Paradise of the Blind Questions and Answers
Paradise of the Blind
What does the phrase "hell's money has no value in the market of life" mean in Duong Thu Huong's novel Paradise of...
On the last page of Paradise of the Blind, Hang’s impressions of the skies reflect her thoughts about the passage of time and her determination not to waste any more. As she looks up at the stars,...
Paradise of the Blind
What is the setting of Paradise of the Blind?
The setting for a nonfiction or fictional narrative is the specific time and geographical location where the story takes place. The setting is crucial for the mood and overall backdrop of the...
Paradise of the Blind
What does the train ride and Uncle Chinh's apartment in Moscow symbolize in Paradise of the Blind?
The train ride in the novel symbolizes the course of Hang's life, which has been characterized by travel of one kind or another. As Hang travels across Russia by train on the way to Moscow, she...
Paradise of the Blind
In Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong, what are the dominant religious beliefs of the culture of origin? To...
In Paradise of the Blind, the dominant religious beliefs of the Vietnamese culture presented involve Confucianism and center upon the character of Hang in the text. There are many ways these...
Paradise of the Blind
How is the global issue of disillusionment, or appearance versus reality, seen in the last two pages of Paradise of...
In the last pages of the novel, Hang realizes that the memories she had of Vietnam from her childhood were actually an exaggeration and even a distortion of reality. When she thought of Vietnam,...
Paradise of the Blind
What are the most significant recurrent symbols in Paradise of the Blind? What do the symbols represent? Through what...
Some of the most significant recurrent symbols in Paradise of the Blind are blindness, sickness, water and river. Another is sky; it is tied closely to the river symbol. Being fluid symbols, like...
Paradise of the Blind
Discuss how one of Huong’s female characters is a means by which the author offers a critique of the male-dominated...
In the novel, Que is Hang's mother, a woman who is deeply committed to the Vietnamese Confucian values of her society. Because Vietnam spent almost 1000 years under its Chinese overlords, Confucian...
Paradise of the Blind
Please could you give some symbols or examples of commuism being flawed in Paradise of the Blind?
In many ways this novel can be seen as a powerful indictment of communism in the way that its hypocrisy and failure is highlighted. There are of course plenty of examples of this in the character...
Paradise of the Blind
In chapters 1-3 of Paradise of the Blind, Hang makes a trip to Kiev with her friend. What then happens?
As Hang is traveling through the country, she is visited by memories and introspects on her own history in the novel "Paradise of the Blind". As she travels with her friend, she is mentally...
Paradise of the Blind
How was your understanding of the cultural and contextual dimensions of the text developed through the dialogue?
In the novel, much of the dialogue and text focuses on food. In Vietnamese and other eastern cultures, food is often an expression of acceptance, benevolence, or love. Alternatively, it can also be...
Paradise of the Blind
Paradise of the Blind has three main settings: Hanoi, the countryside village, and Russia. How do the respective...
The three settings in Duong Thu Huong's novel Paradise of the Blind—Hanoi, the village, and Russia—all offer the characters new challenges that help them grow and that forward the story's plot....
Paradise of the Blind
Possible points of comparison between fog and duckweed. comparison between presence of fog(in cripple's songs and...
This is a tough question, but you might consider that both of these natural items rely on wind or ripples in the water to move them about. Both fog and duckweed are unable to control themselves or...
Paradise of the Blind
Analyze the setting of Paradise of the Blind and discuss how it conveys the significance of a particular global issue.
In Paradise of the Blind, Duong shapes the setting to convey the significance of the global issue of the abuse of power. The Communists who have seized power in Vietnam after the departure of...
Paradise of the Blind
What would be a good essay topic based on Paradise of the Blind?
One of the most important aspects of this novel to focus on is the presentation of communism and how it is used to demonstate a flawed ideology that brings only misery and sadness to those who...
Paradise of the Blind
Explore possible interpretations of the title of the novel. Does our understanding of the title change as the novel...
The title of the book at first rings with irony - this is a dystopian novel that portrays anything but "paradise". The title also alludes to the promised "worker's paradise" that was disseminated...
Paradise of the Blind
Describe specific instances where Duong's portrayal of Vietnam is shown to be negative in Paradise of the Blind. How...
Duong's portrayal of Vietnam is shown to be negative early on in Paradise of the Blind, where Hang's uncle Chinh, a hardline Communist, tells his sister Que that she must not speak to or have any...
Paradise of the Blind
Develop a global issue or thesis statement that connects the novel Paradise of the Blind with Diego Rivera's mural...
The novel Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong and the mural Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera both present the struggle between communism and democracy/capitalism. Let's look at both works...
Paradise of the Blind
Find a global issue or thesis statement that is exemplified in both the novel Paradise of the Blind and Diego...
A global issue or thesis statement exemplified in both the novel Paradise of the Blind and Diego Rivera's mural Allegory of California might relate to the crucial role of women. In Duong Thu...
Paradise of the Blind
How is the global issue of disillusionment, or the idea of appearance versus reality, portrayed in Paradise of the...
A key extract with rich authorial choices that supports the global issue of disillusionment or appearance versus reality could relate to the “cripple’s” song or the purple flowers in the pond. At...
Paradise of the Blind
As shown in the novel Paradise of the Blind, despite all that happened, did the Communist Party actually fulfill its...
Authors Duong Thu Huong and Nina McPherson use the first chapters of their novel Paradise of the Blind to show just how unsuccessful the Communist Party's attempts to level society were just after...