Nov 18, 2008

M. Butterfly | Topics for Further Study

Is there any truth to the suggestion made in M. Butterfly that Western stereotypes of the East helped to produce the American involvement in Vietnam? What was the official reason that America embarked on the Vietnam war, and what was the situation there in 1961, when much of M. Butterfly takes place?

Do you think that white male readers will identify with Gallimard? Is he a sympathetic figure or someone to be despised? Is there any character in this play with whom Asian-Americans could identify?

What was the Cultural Revolution in China, and how does Hwang make use of it...