hunger and Food
Hang, Que, and Tam each starve at points throughout the novel. Details of food preparation are frequent throughout the story and emphasize not only the attention and care that go into traditional Vietnamese cuisine, but also the importance of food’s role in bringing people together. Aunt Tam uses food to express her affection for Hang, which is a contrast to Que withholding provisions in her quest for self-sacrifice. When Que reaches the height of her sacrificial frenzy for Chinh’s family, Hang is so hungry that she cannot focus on her studies. She wants to sell Tam’s rings to afford food, but Que refuses; she’s already sold the jewelry, making it clear that Hang’s nourishment is not her first priority.
Tam, in contrast, is a constant source of food for Hang. She hosts large feasts with multiple dishes for each guest, and she sends the household help home with abundant leftovers. Tam is generous with food towards Hang and those she deems deserving, but she makes it clear that her provisions are not to support Que and Chinh (187). Food is a way to support a person in this novel, and withholding food is symbolic of broken alliances and deteriorating relationships.
Que’s Roof
Hang recognizes that being born with a roof overhead is a privilege (230). A roof protects the home’s inhabitants. Without a father figure, Hang feels vulnerable and needs a sense of protection. The novel frequently refers to the roof over her mother’s shack, as it’s often needing repair. After thieves rob Que at the vendor market during Tet, she announces, “When our good fortune returns, I’ll repair that damn roof once and for all” (119). Que is in a position where she needs to wait for better fortune before she can provide even the most basic protection for herself and her daughter, yet she continues to pour her resources into supporting Chinh’s family instead, allowing her own roof to rot. When the roof is in good condition and protects them from autumn rain, Hang reflects, “We were happy like this” (174). A strong roof offers protection, opening the way for happiness in place of struggle. The roof in regular need of repair is symbolic of the tattered support system Hang has at home.
