Paradise of the Blind Themes

Paradise of the Blind centers on the life of the young protagonist, Hang, as she grows up in North Vietnam between the 1950s and 1980s. In the book, Duong depicts some of the key values of Hang’s culture: women’s deference to men, young people’s deference to their elders, and loyalty to one’s family over all else. Hang observes how the two central figures in her life (her mother, Que, and her Aunt Tam…

In Paradise of the Blind’s North Vietnam setting, communist ideology is central to the society. The protagonist, Hang, understands firsthand the ideas of communism from her uncle Chinh, who is a key leader of the communist reforms in her mother Que’s village. At first, communist ideology—with its emphasis on ending exploitation and its aim of benefitting the poorest workers—helps liberate Vietnam from the French colonialist government. But as the book goes…

Paradise of the Blind is filled with rich imagery conveying the beauty of the villages and cities in which Hang spends her childhood. But because most of the book is told as a flashback while Hang is on a train to Moscow, these recollections take on both a sense of nostalgia and a feeling of disenchantment. In addition to recognizing the beauty in her childhood, Hang also understands how that beauty frequently masked the poverty…