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Paradise Of The Blind Identity Analysis

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In Paradise of the Blind, Duong explores the effect of individual values, and their role in the creation of identity. In post-war Vietnam, two set of values are at odds; communistic values are in direct competition with traditional values. One set of collective values, and one set of individual values. Across a single family, these values can be observed, along with their effects on its members. Through the actions and interactions of her characters, Duong demonstrates that individual values are an important part of one’s identity. Aunt Chinh and her family hold communist values, and these values detract from their identities. Communism, by its very definition, encourages sameness, and a lack of individuality. Citizens ruled by communism have less identity because they are all expected to be the same. They receive the same treatment, the same resources, and are expected to not to be different from each other. When Que walks the streets of Residence K with Aunt Chinh, Aunt Chinh does not want to be seen …show more content…
At the beginning of the work, Que lives in a village. She also hold traditional values, and has an identity. She is married, and she makes a living for herself as a street vendor; she is happy with her life. However, as Uncle Chinh, with his communistic values, begins to encroach upon her life, her individuality begins to diminish. Uncle Chinh separates her from her husband, and requests that she get a different job, one which is more fit for the new communist regime. While Que never gives up her job, she does eventually loses the living that she makes from it. After she rejects traditional values, along with Aunt Tam, she gives all of her earnings to Uncle Chinh and his children. She is no longer an individual, but a supply line to Uncle Chinh. When she held traditional values, she has an identity, and as she transitioned into a more communistic set of values she lost that

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