One of the most striking elements of Blind Paradise is its constant discussion of food. Through images and descriptions of traditional foods, the novel emphasizes the deep cultural connections of the Vietnamese and their love of food. These descriptions serve to depict the family and cultural dynamics of Hang's childhood and to highlight the differences between the culture of Hang's Vietnamese homeland and the emptiness of the Soviet Union and communist regime. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The detailed description of Vietnamese cuisine not only augments the novel's already vivid imagery, but it also advances the story by emphasizing evidence of Hang's deep, rooted love. of his homeland. His memories of Vietnam are as full of taste memories as they are of interactions with people. This shows that, for Vietnamese, food is a powerful form of social, cultural and personal expression. When you give gifts or show hospitality, for example, the offerings are in the form of food. The Vietnamese connection with traditional foods shows that, despite the excessive conformity brought by the communist regime, the Vietnamese people did not lose their traditional culture, on the contrary, they stubbornly preserved it. Throughout the new food dynamic, it is also used as a method of social interaction between friends, family and enemies. On major holidays, such as Tet, the actions of giving and receiving food reveal social status and family devotion. These holidays bring families together, which also brings out family tensions. In the Hang family, in particular, lunar festivals are times when Tam and Que go out of their way to offer food: Tam to Que and Hang, and Que to Uncle Chinh and his family. May you accept these gifts with gratitude; Chinh, however, views them as both charity and an insult. Yet he still accepts them out of greed and need, due to his illness. Festival foods, such as New Year's cakes, pâtés and sweet puddings, are generally more expensive. People have to save extra money through their hard work to buy them. The expense adds to both the generosity and the insult of giving such a gift; this shows more charity, or condescension, towards the recipient of the gift. The novel further shows the importance of food in relationships through Hang and her mother's cyclical relationship. At the beginning of the novel, while Que is always attentive to Hang's needs, their relationship is loving and close. “The air was scented with the aroma of beef soup flavored with anise and ginger. I grabbed my mother's shirt. “I’m hungry, mom.” She was troubled. 'Oh, how could I forget? We haven't eaten anything since noon..." (109). Their relationship only begins to deteriorate after Uncle Chinh becomes another factor in their lives, placing a new burden on their food resources. Their ever-degenerating dynamic is almost always the result of a food shortage, usually because Que ignores Hang's needs in order to satisfy those of his brother. When Chinh is diagnosed with diabetes, Que uses all his resources, both monetary and food, to support himself. “Our meals began to diminish day by day. The few slices of roast pork or fried fish disappeared and were replaced by tofu… in the end, even these were replaced by smallfried dishes… vegetables followed… most of the time we only ate cheap green vegetables” (179). Que tries to justify these dietary changes by telling Hang that they are "very nutritious vegetables." Wonderful for skin problems” (179) and tries to hide the truth about where they get their livelihood. But ultimately, the gap that this scarcity and neglect creates between mother and daughter can no longer be overcome and they separate. Que's refusal of Hang food as well as money and adequate shelter compounds the reasons for their continued conflict. The juxtaposition of situations and taste images to highlight the cultural and political differences between different regions of Vietnam, as well as the differences between Vietnam and the Soviet Union. In the darkest parts of Vietnam, such as the Commune K residence where Hang's uncle Chinh lives, Huong shows that eating is a joyless, even boring, affair. When Hang visits her uncle's family with her mother, she witnesses a meal that has lost all meaning: “The woman hit one of the boys on the head with her chopstick. 'Eat. I forbid you from talking at meals. »… I examined the tray: there were three portions, each with fifteen silkworms. Next to them was a tray of river spinach and a small bowl filled with a little minced meat” (107). This description contrasts sharply with the one showing a lively village festival given by Hang's Aunt Tam: "Aunt Tam brought out a huge tray filled with bowls of sticky rice, a pork pie, a stack of porcelain bowls white, ebony chopsticks and a basket of ripe bananas…. “Oh my God, this is a real feast that you are offering us,” the women exclaimed. 'Enjoy your meal, my sisters. Everywhere else, the host eats first. It’s only at Aunt Tam’s that the guests start first” (146). This party scene at Aunt Tam's house shows the enduring cultural importance of food in the country, where strict communist values ​​collide with traditional customs. It also illustrates the social importance of food as a gift, reward and offering of friendship. Likewise, the differences between Vietnam and the Soviet Union can be seen in the contrasting descriptions of food. Hang's attitudes toward food reflect his homesickness and sense of displacement. The connotations that accompany descriptions of Vietnamese cuisine are comforting, pleasant and familiar. Descriptions of food in Russia, however, suggest eating out of necessity rather than pleasure. Nostalgia for food and the cultural significance of Vietnamese food occupy a major place in Hang's mind and soul. When she tries to find similar meaning and tradition in the food of the Soviet Union, she finds only emptiness and necessity – a foreign concept to Hang, who grew up surrounded by the rich cultural meaning of food in her country native. This only alienates him further. Searching for the familiar comfort of food amid a foreign landscape, Hang finds nothing, only more disparity between his culture and this strange new land. Unlike Vietnam, where descriptions of food are as much a part of the story as the dialogue between characters, descriptions of food in the Soviet Union are rare. This helps create an overall colder and less hospitable atmosphere. Furthermore, the descriptions of the foods presented are far from appetizing: “When we arrived, he was pulling the hairs off a pig's foot, the kind that is sold cheaply to people wanting to save money. money. He stuffed it in a.