Ton Quotes in Paradise of the Blind
When she smiled, I always noticed the sparkling whiteness of her teeth, aligned in perfect rows, and it made me sad. This was the last trace of her beauty, her youth, of a whole life lived for nothing, for no one.
“Ton’s family has always lived in peace with everyone,” my mother stammered. “They’ve never laid a finger on anyone here. You know that. Here in the village, everyone knows who’s bad and who’s good.”
Uncle Chinh interrupted, correcting her sternly: “You must not let yourself be influenced by others, or betray your class. We must crush the landowning classes, these cruel oppressors, and return the land to the peasants. If you don’t listen to me, you’ll be forced out of the community and punished according to revolutionary sanctions.”
This voraciousness put me ill at ease. I knew she was my blood, the link to my father. This was the love that had been buried, impossible to imagine.
I stood very still, letting her touch me, caress me. Her wizened face, which ordinarily must have been quite severe, was ecstatic, reverent. “She’s a drop of his blood. My niece,” she murmured.
Someday I’ll be even richer. This ancestral house will be renovated. It’s going to be even more opulent than before. I’ll show people. Even if I have to tear this body of mine apart. […]
People say I’m extravagant. I tell them, “Yes, that’s right, and I’m offering this to myself in memory of all my suffering.”
My mother was stunned and embarrassed. “l can’t accept all this. I’ve got enough to celebrate Tet already. This is too much. How could we eat it all?”
Aunt Tam replied coldly, “I’m not giving this food to you. This is my offering to my brother’s memory. It’s all for Hang. She can offer the food to her teachers, her friends, anyone she likes.”
“So there you have it, Mr. Uncle Chinh. The old child molester had never set foot on a dance floor. Of course, he did like to lecture his workers about how dancing was decadent, how their generation indulged in shameful pleasures, and how everyone should devote himself to the revolution. He had the same worldview as you, the same tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to insult you. I know you don’t have the same vices. But I must say, the resemblance is somewhat troubling.”
“When…” she whispered. “When I am dead… stay here… keep this house… the altar to our ancestors. Remember to think of replacing the orange trees… and…”
[…]
This was her legacy to me, I thought. Its price was a life deprived of youth and love, a victory born of the renunciation of existence.
Ton Quotes in Paradise of the Blind
When she smiled, I always noticed the sparkling whiteness of her teeth, aligned in perfect rows, and it made me sad. This was the last trace of her beauty, her youth, of a whole life lived for nothing, for no one.
“Ton’s family has always lived in peace with everyone,” my mother stammered. “They’ve never laid a finger on anyone here. You know that. Here in the village, everyone knows who’s bad and who’s good.”
Uncle Chinh interrupted, correcting her sternly: “You must not let yourself be influenced by others, or betray your class. We must crush the landowning classes, these cruel oppressors, and return the land to the peasants. If you don’t listen to me, you’ll be forced out of the community and punished according to revolutionary sanctions.”
This voraciousness put me ill at ease. I knew she was my blood, the link to my father. This was the love that had been buried, impossible to imagine.
I stood very still, letting her touch me, caress me. Her wizened face, which ordinarily must have been quite severe, was ecstatic, reverent. “She’s a drop of his blood. My niece,” she murmured.
Someday I’ll be even richer. This ancestral house will be renovated. It’s going to be even more opulent than before. I’ll show people. Even if I have to tear this body of mine apart. […]
People say I’m extravagant. I tell them, “Yes, that’s right, and I’m offering this to myself in memory of all my suffering.”
My mother was stunned and embarrassed. “l can’t accept all this. I’ve got enough to celebrate Tet already. This is too much. How could we eat it all?”
Aunt Tam replied coldly, “I’m not giving this food to you. This is my offering to my brother’s memory. It’s all for Hang. She can offer the food to her teachers, her friends, anyone she likes.”
“So there you have it, Mr. Uncle Chinh. The old child molester had never set foot on a dance floor. Of course, he did like to lecture his workers about how dancing was decadent, how their generation indulged in shameful pleasures, and how everyone should devote himself to the revolution. He had the same worldview as you, the same tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to insult you. I know you don’t have the same vices. But I must say, the resemblance is somewhat troubling.”
“When…” she whispered. “When I am dead… stay here… keep this house… the altar to our ancestors. Remember to think of replacing the orange trees… and…”
[…]
This was her legacy to me, I thought. Its price was a life deprived of youth and love, a victory born of the renunciation of existence.
