Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Aimee's Blog Entry
On page 212, I came across a quote that struck me as very powerful: "As my mother's eyes and mine met and locked for a brief moment, I was afraid I knew what she was thinking: among the four of us, it was not Bill, but I, who would be considered the outsider with insider information." This is very revealing on Mai's feelings. The cultural separation that she feels seem to reach its peak at this moment. She has never considered herself as Vietnamese but an assimilation of cultures and values that an exile might feel. Her mother's strong sense of traditionalism strongly opposes that and the generational divide furthers this misunderstanding of one another. Mai's acceptance of a Western ideology contrasts with Thanh's karmic beliefs and as a result, Mai feels isolated and lost. Thanh wanting to instill a hereditary legacy in Mai just pushes her further away.
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I think that this quote was very powerful as well. Aimee seemed to truly capture the essence of the troubled identity issues that are plaguing Mai. Throughout the book she often alludes to herself as an outsider, not fitting into America or Vietnam. This quote highlights her disarray.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this quote is very revealing. It's interesting that at the beginning of the novel, we see Mai embracing American culture and her ability to grasp the language when her mother cannot. As she reads more about Vietnam in her mother's journals, she feels nostalgic for the Vietnam her mom writes about and feels less comfortable in America. Thanh, Mrs. Bay, and Bill share a common view of Vietnam that Mai does not know. I agree that this is the moment when Mai feels disconnected from America, from her homeland, and even her own family. Unlike when Mai intentionally pushes her mother away, this time she feels like she couldn't be close to her even if she wanted.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think that this quote shows that Mai feels disconnected from America. It seems more to me like she feels like she had been caught by her mother, feeling guilty that her mother may have realized that she has become an outsider in her native culture. It's also possible that this is the first moment that Mai realizes that she is an outsider and that even Bill belongs to her culture more than she is. I agree with what Julia says about feeling right now like she couldn't be close if she wanted to. It seems like there has been a rift between them for quite a while and this is when she realized what may be causing the disconnect on her mother's side.
ReplyDeleteThere is a clear disconnect between Vietnamese culture and American culture. Being that Mai is representative of the expectations of American culture and Thanh of Vietnamese culture the struggle between mother and daughter increases. What happens within the home of Mai and Thanh is reflective of what is going on between the Vietnamese in America and Americans
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