Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Paradise of the Blind, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Traditional Values and Sacrifice
Communism, Hypocrisy, and Corruption
Love and Wealth
Beauty, Disillusionment, and Coming of Age
Summary
Analysis
After the banquet at Aunt Tam’s, Hang returns to the house in Hanoi and tells Que that she missed her, mending some of their animosity. Hang starts university in three days, and Aunt Tam had given her money to buy clothes, books, and supplies. Still, Que insists upon buying her a gaudy shirt with dots, bows, and clasps. When Hang wears it on the first day, students stare at her and make fun of her, but she wears it to please her mother.
As Que and Aunt Tam each try to show their love for Hang, Hang starts to recognize the things she does to fulfill her own familial duty. Even as she and her mother are drifting further and further apart, she begins to understand that she must make sacrifices for her mother as well—even small ones like wearing an ugly shirt and enduring her classmates’ taunts to make her mother happy.
Themes
Autumn comes and Hang and Que are happy together once more. When Hang hears the cripple’s song, she pities him and thinks that he is reaching out for comfort. One weekend, Que invites Hang to come along to Uncle Chinh’s house, even though Hang had not been there in years. Their communal residence is in disarray, faded and dejected. Hang greets Uncle Chinh and Aunt Chinh, whom she had learned from friends’ parents is completely ignorant despite being the dean of the Philosophy Department at the Communist League School.
Hang’s new reflection on the cripple’s song indicates that she has already grown to be able to understand the song differently. Duong hints here that Hang is starting to recognize the poverty and stagnation from which the song is derived, though that will only become clear later. Additionally, Duong calls out the hypocrisy and opportunism of people subscribing to communism yet again—Aunt Chinh is not knowledgeable in philosophy, and yet because she espouses the Party ideology, she has been promoted above others who are worthier of the position.
Themes
Que and Aunt Chinh prepare the meal together from groceries that Que has brought. Hang observes that her mother now has her place in the Do family; Que’s mission life is to support is to earn enough money to support Uncle Chinh and his family. Everyone sits down to dinner, and they raise a toast to their family.
Duong shows not only Que’s efforts, but also that Hang recognizes just how much her mother has sacrificed of her own happiness (and how much money she has spent) in order to be accepted by the family she is supporting.
Themes
The following year, Uncle Chinh is diagnosed with diabetes, and Que and Hang visit him in the hospital. Because his salary is so meager, Que assures him that she will find medication for him. When Que and Hang return to their home (which still has a leaky roof), Que says that she is the only family that Uncle Chinh has. Hang hesitantly tells Que not to worry about her and to do what she has to in order to help Uncle Chinh.
Que continues to take her familial duty and sacrifices to the extreme. Even though they still have problems with their roof, Que emphasizes that because she is the only family Uncle Chinh has, she has to put him over herself in whatever ways she can.
Themes
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Soon after, Que and Hang’s meals start to shrink. Uncle Chinh’s illness grows worse, and Que has to spend more and more money on his medicine. Que and Hang quickly lose weight, eating only a bit of pickled cabbage fried in a spoonful of fat. One evening, when Hang can’t stand it anymore, she begs Que to sell a ring that Aunt Tam gave her, saying that she’s hungry. Que screams at her to “shut up.” Hang runs out of the house, terrified, and only comes back after Que is asleep. She then wakes at two a.m. and finds her mother holding her head in the kitchen, crying. Hang wants to comfort her, but something holds her back. Hang returns to sleep.
This serves as the breaking point in Hang and Que’s relationship. Que literally starves both herself and her daughter in order to try and support her brother. When Hang points this out and tries to remedy it with Aunt Tam’s show of love, Que is insulted and refuses to allow Hang to sell her ring. Thus, Duong illustrates how sacrificing oneself for one’s family can actually sow misery and discontent.
Themes
The next morning, Aunt Tam pays a visit. She is shocked to see that Hang has become skeletal. Aunt Tam addresses Que, asking her why Hang is starving. Hang says that she asked to sell a ring but that Que refused. Aunt Tam asserts that Hang should be able to do what she wants with it, and she asks Que to bring out the rings and the earrings. Que retrieves the earrings but says that she sent the rings to friends to start up a business, promising that she would share the profits. Aunt Tam and Hang both know that she is lying.
