An Unsound Sleep (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Nhat Tien
- First Published: 1969
- Type of Plot: Political, domestic realism
- Time of Work: The early 1960's
- Setting: Towns in South Vietnam
- Principal Characters: Old Phan, Miss Phan, Su
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: 1960’s, Parents and children, Twentieth century, Poverty or poor people, Asia or Asians, Vietnam War, War, Fathers, Unemployment or unemployed workers, Duty, Drinking or drunkenness, Censorship, Buddhism, Vietnam or Vietnamese people, Persecution
- Locales: South Vietnam
The Story
“An Unsound Sleep” takes place in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The main concern of the story is how people's lives are changed by political censorship and war. The story traces the Phan family's downfall after a daughter and her husband participate in Buddhist demonstrations. Nhât Tiên skillfully incorporates descriptions of the local lifestyle and historical facts in his fiction.
The story begins in early afternoon in what is typically a boisterous, poor part of town. Old Phan is watching beggars and finishing off some dry shrimp and alcohol. He gets...
[The entire page is 1432 words long]
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