Paradise of the Blind

Hang witnesses a tender goodbye at the train station. The scene triggers a memory of leaving Vietnam for Russia to become an exported worker. Years before leaving for Russia, Hang is successful in her school exams and gains admittance to the university. Aunt Tam is proud of Hang’s accomplishment and lavishes her with celebrations and gifts. Hang prepares to spend a week with Aunt Tam before heading to the university. Que acts indifferent to Hang’s growing bond with Tam, turning her attention instead to Chinh’s sons. The distance between Hang and her mother grows.

Hang arrives at Tam’s home, and they share a meal before Hang takes a nap. She awakens to the sounds of a pig being butchered outside. The butchering is efficient and professional, followed by the arrival of three women to prepare a celebration feast in Hang’s honor. The serving women express concern over having to serve Duong, a corrupt and disliked vice president in the village. Tam calmly assures them they won’t have to the man. Hang is intrigued by this character and begins to look forward to the banquet ahead.

Practically the entire village arrives for the celebration in honor of Hang. Mr. Duong, the village vice president, does show up. Aunt Tam is careful yet poised with her words around the vice president, calling gentle attention to his hypocrisies while simultaneously downplaying her own understanding of politics. The vice president becomes defensive as he rattles Communist rhetoric the likes of Chinh’s tirades. Tam calms the situation by telling a story the villagers enjoy. In contrast, the vice president thinks the story is absurd and dislikes the tones of ancestral honor.

Tam tells another story about a dynasty of blind men whose blindness signifies heaven’s wrath. The vice president follows along with the reactions of the villagers this time, then he quickly tries to exit the banquet. Before leaving, he requests that Tam teach his daughter how to make noodles. Tam points out that this is the same daughter who doesn’t like to get her hands dirty and has been living off her father for some time. Duong confirms that it is the same daughter, but this time his decision not to blindly support her is final. He leaves the banquet, and the guests mock him behind his back while warning Tam that the way speaks to the vice president could get someone into trouble. After the guests depart, Tam sends the kitchen help home with generous portions of food for their own families too.

Back on the train to Moscow, a couple of drunken men harass Hang, expecting her to sell them jeans because she is Vietnamese. The incident takes Hang’s narrative to memories of the first time Uncle Chinh summoned her to Moscow one year earlier. He is not ill, but rather he is taking advantage of his position to operate an illegal import-export business. Hang is repulsed by what she discovers, no longer feeling cold or hunger but instead feeling shame. She thinks about her mother’s smile and the torture of the “bottomless sadness” surrounding her (171).

Hang’s memories take the narrative to the story behind Que kicking her out of the home. After avoiding Uncle Chinh’s home for years, Hang agrees to visit with her mother. She finds the place drastically changed and in disarray. Aunt Chinh is healthier and has moved on from teaching in the Communist Youth League to reviewing official government documents for a living. She greets Que and Hang pleasantly, and Hang observes that her own mother laughs sincerely with her sister-in-law these days. The scene confirms for Hang that Que has finally found and solidified her place in her brother’s family, and she sees that Que no longer feels outcast or abandoned (176).

The happiness on that side of the family lasts a year before Uncle Chinh is diagnosed with diabetes. Que and Hang visit him in the hospital, and Que devotes herself further to providing for Chinh’s family. Hang is not surprised by her mother’s conviction and tells her simply to take care of what she needs to do and not worry about her (179). Que’s sacrifices take on a new level of dedication and stress. Meals for Que and Hang “shrink by the day,” while Que struggles to make ends meet. Que’s face becomes “hollow and pinched,” and her overall appearance becomes dull and ugly (179). Hang is so hungry that she wants to sell Aunt Tam’s jewelry to buy food, but Que refuses to allow it.

Aunt Tam visits and is disappointed to see Hang malnourished and hungry. Hang confides that she wants to sell some of Aunt Tam’s jewelry, but Que won’t let her. Que tries to explain that she only wanted Tam’s approval before letting Hang sell part of her inheritance. Tam easily concedes, reminding Que that the jewelry is Hang’s to do with as she pleases, and there’s no point in an inheritance if Hang is only going to waste away from hunger. Que leaves the room to collect the jewelry but returns looking shameful and confesses that she’s already sold some of the jewelry to help an acquaintance start a business.

Hang knows Que must be lying—Everything Que brings in goes to Chinh’s family, and Aunt Tam knows this as well. Calmly and with her signature poise, Tam recounts her own struggles and virtues and lectures Que for her dishonesty. She makes her point clear: She will not tolerate her money and resources being used to feed Chinh’s family. Tam leaves, taking her brother’s photo with her as she forbids Que from honoring Ton’s memory any longer. She also takes back the earrings she previously gave to Hang so that she may hold onto them for safekeeping, knowing she can no longer trust Que to hold onto Hang’s inheritance on her behalf.

The relationship between Que and Hang continues to decline, Que’s sacrifices now tinged with coldness towards her own daughter. The tension between them reaches a climax when Que kicks Hang out of the house, telling her to go to her aunt instead. Hang leaves on her bike and finds housing at the school dormitory, where Tam continues providing her with food and money. Hang finds herself better off than most students, her aunt’s generosity putting her in a place of privilege among other poor students. She hears updates about her family but can’t dispel her feelings of injustice, humiliation, and loneliness (192). Hang turns her focus to her studies, doing exceptionally well and ranking among the best in her class, but her successes halt when she hears that her mother has been involved in a motor accident. Neighbor Vi seeks out Hang to tell her of Que’s accident. Hang visits Que in the hospital, where she sees that her mother’s leg has been amputated because of her injuries from the accident.