This incident between Aunt Tam and Que proves to Hang just how much her mother has prioritized Uncle Chinh over her, as it is implied that Que actually sold the rings that belonged to Hang in order to pay for Uncle Chinh’s medication. Thus, not only is she sacrificing everything for Uncle Chinh, but she expects Hang to do the same thing.
Themes
Aunt Tam demands the earrings, and Que gives them to her. Aunt Tam says that she sympathizes with Que but that Uncle Chinh is her family’s “mortal enemy,” and that she refuses to allow Que to use her own money to feed Uncle Chinh. Aunt Tam says that Que has no right to honor Ton’s memory, and she takes his picture from their altar. Aunt Tam then takes the earrings, gives Hang a basket of food, and leaves. Que weeps and then leaves for the market without eating, refusing to speak to Hang.
Even though Aunt Tam and Que are at odds with each other, Duong reinforces the fact that they both have the same goals at heart. While Que wants to support her brother, Aunt Tam wants to honor her brother’s memory by supporting Hang. Their desires come to a head in the fact that Que is actively taking advantage of Aunt Tam’s gestures in order to support the person who led to Aunt Tam’s misery and Ton’s death.
Themes
Hang describes how from that day on, things between her and Que degenerate slowly. Que is cold and sarcastic, refusing to eat any of the food that Aunt Tam brought. One day, when Hang tries to assure Que that she loves and respects her more than anyone else, Que tells Hang to honor someone else on her altar. Hang explodes, saying that Que has provided for Hang her whole life, but that Que is also in the wrong because she lied—something that Que beat Hang for doing when she was younger. In a rage, Que tells Hang to get out of the house.
Duong illustrates how much Que’s sacrifices for Uncle Chinh have taken a toll on what was once a loving relationship between Hang and her mother. In addition, Hang also exhibits some of her disillusionment about her mother’s choices. Whereas before she accepted them at face value, now she sees her mother’s hypocrisy and how Que’s support of her brother has trapped her in poverty and robbed her of any prospects for the future.
Themes
Hang goes to her old high school and gets a room in the dormitory with five roommates. That night, she sobs, feeling completely alone. When Aunt Tam discovers where Hang is, she brings her money and food every two weeks. Hang knows that she is better off than others, but she still loves and misses her mother. She hears news that Que’s business is improving, and that Uncle Chinh had gone back to work. Hang dreams of her leaky roof, of the cripple’s song, and of a stick of barley sugar.
Even though Que has in many ways turned her back on Hang, Hang still makes a distinction between the love that she feels from Aunt Tam and the love that she feels from her mother. While she appreciates the clothes and the food that Aunt Tam is giving to support her, Hang reinforces the fact that what she truly wishes she had is a feeling of emotional support and genuine love. This is evidenced in her yearning for the leaky roof or the barley sugar: she would rather live a life of simplicity and even poverty if she could have her mother’s affection back.
Themes
Hang continues to study, and she earns a spot as one of the best students in the class. Aunt Tam buys her dresses and jewelry as a reward, though Hang rarely goes out and spends all her free time studying. The money piles up and Hang hopes to repair Que’s roof once Que’s anger subsides. Once, Hang goes out with friends, and it is a girl named Ninh’s turn to buy snacks for the group. When she doesn’t have the money, she asks Hang. Hang agrees to buy them but says that Ninh has to go get them. Ninh refuses, saying that just because Hang is rich, she’s not above friendship. Hang realizes that she’s let her privileges go to her head.
Even though Hang does not view wealth as a replacement for love, she hopes to use the money that she has accumulated from Aunt Tam to support her mother and provide a gesture of genuine affection. Thus, in some ways, Hang is still doing the same thing that her mother did: sacrificing her own well-being and pleasure in order to support her family at all costs.
Themes
As Hang goes to get the snacks, Neighbor Vi appears and tells Hang that Que is really suffering over what has happened between them. Hang says that Que was the one who kicked her out, but Neighbor Vi says that Que didn’t want to kick her out—she had to. Neighbor Vi then reveals why she is really there: Que was hit by a car that morning and her leg had to be amputated. Hang collapses, stunned. Neighbor Vi helps her up, and the two of them rush to the hospital. When Hang sees Que, with her leg stopping at the knee, she starts to sob.
The tragedy of Que’s accident changes Hang’s course entirely. Even though her mother essentially disowned her, at this juncture Hang shows her own capability for sacrifice and chooses to give up her studies in order to support Que in whatever way she can.
Themes
